


In This Very Ring

by jadedoll, Penumbren, RaisingKane



Series: In This Very Ring [2]
Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Angst, Behind the Scenes, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Melodrama, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2005-07-27
Updated: 2006-05-23
Packaged: 2017-10-20 17:17:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 88
Words: 672,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/215142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadedoll/pseuds/jadedoll, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Penumbren/pseuds/Penumbren, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaisingKane/pseuds/RaisingKane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before the Hell in a Cell match between Shawn and Hunter in 2004, a lot of things change backstage for a lot of people.</p><p>Please take note of the cast list. If it would offend, don't read.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introductions

**Author's Note:**

> **Please note:** Because this is an older story, it does feature Chris Benoit. If this bothers you, **do not read it**. Any flames will be passed around amongst the authors and their friends and laughed at.
> 
>   
>  (Graphic by Jade.)
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** No one is ours, darn it. But we like to look and point and write about them.  
>  **Characters:** Lots! See the cast list to know who's playing which characters.
> 
> In This Very Ring is an RPG set in the WWE. It's set in 2004, beginning with the end of the June 7th episode of Raw.
> 
> This story was originally written between the three authors on a private bulletin board, with each character POV getting its own post. Each chapter is ten posts long. I swear, it's an arbitrary limit - posts were not reordered just to get cliffhanger endings for each part. Really.
> 
> We've taken some liberties with how the WWE films their shows and with the rosters---nothing too serious... although you may see some unexpected faces popping up from time to time.
> 
>  ~~ITVR is not currently open to any other players.~~ In fact, ITVR is not currently open. It is not finished, and it is not likely ever to be, sadly.
> 
> * * *
> 
>  **Cast List**
> 
>  **Jadedoll:** Chris Jericho, Hunter Hearst-Helmsley, Jeff Hardy, Steve Austin, Randy Orton, Jay Reso, Tyson Tomko, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley  
>  **Penumbern:** Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Mark Calaway, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Shane McMahon, Bret Hart  
>  **Raising Kane:** Scott Hall, Adam Copeland, Dave Batista, Glen Jacobs, Sean Waltman, Terry Gerin

Hunter didn't look up as Ric handed him the glass of red wine. His murmured "Thank you," was born more of long ago taught manners than anything else. Not that Ric didn't deserve his courtesy, Hunter owed the man more than he really felt he could repay; it was that Ric Flair was used to Hunter's distraction. It generally only occurred in the presence of one man. The man currently bouncing around the wrestling ring like a madman.

"Camera's on us," Dave Batista said into the rim of his glass from where he leaned in the skybox window. The Big Man wore only a pair of dress trousers, shoes and a towel around his neck. Even in formal clothes Dave looked intimidating, funny that the man was a complete puppy dog backstage. It was the middle of June and a balmy night, thus Dave's state of half undress, as he looked over the arena crowd gathered for tonight's live production of WWE Raw.

"Yeah," Hunter agreed, adjusting his own ninety-dollar tie. He found it easy to ignore the screaming fans not ten feet from the skybox, even the busty girls threatening to take their t-shirts off. Hunter almost let an out-of-character grin slip. Vince would probably hire the girl if she did it on camera.

"That's me." Standing, Hunter gestured widely and ordered Dave to go down to the ring. Randy was doing a good job of getting his ass handed to him by his opponent and now was the time for the 'Animal' to intervene. Hunter sat back, his eyes never leaving the fair-haired man in the ring. He'd need to tear his eyes away soon. To start doing some mental preparation for their encounter in about...Hunter snatched a look at his watch...five minutes.

But he found he really didn't want to look away. His best friend was in the ring.

Hunter honestly believed he _couldn't_ look away.

****

Working his way towards the ring, Dave fought to hold back the grimace threatening to show through. He hated it every time that Shawn bladed. Knowing that it was coming didn't help matters at all. He knew that his mentor, Hunter, was probably thinking about it right now as well. Taking his position, he waited for his cue to toss Shawn into the ring post.

He was thankful when he noted that Shawn hadn't cut that deeply. True, Dave and Shawn weren't best friends, that spot was reserved solely for Hunter, but since Dave had been in Evolution he had spent a lot of time around Shawn. He had a genuine affection for the man and as pretty much anyone who spent any sort of time with Shawn... a slight crush as well. So sue him for not wanting to watch the man bleed. Sunday night's 'Hell in a Cell' match almost guaranteed that one or both men involved would be spilling blood. Dave wasn't scheduled for the PPV, but he did have a Heat match...with Maven. Regardless, he'd stick around until the end of the show to check on both Hunter and Shawn.

After causing the disqualification, he waited for Shawn to hit him with SCM and then laid in wait for the chair shots. No two ways about it... chair shots hurt. He'd like to try it himself on anyone that said different. He really wanted to watch Hunter and Shawn slug it out, but he didn't dare because he knew he'd break character. Those two had way too much fun whenever they had to pretend to beat the hell out of each other.

After the show went off the air, Dave helped Randy to his feet. Despite the fact that he thought Randy was a spoiled little brat, his mother had managed to drill common courtesy into him despite all his rebellious teen efforts to avoid it. Heading to the back, he slowly rolled his shoulders to try to ease the sting from the hits he'd taken.

After his match with Shelton earlier that night and the interference he'd just run, he was ready to relax. Walking slowly among the throng backstage he headed in the direction of the locker room as he tried to decide exactly what that might entail. Whatever it might be, it was not going to include heading directly back to the hotel. Dave was tired of spending most of his nights alone cooped up in some generic hotel room.

Maybe it was time for the 'Animal' to seek out a little companionship. Animal... Ha! More like a big ole teddy bear. He managed to be on friendly terms with just about everyone, but it seemed that his size was a bit intimidating for some. Maybe he'd ask some of the guys to see what they were doing tonight. It couldn't hurt... right?

****

Chris Jericho winced slightly as he reached into his locker for his car keys. Crossing his left arm across his chest he poked at the impressive bruise just above his right hipbone. A bad lift during his match with A-Train had strained his side, still a little tender although a week had passed since the mishap. Turning around he caught sight of Tyson sitting by his and Jay's locker, brown eyes all guilty and mournful as he watched Jericho.

Pulling the strap of his gear bag over his right shoulder, CJ exaggerated a wince, one that was mirrored by the tattooed man. Strolling over Chris stopped right in front of Tyson and pulled on his most impressive 'I'm so pissed you're ears a going to ring for a week' scowl.

"Chris I'm soo..."

"If you apologise again I'm gonna dye your beard pink in your sleep." It wasn't a threat. Tyson clutched at his beard like it was in immediate danger.

"I just..."

Ruthlessly Chris cut him off. "Did you design the chair?"

Tyson looked at the floor, they'd been through this about twenty times. "No."

"Did you push the idea of a brawl on the Highlight set?"

"No but..."

"Did you come up with the _genius_ idea of a power bomb onto said badly-designed chair on said over-crowded set?" Chris had crossed his arms and was tapping his foot in irritation.

"Chris..."

But Jericho was at full throttle and very few people had the courage to interrupt the blond on a tirade.

"It was my own fucking fault Ty! I was being so clever clever and it bit me on the ass. Besides..." Chris uncrossed his arms, and rested his hands on his hips, "...it's only a bruise. I'll get over it." Waggling a forefinger dangerously close to the beard in question CJ continued. "Now it's your turn, get over it. I'm fine. You..." A jab of the finger, "focus on the weekend. Or I'll leave you with a lot more than a bruise 'kay?"

Chris waited to see if his little lecture had finally gotten through.

"Sure Chris." Tyson conceded.

Turning on his heel, Jericho stalked towards the exit where some of the others were planning to go for a drink. "Now buy me a beer and we'll call it even," he called over his shoulder.

"Little Napoleon ain't he?" Stone Cold chuckled to Trish Stratus from a few feet away. The Canadian bombshell shook her own golden locks from her face.

"Oh brother, don't even talk to me about that," she moaned putting on her best long-suffering expression. "What he needs is a good, hard...."

But Trish's words were lost in the commotion coming from the exit area. Sharing a look they ran to see what was happening.

****

Rolling to his feet, his grin finally slipping out, Shawn held out a hand to help Hunter up. He brushed the hair out of Hunter's face as he cast a quick look up and down his friend to make sure that he hadn't actually done him harm. Scratching idly at the drying blood on his forehead, he frowned as he caught sight of the stains on Hunter's shirt.

"Sorry, Hunt, but I think I ruined your shirt. I can always get you another one if you want." He laughed as the other man made a face at him and hugged him. Speaking into Hunter's ear, he said, "Good show tonight. I'm going to go get this looked at, before you start nagging me," then waved at Ric and headed backstage, grateful for the security that kept the fans away from him.

He loved his fans---they were what kept him coming back---but right now he really couldn't handle them. Tonight had been a blast, and any night he was able to do a spot with Hunter was good, but... His mouth drooped a little as he considered his options for later. He hadn't been involved with anyone for almost a year, and he was damned tired of going back to empty hotel rooms.

Wrapped up in his thoughts, he almost walked right by the trainer's room until a familiar voice caught his attention.

"Hey, Heartbreaker---get your ass in here so I don't have to break something else!"

Rolling his eyes, a reluctant smile playing at the corners of his lips, he turned and walked into the room, the breath whooshing out of him as he was caught up in a hug that lifted him off the ground. He took a deep gasping breath as his feet hit the floor again, his hand at his throat as he played up the lack of oxygen. A low chuckle was his reward and his smile broke free.

"You know this is where I was heading, right, Kev?" Hands on his hips, he mock-glared at the tall blond in front of him. Kevin shrugged.

"Except that you were about to walk right by. Sit your ass down and get that looked at. I have to go meet Scotty, so I'll see you later." A final ruffling of his hair and Kevin was gone.

Shawn sat down and let himself be fussed over, his mind elsewhere. He wondered what was up between Kev and Scott this time around; they weren't saying yet and it was impossible to tell the difference between their normal goofiness and anything else. He was startled back into reality when he was dismissed with an order to take some aspirin and not run into any more ring posts for at least a couple of days.

Walking back into the hall, he turned toward the locker room but hadn't gotten very far when he heard raised voices from the exit area. Frowning, he headed in that direction to see what was going on.

****

Scott was walking around backstage reacquainting himself with some of the talent while Kevin laid in wait for Shawn at the trainer's room. Not that he wasn't concerned about Shawn, but the blading incident hadn't been one of Shawn's bloodbaths so if he wanted to play obstinate about medical attention per usual, Scott would leave the browbeating to Kevin. It was so nice being backstage in the WWF...er, E again. He really should remember that for the promos or Vince would have his head. He was in the process of trying to hunt down Hunter to see how he was doing after the "brawl" on-screen when he passed by a small group of younger stars including Maven and Johnny Nitro.

"I cannot believe they are sticking me with these backstage segments with Bischoff. Apparently they don't have time for me to have real matches anymore with all of these old geezers around demanding time on the show."

Considering that Johnny was looking directly at him when he made the comment, there was no real way for Scott to mistake his meaning. Who the hell did this young pup think he was anyway? Taking a few steps closer to the man in question, Scott looked him up and down in assessment. So far he wasn't impressed... not impressed at all.

"You have a problem with me, rookie?" he asked smoothly. He leaned against the wall casually with his arms crossed over his chest, toothpick firmly clenched between his teeth. His relaxed position belied the tension building in him while he waited for a response.

"What do you think, Hall?" The sneer in his voice and the way that Johnny rolled his eyes was just a little two much for Scott to let slide. Apparently this rookie needed to learn some manners.

Spitting out the toothpick and lunging from the wall with no warning at all, Scott heard a startled squeak from Maven just as his fist connected with Johnny's nose. He could hear Maven shouting behind them even as his momentum carried him and Johnny to the floor.

****

Whistling tunelessly, Kevin strode down the hall, looking for Scott. They'd agreed that Kev would check on Shawn, since the idiot usually shrugged off medical attention unless he was dragged in and held down... Kev couldn't help but grin at the memories that phrase brought back. Maybe they could arrange some holding down sometime soon again. As he wandered backstage, he started wondering where the hell Scotty had gone. He'd wanted to get reacquainted with people, but he wasn't in the locker room or by the monitors or...

Damn. As he heard shouting, Kevin had a sudden sinking sensation that he knew exactly where Scott was. He jogged toward the commotion, cursing himself for not being as young as he used to be. Not that he was _old_ , dammit, but there'd been a time when he could've run the length of the arena without feeling like he was dying. He skidded to a halt as he reached a small but growing clump of people and groaned as he saw that he was right.

Shoving through the people surrounding the two men rolling around on the floor, he stopped and glared, shaking his head.

"Scott!"

Okay, so that had been a little louder than he'd meant for it to be. Not that it mattered, since Scott was still ignoring him. He heaved a sigh and waded into the thick of it, leaning down to wrap his arms around Scott's waist and pulling him back. He staggered as he stood up; Scott wasn't that much smaller than him. He tightened his grasp as Scott growled, refusing to let go... and trying not to notice the way that Scott's angry writhing body was rubbing against him.

"Calm down, Scotty." Shifting his grasp, he turned Scott around to face him and ran a hand across his shoulders. Glancing over Scott's shoulder, he saw a glaring kid... Johnny, his mind supplied with some reluctance... being helped to his feet by Maven. A sigh escaped him at the sight of the rapidly blackening eye that the kid was sporting.

He returned his attention to Scott, who seemed to be calmer, and ran a hand through his dark hair. He couldn't care less who was watching them; everyone in the business knew about them, and they'd only been back together for a few weeks. It was still recent enough to feel new again, and he still thanked any deity who'd listen every day for having enough mercy to let Scotty get straightened out this time.

"You okay? What the hell happened?"

****

Sean and Glen were heading out to find Scott and Kevin when they heard a loud commotion down the hall. Sean was really glad that both men had re-signed recently with the fed. There was never a dull moment when the Clique was together on one show. Wanting to see what the big deal was, Sean tugged Glen along by the hand as he practically bounced down the hall.

"C'mon Glen, I have a weird feeling somehow that this involves one of the guys."

Sean stopped without warning and burst into laughter as he realized that his intuition was correct. "Scott's taking it to Nitro. I wonder what the hell he did?" Sean mused with a grin on his face. Wincing as Scott's fist connected with Johnny's eye, Sean couldn't help the need to know more. Pulling Glen closer to the growing circle, he watched with amusement.

"Want me to bust it up?" Glen asked lazily. He already knew what the answer would likely be, but if Sean wanted him to brave it, he would.

"Are you kidding me? What fun would that be?" Sean asked with an unrepentant grin. "Besides, the only one that is going to be able to handle him right now is Kevin. I don't want you ending up with a black eye too."

Glen smiled down at his lover and shook his head. Sean was enjoying this way too much. Watching the two men roll around for a minute or so more, Glen finally noticed Kevin working his way through the crowd. The big man broke up the brawl in short order and then Glen was being led around once again by Sean, this time closer to Kevin and Scott.

****

Watching from the shadows of a nearby hallway Adam grinned as he watched Kevin haul Scott off of Nitro. No matter what anyone else said, Nitro had gotten exactly what he'd deserved. Adam had watched the entire incident from his little niche and hadn't once given a thought to giving the smaller man a hand. Scott Hall was... well, let's just say it was instinctive that you didn't want to get on his bad side.

Adam had simply shaken his head and smiled when the stupid rookie had dared to continue spouting off as soon as the two men had hit the ground. He'd known that Johnny's "broken-down old drunk" comment was going to send Scott into a rage. Hall's temper was legendary and Adam had heard the stories about his latest battle with the bottle. It was bound to be a sore subject with the man. The way Adam looked at it, Scott had his respect for being able to fight the demons and put his life back in order.

Now that the action was over Adam tried to decide what he was going to do with the rest of his night. He knew that Jay was most likely getting tired of his nightly treks to the bar to find someone to spend his nights with, but unless a better option presented itself that was most likely his plan for tonight as well. Adam wasn't the type to spend his nights alone despite the quiet, reserved façade he'd adopted with the roster. He rarely dabbled with anyone in the fed because it always caused complications, but lately there had been one or two men that had tempted him to change his mind about that rule. Leaving the shadows and leaning up against the wall where Scott had been leaning earlier, Adam silently watched the byplay between the others in the crowd.

****

He'd vaguely heard Kevin's shout but the anger flowing through him blocked any thoughts of letting the kid go. He wanted to make sure beyond a doubt that he'd proven his point to the young upstart, which is why despite the solid feeling of Kevin's arms wrapping around him Scott didn't immediately drop the fight. He knew that Kevin wasn't going to be happy about him getting into a brawl so soon after they'd rejoined the company and he hadn't intended things to go quite so far, but the kid just hadn't known when to shut up.

Scott was still sensitive to any mention of his drinking problem. Especially since this last bout had caused him to be separated from Kevin. He'd never be able to make up for the pain and misery he'd caused his lover, but he was determined to do his best and try to put the past behind him in the process. Some rookie who barely had his boots wet couldn't possibly have a clue about the things he'd said or done... the hurt that he'd caused. He'd be damned if someone like that was going to bring up the subject with him and not pay for it.

Not wanting to hurt Kevin in his bid to get a hold of Nitro again, Scott finally managed to get himself under control... a bit anyway. Kevin's touch and his quiet sigh helped to calm him more than anything. Lord how he hated when Kevin sighed like that. More often than not it meant that Scott had disappointed him once again. That sound pushed away any thoughts of taking another swing at Nitro and the gentle hand running through his hair triggered a slight bit of shame, a very slight bit, in him over the ruckus he'd caused. Vince was not going to be happy.

 _"You okay? What the hell happened?"_

Leaning his head against Kevin's shoulder for a moment to gather his thoughts, Scott ignored the fact that they were being watched. Anyone that didn't know about them soon would and Scott wasn't about to hide his relationship with Kevin for the sake of anyone's sensibilities.

"Yeah, Kev. I'm fine." There was a hint of self-disgust in Scott's voice, but it was quickly replaced by a hint of the anger he'd felt earlier. "The rookie," Scott said, deliberately not giving him the courtesy of using his name, "didn't think that this 'broken-down old drunk'..." The phrase was accompanied by a glare tossed over his shoulder at the person who had supplied it earlier. "...had what it took to be active in the ring anymore and I just decided to show him how wrong he was. That's all."

Brushing off his shirt to rid it of the dirt from the floor in the hallway, Scott turned a grin on his lover. It most likely wasn't the best move he could have made with the mood Kevin appeared to be after his explanation, but the apology his heart was demanding he give the big man wasn't something he was willing to make a public spectacle. It was still an unspoken rule that they didn't air Clique business in front of anyone that wasn't Clique. Occasionally they were a little lax on that rule when it came to their assorted lovers, like Glen, whom he'd spotted standing to the side with Sean, but it was a rarity. For now, Scott would play his cocky self to the extreme and they'd deal with any resulting issues after they were away from prying eyes.

Laying a hand in the middle of Kevin's chest, Scott ran it slowly down over his abs before hooking his fingers shallowly in the waistband of Kevin's pants. "So, Kev... did you bully Heartbreaker into seeing the trainer?" he asked, his voice smooth as honey as he tried to adopt a look of innocence.

**** 

Dave felt much better after a hot shower though he hadn't lingered with it. He'd watched the comedic confrontation between Jericho and Tyson as he had pulled on his slacks. Dave had decided early in his career that dressing for success was a good idea and he rarely wore jeans except on his down time at home. Chuckling quietly as Chris poked Tomko into submission, he slipped on a short-sleeved light pink dress shirt and as a concession to the heat discarded any thought of a tie, leaving the top three buttons undone.

Tossing his "ring gear" into his bag, he slung the bag over his shoulder and was out the door a few steps behind Chris. He'd heard Chris mentioning getting a drink and wondered if Chris would be the one to answer his question about where everyone was headed. He was about to call out to the blond when he heard shouting from down the hall. Tossing his bag against the wall, he headed in that direction. Surely no one would be stupid enough to mess with his bag and if it was a fight, it was better for everyone if it was broken up quickly. He was just about to push his way through the crowd with the idea of dragging Hall off the newbie, who not surprisingly ran with Randy's smart-mouthed crowd, when he saw Kevin headed through the group with apparently the same intention.

Deciding that Kevin would more than likely be more successful at calming down his irate friend, Dave held his position just in case that wasn't the case. He hid his grin behind his hand, trying to look bored, as he watched Maven helping Nitro from the floor, but the light in his eyes gave away his jovial mood. Nice shiner that boy would have.

Being close enough to hear Hall's explanation to Nash, Dave turned and scowled at the dumb-ass who had been responsible for the altercation. Nitro wouldn't last long in the business if he didn't learn to keep his mouth shut. Bringing up someone's personal problems backstage was a quick way to earn yourself a bad reputation with the other talent. When that someone was a member of the Clique it could also earn you a world of hurt and humiliation. Johnny had already enjoyed the hurt and Dave was sure the humiliation wouldn't be far behind. If he thought being Bischoff's bitch-boy was bad, he hadn't seen anything yet.

Shaking his head over the rookie's huge mistake in judgment, Dave turned to see if he could spot Chris amongst the people gathered in the area. He still intended to ask about a place to grab a drink. At least there had been a little bit of excitement tonight. It might make for interesting conversation if nothing else, unless of course that conversation was within hearing distance of any member of the Clique. There was no way he was going to repeat Scott's reasoning to anyone either, Dave wasn't stupid enough to make the same mistake that Johnny had.

****

Groaning a little, Chris straightened up. He was definitely looking forward to a long, hot bath and some solid sleep when he got back to the hotel. Glen had been as gentle as he could be with the choke slam, but the match hadn't been easy regardless, and any pressure on his neck made it ache. Looking down at his bags, he sighed. One thing no one ever mentioned to would-be champions was how damned heavy the strap was, let alone the fact that it had to be packed in its own bag. He could use an extra hand to carry this stuff, but CJ had already taken off. He smiled a little as he saw Tomko still stroking his beard. He wondered about that man, he really did.

The sudden outbreak of yelling down the hall caught his attention and he moved quickly, hoping to help stop whatever was going on before it got nasty. He'd been involved in his fair share of backstage brawls and they never seemed to be worth it afterwards. He stopped at the fringes of the crowd when he realised who it was. He'd seen Hall like this before, although at least this time alcohol wasn't part of the motivation. Glancing around, he spotted Nash moving in, looking a little grim.

"Hey, Holmes, what's up?"

The unexpected arm sliding around his waist distracted him from the goings-on and he turned in surprise. Eddie just grinned at him.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be at an appearance today." Chris could feel a goofy grin sliding across his face, but Eddie seemed to do that to him.

"I was... about six hours ago. Not too many appearances run until eleven p.m."

Chris rolled his eyes at the smirk, but couldn't stop smiling. Schedule disruptions due to both of them being champions meant that he hadn't seen Eddie in well over a week. He mentally revised his earlier plan of a hot bath and sleep; the way Eddie was groping his ass told him that his lover had other plans for the evening, and Chris certainly wasn't going to object.

He glanced up as people started to walk away, talking in undertones to each other. Apparently he'd missed the fight. Oh well. He spotted Scott in Kevin's arms, talking, and hoped everything was okay. He'd never been great friends with the Outsiders, but he respected both of them, especially Scott, now that he'd managed to get himself straight. After living through Eddie's own personal hell, Chris knew exactly how hard the bottle was both on yourself and on your loved ones. Since it looked like everything was calming down, he gestured to Eddie and they started back toward the locker room, arms still around each other.


	2. Questions

Listening to Scott's explanation, Kevin could feel his own temper rising. He bit back a growl and glared at the little punk over Scott's shoulder, suddenly wishing that he hadn't been quite so fast in pulling them apart. A broken collarbone or rib would've meant that he'd be out for a while; a black eye just meant that he'd be visiting makeup longer than normal.

He tightened his embrace, knowing how insecure Scott still was about practically everything, but especially their relationship. Not that he had any plans of letting the man go now; if they'd made it through hell and back---repeatedly---he wasn't about to walk away because of a temper flare. Especially one that was so well deserved.

Scott's grin and sudden cocky attitude told Kevin more than his lover probably knew. That insecurity ran to himself as well, and Kev knew that he'd be spending some time tonight reassuring Scott. His flippant words made Kevin shake his head, smiling a little. They were definitely going to have some alone time tonight; he wasn't about to let unwarranted guilt eat Scotty up. The intimate touch, especially in such a public place, sent a shiver through him and he pulled Scott close up against him, not caring about the people around them.

"Didn't bully him; he was already heading there," he answered, his voice husky. Dammit, that glint in Scott's eye told him that his lover knew _exactly_ what he'd just done. Lowering his voice, he growled, "I think I might have to bully _you_ tonight, though... pound you right into the ground. Make you scream. Maybe even make you pass out."

Drawing a breath, he leaned forward and breathed into Scott's ear. "How does that sound to you?"

****

Cursing softly, Shawn sped up as he got closer to the noise. He'd recognised Kevin's voice and suspected that he knew who was in the fight. God, they'd _just_ come back. Vince would have a shit-fit over this, that was for sure.

He stopped at the fringe of the now-diminishing crowd and shook his head as he saw Kevin and Scott talking and Johnny being led off toward the trainer's by Maven. What the hell was Scotty thinking, starting a fight? Spotting Flair, he headed toward him and got his attention.

"What the hell happened, Ric?" he demanded in a low voice. Ric looked at him, shaking his head.

"Dunno. Apparently Johnny said something nasty to him and he flipped."

Shawn sighed, the pounding in his head increasing in tempo. At least something had provoked Scott; when he was drinking, he'd started more fights than anyone could count just because he'd felt like it. Nodding his thanks to Flair, he started towards the two, smiling even through his exasperation. Whatever Scotty had just said to Kev, it got quite a reaction. He couldn't hear them yet, but he definitely recognised the look on Kevin's face.

He paused a few feet away, not wanting to interrupt that conversation. Glancing around, he wondered where Hunter was. It wasn't like him to ignore a backstage altercation, especially when the Clique was involved. His forehead creased in a frown as he looked, and he jumped, cursing, as a hand fell on his shoulder.

****

 _"How does that sound to you?"_

It took a moment for Scott to process the question. Between the heated breath blowing against his ear and the husky growl that accompanied it, it really wasn't that hard to figure out why. Scott absolutely loved it when Kev got all growly on him. In fact, that was probably the main reason that his legs felt like jelly right now. There was another part of him that felt nothing at all like jelly though, as Kevin was about to find out.

Leaning forward until his cheek brushed gently against Kevin's chest, Scott shifted in his embrace managing to slyly inform Kevin exactly how it sounded to him when the result of Kevin's words brushed against his hip. Pulling away slightly he lifted his head until his eyes met Kevin's. His mouth tilted in a smirk and a twinkle in his eye, he finally got around to giving Kevin a verbal response.

"Sounds to me like I'm going to be obstinate a little more often if that's the kind of bullying you're going to do," Scott said quietly, slowly wiggling his fingers that were still hooked in the top of Kevin's pants. He was just about to suggest that the two of them make a hasty exit and head back to the hotel when a loud voice interrupted his rather erotic train of thought.

"Scott! That was so awesome. He's going to have a black eye for sure. You know Vince is going to freak."

Scott laid his head against Kevin's chest for a moment again before taking a deep breath and turning to face the new arrivals while managing to stick close to Kevin's side. He noticed that most of the crowd seemed to have cleared except for a straggler here and there. "Hey, Kid," Scott said, happiness in his voice over seeing his friend. Ignoring the obvious statements and opening his arms wide, he swept Sean up in a hug, keeping it brief in the hopes that Sean would not announce his obvious condition to the whole company. Not that he honestly cared, but he'd made enough of a scene for tonight.

After releasing Sean, Scott turned and nodded at Glen who returned the gesture. "Shawn! Did you see that? Get that sexy boy ass over here!" Scott and Glen shared a smile of amusement when Sean's voice rang out again. Though Scott really could have done without the reminder of the fight; he'd much rather have been thinking about what was going to happen when he and Kev got back to the hotel room.

****

Before he spotted Jericho, Dave saw Shawn standing on the other side of Scott and Kevin. Since he hadn't really had a chance to check on Shawn since the match, Dave decided that he wanted to do it now. Shawn didn't seem busy at the moment so hopefully he wouldn't mind the interruption, though he did seem to be looking for someone. Giving Scott and Kevin a wide berth, Dave walked over to Shawn and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, surprised when the man jumped and cursed.

"Sorry, Shawn. I didn't mean to startle you," Dave said, flushing slightly. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay after our spots earlier." He let his eyes linger on the spot where Shawn had been busted open and then looked down at the floor almost shyly when he realized he'd been staring.

"You've got one hell of a swing," he said, referring to the chair shots earlier.  He smiled as he tried to raise his eyes back up to Shawn's face, getting momentarily distracted by the pattern on the tights that Shawn still wore before managing to raise his head.

****

Hunter paced the hallway behind the skybox. He'd nodded Ric on when the older man had been prepared to wait for him, but Hunter wasn't quite ready for the locker room at the moment. He stopped and leaned his forehead against the wall, talking a few deep breaths. Eyes closed, he fingered the bloodstain on his shirt. Shawn was notorious for nearly blading his scalp off, but thank god this time hadn't been the usual bloodbath.

He'd nearly cracked up over some of Shawn's comments while they'd been brawling. A small smile lit his features. Little shit was always trying to get Hunter to break character, although he usually got his own back. He'd described in detail the bouncy nature of t-shirt girl's chest every time his head had been near Shawn's. Watching the gorgeous eyes almost tear with restrained laughter had made his night, except with the blood and all.

Inhaling Hunter turned and headed up the hallway to the locker room.

He caught the last of the fallout from the brawl and checked over the other members of the Clique from a distance. He grinned at Kevin and Scott, the smile widening as Shawn, Glen and Kid joined them. Looked like everything was well in hand with Scott.

Hunter had his own special place in the Clique. Despite his own formidable athletic ability, his true strength came from another source.

Knocking politely on the door to his father-in-law's makeshift office, Hunter prepared his arguments for making the life of one Johnny Nitro, a complete shitheap.

He was after all, the Cerebral Assassin.

****

Damn, CJ had to admire Nitro's balls. Picking a fight with Scott Hall was like teasing a Rottweiler. You'd just as soon loose your whole arm as your finger. Chris had learned that pretty damn quick in the WCW locker room, when he'd witnessed another of Hall's legendary fights. He'd made a mental note to keep out of the Clique's way then and there. It was obvious after all, you were either one of them or you weren't. And he wasn't.

He had that one brilliant programme with Michaels and the fun stuff over the hair with Nash, but backstage he'd kept his tongue between his teeth around the Clique. They'd barely acknowledged him outside the ring and despite a small feeling of disappointment, CJ was hardly surprised. Politics wasn't his game, he'd leave that to the ones with a taste for it.

Shaking his head he tailed Nitro to the trainer's room.

"Way to go Junior, piss off the people who have more power in this business than God," Chris complimented the peeved looking Nitro. "I just can't understand why you aren't getting a bigger push, what with all your backstage pull and all."

Johnny's non-black eye squinted to the same size as his fantastically swelling one. "Fuck off, Jericho."

Crossing his arms CJ flashed his patented 'bite me' smile and ducked back into the hall. Hoping to catch Jay or Benoit at the exit he stopped as if he'd hit an invisible wall.

Inwardly cursing he kept his smirk in place by force of will and turned casually away from the scene of the brawl. Not only was the wet-dream-inducing Clique all indulging in some kind of group hug, but **Dave** had joined them. **Dave** was chatting with Shawn, the Heartbreaker of the group. **Dave** was friendly with Shawn and Shawn was friendly with **Dave**. Well, good for them.

They'd make a great couple.

He'd tell them so when they got together.

Because Hello!, why wouldn't Shawn want **Dave**? Big, built and so damn cool you were just drawn in like a magnet. And why wouldn't **Dave** want Shawn? HBK was the real deal after all, beautiful, funny, charismatic and sexy as all hell.

Not just a cheap knock off.

Seeing that his drinking buddies hadn't reached the exit, Jericho dropped his bag and looked out into the night.

"Should be King of Pathetic-No-Chance-In-Hell rather than Bling Bling," he whispered quietly. Shooting a glance over his shoulder he spotted another of his oblivious _objets de lust_.

Well, well, well.

Adam was doing his whole, merge with a wall trick. It never failed to perplex Chris that someone as drop dead gorgeous as the Edgster played wallflower. Although if Jay was to be believed, and he probably wasn't, then Adam was a horny little bastard by anyone's measure.

Pity that whenever Chris was around, his posture just screamed _'not interested'_. Despite his reputation, CJ never went where he wasn't wanted and being turned down by Adam would have hurt more than he cared to acknowledge. Some people it didn't matter.

Adam mattered.

Once more scanning the parking bay, Chris considered where he'd lead his merry band tonight. Given that Jay and Ty were too busy learning the location of each other's tonsils and Trish could never make up her mind, CJ generally picked their drinking spots. He needed somewhere that Trish wouldn't be hassled and people would indulge any chaos Chris' impromptu drinking games caused. He watched Orton and Maven get into a crappy Honda rental.

Randy flooded the engine.

****

Hunter let the door close behind him and walked back towards his friends.

 _Get that sexy boy ass over here!_

Sean's voice rang out in the hallway, bringing another smile to Hunter's face. Damn he'd missed them. Missed having his _family_ all in the once place. It hadn't been the same, even with their weekends and time off in the same city. Having Kevin and Scott back was just like the old days and having Scott healthy was the icing on the cake.

He noticed the small distance he'd created from the group with a twinge of regret. His decisions in the last few months had been difficult to say the least. Difficult enough that they hadn't been made lightly. Then there was that problem with Kevin, a problem that Hunter had reacted to with his typical run and hide gig. The distance was there no matter what was said, both metaphorical and physical. With Joanie gone and Stephanie as his 'wife' he hadn't touched anyone for nearly a year. Seeing Kevin and Scott back on the same page was both wonderful and bittersweet for his lonely heart. Glen and Sean were attached at the hip and so revoltingly happy that even the rest of the Clique's teasing hadn't subdued them in any way.

And Shawn....

He stopped few feet from the group as Dave started talking to Shawn. He had a lot of respect for Dave and if Shawn liked Batista then that was more than okay with Hunter. As long as Shawn was smiling, Hunter was content.

Putting hands on hips he shook his head at Scotty.

"Scott! I leave you alone for five minutes and you wipe the floor with some rookie?" Shaking his head in mock reproof, he sighed. "You couldn't have waited for me? I wanted to get pictures."

****

Realising who it was as soon as he started to turn around, Shawn felt like an idiot for the curse that had slipped out of his mouth. He didn't react well to being startled, but still... He blinked a little at the almost... shy tone in Dave's voice. He knew that Dave wasn't much at all like his on-screen persona, but this was a little different even for him.

If the flush hadn't clued him in, the slow dragging of Dave's eyes over his tights would have done it. Shawn sighed a little as he recognised the signs, although he gave Dave a genuine smile, touched by his concern. He didn't want anyone to have a crush on him; he wanted someone to love him. Of course good things could develop out of crushes, but it was so hard to get past the awkwardness... and he'd really enjoyed working with Dave. Hopefully this wouldn't make things weird for them... especially, if he were going to be honest, since Dave was one of the guys he'd been looking over lately.

His gaze flicked to the side as motion caught his attention, and he watched Jericho walk past, an indescribable look on his face as he glanced toward them. Shawn frowned a little, tempted to go after him, but CJ kept walking. That was pretty out of character for him and Shawn's protective instincts flared. He stomped them back down, reminding himself that although they'd worked together, Chris had never made any attempt to really get close to him, let alone too friendly. Maybe his reputation had scared him off, or the Clique, but whatever the reason, Shawn wished things had gone differently between the two of them. He'd thought for the longest time that Chris might be... something more, for him. Biting back another sigh, he turned his attention back to the man who was looking at him with intense dark eyes.

"Sorry, Dave." He ran a hand over the big man's shoulder briefly without meaning to, and let it drop quickly back to his side, hoping that Dave wouldn't think too much of it. He was very hands-on anyway, so... "I'm fine. Just have a headache, and some instructions not to get too friendly with anymore ring posts for a while." He flashed a grin, then became more serious. "I didn't hurt you, did I? Sometimes I get a little carried away in the ring without meaning to."

Sean's voice cut across the quieting hubbub. _"Get that sexy boy ass over here!"_

Shawn looked at Dave apologetically, although he was smiling. "I've been summoned." He started to turn, then paused. "C'mon, let's go see what's up." He wasn't sure why he was inviting Dave to be privy to Clique business, but it felt right, for some reason. He didn't let himself dwell on it, and his eyes landed on Hunter as they approached the group of people near the wall.

Hunter had been pretty out of sorts lately, although no one else seemed to have noticed. He was acting... depressed, Shawn's mind supplied, although that wasn't quite the right word. There was a distance between Hunter and the rest of them lately, and Shawn was sure that at least part of it was an unconscious reaction to the current story arcs. Everyone knew Hunter had enormous pull with Vince, for obvious reasons, but no one really seemed to think about how rarely he used it for himself. For others, sure, he was great at dropping a bug in Vince's ear, but... Shawn shrugged a little.

Geez, he was damned melancholy today. He shouldn't be; for the first time in a decade, the Clique was back together and for the first time ever, all of them were healthy and happy. Well... he shot another look at Hunter as he stopped next to him. Maybe not all of them were happy. He was definitely going to corner his best friend later and drill him, because hell if Hunt was going to wrap himself up and distance himself from _him_ , even if he seemed to be doing it with everyone else.

****

Adam liked watching people. Their body language spoke so much louder than their words. Take Kevin and Scott for instance. Despite the debates backstage about their couple status, all anyone who paid attention would have to do is look at them right now to know that they were in fact back together.

Shawn... Shawn was lonely but looking for someone special. That left Adam right out of the equation despite any interest he had. And face it, who _wouldn't_ be interested in Shawn? Adam hadn't had an actual relationship in a long time, wasn't sure he was capable of having one, and practicing on Michaels would be a big, big no-no unless he wanted to get caught with his balls in a vice. If he attempted to make his move and then for some reason things didn't work out... he'd end up with a minimum of Kevin, Scott, Hunter, and Sean looking to maim his equipment. That wasn't necessarily the extent of it either... there was always Glen, who was completely enthralled by Sean, and the way it looked... Dave, who was sporting a rather obvious crush on the sexy boy, to contend with as well. No thank you. He'd make a pass at Stacy, whom he had absolutely no sexual interest in whatsoever, before he even thought of making a play for Shawn.

Hunter, who had watched everything from the fringes of the crowd, had headed to MacMahon's office without delay. For once, Adam was completely in agreement with any politicking that Hunter did to get Johnny put in his place. Winning some half-baked contest did not entitle the kid to thinking he was all that and what he'd said to Hall was way out of line. With Hunter's pull, Adam wouldn't be surprised if next week the kid was scraping gum off the seats in the arena instead of performing in it.

Hunter... now there was a puzzle. Married to the boss's daughter... except something didn't quite ring true there. Oh, they acted as if they were the perfect couple in front of the people that counted, but there was something going on with Hunter that he just couldn't put his finger on... yet. Whiskey-colored eyes and blond hair notwithstanding, Hunter was an even bigger no-no than Shawn when it came to letting his thoughts linger. Not only would he have the exact same problems that came with Shawn, but then you had to add in HBK himself and that was enough to make any sane person watch their step. That didn't even bring into account having to deal with Stephanie or Vince, the latter of which would be shining a light up your ass to try to discover why you had a sudden interest in his very married son-in-law. No wonder he tended to keep his eyes from straying seriously to members of the roster... complications.

Looking away from the group, he spotted a lone figure walking out of the trainer's room. Now there was an altogether different kind of complication involved with the man he was now watching. He watched curiously as the man stopped short at the sight of the small gathering with a wistful look on his face. Unrequited love... lust? Did it matter? Y2J had a definite interest in someone in that group though Adam wasn't sure if it was the big man Batista or Shawn.

Adam felt a twinge over that thought. Chris was the biggest temptation of all that Adam had to break his hands-off rule when it came to the roster. He'd ended up with nailprints in his palms more times than he could count in order to keep up his uninterested façade when it came to the gorgeous blond. He genuinely liked Chris, enough so that he'd avoid getting involved with him for his own good. Chris deserved more than the attentions of someone that had slept with more people than he could remember in the last year.

After his last relationship had broken up, he'd not been able to face spending his nights alone. Wary of the complications of being involved with someone he worked with, his failed relationship had taught him that amongst other things, Adam had taken to picking up whichever male fan he'd found with thick enough rose-colored glasses. They were smart enough not to expect commitment, yet happy enough to spend a few hours with someone that appeared on television. Adam didn't kid himself that it was _him_ in particular that they were looking for, most likely anyone who'd had a few minutes of air-time would have had the same luck, but it kept him from being alone at night so who was he to complain?

Adam didn't so much as flinch to give himself away when Chris looked at him, though his breath certainly caught in his throat like it always did when he had the blond's attention. Luckily Chris wouldn't realize that he was the focus of Adam's attention at the moment due to his dark glasses. Yes he did wear them inside the building, even at night, silly as it may seem. Adam released the breath he'd been holding when Chris looked away to the parking bay. Chris looked so alone most of the time despite the gang of people he surrounded himself with. Trish, Jay, Tyson... they all tended to follow wherever Chris led them.

Maybe tonight he should join them... as a friend in any case. He knew Jay would be happy if he didn't spend the night prowling bars in the seedier part of town. He could spend one night alone without going to pieces... couldn't he? If he didn't try it sometime, he'd never know. He could try to cheer Chris up in any case. Jay had probably warned the blond of his predilections so if he turned on the charm, Chris would most likely take it with a grain of salt... better for both of them that way.

Making up his mind to avoid the nameless, faceless person that he'd end up with if he went out on his own, Adam finally moved from his frozen position against the wall. Walking almost silently he approached the still figure who was looking at Randy and Maven as they attempted to get their rental started. Laying his hand on Chris' shoulder in a friendly gesture, though he was tempted to do a whole lot more, Adam simultaneously leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"Looks like you're missing a few followers, Christopher, king of mine. Mind if I join the party this evening?"  Fixing an innocent smile on his face, or as innocent as he could manage anyway, Adam held his breath as he waited for Chris' response. 

****

Scott turned to look at Shawn as he approached the group minimally surprised to see Dave accompanying him. Not that he had any problems with Dave, he barely knew the man. He just hadn't been aware that there was anything going on between the two of them that would induce Shawn to invite him to join their little group after what had just occurred. Scott pulled Shawn into a quick hug, trying to stealthily check his forehead as he did so.

"Nice work tonight Shawn." Letting his eyes wander once again to the man standing next to Shawn, Scott decided he'd wait to see what was going on between the two before making any kind of verbal observation. "You too, Dave."

He was on the verge of hoping that the discussion of the fight was over, at least until he and Kevin were alone, when he heard Hunter's voice behind them.

 _"You couldn't have waited for me? I wanted to get pictures."_

Scott flinched before he could stop himself, but quickly pulled the smile back onto his face. Hunter was one of the reasons he felt so bad for starting the fight in the first place. Vince always seemed to hold Hunter responsible for the rest of their actions for some unknown reason. The last thing he wanted was to cause Hunter any grief over something which looking back seemed so minor. Wanting to keep the conversation in the joking spirit that Hunter had intended, Scott turned and looked at his friend.

"Well, if I'd found the person I was looking for, namely you, then you would have been here when it happened," he said loudly with a wink. "Not my fault you're so damn hard to find, Hunter."

Taking a step closer to the man who had eluded him earlier, Scott swept him up in a bear hug and whispered an almost silent "Sorry, Hunter" against his shoulder. As he pulled away he took his position once again next to Kevin, drawing strength from his lover. As happy as he was to see his family, he wished that he and Kevin had managed to make good their escape since his body hadn't cooled off one bit from Kevin's early teasing.


	3. Misunderstandings

He'd followed simply because Shawn had asked him to. Was there anyone that could resist wanting to do exactly what the man asked them to? Dave didn't think it was likely. He'd watched quietly as Scott pulled Shawn into a hug, wondering what it would be like to have that privilege any time he wanted. When Shawn had touched him earlier, it had only surprised him to the extent that he hadn't expected it. He should have considering how hands-on Shawn was in general. He didn't make the mistake of thinking it was anything special in his case. Scott's acknowledgment of him had surprised him as well. He'd pretty much expected to go unnoticed by the rest of the group.

Once Hunter had approached, Dave had almost said his good-bye's right there and left. Not that he didn't like Hunter, he liked him a lot. He just wasn't sure how Hunter would feel about him making an effort to get closer to Shawn. In truth, he knew it was Shawn's decision that mattered the most. What would Shawn say if he knew that Dave really wanted to get to know him better? There was really only one way to find out, but did he have the guts to find out...that was the question.

While everyone was distracted with Hunter's question, Dave laid his hand on Shawn's arm to get his attention. Trying to keep it quiet so that if Shawn turned him down it wouldn't immediately become a source of amusement to the rest of the group, Dave attempted to convey his interest in the man.

"I was wondering if maybe you'd want to go for a drink or coffee or something sometime? My way of apologizing for introducing you to the ring post." Realizing that his invitation sounded more like something business-related than personal interested, Dave growled at himself quietly. "That's not really what I meant. I'm so not good at this...and now I'm talking to myself in front of you. Nice, huh?" Taking a deep breath he decided to try once more. "What I meant to ask was...would you like to go out sometime...with me, I mean." He managed to keep his eyes fixed on Shawn even though he felt like sinking into a huge hole. Could he have possibly made a bigger idiot of himself?

****

Randy had the hood of the rental open and was looking at the engine, while Maven helpfully drank a beer and watched.

Chris hadn't even heard footsteps and that should have warned him really. No-one, not even the great HBK himself moved with the fluid silence of Adam Copeland.

 _"Looks like you're missing a few followers, Christopher, king of mine. Mind if I join the party this evening?"_

The warm breath against his earlobe sent an involuntary shiver through CJ's body, one that he tried very hard to suppress. Pity that suppressing his body's reactions around Edge was damn nigh impossible. Knowing his expressive face would give him away in seconds, Chris kept his eyes on the comedy unfolding in front of him. Shane Helms had decided to try and help, Maven popped another beer. It went downhill from there.

Chris infused his voice with the same tone of humour he used with everyone. "Why Edgster. Your king just doesn't allow your presence, he _commands_ it!" He felt tempted to lean into the warm body so close to his, but stuffed that inclination where it belonged. He shrugged easily. "Jay had to meet JR about something, he'll be here soon," he offered knowing Adam was probably hunting for his room mate. Since Edge's return from that horrific neck surgery Chris had immediately ordered Jay into Adam's room to watch over him. CJ and Tyson got on fine anyway, the big man's reserved silences balancing Chris' need to fill any space with words and laughter. "A couple of guys I know are playing at a club on the east side. Kinda dark, grungy and very loud. You'll love it." Adam liked places he could be anonymous and blend into the darkness.

Was he perverse in being turned on by the fact that he still hadn't moved to look at Edge? The fantasy of keeping his eyes on the mundane while Adam whispered erotically into his ear wasn't a new idea at all. And that they were semi-public too sent a frisson of heat to his groin. He prayed Adam would think his shivers were caused by the change in temperature from the air-con of the arena to the heat outside and not the tall, graceful body in such proximity to his own.

"Don't go there," he warned himself, it'll _matter_.

He'd only touched his shoulder for fuck's sake! Talk about acting like a thirteen year old.

Chris was saved from embarrassing himself by the never stealthy stomp of Austin's boots. He turned slowly from Adam's touch and instantly mourned the loss.

"CJ get yer ass in gear, we're ready ta go." Steve yelled as he, Jay, Ty, Trish and Molly approached.

Chris forego to mention that _he'd_ been waiting for _them_. "You can't come Austin! You drunken psycho!" he insulted deliberately. Trish rolled her eyes, this happened every time.

"Yep I'm comin' Kitten, as often as possible!" the bald Texan nudged Molly and waggled his eyebrows. She burst into giggles.

CJ thought he better not continue in their usual vein, in case he lost Adam's interest. That the beautiful man wanted to join their crowd was a rare and wonderful thing and Chris wasn't gonna risk it.

Moving so he was nose to chin with Austin Chris ticked off his points on his fingers.

"Okay under four conditions. One...spirits only for drinking games, beer is not allowed," Steve's frown was comical. "Two...you will NOT introduce Trish and I as a bi-sexual's wet dream," the frown morphed into an evil smirk. "Three...no dancing for you," at Steve's perplexed look he conceded, "when you’re drunk...for the safety of others on the dance floor, and Four,"  locking eyes with the ice blue ones so he couldn't be ignored. "If you try and pimp me out to someone you’re playing pool with I’ll slash your truck tires and key the sides. Clear?"

Why was he always reading the riot act to guys bigger and meaner than him? Probably because when _he_ acted like a five year old on a caffeine high it was _funny_.

Austin's guffaw of laughter was echoed by Jay. "But he offered me five hundred if I set it up." Steve tried to plead his case, "he was okay, if ya could ignore the hairy back and mono brow." Another snort from Jay. "I would'a split it with ya Kitten."

Chris was tempted to do a 'talk to the hand' but he'd already been a bit bossy and didn't want Adam to think even less of him than he already did.

"Who's driving?" Jay asked as Chris continued to glare at Steve.

"I can," Molly offered. She never drank much anyway, preferring to keep an eye on Trish. And everyone knew Tyson would drive, so they filed out into the car park.

Nearly eight people now stood around the Honda watching Randy fiddle under the hood. It was like bees to honey.

****

 _"Why Edgster. Your king just doesn't allow your presence, he_ commands _it!"_

If he hadn't had his hand on him, he'd never have noticed Chris' slight shiver. It was nice to know that maybe Chris wasn't completely unaffected by him, though he still had the best of intentions where Chris was concerned. He smiled over the "commanding" of his presence and was about to make some highly inappropriate remark about being happy to follow _any_ command the blond gave him when Chris saved him from himself by mentioning Jay.

Adam noted the information about Jay with passing interest. It wasn't like he was going to keep tabs on Jay any more than Jay managed to keep tabs on him. Despite the fact that they were close friends and supposed to be rooming together, he highly doubted that Jay had come right out and told anyone that he didn't make it back to their room until almost daybreak on most occasions. He doubted that Jay minded in the least since it gave him extra time to spend with Tyson if so chose. Adam had asked a few times why he wasn't rooming with Ty in the first place. Jay seemed to dodge the question each time and Adam had yet to call him on it.

The place that Chris described would normally have been exactly what he'd look for in a place to go. It still sounded great, but Adam didn't intend on doing his normal disappearing act once they got there. How was he supposed to cheer Chris up if he wasn't around him? Nope, no disappearing act tonight. Tonight Chris was going to see so much of him that he'd most likely be sick to death of him by the end of the night.  
Austin's approach cut off any further chance to tease Chris, which Adam should have been thankful for. Instead he found himself resenting the presence of the others that had joined them. "Get a grip Adam. The others make him happy...and that is what you wanted, right? For him to be happy?" he thought to himself. The mental kick in the ass was just what he needed to remind him of the reason he was joining them tonight in the first place.

Adam laughed inside at the banter between the members of the small group, though he was careful not to show it, his normally bored expression fixed on his face. Seems that Chris liked to "command" everyone in his presence, though he was sure that most of it was just for show. He wouldn't blame him for the proposed maiming of Austin's vehicle if it came to pass though. Adam would have been threatening to maim Steve if Steve had done the same thing to him.

Following the rest of them out into the car park, Adam stuck close to Chris. While the rest of them were trying to decide who was riding with whom, Adam decided to try that whole cheering up bit again. He got as close to Chris as he dared without making it obvious to the others. If Jay caught on to the uncharacteristic physical contact he was exhibiting with Chris, he'd know something was up in a heartbeat. Flashing his most wicked Edge grin, Adam spoke quietly enough so that only Chris would hear him while running the back of a single finger over the length of his arm.

"The fact that Austin would rather pimp you out than keep you for himself makes me think he has to be either completely straight or completely stupid. I'm betting on the second choice myself."

Not wanting Chris to see the complete sincerity in the statement he'd just made, Adam turned to find Jay and Tyson and give them some grief. "Sorry to burst your bubble Jay, but there will be no whoring around for me tonight, so if you're going to do that kinky stuff that you do when I'm usually not there, you two will have to find somewhere else to do it."

****

As Adam turned away to give Jay and Ty shit, CJ traced his arm, following the trail of nerve tingles the other man had created. So Adam thought Steve was stupid for not wanting to keep Chris? That would be...the single most _fantastic_ thing Adam had ever said to him. It had just taken top place from the _"love those pants Christopher,"_ comment he'd received when wearing his new black vinyl leg wear four months ago. But really. Chris and Austin? No fucking way. They really couldn't stand to be around each other for very long before the itch to hurt and maim just got too strong. Nah, the bald bastard just tried to make his life hell and, he had to admit, probably vice versa. Austin was like an annoying big brother that said absolutely everything you didn't want him to say in polite company. And he was the ugliest damn cupid CJ had ever laid eyes on, constantly trying to fix Chris up with some massive biker man who liked "pwetty blondy". Steve'd eat a pool cue if he tried that again anytime soon.

But Adam had though Steve was stupid.

Chris felt like dancing, he felt like singing. Good thing he was gonna do both in about thirty minutes. Edge's other words sank in as he was stuffing Trish onto Austin's lap for the car ride.

 _...there will be no whoring around for me tonight.._

So, it was true. Although Jay tended to exaggerate he'd obviously been dead on the money when confiding his worries about his best friend to Chris. He'd almost verbally ripped into Jay for bad mouthing Adam when he'd caught the real concern in his normally bimbo-brained fellow Canadian's voice.

So...well. Who gave a shit? Chris was hardly pure as the driven himself. His own snow had been well and truly driven on a number of occasions, so he'd hardly poke fingers at Adam's sexual appetite. But...no whoring tonight huh? Okay, then Chris would show Edge the absolute best non-sexual night he'd ever had. If he's gonna give up some lovin' to party with CJ and his maniac group then the least Chris could do would be to make it worth his while. And if Adam kept touching him and agreeing that Austin was a stupid reject then Chris could be allowed to enjoy himself as well. Couldn't he? In a totally we're just friends, non sexual way.

Grinning at his plan, he slammed the door of Molly's car hard into Austin's face, missing his nose by less than an inch. Receiving Austin's one-fingered salute he blew the bald man a kiss and climbed into Ty's car. Jay had called shotgun as usual so that left CJ in the back with Adam.

Sweet.

Leaning his back against the door he tried to figure out what was behind the ever present shades.

"Ty we need the second exit.......So tell me the kinky stuff Adam. Ty won't give and a man has the right to know if his friends are getting porny when he can't see them." Pitching his voice loud enough so that Jay would hear every word, he ignored the hiss from the passenger seat and hoped Edge would be forthcoming...so to speak.

****

Hunter returned Scott's hug with more enthusiasm than he probably should have, given Kevin's presence. But it had felt so nice to be held by his friend's warm arms again, he had just let himself indulge for a moment.

 _"Sorry, Hunter"_

What? Why? Hunter quickly reviewed Scott's manner and could've thumped his head for being so stupid. Hall thought he had caused _Hunter_ a problem? God. Hunter would do _anything_ in his power to make life better for Scott and Kev in the WWE. Hunter was the one who should be apologizing to Scott, for fucking around behind the skybox while some punk rookie insulted his friend. Scotty always felt terribly guilty about the problems he'd had with people in the locker room. It was a small part of why he found the bottle so enticing. Despite his joking tone, Hunt knew that the dark man would feel awful about being the centre of such a fuss. Hunter's teasing on top of Sean's would just be rubbing salt into the wound.

As Scott moved back towards Kevin, Hunter caught hold of a broad shoulder and held him back for a moment. His voice a matching whisper, "Not even a problem Scotty. _Family_ right?" Letting Scott return to the comfort of Kevin's presence, Hunter eyed the Big Man warily. Putting on a show of lookin' over each long limb he smirked, "No ring rust I see Kev. Scotty keep giving those joints a work out?"

He'd been about to move forward to see if Kevin would return his offered embrace when Dave's quiet request filtered through Sean's prattle.

He privately sent up a small cheer that Dave had worked up the courage to ask Shawn out at last. Maybe now the 'Animal' would be a bit more relaxed around Hunter. They worked well together, Hunter finding Dave's so much more than the stupid monster heel gig he'd been granted earlier in his career. He and Ric had pushed to get Dave into Evolution when he'd come back from the injury. He and the crazy blond had gone into gales of laughter over Bill Goldberg's reaction to super cool, more talent in his little finger than you Butthead, Dave Batista's return. The guy could literally take Hunter's breath away. He had briefly hoped that Dave would return his admiration but one look at the Heartbreaker had Dave smitten. Hunter could hardly blame the man, he'd been smitten with Shawn for nine years and he still hadn't gotten over it. But it did mean that Dave was conscious of Hunter's relationship with Shawn and his own position as Hunter's workmate. Hunter had tried to ease that tension by offering a platonic friendship but Dave seemed wary for some reason he had yet to fathom.

But witnessing two very gorgeous, very dear people begin something new, would make up for all the shitty stuff Hunter had been dealing with recently. Maybe he could help Dave out. After all, Shawn was too damn important to Hunter to see just anyone win the Heartbreaker's heart. Dave was top notch, if Shawn liked him then Hunter would make it happen. Somehow.

Still hovering a bit uncertainly near Kevin, he changed his momentum by rocking onto his toes. Normally only dwarfed by Batista, with Glen, Scotty and Kev around him, he was back to agreeing with Sean's comments about making friends with redwoods.

"If you’re finished Kid, there are a couple of limos out front to take us to the hotel." He'd put Dave in with Shawn if the blonde seemed willing. "Let's give Shawn a chance to change and we'll see you out there." That'd give Scotty and Kev time to regroup, Dave a chance to talk to Shawn and Hunter time to change his shirt.

And call Stephanie.

****

As much as Shawn loved his closer-than-family, there were times when he wanted to scream at them. Scott's attempt at sneakily checking to see if he had a fever right after he'd invited Dave into their little circle was a good example.

He purposely failed to see the curiosity in Scotty's eyes, since he didn't know himself what he'd been thinking when he invited Dave to follow him. He'd just realized the big man had a crush on him; he wasn't the type to take advantage of that, no matter how desperate he was. If he truly got desperate, he could seek refuge with Kevin and Scott and feel actually loved again for at least one night. Dammit... he shoved that thought aside and buried it with the rest of the insecurities that he refused to look at.

Hunter's appearance caught him by surprise, and he felt a smile flitting across his face automatically as he turned to look at his best friend. He watched as Hunter tried to act casual with Kevin but he could see the wariness in Hunt's posture. Whatever exactly had happened between the two of them, neither would admit to him, and it was obvious to him at least that although they tried to act normal, they'd never worked it out. Maybe that was what was bothering Hunter... no. It might be part of it, but there was more going on. Marriage problems were the first thing that leapt to mind, but he'd never seen Hunter and Steph argue... hell, he'd hardly seen them together outside of appearances and other events.

He blinked as something fell together in the back of his mind, but before he could quite grasp the thought that was screaming for attention, Dave touched him.

It was just a simple thing, a hand on his arm. But for some reason, that simple touch nearly made Shawn jump again... and not from startlement this time. Blinking in mild confusion, he cocked his head at Dave, wondering what was up with the big man. His lowered voice told Shawn that he didn't want everyone around them hearing what he was saying and he half-unconsciously took a step closer to Dave.

 _"What I meant to ask was...would you like to go out sometime...with me, I mean."_

Shawn's eyes widened briefly before he reached up and covered Dave's hand, still on his arm, with his other hand. Maybe... maybe it was more than a crush? Maybe this _could_ be something more? Whatever it was, it would be better than spending another night brooding by himself. He'd still be sleeping alone, but at least he'd have some good company beforehand. A warm smile tilted his lips and he looked up at Dave.

"If that's the apology I get for being introduced to a ring post, what will you do if you get me friendly with a steel chair?" Shawn knew that sounded flippant, but he was curious as to the answer. He knew how incredibly apologetic Hunter had been after their unsanctioned match... and how far off the mark he'd been for what he thought Shawn wanted. While he'd never pass up a chance to spend time with Hunt, that night he'd been hoping for a little more than a hug and good company. Sighing mentally, he reminded himself that he'd never even hinted to Hunter that he might want more than a friendship, and it was a little late now to worry about it. He snapped back to the present when he saw the look on Batista's face and got more serious.

"I'm sorry, Dave. What I meant is that yes, I'd love to go out for coffee sometime. But not just anytime... I was thinking more like you, me, dinner... tonight. Does that work for you?" He knew there was more than a hint of the HBK ego in his eyes even though he'd tried not to let it out, but found himself hoping that Dave would say yes.

So why did he catch himself glancing over at Hunter and hoping that he'd want to go with them? A getting-to-know-you-as-a-possible-lover dinner wasn't the time to be grilling your best friend about his recent despondency... As that thought came back to him, Shawn blinked. Then again... maybe it _was_ a good time for it.

Returning his attention to Dave, he said in a low voice, "I absolutely mean that, Dave. But..." His gaze flicked back toward Hunt. "... at some point tonight, I have to talk to Hunter. Something's not right with him. And... maybe you can help."

****

Chris...back seat. In the back seat with Chris... No, no, no, _no_! He was so not going there. Forcing his mind to more innocent thoughts was pretty much imperative at the moment otherwise Chris wouldn't be able to miss his reaction. Fucking tight leather pants! Though on most occasions he didn't mind showing off the goods, so to speak, he was supposed to be playing the platonic-yet-slightly-flirty friend tonight, not Mr. No-Stuffing-Necessary. Think something nasty. Paul Heyman...that's a start, but not good enough. Crackwhore Lita in her bra and panties...yeah that helped with his problem, but still not good enough. Albert's back... _that_ did it and made him a bit nauseous to boot.

 _"So tell me the kinky stuff Adam..."_ Jay and Ty sex? Ewww. Why hadn't he thought of that right off the bat? Deciding that this topic was infinitely safe as well as amusing as hell if he played it right, Adam turned and smiled at Chris, despite the noise of protest from Jay. Raising his hand to play with the gold chain around his neck, he had a sudden inspiration.

"Well there was that time I showed up at about 4 am. Something to do with a bridle, a crop, and a dog collar. I'm not quite sure I'll ever get over the horror of that scene," he said with a smirk then waited for the expected noise of protest from Jay over the blatant lie.

"Okay maybe I am exaggerating on that one, but I will tell you one thing Chris...If you ever open the door and find a room service cart in there, turn and run out the door. Don't let your curiosity get the best of you, do not go in to grab your bad, just turn and run out the door as fast as you can move that cute ass of yours." Whoops. Slight miscalculation with using the word cute there, but maybe Chris would miss it. Not waiting for the even bigger protest that Jay would most likely voice, since the incident in question was altogether true, Adam slid closer to Chris on the seat before shooting Jay a truly evil grin.

"Oh and let's not forget..." Leaning in close to Chris and cupping his hand to Chris' ear as if he were about to announce some momentous secret, Adam leaned in and let his breath blow against Chris' ear before speaking. "There really is nothing else. Pretty normal stuff, though if you'd like to pretend to be shocked and disgusted, be my guest. I just like pulling his chain."

Damn. Whatever Chris had used to shampoo his hair with smelled... _really_ good. Realizing exactly how close he was to Chris, Adam pulled away and leaned back against the seat before his traitorous mind could talk him into sticking his tongue in the blond's ear. Crossing his arms over his black half-buttoned short-sleeve shirt, Adam waited to see what Chris would do with the ball he'd tossed him while hoping his reaction to being that close to Chris wasn't patently obvious. Fucking pants!

****

When Shawn's hand landed on his own, Dave barely kept from jumping. Just like a branding iron, the heat of Shawn's hand scorched along his nerve endings. That in addition to the smile on Shawn's face gave Dave a bit of hope that he hadn't completely flubbed his invitation. Then Shawn spoke and Dave felt that tiny bit of hope plummet into his stomach like a rock. How was he supposed to respond to that question?

At least he'd had the sense to be quiet when he'd asked Shawn out, it might be a little less humiliating that way. He was about to apologize for wasting Shawn's time, when HBK made an appearance. Dave debated with himself. The apology had sounded sincere, but Dave didn't want to go on a date with HBK...he wanted a date with _Shawn_. It might be true that his crush was based on feelings he had for HBK...bright, shining, so full of life in the ring, not to mention drop dead gorgeous, who wouldn't be drawn to him?

Shawn on the other hand had the looks of HBK, but he wasn't just a name on a marquee that put fans in the seats. Shawn, the man...not the legend, was the one that Dave was interested in. Shawn...the guy that tried time after time to make Hunter break character and came close to succeeding on more than one occasion. Shawn...the guy that always had a moment to help out someone else with their problems. Shawn...the guy that had been worried that he might have actually hurt Dave with those chair shots when he had been the one bleeding after their spots.

Watching as Shawn's gaze shifted to Hunter, Dave was just about to throw in the towel and admit to himself that Shawn didn't really have any interest in him in the way he wanted. He couldn't help but feel as if he was missing some part of the equation. Maybe Shawn was in the mood to talk about the match on Sunday, or maybe he wanted to toss around new ideas, or maybe...

 _"...maybe you can help."_

Or maybe Shawn wanted help figuring out what was wrong with Hunter. Dave wasn't sure how much help he would actually be, although he was fully aware that Hunter hadn't been acting the same lately. Hunter and Ric had lobbied for him to be a part of the Evolution stable and when Dave found out he had been over the moon. Working with a legend like Flair was like a dream come true. Working with Hunter had been both a joy and a source of anxiety. There weren't many that could teach him the ropes better than Hunter could and Dave had been happy to have the opportunity. The anxiety came from the fact that he'd always found Hunter to be... pretty damn hot. He'd caught himself staring at the man on more than one occasion and that was _not_ a good thing.

How could having an interest in the boss' son-in-law, Stephanie McMahon's _husband_ , be anything but bad news? Hunter had never shown any interest in a guy that Dave knew of...for all he was aware the guy could be completely straight. So in order to keep from possibly getting his ass kicked for ogling Hunter or getting fired for the same reason, Dave had forced himself to keep his relationship with Hunter strictly limited to a professional one. He felt bad for rebuffing Hunter's attempts at a friendship of sorts, but if he'd let him get that close, Dave knew he'd have been doomed to slip up at some point.

He'd still had to spend a lot of time in Hunter's presence with his role on the show. There was something odd about Hunter's relationship with Stephanie, though he couldn't quite put a finger on what exactly that something odd was. Hell, Hunter seemed happier around Shawn than Dave had _ever_ seen him around Stephanie. Happier around Shawn... Dave flipped through a few mental images he had of Shawn and Hunter. Hunter smiling with Shawn, joking with Shawn, _touching_ Shawn...

Those thoughts were equivalent to flipping a switch in Dave's head. Let there be light... he almost laughed. He wasn't completely sure, but if the thought that was floating around in his head was true, he could see why Hunter had been depressed lately. Dave felt the rock in his stomach grow a little bit heavier. If he found out that his suspicions were indeed truth he'd most likely lose any slim chance he had with Shawn, but...

He owed Hunter a lot for helping him with the business and if he could repay him for it...? Shawn...Dave just wanted Shawn to be happy and how could he not be happy with finding out that Hunter had feelings for him. Maybe he should watch them together for a bit before he jumped to any conclusions or tried to "help". After all, he _could_ be wrong.

Through all his thinking, Dave had managed to keep a placid look on his face, not giving away his thoughts or feelings in the slightest or so he hoped. Forcing a smile to his face, Dave looked from Shawn to Hunter and then back again.

"Sure Shawn, you know I'll do anything to help him after all he's done for me," he said in a low tone, neatly sidestepping the dinner invitation as issued while letting his eyes slip to Hunter for just a second. "Tell him...tell him that I want to toss around some ideas for the six-man tag I'll be working next week and I wanted help from the best in the business. You know how he is when it comes to helping improve the show. Tell him I tossed in dinner, I know he hasn't eaten since he got here, and I'm betting you won't even have to twist his arm. I have an idea or two on what might be going on with him."

"Let's give Shawn a chance to change and we'll see you out there."

Pulling his hand from under Shawn's as evenly as possible so as not to look like he was running away, Dave took a step back and let his voice return to a normal level as he spoke. "I'm going to go grab my bag. I...." Whoops maybe it would be better not to mention dropping it in the hall when he'd come down to bust up the fight. "I left it in the locker room when I came looking for you and Hunter," he managed to say with a completely straight face. "You can let me know if you're both free after you have a chance to check with him."

Dave forced himself to walk at his normal sedate pace back towards the locker room instead of hurrying so that he could cover his tracks before he got caught out in his little white lie about his bag. Once he'd reached where he'd dumped the bag, he turned and looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching as he picked it up and walked the few steps it would take him to reach the locker room door. Ducking inside he tossed his bag onto a bench before sitting down next to it. So much for spending the night trying to improve his own love life. Instead he was going to try to figure out for sure if Shawn and Hunter should take a step towards being something more than friends.

****

Kevin realized that his expression was probably giving away how he was feeling to anyone who was looking at him, but he really didn't care. Hunter was up to his games again, and while Kev did appreciate that Hunt didn't just think about himself when using his ties with Vince, he didn't appreciate getting yanked around on said ties because somebody had a bad day. Watching some of the tension leave Scott as he hugged Hunter, though, made him take a deep breath and force himself to lighten up a little. If the man could make his lover happier just with a hug and some words too low for anyone else to hear, then he should probably at least try to treat him normally.

But he was definitely going to take Hunt aside and have a nice, long chat with him... sometime soon.

 _"No ring rust I see Kev. Scotty keep giving those joints a work out?"_

Kevin rolled his eyes but couldn't help the little smirk as he put an arm around Scott's shoulders and pulled him close again. Screw whatever anyone else thought. Having Scotty back was still new, and this time, he was determined not to take his lover for granted. If that meant being openly affectionate in public spaces, well... to be honest, that was nothing new. Vince might frown on it, but who cared?

"In more ways than one, Hunt." The amusement lacing his voice was genuine, as was the heat in his eyes as he caught Scott's gaze again. Leaning forward a little, he whispered, "We're ditching _everybody_ just as soon as we can." Pausing, he let his eyes wander over Scott, the well-loved sight just fanning the flames. "It's been a while since we've made out in a limo, hasn't it?"

Glancing around, he noticed that most of the earlier observers had left. He saw Shawn talking to Batista and his eyebrows raised. The Animal obviously had a crush on Shawn---who didn't? But Shawn had seemed oblivious earlier... now there was a glint in his eyes that Kevin recognized. He didn't know Dave, but if Shawn thought the man was worth his time, he'd make a point of getting to know him. Although... as he watched, he saw Shawn glance at Hunter a couple of times, and then Batista did... and that slightly hopeful look on the man's face faded. Kevin frowned. What the hell was going on with those two, and what did Hunter have to do with it?

Scott shifting in his arms brought him back to reality. Their stuff was still in the locker room and while normally he'd just go grab it and rejoin Scott on the way out, tonight he was really reluctant to let his lover out of his arms, let alone his sight, anymore than was necessary. Impatience flared, and he stepped away from the wall, his arm still around Scott.

"Sounds good, Hunt. We'll just grab our stuff and go claim a ride, then."

****

 _"Sure Shawn, you know I'll do anything to help him after all he's done for me."_

What the...? What had just happened? Dave had gone from being shy but earnest to almost businesslike. And Shawn happened to know, thanks to Hunter's confused---and slightly hurt---whining about it, that he wasn't that close to Hunt. So how would he know what might be wrong when Shawn didn't?

 _"You can let me know if you're both free after you have a chance to check with him."_

And where the hell was he _going_?

Shawn found himself staring at Dave's rapidly retreating back, confused and a little hurt. He was sure that Dave was interested in him, so why the sudden change? His mouth twisted as he dropped his gaze to the floor. Looked like his normal luck was striking again. Every time he thought someone was interested in him, it turned out that what they really wanted was HBK, and he just couldn't _be_ HBK all the time. Mentioning Hunter probably hadn't been the greatest idea in the world, but he'd felt like Dave was someone he could trust, someone he could talk to, and someone who would understand.

He took a step toward the locker room, then hesitated when he realized that he was following Dave. If the man didn't want to even stand out in the hallway and talk to him, Shawn wasn't too sure he wanted to stand in the locker room and change in front of him. As he paused, he saw Kevin frowning at him. Avoiding his friend's gaze, he walked slowly down the hall, feeling more lonely than he could remember being in a long, long time.

When he reached the locker room and saw Dave sitting on a bench looking lost in thought, he paused again, debating, before reluctantly deciding to follow his normal routine. Pulling out his towel, he unfastened his boots and took them off before stripping out of his tights and wrapping the towel around his waist. He refused to look at Dave while doing so; he knew he got ogled a lot in the locker room because he didn't wear anything under his tights, but he really couldn't handle knowing if Dave had been looking at him.

He rushed through his shower, since other people were waiting on him, and quickly dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He'd pulled the shirt from his bag without even looking at it and was somehow not surprised to find that it was one of Hunt's old shirts. "It's Good to Be King" still suited him. His lips quirking a tiny bit, he wondered if they could convince Marketing to use the "H cubed" logo again. Packing everything away after he toweled his hair somewhat dry, he pulled on an old black leather jacket, an old favourite, and a black cap, and headed back out.

Waiting by the limos, since he didn't see anyone else there yet, he tried to figure out what he'd done wrong with Dave. He knew he'd sounded flippant, but he couldn't help it; he'd always been known for saying what came to mind and thinking about it afterward. He could be tactful when he tried, but... Heaving a sigh, he leaned against the side of the nearest limo, his bag at his feet, and crossed his arms.

Apparently his big mouth and HBK's big ego were conspiring to keep him lonely for the rest of his life. Funny how quickly you could go from having a wonderful night to being incredibly depressed, he mused, his eyes closing as his head tilted forward. Whatever was up with Hunter---and possibly Steph---he could probably deal with. He just didn't know if he'd ever be able to deal with his own problems. Maybe Bret was right, he thought bitterly. Maybe he was destined to be the guy everybody lusted for, but the one who no one ever loved. The thought made him shiver a little and he pressed his arms closer against his chest, almost hugging himself.


	4. Revelations

Chris was rapidly re-shuffling his brain, because ' _cute_ ' was definitely the best thing Adam had ever said to him. Not that they didn't talk or anything. It was just when the two of them had been waiting together for the perennially late Jay or traveling together between shows, they generally talked about work. The WWE equivalent of the weather. Even now CJ had turned the conversation to teasing Jay and Ty because for all his gift of the gab he had real troubling knowing what to say to the man opposite him.

"Hey Adam, wanna get coffee?" Was a fantasy option that just begged to destroyed with one beautifully arched eyebrow and a sharp 'no'.

But one word never associated with Jericho was 'stupid'. Adam was playing and flirting with him like he was someone other than pain-in-the-ass CJ and his insatiable curiosity was churning. He hadn't given off any weird vibes had he? Or maybe just pathetic desperation had it's own scent that he hadn't detected. Well, whatever. He had Adam's attention for a couple of hours and if he could suppress his hyperactivity to approach something like adulthood, then maybe tonight could be repeated in the future.

Still, he had to squash the urge to lean across the seat and bury his face between Adam's leather clad legs.

Riding crop? Chris shot a glance into the front seat and winced at the high pitched " _Adam_ " from Jay.

Room service? Err..in what.....

Adam was touching him! Adam was touching him...AGAIN.

 _pretend to be shocked and disgusted_

Huh? Oh yeah. Because the feel of Adam's warm breath on his ear hadn't distracted him at all! Shit he better get his act together..right now.

Drawing in a long breath, he released it as a huff of laughter. Y2J grinned at Adam and winked conspiratorially.

"EWWWW! They have self-help groups for that you know Reso. I'm ashamed of you for introducing young Tyson to such aberrant behavior." Moving away from the door that had been holding him up, CJ leaned his elbows on the front seats, arched his back slightly and looked sideways at Jay's mutinous profile. "Honestly, if I could borrow the collar sometime that would be cool. Long as you washed it of course." He looked back over his shoulder at Edge and smiled. Poking fun at Jay was always a good time.

"That place with the queue on the right. Parking over there." Chris was back to directions. "Don't worry, Mac left my name at the door, although with Adam, Steve and Trish, I don't think we'll have a problem getting in." More like red carpet at this place. Famous was famous after all.

"Ready to party?" he asked Adam, letting just a small amount of flirt enter his voice. It's not like Edge would take it the wrong way.

****

 _"Not even a problem Scotty. Family right?"_

Yes they were family, which meant even if it was a problem, Hunter would still say the same thing. Scott smiled as he leaned into Kevin's side thankful that Hunter had at least tried to make him feel less guilty. It hadn't really worked, but he'd make it up to all of them later.

He knew he wasn't imagining things either. The tension was so thick between Hunter and Kev that you would need a very big, very sharp knife to cut through it. Obviously he'd missed something. He'd have to ask Kev about it later, but at the moment... Scott kept the smile on his face while listening to the banter between Kev and Hunter. No way was he going to let Kev get rusty...any part of him. Kevin's arm dropped around him and Scott leaned further into him. He really, really wanted to be alone with Kev right about now and from the way it sounded Kev felt the same way.

 _"We're ditching everybody just as soon as we can."_

Oh thank goodness. Scott shivered under the heat of Kevin's stare. Alone...they needed to be alone very soon or else Vince was going to have more to complain about than just PDA. Scott heard something then that made him realize he was going to have to hang around for at least a few more minutes. He was actually surprised that he could pick up on it, but maybe his hearing had improved to make up for all those drunk stumbling stupors where he couldn't see what he was running into. Shaking his head for letting himself touch on that subject when he had more important things to worry about. Shawn...rather Shawn and Dave.

 _"I was thinking more like you, me, dinner... tonight."_

Christ Shawn, put the ego away. He'd seen the change in Dave from eager to almost accepting and now the big man looked almost like he'd been struck dumb. Obviously Dave had somehow clued into one of the Clique's best kept secrets...so secret that Scott was probably the only one that had noticed the extent of it. The one good thing about his drunken spells were that people were less cautious around him and he tended to somehow pick up on more at those times...not that it was worth what it cost him, but the information came in handy sometimes. He'd just have to play devil's advocate and stir things up a bit, Scott thought as he watched Dave walk away and Shawn's reaction to it. He watched Shawn walking dejectedly towards the locker room and grimaced. The sooner he put his two cents in the better.

 _"Sounds good, Hunt. We'll just grab our stuff and go claim a ride, then."_  
They were soon walking down the hall, Scott letting Kevin lead him with the arm around his shoulder. As they were approaching the locker room that Shawn had ducked into a moment or two earlier, Dave came walking out. Laying a hand against Kevin's chest to stop him, Scott looked up at him imploringly.

"Could you go ahead and grab the bags? I want to talk to Dave for a minute." He smiled at Kev, asking for understanding and hoping he'd give in without asking a bunch of questions right now. "Then I think we've got a date for a bit of limo rocking." Winking at Kev, Scott waited to see his reaction.

****

Cocking an eyebrow at his lover, Kevin shrugged slightly. If Scotty wanted to talk to Dave, that was fine with him... although he wondered what Scott had picked up that he'd missed. It wasn't like either of them knew the man, but Kev _did_ know that Scott loved playing matchmaker when he got a chance. Smiling at him, Kev nodded.

"I'll grab our stuff... and I think I'm going to corner Shawn, too." With a little smirk, he slipped his hand down to Scott's ass to grope him before entering the locker room. When he glanced around as he picked up their bags and didn't see Shawn, he frowned but then spotted the side door. Apparently Heartbreaker thought he could avoid them, hmm? He walked out the main door and nodded at Scott, jerking his head in the direction of the exit to let him know where he was going.

When he reached the exit and spotted Shawn leaning against the limo, depression practically oozing out of him, he sighed. Whatever had been said between him and Batista, it obviously hadn't gone how Shawn had wanted. It was amazing, really. Everyone was so used to seeing The Heartbreak Kid that few people ever looked underneath that image to see the real Shawn... and even fewer of them ever realised that the uber-confident, arrogant attitude was a complete lie on both fronts. Shawn was one of the most insecure people he'd ever met, at least as far as his personal life went. He really _was_ that confident in his professional skills, as well he should be, but Kev had never figured out why Shawn seemed to feel doomed to be alone.

Well, then. He dropped the bags he was carrying next to the nearest limo, then walked around it to lean next to Shawn.

"So... what's up, Shawn?" Kevin had never seen the point in beating around the bush, and he knew that he had approximately a snowball's chance in hell of getting anything out of Shawn right now besides attitude anyway, but he felt obligated to try. He slitted a look at Shawn without being too obvious about it and almost winced. Shawn had that closed-in, closed-off look to him that he got when he was feeling down... and he tended to be downright bitchy when he got like that.

"What do you care, Kev? It's not a Clique problem." Shawn's voice was sullen and Kev could see that Shawn's eyes were still closed.

"If it has to do with you, it is, Shawn." Trying to gentle his voice, he laid a hand on Shawn's shoulder, unsurprised but still a little hurt when Shawn shrugged it off.

"Nothing that you can help with, Kev. Just me and my big mouth and somebody else who doesn't want either of them." The bitterness in Shawn's voice did make Kev wince, but he recognised it. As much as he wanted nothing more than to wrap Shawn in his arms and reassure him, he knew that it would only piss Shawn off.

"Well... if you need me, Shawn, you know I'm here." With a last look at the other man, he sighed and walked back to the entrance of the building, deciding that he'd wait inside by the door for Scott. Leaning against the wall, he wondered what the hell Hunter had to do with this. Obviously Shawn was talking about Dave, but what were all those looks at Hunter?

****

When Shawn came into the locker room, Dave was so deep in thought that it took him a moment to realize he wasn't alone. Shawn didn't so much as glance his way that Dave could tell before Shawn walked into the shower. Dave knew because he'd been watching Shawn's face the entire time. It had taken a hell of a lot of restraint to keep from looking to see what Shawn wore under his tights, but through sheer force of will Dave had managed it.

Picking up his bag, his thoughts still flying in all kinds of directions, Dave walked out of the locker room just in time to witness Kevin heavily groping Scott in the hall. Shaking his head and smiling, Dave had every intention of walking by and pretending not to notice. Kev turned and walked towards the locker room and nodded in Dave's direction. Dave returned the acknowledgment with his own nod and wondered for a brief second why he'd left Scott standing there. He didn't have long to wonder.

"So you figured it out all by yourself, eh?" Dave started at Scott's comment having been going to nod at Scott as well before heading out to the limousines.

Dave cocked his head at Scott and shook his head, biting his lip before replying. "I don't know what you're talking about Hall."

"Dave, I know you're interested in Shawn. I heard the whole conversation. Despite what you've figured out that doesn't mean that Shawn isn't interested." Dave looked at Scott incredulously.

"Shawn is interested in me helping him figure out what's going on with Hunter, that's about the extent of it, but thanks for the laugh." He was about to walk past Scott when Scott's next words stopped him cold.

"Just because Shawn's in love with Hunter and has been for years, doesn't mean that he can't be interested in anyone else." Ding, ding, ding! There went that damn switch again. When Dave thought about it, it actually made sense. The loud laugh that escaped him might have sounded slightly flat, but he couldn't help it. Oh the irony.

"It can if he finds out that Hunter's just as in love with him and he will because I'm going to make sure of it. I'm sure they'll be very happy together once they both realize how blind they've been." Dave raised a brow at Scott and walked past him heading in the direction of the car park.

Feeling the need to be alone for a few minutes, Dave wandered down one of the hallways just before the exit. Stepping back in the shadows so that no one would see him, Dave considered what he'd just learned. So Hunter loved Shawn and Shawn loved Hunter and that left Dave where? Dave sighed, more than a little depressed. Hoping that they'd manage to work things out... like what to do about Stephanie. Dave grimaced. What a mess. He probably would have been much better off if he'd kept looking for Chris. At least he wouldn't have had his hopes stomped all over before they'd even had a chance to grow.

Shaking his head over his pitiful thoughts, Dave decided to get his part in this whole thing over with so that he could go wallow in his own misery. Walking back down the hall and out the exit to the car park, Dave spotted Kevin talking to Shawn. He waited by the door a few minutes until Kevin turned and walked away from Shawn. If he did this now, maybe he could ride back to the hotel with Glen and Sean and leave Shawn and Hunter to themselves. Dave grimaced over sharing a limousine ride with the bouncy Clique member and his lover...they weren't very discreet even when they had company. Still, it was better than watching Hunter and Shawn fawn all over each other and feeling jealous about it.

Dave walked up to Shawn and put a hand on his arm. He just couldn't resist touching him one more time before all his fantasies disappeared. Not waiting for Shawn to look at him, Dave went ahead and started filling Shawn in on what was going on with Hunter.

"You wanted help with Hunter and since I'm pretty sure I know what's going on now, I might as well fill you in on it now. Hunter isn't in love with Stephanie. I don't know why he married her, but it sure as heck wasn't because he loves her." Dave laughed but it was obviously not because he was happy.

"Hunter doesn't love her, he loves you...the same way you love him. Before you try to deny it, I'm not the only one that's figured it out. Just because the two of you can't see it in each other, doesn't mean the rest of us don't. Now that you know, I'm sure the two of you can work things out. I'll pass on that invite if you don't mind. Not that HBK isn't great, but I was interested in _you_ , Shawn, not him and it looks like you're already involved whether you admit it or not so yeah...good luck with Hunter." Dave squeezed Shawn's arm, smiled at him, then turned away with the intention of hunting down Sean and Glen's limo.

****

Adam smiled wickedly when Chris winked at him. Oh this was going to be fun.

 _"...If I could borrow the collar sometime..."_

At that point he nearly choked on his own tongue. Best not to let his thoughts anywhere near that one, especially when he remembered something about a match where Chris _had_ worn a collar. Oh the imagery there...

And of course he wasn't being distracted at all by the fact that he had a perfect view of that "cute ass". Cute? Try hot, gorgeous, maybe even luscious. He ripped his eyes away from the body part in question just in time to see Chris look back at him. Hoping he hadn't been caught checking out Y2J's "goods" he returned the smile and tried not to squirm in his seat to adjust the fit of his pants again.

Him, Steve, and Trish? Chris' appearance would do a hell of a lot more towards getting them in than his would, though he appreciated the compliment.

 _"Ready to party?"_

Happy that Chris was in a playful mood, Adam decided he should keep things on the same level though he had to remember that this wasn't a date...they were just friends and he'd best not forget that. Still...he couldn't help but loosen up a little bit.

"I'm always ready, Christopher. _One_ of the things I live for these days, after all. Lead the way."

As they climbed out of the car, Adam tossed a casual arm over Chris' shoulder while they waited for the others to join them. He slipped his other hand into the pocket of his pants hoping to disguise his current state at least a fraction.

"By the way, you never said...is Austin straight? If he is...I've got the perfect plan to torture him a little for that pimping thing," he whispered conspiratorially in Chris' ear.

****

Listening to the cellular ring on speaker while he shifted through his suit bag, Hunter was impatient to get to the limos. Everything seemed a little crazy tonight with his friends. Kevin's face had given nothing away about their 'problem' so he had absolutely no idea where he stood with the man. Was he forgiven? Had Scotty mellowed out the Big Man a bit now that they were together again? He really wished he could ask Kevin what exactly he'd gotten so wrong. He'd just been trying to help after all, he'd just fucked it up...badly and Scott had taken the brunt of it. So maybe Nash's anger was justified, Hunter just wished he had the guts to bring it up, but avoiding his problems was his specialty.

Slipping a pearl grey shirt over his shoulders, he was contemplating the white buttons when his wife's voice echoed tinnily around the small room.

"Hi H. That looked great on the T.V, is Shawn okay?" Stephanie's slightly off-key voice brought a smile to Hunter's face.

"Hey Steph. Yeah, he's good, managed to cover me in his DNA again. I'll make him pay for my dry cleaning. Linda better?" He forwent a tie and just pulled his suit jacket back on.

"Fine. Doc Manning says her heart's back to it's regular rhythm so all's good. You gonna remind everyone about Sunday right? I'll hand you your butt if you forget." Stephanie was tall for a woman but still couldn't accept the fact that she wasn't a professional wrestler.

"I'm more scared than I sound Steph, I promise." Hunter scruffled through his bag for his wallet. "I'll remind them tonight."

"You better. Meg has worked her guts out to set up this party at the house. The whole roster better be there or Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley's gonna make them regret it." She just loved having a double-barreled name.

"They live in fear as well Steph. I gotta go, I sprung limos for the guys back to the hotel and they're probably waiting. See you Wednesday? Meg going to be there?" Hunter tucked the phone between his ear and shoulder, grabbed his bags and opened the door, flicking the speaker off with his chin.

"Yes and don't be late for that either." The McMahons just loved giving orders. Maybe it was rubbing off on him too much.

"I won't. Bye Girl."

"Bye H." 

Walking to the limos Hunter was unprepared for the group gathered at the vehicles. Oh no, what now? Much as he was happy to keep the eclectic group in the same space, sometimes he really felt like a shepherd with a bunch of lambs. Scott must still be inside while Kevin hovered moodily by the exit, Shawn looked like someone had just introduced him to a ring post and Dave's posture was so depressed he looked about 3 feet shorter.

"I was only gone for ten minutes," he moaned to himself. Letting Ray his chauffeur take his suit bag and gear, he decided that the Game better get things sorted. Kevin may have said he was too _managing_ , but fuck, this group needed someone to manage them.

He really wished sometimes he could just chuck it all in and move to Canada or something. Just about every wrestler he knew bought their characters home with them. Vince wanted their in-ring work to sound real, so they all put a strong element of themselves into their roles, but sometimes the character took over the person. Mark was a perfect example, Dwayne and Steve two more who found being the Rock and Stone Cold gave them a kind of invulnerability.

He lost a little bit more of Hunter to the Game every day and it worried the hell out of  him. Shawn was battling it too. The only two men who didn't wear character masks were Kevin and of all people...Dave. Kevin was who he was and didn't pretend or fake just to hide his feelings or protect himself. For that alone he had Hunter's undying respect. Someday he hoped to earn it in return. He'd just probably have to give up the Game...his life...to do it.

And Dave. The definition of a nice guy under that impressive exterior. Jaded Hunter had almost forgotten what it was like to know someone who hadn't sacrificed part of their soul to this business. Dave was like a breath of fresh air. Hunter shook his head. They were the perfect couple really. Shawn who hated his mask most days and Dave who didn't have one.

Assessing that something dire had happened between Shawn and Dave, YentaHunter flipped his phone, quickly dialing his personal assistant Greg.

"Dinner reservations for three at a nice Italian place five minutes from the hotel." He was gonna stick with those two to make sure they had their date. "We'll walk back.......hmmmm?...We'll be fine, whose gonna try something with me and Dave there? Thanks...Bye."

Pocketing the cell, he nodded Ray to the second limo and moved over to Kevin. He put his Game face on and prepared for what may be an uncomfortable conversation.

"Hey Kevin. Bet you two want some time alone from us?" He already knew the answer to that, but asked anyway. "If you want to go to the hotel with Glen and Sean when Scotty gets back, I'm going to treat Dave and Shawn to dinner. They deserve it after that match." And he needed to find out what went wrong so he could fix it.

After getting Kev's answer he found Dave and indicated Shawn and the first, empty limousine.

"We're getting dinner and I wont take _No_ for an answer." Taking a risk, he put his hand in the small of Dave's back and gently pushed him towards the black car. In all honesty he couldn't have forced Dave towards the car if the bigger man didn't want him too, but he was relying on Dave's innate courtesy to work in his favour.

"C'mon....food." He pushed again, not seeing the looks on Dave and Shawn's faces.

****

 _...is Austin straight?_

Breathe, breathe, breathe. Chris was sure he was going to die from laughing so hard.

Really.

Best he could do was grab Adam's waist and just hang on. The warm arm across his bowed shoulders his only link to reality. The small rational part of his brain, not lost to hilarity, was noting how warm and just good the slim waist under his slightly curled fists was. Although not so slim now, Adam had really sculpted his already near perfect body since his return.

"Aust.....just wait....I'm...." A fresh burst of giggles overcame him, and CJ waved a hand in apology in case Adam though he was laughing at him. Tears leaked from his eyes and he wiped them away with the free hand. The other still clutched Edge's shirt lightly. "No...no...he's just....."

God he hadn't laughed like that in ages. One more reason to like Adam more than was healthy. Hiccupping slightly, he finally found his voice after taking a deep breath.

"Austin? No. Well sort of.  He once told me, and I think he was flirting, that as long as there was a hole, he wasn't gonna be choosy. Why I didn't fall for him right there I'll never know. Such a charmer." He knuckled one eye, still chuckling to himself over the idea of a straight Austin, married with kids and a dog. No chance in hell.

"But any idea that peeves off the bald bastard is fine by me. Whatcha got?" Realising he should probably let go, CJ ordered his hand to release Adam's shirt. He ordered it again and threatened no-jacking off for a week. Jesus. Even his hand was giving him 'tude tonight.

The others joined them in a squacking, giggling bunch as Tyson started to tickle Trish while Austin stopped Molly from helping her. Hoping the door guy would let him in with a school group, Chris tugged Adam to the head of the queue by his still-being-rebellious grip and smiled, turning on his Rock Star charm.

"Mac left my name? Jericho, Chris Jericho." Like James Bond.

The door guy was distinctly unimpressed by the WWE group, although Steve got a long look, which showed that some celebrities were cross genre.

"Used to movie stars with more silicon than ability," Chris bitched as the door was opened and they filed in. The dark and smoke were the first impression, followed by the Loud. The Loud was the thing that grabbed CJ by the balls and tugged him further in. Molly and Trish headed for the dance floor, while Ty and Jay went to bully themselves a private table.

Austin put a hand on each of their asses, nudging them forward and yelling, ala Henry V, "Gentlemen....to the BAR!"

****

Okay so he nearly lost his hands at the wrists, but it had been too good and opportunity to miss. Austin just shrugged in his usual what-the-fuck-do-I-care-way, and headed to the bar.

Some good glaring later opened up two seats for his lovely companions and he screamed for a beer at the chit with the big tits behind the bar. Looking over he caught his Kitten yelling something about 'dressing room' to Adam, then squeezing the taller man's shoulder before heading off. Plonking his ass down in one empty seat, he looked pointedly from Edge to the other vacant space and back again.

"So, ya decided ta join us tonight? What's the occasion?" he yelled over the din from the sound system.

****

Kevin's obvious grope almost changed Scott's mind about his plan. He tightly held onto the thought of helping Shawn to get him through the next little bit without his lover nearby. He and Kev really needed to be alone and soon.

He tried catching Dave's eye as he walked past, but the man seemed to be having some pretty deep thoughts. It would probably be best to shock him into standing still rather than just asking. He didn't know Dave, but Hunter seemed to really like the guy and had gone to bat for Dave to join his newest stable on TV. Hunter wouldn't have done that if he didn't actually think the guy was worth it. Still, that didn't mean that the guy would want to talk to him, friend of Hunter's or not.

"So you figured it out all by yourself, eh?" Scott decided to just toss it out there and see if Dave bit. Of course, he'd be happy if he got a little bit of information as to what exactly the it was.

"I don't know what you're talking about Hall." Scott shook his head at the obvious evasion. The stubborn look on Dave's face told Scott that he'd have to offer up a bit of information before he got any in return.

"Dave, I know you're interested in Shawn. I heard the whole conversation. Despite what you've figured out that doesn't mean that Shawn isn't interested." Scott knew Dave wasn't buying it yet, and he could understand the man's reluctance, but that didn't mean that Scott couldn't convince him. He sure as hell was going to try. Kevin caught Scott's eye as he stepped out of the locker room and Scott nodded in understanding over his unspoken message. Dave, who had started speaking again, seemed oblivious to Kev's presence.

"Shawn is interested in me helping him figure out what's going on with Hunter, that's about the extent of it, but thanks for the laugh." From Dave's tone and stance, Scott figured he had about five seconds to stop the big man from walking away from him. He tried to come up with something that didn't quite divulge the extent of Shawn's preoccupation with Hunter, but came up flat. He'd just have to go with the truth and hope that Dave let him explain it.

"Just because Shawn's in love with Hunter and has been for years, doesn't mean that he can't be interested in anyone else." That seemed to work well, Scott thought to himself, at least he's not running off right away. He was about to explain that it was unlikely that Shawn would ever tell Hunter about it considering the fact that he hadn't so far, when Dave laughed. The look on Dave's face was the same look that accompanied a concussion and Scott wasn't quite sure why. That laugh had sounded rather eerie as well now that he thought about it.

"It can if he finds out that Hunter's just as in love with him and he will because I'm going to make sure of it. I'm sure they'll be very happy together once they both realize how blind they've been." As Dave walked away, Scott groaned and leaned against the wall. He'd completely misread Dave, thinking that it was Shawn he had clued in on, not Hunter. Now Dave knew the truth about both Shawn and Hunter and from the looks of things, he wasn't overjoyed. Scott rubbed his hands over his face and sank into a crouch with his back pressing against the wall behind him.

He had no doubts that Dave would tell Shawn what he knew. There was going to be some pretty heavy fall-out from this fiasco and it was going to be at least partially his fault. Shawn and Hunter were finally going to have to face their feelings and just where did that leave Dave? He hadn't wanted anyone to get hurt in this thing, but maybe it was for the best that it all came out.

Scott tilted his head back and let it thud against the wall. Kev probably wouldn't be ecstatic about how he'd handled things and he _would_ have to tell Kev. Now he had more than one thing to apologize for tonight. Scott sat for a moment more, trying and failing to come up with some way to avert the trouble that was looming ahead. Sighing as he finally pushed himself to his feet, he decided that he'd better go find Kevin. He could spend the interval trying to figure out how to explain himself.

"Fuck, I could use a ..." Scott cut himself off sharply as he once again leaned against the wall. No! He was not going to think that way. The last time he'd slipped it had nearly cost him everything...Kevin, his family, and damn near his life. He was still surprised that he hadn't lost everything. Kevin was way too forgiving...moreso than Scott deserved. "I will not do that to him again. I just won't," he whispered quietly to himself as he pushed away from the wall again still slightly shaking.

Taking a moment to step in the locker room and run a comb through his hair, Scott pulled himself together. Once he convinced himself that he had himself under control enough that Kevin wouldn't notice any difference, Scott walked down the hallway towards the exit. He was not going to ruin this night with Kevin. He needed it too damn much. Then after he spent a little time in his lover's arms he could apologize for all the trouble he'd caused tonight.

As he neared the exit to the parking garage, he spotted Kevin talking to Hunter. There was still that weird tension between the two of them that Scott couldn't figure out, but he was too preoccupied at the moment to give it his full attention. As Hunter turned and walked away, Scott walked up behind Kev and slid an arm around his waist. Leaning into the larger man, Scott let himself bask in Kevin's presence for a second before speaking.

"Ready to go rock the limo, Kev?" Scott asked huskily as he rubbed his hand over Kevin's hip.

****

Whatever joke he'd told, he'd have to remember it because it damn sure must have been funny. Adam thought for a moment or two that Chris might just pass out from lack of oxygen. Adam would have caught him if he had...maybe. He was pretty damn distracted by Chris' hand. Adam wasn't sure which was causing the bigger problem, the heat of Chris' hand seeping through his shirt or the way his mind kept picturing that fisted hand pulling his shirt over his head to get better access to his skin. Then again maybe the real problem was that it felt way too damn comfortable to have his arm wrapped around Chris' shoulders.

 _"...That as long as there was a hole, he wasn't gonna be choosy..."_

When Chris finally caught his breath and spoke, Adam couldn't help the look of distaste that flashed across his face. Christ, the way it sounded, Austin was an even bigger whore than he was and that was saying something. And the fact that Austin was apparently bi killed any inclination to go forward with his plan.

If the man had been strictly limited to the fairer sex, then Adam would have, with Chris' full knowledge, tossed himself at the man like a ton of bricks just to watch him squirm. Since there was a chance that Austin might accept his blatant offer there was no way in the world that Adam was going to make it. No offense to Austin, but if he were going to break his rule for anyone, his first choice would certainly _not_ be the bald Texan. Before his traitorous mind could ask if he would break that rule for anyone else in the company, the aforementioned Texan and company joined the two of them.

"I'll tell you later," Adam said, leaning down to whisper it in Chris' ear so that none of the rowdy crowd would hear him. He would come up with something, it might just take a little longer for his twisted little mind to come up with a new plan.

As they stood in line waiting for the door guy to let them in, Adam kind of wished he still had the fangs he'd used during his time working with Gangrel. He'd have liked to vamp the guy at the door just to scare the hell out of him. Then again with some of the things he'd likely seen, it might not have phased him at all. Once Dickhead, as Adam had named the guy, had let them through the door Adam had immediately soaked up the atmosphere. Dark, smoky, loud...exactly his element. It was nice. It was relaxed. It was...what the fuck?

He could not believe that Austin had just oh so casually copped a feel of his ass. Adam tensed for a moment before he could convince himself that it wasn't that big of a deal and definitely did not call for turning and punching the man out. He'd just have to make sure that the man was put on notice that if it happened again, Adam was liable to do something that would make a trip to the emergency room a necessity for his future.

Chris making his excuses to visit the 'dressing room' once they'd hit the bar gave him the perfect opportunity to serve that notice. Taking the seat Austin had indicated Adam turned and asked 'Silicon Woman' for a tequila shooter with a beer chaser and an extra beer for Chris. Turning back to Austin, Adam put on his 'maniacal Edge' grin and leaned forward placing his hand on Austin's chest. Dragging his nails slightly over the shirt, Adam leaned closer and then fisted his hand in Austin's shirt.

"If you ever touch my ass again I'll take great pleasure in spitting you with a pool stick, oh Bald One. I may not have many rules when it comes to getting laid, but not pissing in the company pool is one of them." Letting go of Steve's shirt and smoothing it out as if he'd meant no harm at all, Adam sat back in his seat and drank the shot that the bartender had left him. As he placed the glass back on the bar, he smiled at Steve again, though a much saner version and answered his question.

"As for the occasion? Chris looked a little...depressed earlier so I skipped out on picking up a nameless, faceless piece of ass in order to cheer him up. Any other questions?" Adam raised a brow at the Texan before lifting his glass and taking a long swallow of his watered-down beer. Tapping the shot glass on the bar, he waited until the busty woman nodded at him before returning his attention to Austin. He hadn't been going to tell Austin the truth of why he was there, but since Austin was in a way Chris' friend he was hoping that the man might be able to tell him something about the blond's mood from earlier.


	5. Admissions

_..ever touch my ass again I'll take great pleasure in spitting you with a pool stick..._

Damn, Austin had known there was a reason he'd liked Adam. They'd never worked a significant programme but he'd seen that the 'crazy blond' had more going on upstairs than most. That whole vampire thing had been one hell of a 'look' and Steve could respect a guy in touch with his dark side. Still...he might even risk that pool stick for another feel. Then again looking at that grin...maybe not. Austin drank while he waited for Edge's answer to his question.

 _looked a little...depressed earlier......in order to cheer him up_

So. He'd thought Kitten had been more full-on than usual lately. Chris had armour that had been pretty hardened over the years and Austin felt it was his responsibility to lighten his Kitten up. The whole thing with the pool game guy had been Austin's way of poking a genuine reaction from Chris, rather than an actual romantic possibility.

Hell, he'd pound anyone into dust who touched the blond without CJ's permission.

And now tall, dark and scary was giving up sex to cheer Chris up? Nice, very nice indeed if Adam was coming out of the shadows for someone else's benefit. He smiled into Edge's question, "Sure okay. Keep my hands above the table." He rolled his eyes in his best, _if you don't want me you must be frigid look_ , hoping to get a bite from the tall blond.

Being obnoxious was just one of his many talents.

****

Chris weaved his way back through the crowd towards the bar, ignoring the lure of the dance floor and Mac's invite to join them on stage later. Tonight he was going to devote himself to showing Adam a good, totally non-sexual, time.

Oh Christ! Austin looked like he wanted to climb into Edge's lap. No, no, no, no no. If Steve pissed Adam off enough he might leave and the bald Texan had that shit-stirring look to his face that made people want to kill him.

Riffling his fingers through his hair, Chris leaned against the bar on Adam's other side, trying to take attention away from the bald man. Due to the crush for alcohol, his chest and hips were pushed against Adam, probably too close to be polite. Hoping his silvered pants were tight enough to control the potential bulge Edge's nearness would cause, he sipped the beer the other blond indicated was his.

Looking across Adam's back, he spotted the girls on the dance floor. Trish waved and gestured him over, but he lifted his beer to indicate 'fluids first'. She pouted but was lost again in the crush of dancers.

He had to lean close to Adam's ear to make himself heard over the noise. "They're on in about twenty. I said I'd stay for the first set, that okay with you?" Chris knew it was presumptuous to think that Adam would hang around just because he wanted to stay, but he hoped that the other man would enjoy himself enough when Mac and his band came. He might even stick around all night.

CJ was itching to dance, to relive some of the cloudy mood that had covered him recently. With the Clique back together, Chris' long-time crush on Shawn had raised its head again, and his feelings of separation with them. The Clique was legendary but maybe... he eyed the men beside him, then thought of Jay and Trish running wild somewhere in the club. Maybe other cliques could become legends too.

He downed the last of  his beer and waited for Adam to finish his. As soon as the glass hit the bar he was dragging Adam away by the hand. Away from Steve's influence and onto that dance floor.

****

When Austin rolled his eyes, Adam simply smirked and shook his head. Obnoxious little bastard...though Adam suspected that at least half of it was by design rather than true character. Austin would have no problems at all finding someone else to take back to the hotel with him that night if that's what he really wanted so Adam felt not sorry at all for putting himself off limits. In fact he might just be nice enough to help Steve in that endeavor, he thought to himself. He just had to find the perfect specimen first.

He'd been about to look for such a person when he felt Chris pressing up against his back. Adam tried to suppress his instant reaction with little success. Chris' heated breath blowing against his ear as he spoke was almost more than he could stand. Fighting the urge to bolt before he could do something stupid, like grab Chris and kiss the breath out of him, Adam concentrated on the question he was asking instead.

 _"...that okay with you?"_

Adam nodded and smiled at Chris in reply rather than taking the risk of getting to close to Chris' mouth at the moment. He was going to have to try to remember that this was not about getting Chris back to the hotel and into a bed as soon as possible, though the idea did have merit. No! Chris was off-limits and Adam had to remember that. He scanned the room for a likely candidate for his little plan rather than jumping Chris right there at the bar. Pity.

When Chris grabbed his hand and led him towards the dance floor, Adam spotted an unlikely duo sitting at a table to the side. He had no clue why they were here, but he was pretty sure he could talk them into helping out with a little financial incentive. Unless Steve honestly had meant "anything with a hole", these two should manage to disturb his calm façade just a bit.

Tugging his hand from Chris' as they hit the edge of the dance floor, Adam indicated that Chris should go ahead and he would be back in just one minute. Skirting the dance floor, he knelt between the chairs of Rosey and Shane Helms. They looked at him like he was insane when he indicated the bald Texan at the bar, but when he explained his plan they both started laughing. Of course the flash of green in his hand made it completely worth their while.

Slipping back onto the dance floor, Adam sidled up behind Chris and wrapped his arms around his waist to slow his movements while he spoke. Of course he wasn't thinking beforehand about the effects of pressing his body full length against the blond's from behind. He spoke hurriedly so that he could get his mind and his body off of Chris.

"The original plan, when I thought he was straight, was to throw myself in Steve's lap and come on to him, but since it's likely he'd take me up on it? _No way_. Mostly because he's not really my type and partly because he's company and I don't mess with co-workers anymore. So instead I paid Rosey and Helms to chase him around the bar all night propositioning him."

Smiling into the blond's hair, Adam let himself linger for just a moment before letting go of his waist. Hopefully Chris would like his plan and they could have a huge laugh over it for the rest of the night.

*****

Across the bar, Shane Helms approached Steve Austin. Adam sure had a great sense of humor and the two hundred he'd offered for the little prank was incentive enough to carry it through. Looking up at the man sipping his beer, Shane smiled flirtatiously at the bald man.

"Hey, Steve. All alone for the moment, huh? How about me and my partner do something about that for you?"

Just then a large hand smoothed over the top of Steve's bald head as a large body pressed flush to his from behind.

"Yeah, how 'bout it Steve. Shane and I work really well together. Up for a handicap match?"

****

Austin was happily watching those lovely breasts bounce up and down when he heard the voice at his ear. He'd been hoping to get the girl to go for ice, thus getting her to lean forward two feet in front of him.

 _"How about me and my partner do something about that for you?"_

Wha..? Shane Helms was whispering in his ear and offering....wait a damn minute! Partner?

Austin nearly leapt onto the bar as Rosey's hand landed on his skull. Instead he spun on his seat fast enough, that his momentum pushed the huge man back....but only an inch or so.

"What the fuck?" he yelled at Rosey. "Yer asking me to join ya tonight?" Although he might consider Shane a potential playmate, the little guy did freak him out a bit with the green thing. Rosey on the other hand was just.....scary. He might do anything that moved and if it didn't move he'd push it, but he drew the line somewhere. For all that it was a 'look', these two liked dressing in capes just a little to much for Steve's liking.

Backing away from them, he kept his ass to the bar and his beer a shield between them.

"No thanks Boys, I ain't gonna be the Commissioner Gordon to yer Dynamic Duo. Thanks all the same."

That'd been just...weird. And kinda creepy. Normally the guys who hit on Austin were little boy types who wanted a big mean beast to take 'em home and show 'em whose boss. Crazy guys from his work just didn't come onto his radar. Chugging the last of his beer, he left the glass on a convenient table and headed onto the dance floor.

He could always use Kitten as protection if it came to it. 

****

He lost Adam's hand somewhere during the push through the crowd. Looking back, he spotted the man moving intently towards a table on the far side of the room.

 _Oh, yeah okay_. Chris continued onto the dance floor, trying not to let ridiculous disappointment sour his mood.  _Adam probably just saw someone he knows or something_ , he reasoned. Of course that was unlikely, because he doesn't _live anywhere near New York_! Well, it looked like his luck held out for all of an hour this time, at least.

Still, he could take Mac up on his offer and do a few songs later. He could back-up Mac's voice pretty well and singing always distracted him from his moods. Chris moved through the press of bodies and found Trish, hair flying and ass shaking. Joining the girls, he let the beat swirl him into its wild rhythm. So…what if a guy he liked had dumped him to try and score? He was just a friend that had offered a lift after all, not like they were together or anything.

Totally lost in the music, his wild dance was interrupted bye a full body shock as Adam wrapped his arms around his waist and pressed against his back. He'd known it was Edge straight away, not a single doubt for a moment.

 _to chase him around the bar all night propositioning him_

The huge grin Chris had sported on Adam' return fell when he heard about the rules. Fair enough, so that was maybe the reason he was normally so cool around CJ.

Maybe.

Jericho had put it down to plain disinterest and it probably was, but at least now he could convince himself it was just Adam not mixing business with pleasure. CJ pinned his smile back in place, both for Trish's raised eyebrow and to turn around, immediately missing the warm arms that were even now retreating to a _friend_ distance.

"Paid! God Adam don't spend your money on **that**." He hadn't expected Adam to do anything above teasing the bald man a bit. Shooting a look he laughed out loud at the sight of Austin, plastered to the bar, trying to inch his way out of Rosey's clutches. "But money well spent," he agreed, pointing to the bar. "That'll teach him to sic hairy backed bikers on me."

Feeling a hell of a lot better than he did five minutes ago, and a million times better than an hour ago, Chris stated dancing again. Using his backward momentum to clear a space near the girls, he brought Adam into their little group. He couldn't help but snatch quick glances at the taller man, all lean and black clad, as they danced, although CJ mostly jumped and waved his arms a lot to this kind of hard rock and roll. He and Trish yelled lyrics into each others faces while Molly, short spiked hair wild, was head-banging.

This was much better.

****

Shawn watched Kevin walk away, wondering what in the hell kept him from throwing himself into his friend's arms. Why did he snap and bitch and push people away who wanted to help him? His mouth twisted and he pulled his gaze away, leaning his head back against the side of the limo and closing his eyes again.

His real problem was that he never knew what he wanted. He loved Hunter, always had. Had he ever done anything about it? No. He hadn't wanted to mess up their friendship and he still didn't. And now Hunt was married... even if there _was_ something strange about that marriage. He loved Steph like a little sister; hell, she practically _was_. He'd watched her and Shane grow up, after all. But Hunt never seemed to want anything more from him anyway... there'd been a few interesting moments, like kisses stolen in the ring under the pretext of their gimmick, or drunken gropes easily passed off as "accidental", but Hunter had never really looked at him as anything but a friend.

Shifting, Shawn sighed. His own damned mask would've made sure that he didn't see the truth anyway. HBK was great, HBK had made his career. But HBK had ruined his life, too. Bret had been a good friend at one point, before HBK took over and not assisted but suggested screwing him over. Marty had been so much more than a friend... until HBK came along and kicked him through a window, never mind that he was ripping out Shawn's heart along with it. But to be honest, he couldn't blame his personal problems on HBK alone. His ring personality was _him_ , after all, just him multiplied exponentially. Why he couldn't rein his ego in and control his mouth more, he'd never know.

And Dave... Shawn's shoulders drooped at the thought. Dave had incredible talent, great charisma, and was a helluva good guy. He was somebody who faced the world head-on and didn't hesitate to express his opinions. But he would always stop to help his friends, even at his own expense. He didn't seem to have that damned mask like everyone else did. Well, everyone but Kevin, Shawn amended. But Kevin had always been able to bull his way through things with a goofy grin and unexpectedly canny political skills. And now that Scotty wasn't drowning at the bottom of a bottle, he suspected that Scott would be able to get by without having to don a mask, too.

Admitting the truth hurt, Shawn thought bitterly. He'd been interested in Dave, at least physically, since he'd first seen the man. Who wouldn't be? But he'd never acted on it. He'd tried too often and learned too well that caring just lead to hurt. That might even have been why nothing ever happened with Jericho; he might've just overlooked any signs that were there because he was so wrapped up in his comeback and in the belief that no one wanted _him_. So what happened when he finally realised that Dave was interested in him? He opened his big mouth and out came HBK. Sure, everybody wanted him... but nobody ever wanted to _stay_ with him, and no one ever seemed to realise that the golden boy was starting to go grey around the edges, or that while he was always the center of flirting, he always went home alone.

Lord, how bitter and angry could he sound? He felt like rolling his eyes at his own internal diatribe. He was lonely, he was getting older, and things didn't look to be changing. In almost twenty years, he'd never figured out how to control his mouth, and that was always the major problem.

A sudden touch on his arm made his eyes fly open and he stared, speechless, as Dave started talking.

 _"...he loves you...the same way you love him."_

Blink. What? Something inside him burst open, flooding him with confusion as he tried to understand what he'd just been told.

Even as Dave's words started to coalesce in his shocked mind, started to make sense to him, he was bombarded with more.

 _"Not that HBK isn't great, but I was interested in you, Shawn, not him..."_

Shawn's eyes widened as Dave said exactly what he'd always wanted to hear... as he turned away. His mouth opened and closed a few times as he started to reach out. Dave wanted _him_? But... but he'd also said that Hunter... Hunt loved him? And how did Dave know how he felt about Hunter? He'd never told anyone, never verbalised it, never even written it down. He'd given up on that years ago. And now Dave was saying that he was interested in _Shawn_ , not HBK, but he was _leaving_... again.

And then Hunter was there, with his best-friend-trying-to-help face, pushing Dave back toward him and saying something about... dinner?

Shawn bit back an almost hysterical laugh.

Dinner? With the three of them? _Now_?

 _"C'mon....food."_

He finally found his voice. "Sure, Hunt. Whatever you say." He couldn't look at Dave, couldn't handle seeing whatever the big man's face might be showing. Hell, he wasn't sure what _his_ face was showing. How had they gone from a tentative date to _this_?

Wait. Taking a deep breath, Shawn got into the limo as the driver came around to put his bag away and Hunter told him whatever their destination was. He rolled up the privacy screen and waited until Dave and Hunter were seated and the door was shut.

Then he leaned forward, finally looking at each of them, and said quietly, "We have to talk. All of three of us." He was proud that he was able to keep his voice fairly steady.

Looking at Dave, he said earnestly, "I'm sorry for earlier, Dave. I... I can't always control HBK. I really would like to have dinner with you."

He paused before he looked at Hunter, surprised by how difficult it was to do so. "Hunt... I... Dave..." His voice failed him, and he looked back at Dave. "Dave... tell him what you told me. Please. And... and don't assume anything. Okay?" He knew his voice had gone thin, had wavered there at the end, but he couldn't help it. At the moment, he was probably deep in shock because he didn't feel _anything_ , but he could feel his pent-up emotions hammering at the thin wall and didn't know what would happen when they finally broke through.

****

 _"Ready to go rock the limo, Kev?"_

Kevin felt himself relaxing just from Scott's touch. He could tell that his lover was upset about something, but respected the fact that he obviously didn't want to talk about it just yet. Instead, he turned and smirked at Scott.

"More than ready." He tilted his head so that he could kiss Scott's lips, purposefully keeping it short and teasing. "We're sharing a ride with Glen and Sean, though... just so you know." He pulled Scott tight up against him and felt his body stir again as his hand wandered down to Scott's ass and squeezed. Running his other hand through Scott's hair, Kevin tilted his lover's head back and licked at his lips, nibbling at the lower one until they parted, allowing him entrance. With a low growl, he plundered Scott's mouth, losing himself in the other man until he had to come up for air.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, he let his eyes slide over Scott, enjoying the view. The sight of his lover, breathless and flushed, his eyes wide and dark, never failed to make him react. He tightened his embrace and ground his hips against Scotty's as he licked delicately at his ear, tracing the whorls with his tongue.

"When we get back to the hotel, I am going to lock the door, strip you naked, and taste every inch of your body. I'm going to make you beg, Scotty... make you _scream_ ," Kevin whispered hoarsely, his breath puffing against Scott's ear.

The sound of car doors slamming reminded him of where they were and reluctantly, he forced himself to pull away from his lover. As shameless as he was, and as much as he loved being the center of attention, he wasn't about to have sex with Scott in a parking garage. Taking a deep breath and telling himself that they didn't have much longer to wait, Kevin belatedly remembered that Scott had been concerned about Dave for some reason.

"Oh yeah..." Clearing his throat, he tried not to sound as though he were drowning in lust for the incredibly gorgeous guy he was holding in his arms. "Hunt's taking Shawn and Dave out to dinner." He heard a car engine start and out of the corner of his eye saw one of the limos start moving. "Guess that's them leaving now."

****

"Damn," Eddie breathed, pausing. Chris stopped and followed his gaze, his eyes widening. He nodded.

"Yeah."

They stood for a long moment, watching Scott and Kevin devour each other, lost to their surroundings. When the two Outsiders broke apart, Chris blinked and glanced at his lover, nudging him.

"C'mon, let's go. As nice as the scenery is around here, I'd like to enjoy something a little more familiar," Chris said softly, a smirk quirking the corners of his lips. Eddie shook his head a little and grinned at Chris, turning so that he could put both of his hands on Benoit's hips.

"What, ese, you don't like to watch, sometimes? Maybe I should put on a little show for you tonight, eh?" His fingers skimmed across Chris's crotch, little teasing touches that were meant to provoke a reaction. When Eddie ran a finger down his thickening shaft, Chris gasped, glaring at his lover. Public displays of _anything_ really weren't his style, but Eddie loved to try to provoke him. 

"Not here, Eddie." Glancing around, he noticed that the garage was emptying. "You can show me anything you'd like once we're back at the hotel."

With one final caress, Eddie stepped back, still grinning. Someday... someday _soon_ , he was going to get Chris so worked up that he'd let Eddie fuck him in the middle of the ring if necessary. But not tonight. Tonight, he wanted to get to know his lover all over again. And to do _that_... Eddie started toward their car at a rapid pace, but sent a quiet call over his shoulder.

"Last one to the car has to take whatever the other one gives out!" Letting his bag slide off his shoulder, he ran to the car, waiting to hear...

*thump*

*thud*

"Dammit, Eddie! That's cheating!"

He managed not to laugh as Benoit came up to the car, glaring, carrying his bag in one hand. The dirt streaked on one knee told the story of what had happened. Benoit got in the car, tossing both of the bags in the back seat, and slumped against the seat, his arms crossed over his chest, as he looked sullenly at Eddie.

"You cheated."

Eddie's laugh finally escaped and he started the car, shaking his head. "Chris, Chris... you should know by now that when I care about the outcome... I cheat to win." A groan was his only response.

There was a long silence as they drove to the hotel. As Eddie parked the car and they got out, getting their suitcases out of the trunk, Benoit finally broke the silence.

"I am _not_ having sex in the elevator."

"How about the lobby?"

"No!"

They quieted as they entered the lobby and checked in, getting their keycards. As they walked toward the elevator, Eddie cast a sideways glance at Benoit.

"The balcony? I brought the handcuffs..." Eddie waggled his eyebrows at his lover.

"Eddie!" Benoit's voice was horrified, but Eddie could see his lips starting to curve.

"There's always the swimming pool," he offered.

"No trunks, and I'm not skinny-dipping anywhere that has glass walls."

They entered the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, Eddie dropped the suitcase and went to his knees in front of Chris, pulling down the track pants his lover had chosen to wear. He smirked when he saw that Chris had also decided to forgo anything under them.

"Eddie! Dammit, I said no sex in the elev--" Chris's protest was cut off by a strangled groan as Eddie sucked his rapidly-hardening cock into his mouth, making an appreciative noise at the taste. He moved quickly, not teasing as he worked his tongue around and over the sensitive head. Benoit's hands clenched in his hair and he felt his own body hardening as he listened to his lover's half-coherent words. When he heard the elevator chime, he pulled away and wiped his mouth with one hand while yanking Chris's pants back up with the other. He stood up as the doors opened and picked up his suitcase, ignoring Chris's barely-suppressed frustrated groan.

Walking out, he nodded politely at the old lady who was waiting by the door and headed down the hall until he found their room. As he was swiping the card, Benoit caught up to him, glaring.

"God dammit, Eddie, that wasn't funny! What if we'd been caught? That lady must've seen the condition I'm in! And now you're just leaving me hanging--"

As the door opened, Eddie turned around, grabbed Chris by the waist, and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind them. He threw the bolt, then dropped his suitcase on the floor, and shoved Benoit up against the door, holding him there with his body. Rubbing his crotch against his lover's, smiling at the sound that escaped Chris at the sensation, he shook his head slowly.

"No, no, no. I'm not leaving you hanging, ese. At least... not _all_ night." Muffling Chris's groan with his lips, he grinned to himself. Much as he loved Chris, he loved torturing him even more... and cheating was well worth it if it meant that he got to make Chris lose his vaunted self-control. Pulling back enough to look him in the eyes, Eddie smiled.

"Now... wasn't I supposed to give you a show...?"

****

 _"...And I won't take No for an answer."_

Someone up there _really_ had it in for him...that's the only reason that Dave could come up with for Hunter showing up before he'd been able to make his escape. He still wanted to run despite Hunter's proclamation, but the hand at his back nudging him in the direction of the car reinforced the message. Maybe Shawn would step in and suggest that just he and Hunter go have dinner. Dave could hope so anyway.

 _"Sure, Hunt. Whatever you say."_

Oh yeah, he was screwed. Watching as Shawn ducked into the car, Dave fish-mouthed for a moment trying to come up with an excuse, any excuse, to get him out of this farce. Unfortunately his tired brain came up with exactly zilch. Looking at the ground he shook his head slightly and then followed Shawn into the car. Dave took a seat making sure that he left plenty of room between himself and Shawn and himself and wherever Hunter might sit. He was trying to avoid thinking about his feelings for either one of them and having to touch either of them no matter how innocently would not help him with that endeavor.

As the limo started to roll forward, Dave wondered how the hell he managed to get himself into situations like this. This wasn't the first time he'd had an interest in a friend only to find out that said friend had feelings for another mutual friend of theirs, one that Dave had considered asking out at one point as well. The two friends had ended up together much to Dave's disappointment and were still together three years after the fact. He had no illusions that this was the same scenario happening all over again and he did not want to be caught in the middle of it.

 _"I really would like to have dinner with you."_  
Why? That was Dave's first reaction. Hadn't Shawn heard a word he'd just said? Maybe he'd want to trade stories about Hunter or something...god only knew, but Dave wasn't going to torture himself with hoping that it was actual personal interest in him despite the tone of Shawn's voice. He tried to keep his face passive waiting to see what else Shawn had to say before making any assumptions, but he just couldn't see any chance of this turning out with a happy ending for all three of them.

 _"...And don't assume anything. Okay?"_

Dave's brows shot up to his non-existent hairline. Shawn wanted him to tell Hunter what he'd just said? More torture...maybe for the way he'd just kind of dropped it on Shawn. That had been kind of nasty of him, but he'd just wanted to get it over with and get out of there.

"Shawn, I don't think..." Seeing the look on Shawn's face, Dave sighed and decided that saying it once more wouldn't hurt anything. He thought that Shawn should handle it, but maybe Shawn just couldn't. After rubbing his hands over his face, Dave looked at both of them and then let his eyes drop to the floor of the limo while he spoke.

"Okay fine, I'll tell him. Look Hunter, I asked Shawn out earlier, but that was before I realized that...," Dave paused for a moment trying to think of a more tactful way of dropping the bomb on Hunter. "Shawn said that he needed to talk to you because there was obviously something going on with you. He thought maybe I could help. When I saw the way he looked at you earlier it just triggered something inside my head and I realized that I've never seen you happier than you are when you're with him. Never. I don't know why you married Stephanie, but it's not because you love her. Whether you'll admit it out loud or not you love Shawn and the more I thought about it I realized that he loves you too Hunter. I'm not the only one that's noticed so don't say it's just my imagination." Dave let those words settle with both men for a moment before he continued on.

"You two may want to deny it, but now that I've figured out that Hunter isn't as straight as an arrow, looking back on it, it's obvious. If you two would just admit it to each other, then the two of you can figure out some way to be together. It would really help idiots like me from making the mistake I did earlier. If I'm going to date someone, I refuse to play second fiddle to the guy they're actually in love with."

He couldn't really help it if he was making some assumptions. Despite the fact that he had feelings for Shawn and an interest in Hunter that he'd never really allowed himself to explore, he couldn't imagine actually being in love with two different guys and not favoring one over the other. With Shawn already in love with Hunter, any interest he might have in Dave would pale in comparison, right?

****

 _"We're sharing a ride with Glen and Sean, though...."_  
Scott was almost to the point that he didn't really care. It was just Sean and Glen after all and they knew all about Kev and him. It wasn't like they would be shocked at anything they'd see. Hell, Sean and Glen would most likely be even worse than they would. The hand on his ass and the way Kev kissed him didn't help at all in persuading him to behave himself during the ride to the hotel.

 _"I'm going to make you beg, Scotty... make you scream."_

Scott whined quietly when Kevin pulled away from him. Hell, he was close to begging and screaming right now. He was to the point that if Kev had pushed him against the door and proceeded to do him right there in front of god and everyone, Scott wouldn't have complained in the least, but...he knew that as tempting as the idea might be, Kevin wouldn't do it.

Hopefully the limo ride would be short and very, very quick. Just as he was about to grab Kev's hand and drag him over to the limo, Kevin spoke again.

 _"Guess that's them leaving now."_

Oh fucking hell! He'd gotten so wrapped up in Kevin, as he always did, that he'd forgotten the need to intercept Shawn or Hunter before they left. And now Hunter was taking both Dave _and_ Shawn out to dinner? Scott could just imagine the carnage that could ensue at that restaurant. Thank god he and Kev were going back to the hotel and not out to eat. Scott suppressed the hysterical laugh that wanted to pop out of him at that stupid thought.

"He's...he's taking _both_ of them? Are you sure?" Scott asked as he sagged against Kevin's side.

When he screwed up, he really screwed up. Maybe Dave hadn't said anything to either of them yet. Maybe he had changed his mind. Maybe they should hurry back to the hotel so that they could be there when either Shawn or Hunter called them in hysterics.

"Hey! We've really enjoyed the show, but would you two get your asses in the limo so that we can go back to the hotel now?" Sean's voice broke through Scott's thoughts of doom and gloom.

Grabbing Kevin's hand he led him over to the limo and climbed inside. As soon as Kev sat next to him, Scott plastered himself up against Kevin's side, his mind racing a hundred miles an hour as he tried to come up with some way to explain everything to Kevin. Of course that wasn't going to happen until after Kev made him scream as promised. Then he'd confess his sins and hope that Kevin didn't get too upset with him.


	6. Omissions

Adam looked in the direction that Chris had indicated and burst into a loud laugh. That was pretty damn funny and definitely money well spent. It wasn't over either, because he'd guarantee that they'd be trying again soon before long.

Allowing himself to get swept into the rhythm of the music, Adam joined the others in dancing. He really sucked when it came to dancing to this heavy music, which is why he usually limited himself to being a spectator rather than a participant. Deciding that maybe enthusiasm would make up for the lack of actual talent, Adam threw himself into the dancing as best he could.

After ten minutes of continuously jumping around like a nut, he was getting pretty damn hot, sweaty, and thirsty. The fact that he'd had his eyes glued to Chris' form the entire time could have helped explain the hot and sweaty part, though he refused to let himself think about it. Maybe a beer...and about four or five additional shots, could help curb the uncontrollable reaction he was having from watching Chris bounce around in those shiny pants. Conscious of the fact that his reaction was most likely plainly visible with the tightness of his pants and the lack of underwear, Adam untucked the ends of his shirt, hoping that they would in some small way help to hide it. Smiling at Chris, he leaned in across the circle so that he could shout loud enough to be heard.

"I need another drink. You in?" He pulled back to wait for Chris' response and was distracted by the sight of Shane sneaking up behind Austin before wrapping his arms around him. Adam smothered his laugh with his hand, but the laughter was evident in the sparkle of his eyes. He quickly nodded in Austin's direction just before Helms leaned closer and whispered something in the Rattlesnake's ear. Something that Austin wasn't very excited about if the expression on his face meant anything.

****

Shane snuck up behind Austin and wrapped his arms around his waist. Leaning closer to the bald man's ear, he shouted loud enough to be heard over the music.

"Come on Steve. We'll play superheroes and you can be the villain. We'll even dig out the handcuffs," Shane said with a smirk as he rubbed up against Austin's hip. "Rosey really enjoys running around the hotel room in just his cape."

Shane was biting on his lip now in order not to laugh. He hadn't had this much fun in ages. He was even considering giving Adam his money back and doing it just for the fun of it.

 

****

Hunter felt his jaw drop as the reality of Dave's word's sank in. What the hell? Why would he even think...damn. Something had spooked the big man and he was trying to avoid Shawn. Maybe he shouldn't have joined them after all, their emotions were so volatile the air in the limo was drenched in tension. He looked slowly back and forth between the two worried faces opposite him. Dave hadn't once looked at Hunter and by his body language was almost climbing out the window to keep a safe distance from Shawn. All Hunter could think about Dave's speech was...poor Dave.

As for Shawn....oh no.    The expression on Shawn's face was so lost he looked like he was in shock. The paleness around the expressive eyes and the hazel orbs themselves almost blank....dammit, not again! Hunter wasn't going to let some misunderstanding tear his friend's heart out again. Too many times, he'd watched as Shawn offered someone his soul only to find that the idiot only wanted the great and wonderful Heartbreak Kid, rather than Shawn. Hunter had picked up the pieces as much as he could, his own heart dying a little each time Shawn gave himself to some clueless bastard who didn't know what they were throwing away. But this time was different. This was Dave. A guy that Hunter could have fallen for himself had the man not kept his distance, a guy that wasn't lost to the politics of the WWE like Hunter himself. Dave could actually love Shawn for himself, not the pretty little package. And Shawn deserved the very best.

This...attraction...between the two men could be the best thing that ever happened to them. They just had to realize it, he had to fix this for them.

Because he had the terrible suspicion that this was all his fault.

Trying to gauge Shawn's feelings was almost impossible but Dave was open as always. His hurt and disappointment coming off him like waves. Of all the stupid.....

Finding his voice after several uncomfortable seconds, he sat forward and looked at the big man. He had to make Dave understand that while he might be spot on with Hunter's feelings, he'd misread Shawn, of that Hunter was certain. Carefully ignoring mentioning his own feeling for either Stephanie, Dave or Shawn, Hunter sorted out his arguments on behalf of his best friend.

"Dave?" Hunter knew he sounded like he was trying to coax an injured animal...and maybe he was. "C'mon Dave...listen to me." Finally Dave looked at him and Hunter didn't waste his chance.

"Of course Shawn loves me Dave," seeing the flick of emotion in the dark eyes he cursed his part in this. "But you've got the wrong idea along the way somewhere. We've been very close for a lot of years and that creates love, no matter what others may call it. Despite what you might think, I do know how the Clique comes across to people outside it. And they're mostly right...but what we are all, first and foremost is the closest of friends Dave. We love and support each other no matter what this business throws at us," and maybe he should remember that next time he was alone with Kevin. Hunter smiled at Shawn, trying to bring the third man into the picture. They were discussing _his_ feelings after all. "So, and I think Shawn would agree with me here, we have something stronger than most friends do, but that doesn't mean Shawn isn't interested in a relationship with you," _doesn't mean I'm not either_.  "My buddy here has the biggest heart of anyone I know, so if he agrees to go on a date with you, he means it, don't be an idiot. Go for it. I think winning Shawn's heart would be a helluva prize." He let his eyes fill, for just a moment with his own longing, but quickly shuttered it away, where it would stay to keep him warm. "And as for being the third wheel, c'mon, like either of you wanted to come to dinner with _me_ tonight." Hunter's hurt expression was perfect...for about two seconds.

Taking a small risk, he placed a hand on each man's knee.

"Shawn...tell him."

****

 _"I need another drink. You in?"_

"Yeah, definitely." Trish and Molly had give up a little while ago, leaving to try and find Ty and Jay. Enjoying his view of Adam's leather clad ass as the man pushed his way through the throng, was sending his already hot, steamy skin into bad bad but awesome territory. Almost losing sight of Edge, CJ reached out and snagged a handful of the shirt tails hanging over said lovely ass. Maybe he shouldn't keep grabbing Adam? Although so far it had been pretty mutual grabbing, with the arm across the shoulders and not-thinking-about-mattresses behind hugging. He caught a glimpse of Helms once more groping Steve. Grinning like a loon, Chris allowed a small bubble of happiness to overtake him. Adam had set this up for _him_. He'd been irritated on CJ's behalf over the biker thing and gone to the trouble to get revenge for him. Definitely a happy bubble there.

Unfortunately Steve caught sight of them as they approached the bar again. Pushing Helms away as gently as he was able the bald Texan went the long way around three tables to avoid contact with Rosey.

As Adam ordered their drinks Chris laughed in Austin's appalled face.

"Looks like you might get lucky tonight Babe," he smirked, repeating the exact words Austin had used two weeks ago in a grungy bar.

Austin pulled CJ into an embrace and looked over his blond head at the two wannabe superheroes. "No way Kitten, I ain't goin' anywhere near those capes. Too much green and pink fer my taste." Loosening his hold a bit, Steve looked pleadingly into bright blue eyes. "Be my date and make 'em leave me alone?" He would beg if he had too. Hell, he'd even spring for dinner.

CJ found himself caught in a conundrum. Option one...he could spend time with his totally-not-a-crush friend Adam, drinking, dancing and singing the night away, then go to bed with a happy smile on his face. Or option two...he could pretend to be the date of a man who regularly drove him insane to help avoid said man's just desserts arriving in two bright and frighteningly garish packages.

Chris considered for _all of a microsecond!_

"No Chance In Hell," he screamed happily into Austin's ear. Twisting out of the Texan's embrace, he moved nimbly to Adam's side and bravely hid for a bit beside the taller man. "That was such a good idea," he congratulated Adam. "Remind me _never_ to get on your bad side." Chris just couldn't help it, it had been so long since he'd had this much fun. Wrapping his arms around Adam's shoulders he lifted up on tip toes to squeeze the life out of the guy and daringly planted a warm kiss to the strong throat. "Thanks Adam, you've made my night."

****

 _"If I'm going to date someone, I refuse to play second fiddle to the guy they're actually in love with."_

Shawn's head sunk lower as he listened to Dave. At least this time the big man was explaining more. Of course, that meant that Shawn felt like even more of a heel, not to mention the knife he could feel twisting in his heart. He'd given up on Hunter so long ago... and all his experience had taught him was that that was the perfect kind of love: Distant, unacknowledged, unreciprocated. The hurt from never really being able to tell Hunt how he felt was more than made up for by knowing that his best friend did love him in some way at least, and would never throw his own love back in his face.

That had happened too many times to make it easy for Shawn to even try for relationships; he'd been attracted to Jericho and was pretty sure that CJ was attracted to him in turn, but he'd never acted on it, and neither had Jericho. He'd been drawn to Dave from  the first time he'd met him, but had managed to keep it hidden under his friendly manner, the one he used with everybody. Knowing that Dave felt _something_ for him, even just a crush, was so tantalising... and so terrifying. Maybe that was why he'd let HBK answer poor Dave's question. That, and the fact that he'd seen how Dave looked at Hunter when he thought no one was watching him.

But now... he looked back and forth between the other two men, noting how they were nearly as far apart from each other as the limo would allow. What a mess this was. Maybe he'd been cowardly in asking Dave to tell Hunter what was going on,  but he just couldn't do it. How was he supposed to face his best friend and admit to him that he was completely in love with him and had been for years? His _married_ best friend, at that.

He'd told Dave not to assume... an impossible command, of course, but still... was he assuming too much, too? Was Dave right that Hunter and Steph's marriage wasn't what it seemed to be? Looking back, he remembered any number of times where they'd acted like best friends... but not like lovers. Hmm. Letting those thoughts distract him from the more painful ones circulating in his mind for a few minutes, he almost missed part of Hunt's little speech.

 _"Of course Shawn loves me Dave."_

Oh God. He'd heard that clearly, and turned his head to stare directly at Hunter, his eyes wide. Even knowing how he'd probably meant it, it almost hurt to hear.

 _"...we have something stronger than most friends do..."_

Stronger than _any_ friends do, Shawn thought. The only people he'd seen with a similar relationship were Kevin and Scotty, and they'd been lovers before they were friends. Did Hunter even realise what he was saying? Shawn could tell that he was trying to give Dave a pep talk, to reach out, but... for the first time, as Shawn watched Hunter's face while he spoke, he began to believe that Dave might just be right about things.

 _"I think winning Shawn's heart would be a helluva prize."_

Shawn nearly came out of his seat at those words, seeing _something_ in Hunt's eyes, something that his friend quickly hid away. _Do you, Hunt? Do you really?_ Shawn wondered. He cast a look at Dave, wondering how Batista was taking this, and was a little dismayed at what he saw. Apparently Dave was seeing the same thing he was---that Hunt was telling Dave one thing but really meaning it a whole different way. The speech was innocent enough, and heartfelt... but after what Dave had told him, Shawn could see so much more underneath Hunt's words. And of course Dave would, too.

He nearly jumped when Hunt put a hand on his knee.

 _"Shawn...tell him."_

Blinking, Shawn stared at his friend before swiveling his head to look at Dave for a moment.

"Tell him what,  Hunt? That we're best friends and we love each other? That's true enough." He could see Dave shutting himself off and tried to reach out to him. He wasn't sure why,  but he wanted Dave to know the truth, wanted him to care... wanted him to _stay_.

Leaning forward a little,  he put a hand over Hunter's and after a split-second pause,  put his other hand on Dave's knee with Hunt's.

"But it's not all of the truth, is it, Hunt?" Locking eyes with his friend, he willed Hunter to _see_. "Because I know there's more than just friendship between us, and I know..." He cleared his throat, hearing his voice thicken as emotion started to return to him,  clogging his throat. "I know that as much as I value your friendship, I've never stopped wishing you felt the same way about me as I do about you."

He bit back a sharp laugh at the silence that was like a palpable thing pulsing between them. Finally looking at Dave again, he squeezed Dave's knee.

"Dave... please. I know you're hurt and probably feel almost betrayed. I've never wanted to hurt you,  and I sure as hell never thought of you as a distraction or an idiot. In fact... I've been watching you since day one. No,  I don't love you. But... I'm not going to say I couldn't, either."

Sitting back,  he withdrew from the other two,  curling up on the seat in the corner of the car, not quite able to face them any longer.

"I've been through enough relationships to think that the whole idea is a piece of shit, and to believe that love really does only come true in fairy tales. But... damn." He cleared his throat again, not sure when he'd closed his eyes, not willing to admit to the tears that were probably gathering on his face.

"I've loved Hunter for years, now. You're right about that, Dave. But I gave up on what I thought was an impossible dream years ago, too. If it's not, if it _is_ possible, then yeah, I'd like to pursue that. But there are other people than just me and Hunter involved in that idea: Stephanie, for one. Shane, Vince... Linda. All people who mean a lot to me, and who I don't want to hurt.

"And... well... I don't know how familiar you are with Clique stories, Dave, but they are exaggerated. Not always by much,  but they are. I don't know how you feel about relationships... hell, I barely know you. But if you're really interested in _me_ , not in HBK... then I can safely say that I'm interested in you. Not too many people realise that there's more to me than what they see in the ring, let alone decide that they care.

"I guess... I guess what I'm really saying is that I'm a coward and I'm trying to hedge my bets. I'd love to go out with you, Dave. I'd love to get to know you. But I do love Hunter. I don't think those two things are incompatible, but maybe you do. And maybe you're right, but we'd only know for sure if we tried. And... if I really am just your best friend, Hunt, then a lot of this conversation is pretty damned pointless to start with."

Shawn couldn't bring himself to look at the other two. He couldn't believe he'd just said all that. He'd never been good with emotional things---witness his previous relationships!---and he'd never been at facing his problems. Maybe he was finally growing up? Maybe he was just finally burning the last few bridges he had.

Turning his face to the window, he waited for a response.

****

 _"He's...he's taking_ both _of them? Are you sure?"_

Kevin blinked at Scotty, not quite sure what he'd said to prod his lover into that upset-dejected slump and kind of worried about it. He frowned, wondering if it had to do with whatever the hell was going on with Shawn and Hunter and Dave. Sure, Shawn and Hunt had been dancing around each other for years, but Kev had figured that if neither of them had done anything about it by the time Steph hooked Hunt, they weren't going to now, either. Maybe Dave had--

 _"Hey! We've really enjoyed the show, but would you two get your asses in the limo so that we can go back to the hotel now?"_

Rolling his eyes, he let Scott lead him over to the limo, a little surprised by how clingy he was once they were inside. Not that he was complaining, mind you, but it was unexpected, given how fiercely Scott had protected his independence once he was clean. Sometimes he kind of missed the days when Scotty would curl up into his arms and let Kev shield him from the world... but the reasons for that behavior weren't worth it, and Kevin most certainly didn't miss the drunken screaming matches and injuries and hateful words. Tearful apologies always followed, and he'd almost hated those more, knowing how much Scott hated himself for what he did.

Wrapping an arm around Scott, he nodded at Sean and Glen, then ignored them as the limo started moving and he pulled his lover onto his lap. Grinning at Scott,  he slid his arm down to Scott's waist as he kissed his cheek, blowing across his ear. He put his free hand on Scott's knee, slowly sliding up his thigh as he licked a path down the side of Scotty's neck, nibbling at the junction of neck and shoulder. Sliding his tongue along Scott's collarbone, his fingers crept up until they rested at Scott's crotch, barely touching the bulge obvious even through the denim.

Shifting a little as his body reacted to Scott's squirming on top of him, he leaned back a little and spread his legs farther apart, the hand at Scotty's waist slipping underneath the t-shirt he was wearing. Kevin sighed as he touched warm flesh, smiling against Scotty's neck. He never got tired of relearning the contours of Scott's body.

"Love you Scott, so much," he whispered, his hands tightening on Scott's body for a split-second.

****

 _"C'mon Dave....listen to me."_

He didn't want to listen to him at all, but he couldn't exactly go anywhere trapped in the limo like they were. Fine, if Hunter wanted to try to talk his way out of this, Dave would let him. He looked up at Hunter and waited for the speech he knew was coming, his eyes practically daring Hunter to deny his own feelings. Wrong idea, my ass, Hunter. He knew that every member of the Clique loved the others. That had never been in doubt and Dave would have had no problems at all whatsoever if that was _all_ that it was, but now that he knew what to look for, he knew better.

He watched the by-play between the two men during Hunter's speech. The smile from Hunter to Shawn, the tension in Shawn's frame after Hunter said that "Shawn's heart would be a helluva prize", the flash of emotion in Hunter's eyes that had almost disappeared before Dave caught it, and the casual hand that Hunter had laid on Shawn's knee spoke volumes. Of course Hunter had a hand on his knee as well so maybe he was just trying to make sure that he maintained both men's attention.

 _"Shawn...tell him."_

In theory, Dave had to agree with most of what Hunter said. Most of it was likely true. Of course the fact that he'd completely avoided mentioning his own feelings at all was complete and utter bullshit. Dave bit down a snort and waited to see if Shawn would try to back up what Hunter had just said. Shawn's hand landing on his knee with Hunter's just about had him searching for the door handle. Yes, he would jump out of a moving car if he had to. All of this casual touching wasn't really up his alley and it was making him nervous as hell.

 _"But it's not all of the truth, is it, Hunt?"_

At least Shawn was willing to admit the truth, even if Hunter apparently wasn't ready to yet. It was obviously hard for Shawn, but Dave thought that maybe it was more than time for it to come out, even if it did hurt just a little watching his slim chance go up in smoke.

 _"But... I'm not going to say I couldn't, either."_

He didn't actually feel betrayed. Shawn didn't really owe him anything at all, even an explanation. It did hurt, but then didn't it always hurt a bit when you wanted something so much only to find out you couldn't have it? Shawn wasn't going to say he couldn't, but even if he did... could it ever match up to the love and affection that he held for someone that was closer to him than a brother in pretty much every way? Or would he always feel like he was being compared to someone just a little bit better?

Watching the way Shawn withdrew from them both, Dave really felt...like something someone had scraped off the bottom of their shoe. If he hadn't acted on his interest and asked Shawn out, none of this would have come out in the first place. Though he still maintained that Shawn and Hunter both needed to know how the other felt, he'd never wanted to be responsible for making Shawn cry. He could understand Shawn not wanting to hurt anyone else, but Dave honestly didn't think it would hurt Stephanie, not if he was reading things right.

 _"And... if I really am just your best friend, Hunt, then a lot of this conversation is pretty damned pointless to start with."_

Regardless of what Hunter would rather see happen, Dave wasn't going to let his mentor squirm out of things the way he had so far. Maybe if Hunter actually admitted what Dave had plainly been able to see in his eyes a few minutes ago, Shawn would stop crying. He hoped so anyway, because it was just about killing him to watch it.

"Shawn, if he only considers you as a best friend, why did he completely avoid any mention at all of his own feelings and concentrate on yours instead?" Dave asked dryly, his eyes fastened on Hunter's face hoping that "the Game" would let his mask slip and show Shawn the truth.

"He won't tell you that he isn't _in_ love with you," Dave said with emphasis on the 'in', "because he won't lie to you. He sure as hell isn't in love with Stephanie. She's a great girl, no doubt, but if you really look at it, Hunter treats her more like a kid sister than his wife. Out of all the times that I've seen them together, I can't recall more than a dozen times that I've seen him actually touch her and that's generally a friendly hug, and since when does a guy kiss his wife goodbye with a peck on the cheek?"

"I always thought that when Hunter was looking at you on your way to the showers that he was checking to make sure you weren't hurt. Looking back on it from the perspective that Hunter isn't actually limited to liking the fairer sex, I'd have to say he was checking out a whole hell of a lot more. Not to mention the way you two are touching each other all the time, really close friends or not, it's just a bit much. Hell, I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out and yet you've both been oblivious to it for years."

Realizing that he'd said a hell of a lot more than he had intended, Dave sat back in his seat and shut his mouth. Maybe he'd finally cleared the path for Hunter to admit the truth now. Whatever it would take to make Shawn happy, even if Hunter most likely wanted to filet him right about now. Keeping his eyes fixed on the glass partition, Dave couldn't help but wonder if he should have offered to let the two of them have dinner alone so that they could straighten things out. He knew what Shawn had said, but he still wasn't thinking in terms that Shawn would be free to actually pursue anything with him. Surely Hunter would object, wouldn't he?

 

****

He had honestly been trying to help, so maybe Kev wouldn't be too mad at him. He considered trying to call Hunt's cell phone, but if they were already into the discussion it might make it even worse if he interfered. He had no clue what the number to the limo might be so calling the driver to take the trio back to the hotel instead of a restaurant was completely out...

Kevin's arm dropped around him and once again all thoughts of anyone except for the two of them vanished, especially once Kevin had pulled him onto his lap. The arm slipping around his waist gave him a sense of security that he really needed right now. He squirmed slightly trying to get more than the barely-there touch of Kevin's hand at his groin and tilted his head to give Kevin better access to the sensitive spot on his neck. It was amazing how worked up Kev could get him with a few simple touches.

The warm hand slipping over his bare skin drew a small shudder from him. He wanted that hand all over him, but at the same time he didn't want to be interrupted in the middle of something when they reached the hotel. He had no objections to sex in the limo, but he was pretty sure they didn't have enough time and Sean and Glen were too anxious to reach the hotel to agree to taking the scenic route. So be it, they'd have to settle for foreplay, which wasn't something to object to by any means.

 _"Love you Scott, so much."_

He hadn't realized until Kev said it exactly how much he'd needed to hear it right then. Whining quietly over the teasing touches that Kev was allowing him, Scott decided that he wasn't about to let Kevin have all the fun. He slid one hand into Kev's blond locks and brushed his cheek gently against his lover's. His other hand settled on Kevin's broad shoulder with a gentle squeeze.

"Not sure I always deserve it, but damn glad you do. Love you too, Kev," he whispered quietly just before using the hand tangled in Kevin's hair to draw his head backward. He brushed his lips gently over Kevin's a couple of times as the hand on Kevin's shoulder slipped teasingly down over the jersey covering his chest.

When Scott's hand encountered the bottom of the jersey, he tugged it up slightly and settled his hand firmly on the tempting bulge confined within blue denim. Moaning quietly in anticipation, Scott covered Kevin's mouth with his own and kissed him deeply, slowly.

 

****

Kevin shivered as Scotty's fingers slid into his hair, teasing his scalp. He'd always been sensitive to having his hair played with, and Scott wasn't above using that weakness to his advantage. He realised that both of them were in a more... thoughtful mood than normal and determined to enjoy every second of it. Scott had been more conscientious since they reunited, and he'd been more gentle, but this was almost something new. Something sweet.

 _"Not sure I always deserve it, but damn glad you do. Love you too, Kev,"_

If Scott hadn't pulled his head backwards at that moment, Kevin would probably have glared at his lover. He knew Scott was insecure and knew why, but he should know by now that Kev would _always_ love him, no matter what; he always had. True, there were things in the past that had been pretty terrible, but they were in the past now. Before he could try to express any of those thoughts, Scott's lips were brushing against his and his hand...

Kevin groaned against Scotty's mouth as his lover cupped his erection through his jeans. He pulled his own hand away from Scott's chest and tangled it in his black locks as he eagerly responded to Scott's kiss, recognising his lover's desire to lead. He shifted his other hand to cup Scott's straining length, moving his hand over it in a slow caress. He was tempted to unzip those jeans and touch Scotty for real, but knew that they didn't have enough time. He contented himself with languidly exploring Scott's mouth, caressing the back of his neck as they kissed.

He was lost in Scott, oblivious to the world around them until Glen's amused voice penetrated the soft haze that surrounded him.

"As nice as you two are to watch, we're here, and I have plans of my own tonight."

Breaking away from Scott enough to look over his shoulder, Kevin realised they'd reached the hotel and that the limo had stopped. He leaned his head briefly against Scott's, kissing him one last time before smiling ruefully at him.

"Time to get out, sweetheart," he said softly. "The sooner we get to our room, the sooner I can have you naked and writhing."

****

As Adam ordered their drinks from the bartender, he kept one eye on Austin and Chris. Christ, this was ridiculous. It wasn't like Austin was going to molest him or anything, right? So why was Adam tempted to fulfill the threat he'd made earlier to Austin just because he was touching Chris? He had absolutely no claim on the gorgeous blond and he'd better start remembering that before he did something really stupid. Adam somehow managed not to let his irritation show when the bald man asked Chris to be his date. He'd call off Rosey and Helms before Chris had to subject himself to that. Luckily it didn't look as if Chris would accept anyway.

 _"No Chance In Hell."_

As Chris took a position at his side, Adam smiled and pushed both a shot glass and a beer in his direction. He was happy to see Chris smiling. It was a marked improvement from his earlier mood and Adam was glad that he'd come along despite the thoughts that kept flitting through his head. He didn't think it was possible for the blond to get on his bad side and was just about to tell him so when Chris' arms wrapped around his neck.

Oh god. 'He's going to notice', was Adam's first thought, but that was quickly chased from his mind when he felt Chris' lips brush against his neck. There was no way he could prevent the quiet whine the action provoked from slipping from his mouth. Unconsciously he took a half step towards Chris, bringing their bodies into closer contact and his hands having suddenly developed a mind of their own settled firmly on Chris' hips. Soft silky strands of Chris' hair brushed against his face and powerless to resist the lure he tilted his head closer, rubbing his cheek gently against the golden tresses. He was surely a glutton for punishment, but he couldn't seem to control any of his impulses when it came to Chris...at least not for any length of time.

His right hand, which was still firmly in 'FU buddy this is my show' mode, climbed steadily upward allowing Adam to count the ridges of Chris' ribs if he so chose, before deciding to jump ahead to Chris' jaw. Using a light pressure, he tilted Chris' head up until he could look into his eyes. His fingers fanned over Chris' cheek even as his thumb brushed over the swell of soft pink lips.

"I don't think you could ever be on my bad side, Chris," he said quietly, the temporary lull in the music allowing him to be heard. "You have no idea how much I want..." trailing off, he shook his head slightly as if to clear the fog of desire that was clouding his judgment. "I can't. You deserve so much better than the man I've become since..."

Gently untangling himself from Chris as he realized how close he'd come to kissing him, Adam looked with blind panic at the nearest person he recognized, which just happened to be Austin. He looked sadly once more at Chris and turned with the intention of tracking down Jay. Jay would understand because he knew about everything. If he talked to Jay, Jay could help him figure out how to straighten out the huge mess he'd just made of his tentative friendship with Chris. Maybe Jay could even help him figure out how to stop wanting what he couldn't have.

 

****

 _"Tell him what, Hunt? That we're best friends and we love each other?_

Yes, exactly Shawn. Tell him that it isn't that kind of love for you and that you'll give him a shot. Hunter almost sighed with relief when Shawn agreed with him, maybe now two of the most important people in his life could begin what should have started an hour ago. Their first date.

 _....more than just friendship between us..._

Oh no Shawn, please don't.

 _I've never stopped wishing you felt the same way about me as I do about you.._

God no! I couldn't be..... if Shawn was agreeing with Dave, then that meant that he...that Shawn did want more.....

 _I've loved Hunter for years, now._

.....No you haven't, no you haven't, please tell me you haven't. Because if you have and it's true, then all I've done to myself could've been different. I could have been different...I could have been so much better than this, if I'd known you wanted me. Please don't tell me this Shawn, because if you don't then I didn't waste all that time. I didn't give away my integrity for small comfort. Oh God. If I'd know I could have had you I would've, I would've......

 _I'd love to go out with you, Dave_

....I would've been anything you wanted....

I would've. But it's too late now.

 _this conversation is pretty damned pointless to start with_

Yes it is, my love, yes it is. Because Hunter knew that Shawn meant every single word he'd said. He knew now that Shawn had loved him, had been in love with him and probably thought he still was. But for all that his heart wanted to sing, that he wanted to dive across the space between them and devour every inch of his best friend, he couldn't.

It was a nice dream....but unfortunately Hunter had to live in the real world.

He let Shawn's hand slip from the top of his and didn't grab it back like greedy child.

When Dave started talking, Hunter pulled himself out of the spin his thoughts had dived into and listened. The Big Man still exuded discomfort and Hunter realized, belatedly, that his hand was still on Dave's knee. Pity he'd gotten used to the small casual touches he'd allowed himself, with both Dave and Shawn. That'd have to stop now. Hunter lifted his obviously irritating hand from Dave's knee and clasped his fingers between his own legs, head bowed as he planned what to do next. He hadn't expected this car ride to go this way at all. Funny how Hunter tried to avoid being emotionally gutted as often as possible, yet it still crept up on him. Pity he'd entered a limousine with two beautiful people who had the power to do it. God! And Dave still thought he was doing them a favour?

 _because he won't lie to you_

Oh no Davey-boy, that's where you're very wrong. You have no idea the lengths I'll go to for my family. The lengths to which I've already gone. At least he could use his distance from the Clique as an excuse now, after this it would be a chasm he might never cross. Still, he kept his eyes on his hands.

Hunter wasn't surprised at his calm tone, he was an actor after all.

"You're both right and so very wrong. I honestly didn't realize this was a problem for you and all I can say is how sorry I am. But you've made a big mistake Dave and Shawn was right...you assumed too much. No, I don't love Stephanie like a wife, but she is very special to me and the power in the company I've gained through her is not something I'm willing to give up anytime soon. So Stephanie is part of my life and I count myself lucky that I am married to such a wonderful woman, so does her girlfriend Megan by the way.

"As to my feeling for Shawn, as I said they run deep. We've known each other a lot of years and we're closer than brothers...but...I'm not _in_ love with Shawn," he dared a glance at the averted profile, knowing the hurt he would see reflected there would stay with him forever. It was his punishment after all, for the sacrilege he was about to cause. "You've seen me watch him and I don't deny that. You are a beautiful man my friend, I'd have to be blind not to be attracted to you. But I'm attracted to you too Dave and as I am to a lot of the beautiful people we work with.

"But I care too much for Shawn to lie to him," _you bastard_ , "or to you and I won't let Shawn believe something you're saying out of misplaced jealousy. I'm sorry Shawn, but I don't...feel...the same way, you are my best friend and I hope we can still have that. Although I doubt it."

The limousine pulled to a stop and a small tone from the side console indicated they had arrived at their destination. How convenient.

"You probably don't want to eat now, but there is a reservation for you. I think it's best if I went back to the hotel, I'll send Ray back to wait for you." Hunter sat back, letting just enough of his inner strife show, so they could see his pain and believe what he was telling them.

Kevin would probably kill him for hurting Shawn this way.

Hunter wasn't sure if he might not just let him.


	7. Answers

With Adam's hands moving over his hips and back, Chris couldn't help swaying into the tall, lean body so close to his. Such heat being generated between them, such delicious, bedroom heat. CJ couldn't remember when exactly he had gone from non-sexual fun to very, very sexual touching, but he really didn't care. He really didn't care. Long fingers on his face and the pump, pump of the music died and the band moved onto stage to riotous applause.

 _I can't. You deserve so much better than the man I've become since..."_

Then the heat was gone, Adam was taking it away and turning away and leaving Chris standing with four drinks and a hard-on. Wha....? He really, really wanted to follow Adam, to touch him and to get back to the heat...

"Remove yer hand Batgirl or I'm gonna stomp ya a new one.."

 Chris came down to earth with a bump. The club, Austin, Trish and Adam. But Adam was gone again, because CJ was against the rules and Adam wasn't going to break those rules. _Why not?_ his inner three-year-old wailed.

CJ then felt the heat turn into burning white hot anger. It cause the tremor in his hands to increase and his flushed face to pale. He was sooo angry. At Austin for being an idiot, at Adam for turning on all his switches then running away and mostly at himself. He should have just kept his hands in his pockets but no...he had to get all huggy and kissy on Adam even though he'd _explained_ that he wouldn't become involved with someone from work. Jesus, no wonder the guy kept running away; he tells CJ it's all platonic and Chris responds by practically jumping in his lap.

"Stupid, stupid Jericho, real stupid. And you mock Austin for being a slut when you can't even get the fucking signals through your clever brain." CJ knew he was muttering and didn't care. He shot both Adam's drinks and then his own. Feeling a definite buzz he headed for the security guy guarding the back stage area. He had two known outlets for anger and sexual frustration, one had run a mile, the other was just a nod away.

Less than ten minutes later he was going nuts doing backing vocals for the Cold Hard Bastards. Mac kept trying to get him up front but that wouldn't happen without Fozzy so Chris just made love to his microphone and flirted like mad with Doctor Todd the guitarist. His only problem was that he probably looked like a disco ball on stage in this outfit. Hoping to tone down the sparkle a bit, he peeled of his shirt and tossed it to Trish, who was doing a fair impersonation of a groupie in the front row.

He may not be allowed to have Adam, but he could have this.

****

As he stared unseeingly at his own reflection in the window, Shawn waited for the other two people in the limo to tell him if he'd just laid himself open to more pain. He fully expected that he had, but couldn't help hoping for the magical fairy tale happy ending.

 _"...why did he completely avoid any mention at all of his own feelings..."_

Blinking, Shawn turned and glanced at Hunter, wondering why he hadn't noticed that. Maybe because Hunt was unfortunately a wonderful actor and he'd been so wrapped up in his own reaction to what _had_ been said that he wasn't thinking straight? He still wasn't, and this really wasn't helping. All he really wanted to do was curl up in a ball and hide from the world for the next few days... or months...

 _"...because he won't lie to you..."_

Watching Hunter's face, Shawn wasn't so sure about that, but right now he'd have trouble telling if the sky was blue. Normally Hunt wouldn't lie to him, but in this case? His heart thumped painfully in his chest as he watched Hunter pull into himself, knowing already that he'd made a mistake. Why in the hell couldn't he have just accepted Dave's offer and gone and had a nice dinner date? Why did he have to open his big mouth and start all this crap? Why couldn't he just be happy?

And then Hunter started talking, and Shawn felt his heart shrinking with every word. So smooth, so controlled... so goddamned fake. He _knew_ Hunt was leaving things out, was doing what he thought was best... but _what_ was he leaving out? Watching him from under his eyelashes, Shawn was too busy having his heart shredded by the man he'd loved from a distance for nearly a decade to really pay attention to the fine details. He bit his lip and looked away, curling further into himself, wishing that someone was there to hold him.

 _"...I'm sorry Shawn, but I don't...feel...the same way..."_

Some sort of noise escaped him, but he barely noticed. This was exactly why he had never said anything. Now he'd finally confessed the truth and it was getting thrown back in his face and Hunter didn't feel the same way and their friendship had just been irreparably damaged and he was _doomed_ to be alone because now of course Dave wasn't going to want to have anything to do with him...

 _"You probably don't want to eat now, but there is a reservation for you..."_

He didn't care _where_ they were, he just wanted out of this damned car and away from Hunter.

Clearing his throat a couple of times, he finally found his voice and said, "Get my bags to my room, please?" Brushing shaky fingers across his cheek he was appalled but not terribly surprised to find tears, and wiped them off without looking at Hunter. "I'm sure you don't want to have anything to do with me now, Dave, but... if you could stand my company for a few more hours, I really don't want to be by myself right now. And..." He managed a thin smile at the big man. "I am actually starving."

Getting out of the limo without looking behind him, he waited to see if he was going to have to suffer through eating by himself... not that he'd really notice, since he'd be far too busy dwelling on the whole "living the rest of his life alone" issue.

Shivering a little, he hugged himself tightly, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do now. Hunter didn't love him---that way---and Dave didn't want to go out with him because of how he felt about Hunter, and he... he had no idea what he wanted, now, except not to be alone. And Dave... well, he'd been attracted to the big man for ages. If Dave could at least stand him enough to stay with him for dinner, he'd be okay. He could always go stay with Scott and Kev tonight... oh, hell no he couldn't. They'd been aching for time alone. He cursed softly. So he'd go back to an empty bed tonight. He should be used to that by now... he'd been dealing with it for long enough, after all.

Finally sighing, he concluded that Dave didn't want to even eat with him, and started slowly toward the entrance. At least he'd be too wrapped up in his misery to notice the people staring at him.

****

Scott was completely caught up in Kevin, but it was no surprise since that was the same thing that happened every time his lover touched him. It was only one of the reasons that Scott would always love Kevin. The big man had the ability to make him forget everything but the two of them and the connection that they shared. Scott knew that he needed to deal with the real world, but for just a little while he could lose himself in Kevin and forget all the turmoil he inevitably ended up causing.

Kevin's slow lazy caress along his length was driving him crazy, making him ache for more skin on skin contact. The soft stroking of Kevin's hand over the back of his neck sent delicious little sparks running up and down his spine. These gentle touches were so in contrast to how they'd always been before. Since they had been back together, they seemed to be more in tune with each other than ever before and it had deepened the love he'd already had for Kevin. They'd always loved each other, but there had been things that had kept them apart at times, most notably Scott's dependence on the bottle.

Since he'd managed to clean himself up this time around, things had been even better than before for the two of them. There had always been that rush to get to the end, most times with them skipping anything even close to resembling foreplay. Now though they took the time for the gentle slow kisses and tender touches. Maybe they were more mature now or maybe they were just thankful for what they'd almost lost. Scott wasn't sure which, but he loved the new facet of their relationship.

But at the moment, Scott was ready to be alone with Kevin so that they could get down to business. The teasing for the last hour or so had him more than ready to get things moving along. Were they ever going to get to the hotel? Not that Scott would notice if they had, being that he was completely lost in the taste of Kevin's sweet, warm mouth.

 _"The sooner we get to our room, the sooner I can have you naked and writhing."_

Kevin's words finally penetrated the haze in Scott's brain. Scott smiled at Kevin as he ran his fingers one more time slowly through his hair. "Well then what are we waiting for?" Scott scrambled off Kevin's lap and out the limo door. He waited for Kevin to climb out as well, then grabbed his hand and led him quickly towards the elevator, calling a hasty goodbye to Glen and Sean as he went.

He tapped his foot impatiently on the floor while they waited for the elevator to arrive at the bottom floor, his hand tightly twined with Kevin's. As soon as the doors opened, he tugged Kevin inside behind him and then turned into his arms even as he pushed the button for their floor. Wrapping his arms around Kevin's waist, Scott snuggled close to him, counting every second until they hit their floor. Luckily there was no one else in the confined area, but Scott wouldn't have cared if there was. Fuck Vince. Scott was already most likely in the doghouse with the man, so if someone went running with tales of PDA to add to it, then so be it. He just didn't want to let Kevin go right now.

His hands gently playing over the bottom of Kevin's spine, he tilted his head up to smile wickedly at his lover as the doors opened. "Think we can both be naked in two minutes or less?" he asked as he let one hand drop to the bulge in Kevin's pants for a brief stroke before turning and hurrying down the hall to their room.

****

Dave sat back in the seat, his hands clenching unconsciously as Hunter started his little speech. Obviously Dave had been wrong...Hunter, the little bastard, would lie to Shawn. Even as Hunter spoke, Dave could read the contradictions in his eyes. Actor or no actor, Dave had watched Hunter more than most with all the close contact they'd had lately. For some reason Hunter felt the need to lie to both of them, but it was obvious as hell in the way he was holding himself that that's what he was doing. Of course Shawn wouldn't have really noticed with the way Hunter was tearing him to pieces. Nice misleading there about the beautiful people. Dave barely held back a snort of derision at the utter crap that was spilling out of Hunter's mouth. At least he'd been right about Hunter's relationship with Stephanie.

 _"...if you could stand my company for a few more hours, I really don't want to be by myself right now."_

Dave barely kept himself from flinching over the pain in those words. He'd only wanted to make things right so that Shawn and Hunter could go play happily ever after and look at what had happened. He didn't deserve to spend time with Shawn after the mess he'd just caused, but there was no way he was going to leave him alone by himself. As Shawn got out of the limo, Dave turned and glared at Hunter, uncaring if the other man did take offense. That was nothing compared to how offensive he was about to be and if it ended up costing him his spot on the show, then so be it.

"You know Hunter, when we first started working together, I thought you were the kind of guy I should admire in this business, the kind of guy I'd like to get to know. Of course I also thought your marriage to Steph was real, so I kept all those thoughts to myself. I couldn't even let myself accept your friendship because I was afraid you'd see right through me. You might play a bit of politics behind the scenes, but at least you were honest about doing it. I've never seen you lie to anyone and I've always respected you for that. I don't know why you felt the need just now to lie to your best friend and tear him to shreds, but that speech was the biggest line of bullshit I've ever heard," Dave said, his voice calm and cool despite his anger. His hands still clenched on his knees, Dave shook his head and looked sadly at the man beside him.

"One of these days you're going to wish you'd told him the truth. I just hope that when that day comes, Shawn will forgive you. He's the best thing that ever could have happened to you and you just tossed him away like trash for a little bit of power with the company. If I'd known you were going to be that casual with his love for you, I'd have kept my damn mouth shut."

Dave climbed out of the limo without looking back and spotted Shawn walking slowly towards the door to the restaurant. Taking a deep breath and suppressing both his anger and his misery over his own part in this fiasco, Dave walked up behind him and laid a hand tentatively on his shoulder. Walking around so that he could face Shawn, he smiled sadly as he raised one hand to Shawn's cheek letting his thumb trace over the pale skin.

"You and I both know he was lying, Shawn, even if we don't know why. I shouldn't have said anything, even as much as it's true, and...I'm sorry for ever bringing it up. If you still want to have dinner with me, I'd love to spend time with you. I may be a big idiot sometimes, case in point, but I'm not a big enough idiot to turn down dinner with my favorite person."

****

Adam finally spotted Jay sitting with Ty over at a corner table. As he crossed the room, he continued cursing himself for messing with Chris' head like he had, some friend he was. He considering dragging Jay off to talk privately, but he figured that most likely Jay would end up telling Tyson everything anyway, so he might as well just talk here. He sat down at the table and quickly flagged down a passing waitress to order two shots and another beer. He should keep his head clear, but he needed something to help dull the pain of dredging up all this shit again. As the waitress left to get the drinks, Adam turned to Jay with a grimace.

"Jay, I really fucked up and I need you to help me figure out how to fix it," he said imploringly.

Jay shook his head at him and scowled. "After what you told Chris earlier, why should I help you? A collar, Adam? And you weren't supposed to mention that room service thing...ever."

"Geez, Jay, I was just teasing about that shit and I told him that. This is really important though, it... it has to do with Chris." Looking up as the waitress brought back the drinks, he handed her the money he owed plus a healthy tip and then downed the first shot.

Jay raised a brow at him. "Are you trying to get drunk? And what made you join us tonight instead of...well, you know. Does this mean maybe you're finally getting over...?"

"Yes I am trying to get drunk," Adam said, pausing to down the second shot before he answered any more of Jay's questions. "I've been over...him, for a long time now Jay. You know that. I just haven't managed to handle the being alone thing very well. As far as why I joined you tonight, well that is where the thing with Chris comes in...And why I need your help." After taking a large swallow of the beer in his glass, he set it back down and stared into the amber fluid as he tried to explain.

"I came with you guys tonight because Chris was looking a little depressed earlier about something and...."

"And you couldn't help but want to cheer him up, considering how you feel about him." Adam looked up in surprise at Jay. He should have known that his friend had figured out his attraction for Chris, even if he'd never spoken of it in so many words.

"Yeah, well that's where the problem comes in. I pretty much just told him that...that I wanted him and I wanted to kiss him, but I just couldn't. I told him that he deserves better than me Jay and that's the truth. He deserves better than someone that has slept with so many people in the last year that I can't even remember half of them. I just wanted to try to be his friend and I messed it up. He probably won't even want to talk to me now." Just then he heard Chris' voice over the bands' music and his eyes flew towards the stage. 'God, look at him up there. He's so alive, so passionate about everything. If only I could have let myself....' No, he wasn't going to let himself go there.

"Adam, as much as I've bitched about it, I'm not going to tell you that the one-night stands don't bother me, you'd know better. But I do understand why you do it. The thing is that you aren't going to find what you're looking for in a bunch of nameless people. You can't tell me that they make you feel less lonely or less betrayed."

His eyes still fixed on Chris on the stage, Adam listened to what Jay was saying. He had to agree. Not one of those people had taken away the loneliness past the time it took to complete whatever sexual act they'd been involved in. As soon as it was over he was back to feeling just as lonely as he had beforehand. The betrayal? How did you get over someone lying to you for months? Then once you found out about the lies, them blaming you for the entire thing.

"Terry is an ass for what he did, but you can't compare him to everyone. You ought to know that Chris is nothing like Terry. He would never cheat on you like Terry did or lie to you like that. I know you have that whole 'rule' thing going on now, but there _can_ be exceptions, Adam. It's not ironclad. Hell you could toss the thing away when it comes to Chris and I doubt he's going to care about the other thing. If it makes you feel better then tell him about it, but Chris isn't lily-white either, so I doubt that will make any difference. I actually think that you two would be good together, so get your skinny ass up and go talk to him."

That is what he was doing wasn't it? He knew that Chris and Terry were nothing alike. Could it really be that simple? He wasn't so sure that he agreed with Jay about Chris not minding the whoring around, but he'd never know unless he tried to explain it to him, would he?

He was distracted momentarily by Chris shedding his shirt. Chris half-naked was always a good thing, though Adam was a little jealous over the fact that Trish was at the receiving end of his shirt. Shaking his head at himself, Adam realized that he didn't have a reason to be jealous at all. Chris wasn't his to be jealous over...at least not yet.

Getting out of his seat, he leaned down and gave Jay a quick hug of thanks. That's when he remembered the other man sitting with them. Ty had been quiet the entire time and Adam hadn't had the guts to look at him to see his reactions to what they were talking about. "Thanks Jay. Wish me luck. Ty, I'm sorry for crashing in on you two like that. You may resume the under-table grope-fest now."

Jay's mouth dropped open and he sputtered. Ty smiled at him and to Adam's surprise, spoke for the first time since he'd sat down. "Go fix it or I'll have to hurt ya." Adam blinked, then smiled. He shouldn't really be surprised that Ty would watch out for Chris. They were friends after all.

In a much better frame of mind, Adam went about finding the area where the band would make their exit after the set. He leaned against the wall, his face set, almost daring anyone to try to make him move. They'd have to drag him out screaming if it came down to it.

When Chris exited the stage, Adam reached out and put his hand on his arm to get his attention. "I know you are probably mad at me right now and you have every right to be, but could we talk for a minute? Somewhere quiet? There are a few things I need to tell you and I just... I just hope you give me the chance. Please?"

****

Shawn was climbing out of the limo, his tragic face lined with tears. Hunter's hand actually shook and he could feel the tension in his shoulder as he almost reached out to grab Shawn and hold him in place. _Why the fuck do you think you have the right to touch him now?_ He glared at his hands until they became still. Shawn was gone and Hunter felt the loss so keenly from within the iron fort he'd made of his feelings. A tingling numbness began to creep up his legs and he was so focused on the sensation that he almost missed Dave's words. The hate emanating from the other man was palpable.

 _I thought you were the kind of guy I should admire in this business_

 _Just goes to show what a honourable, naive, decent son of a bitch you are Davey-Boy._ Hunter didn't look up at the other man, he doubted he could stand to see the disgust in Dave's dark eyes. Dave was what the old timer's would call 'noble' and mean it. A man who would stick by you and stand up for you no matter what. Hell, he'd even tried to set up the man he loved with someone else just because it was the right thing to do. That kind of good was pretty rare in the business Hunter immersed himself in, and he'd been drawn to it. A desire that was so strong it was only rivaled by his obsession with Shawn.

 _..that speech was the biggest line of bullshit I've ever heard..._

Hunter's eyes snapped to the Big Man's in shock. There was no way he hadn't convinced them. No one would say something like what Hunter had just said and not mean it. _Well, except you._ And to top it all off, the man still sounded like he felt sorry for Hunter. _What's a man like this doing caring about you?_

 _…have kept my damn mouth shut._

Hunter's eyes were fixed to Dave's strong back as the man climbed for the limo. He watched through the tinted glass as Dave approached Shawn. They talked for a moment then the two went into the restaurant.

"Yeah Dave, you probably should have," he agreed to the empty seats across from him. How could he be shivering when it was so warm outside? Had he really just casually tossed Shawn's love away? If Dave said so it was probably true, Dave was usually right about most things. Except, not about Hunter. But from his perspective he'd just saved his best friend from something that was a bad, bad idea. _Oh, so self-sacrificing Hunter? More like a coward than a martyr._ He wondered why his conscience sounded like Vince.

A coward? Maybe...but it was done now. The two men he cared for more than anything were together and they would become closer now that Hunter was out of the picture.

"Sir..." Ray's voice interrupted his morose thoughts. "Shall I take you back to the hotel?"

No point in sitting here watching the carnage he'd just caused.

"Yes. Thank you, Ray," he acknowledged with painful politeness. The trip took just minutes, that was why he'd asked for such a close restaurant after all. Stepping out of the limousine he buttoned his jacket and strolled towards reception like he hadn't just ripped his own heart out. He was the Game after all. Greg had already checked in for him so he simply asked for his key card and headed to his room. Most of the rest of the WWE talent were staying here and Hunter really didn't feel like running into anyone right now.

Tossing his jacket carelessly over the back of the lounge, he undid two more buttons and picked up the phone.

"Room service, can I help you?" The warm, friendly voice was almost soothing.

"Hi, can I have two bottles of your best whiskey brought to suite four please?" His own voice was also friendly and relaxed.

"Yes certainly...ahh...Mr. Helmsley. Can I get you anything else tonight?"

"No thank you, just the whiskey." Hanging up Hunter wandered to his balcony and took three deep breaths. He felt remarkably calm. This wasn't something new after all, he'd done worse, just not to anyone he loved before.

He hoped the whiskey would get here soon.

****

Chris was almost in heaven right now. He could feel the sweat slicking his back and forehead, the crowd was going insane, Doctor Todd was practically drooling on him and the music was so FUCKING LOUD! Closest to heaven he'd been in a while, but then true heaven involved cotton sheets and a half empty tube of lube. With Adam it would be....NO! So not going there.

Mac was saying something about a break, so CJ sauntered to the stairs, aware of the eyes of the crowd on him. They'd had an extra treat tonight when the King of the World showed up on stage and Chris was reveling in the attention. So what if Adam had done a runner? Chris had been lecturing himself about 'hands-off' the gorgeous blond two hours ago anyway. It was a good thing Adam had left him. Made it easier to resist temptation.

After his little show on stage, he could pick up tonight no problem. No problem at all. Hey, Doctor Todd would be all over him if he gave the just the slightest permission. He could have anyone.

 _Except Adam._

And that was just the fucking killer wasn't it? He could get laid six ways from Sunday if he wanted. But not with Adam. After all...Adam _mattered_.

Brushing off Doctor Todd's hand, Chris headed towards the band's dressing room. Just at that moment he was disgusted with himself. Todd was a shit-hot player and didn't deserve Chris playing cocktease just because he was pissy at Adam.

He almost snapped Todd's head off when his arm was grabbed, till he realized it wasn't Todd.

 _...you are probably mad at me...Somewhere quiet?_  
"Sure," CJ answered before he'd even thought about it. He resolved a long time ago that he'd more than likely say 'sure' to anything Adam asked of him. Taking Adam's wrist, Chris led them through the crowd in the back stage area towards the rear exit. Smiling at the bouncer who opened the door for them, they walked into the sudden quiet of the rear alley. The throbbing of the music from the club was muted here. A couple staggered away from them into the street beyond.

Worried, CJ realized there may be something wrong. What had happened inside to upset Adam? Frowning he looked up into deep, beautiful eyes.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" Chris couldn't help the concern that coloured his voice.

It was Adam.

****

After the noisiness of the club, the alley seemed deathly quiet to Adam, although he swore he could hear his own heart thudding in his chest. As much as Jay's speech had convinced him that this would be a good thing to do, he was still scared to death that Chris was going to react badly to what he was going to tell him.

 _"Are you okay? What's wrong?"_

Adam swallowed hard as he tried to decide how to answer that. Chris actually sounded worried about him or something so maybe this would turn out okay.

"Yeah. I'm fine, Chris. I wanted to apologize actually. I know I've been blowing hot and cold with you all night and I'm really sorry about that. It may not make sense, but there is a reason for it and I want to explain." Adam could see the questions in Chris' eyes, and he wanted to answer them. Hopefully he could get it all out without letting his fears get a hold on him again.

"Before you switched back to the Raw roster, I was actually trying to work up the courage to ask you out. Then when we found out about the switch I held off because we all know how hard it is to have any kind of long-distance relationship, let alone one that's just starting out. I kind of figured it was fate or something. Then a few months later when Terry came back, we hit it off. It wasn't so much dating as going back to the hotel to ... well you know. I didn't love him, but we were good friends and I got used to having someone around...we were supposed to be exclusive for whatever that might say." Maybe that didn't paint him in the best light possible, but it was the truth. The last thing he wanted to do was lie to Chris. Adam let his eyes drop to the ground and he leaned back against the brick wall of the building as he started the next part of the story. This was the part that was going to hurt. Regardless that he and Terry were just friends, betrayal was never easy.

"When I went out for my surgery, he was there. Saying all the right things, helping me out the first week. He'd just gone through it himself and it helped having him there. He called me every night the second week while he was gone. The calls started tapering off after that and he had reasons for not coming to see me that seemed to make sense. I was already chafing because of the surgery and the fact that I'd gotten used to having someone sleeping with me at nights and I didn't have that anymore either." He felt so weak for having to admit that. What kind of guy couldn't stand to sleep by himself. It was just damn pitiful. He shifted against the wall, the bricks biting slightly into his back reminded him that he wasn't finished talking yet.

"When I got my soft collar on, I decided to visit Smackdown so that I could say hi to everyone and hopefully hook up with Terry to find out what was going on. I didn't let anyone know I was going to be there and when I showed up, I could tell that some people were acting funny around me. I finally tracked down Terry's dressing room after three people sent me in the wrong direction...that's when I found out why they had tried. I walked in on Terry and Brock. They weren't fucking, but you could tell that's where it was headed. Needless to say Terry was shocked. He tried to apologize, but I was too pissed off to listen. Brock just laughed and let it 'slip' that they'd been messing around since two weeks _before_ my surgery."

"Terry and I got into a yelling match and he shoved me. Brock of all people stepped in the middle of it. Terry was so pissed off that he either didn't remember or didn't care that he could have sent me back to the hospital...or the morgue. I went to the bar that night and got totally shit-faced. I picked up the first guy that made a pass at me and I've done that pretty much every night since. Well not the getting shit-faced part. I wasn't going to get hooked on alcohol so instead I let myself get hooked on one-night stands. I've slept with so many guys in the last year that I don't even remember half of them." He wanted to look and see Chris' reaction to what he'd said so far, but he was scared to death that he'd look up and find his eyes full of disgust or something worse.

"That's why I have the rule about dating guys in the company. It wasn't until Jay reminded me, and I say reminded because I do already know, that you aren't anything at all like Terry. I was just using it as an excuse not to put myself on the line. Jay seemed to think you wouldn't hold my whoring around against me either. I didn't want you to think that I'm not interested, because I am. Damn interested. I'm just not so sure that I’m good enough for someone like you, Chris. You're so bright and full of life. I spend way too much time watching you at work and that makes me sound like a stalker or something, but...I saw how sad you were earlier and I wanted to see you smile again."

Adam finally managed to raise his eyes from the ground and look at the man standing in front of him. He wasn't sure how Chris was going to react to everything he had said, but he at least owed him the courtesy of looking at him when he did react. If he was lucky then maybe he and Chris could still be friends. If he was very lucky then what Jay had said would be true and Chris would be able to look past all his faults and give him a shot.

****

CJ was honestly stunned by what he was hearing. His brain had almost stuttered to a halt on the "courage to ask you out" line. It had nearly fried when he heard what Terry had done. Chris remembered that time acutely. He'd finished a programme with Edge and been buoyed on the chemistry they'd had in the ring. Australia had been a fantastic tour, with them both acting up and being totally insane inside and outside the ring. The plastic chair thing still made him grin even now.

They'd sat next to each other on the god-awful flight home and that was when Adam had started to _matter_. Giving the stewards, both male and female, marks out of ten. Having a chopstick fight over their noodle soup and listening to Adam tell him all about growing up down the road from Jay. It was the longest conversation they'd ever had and CJ had treasured the memory of having Edge's full and undivided attention. Not long after they got back, JR had called him to talk about moving to RAW for a run against Shawn Michaels. The chance to work with his life long idol and thirteen year crush had been too much bait to refuse. He'd jumped.

If he'd known he was leaving Adam behind, he would have said "no thanks".

And now beautiful Adam was telling him he'd been hurt and betrayed by the lover he'd taken to stave off loneliness. That that stupid fuck Terry had almost killed him when he lost his infamous temper, that Adam had thought so little of himself that he'd allowed anyone to touch him just so he didn't feel alone.

God, if he didn't feel so angry and so fucking sad, he'd almost laugh. All he'd had to do was have the guts to make a pass at Adam and the last year wouldn't have happened. CJ would never have let....Well, no need to dwell on that. Adam was all that counted right now. The precious man who was leaning against the wall, tense and ready for the rejection CJ sensed he expected.

As if.

Chris _might_ say 'no' to Adam's declaration of affection. He _might_ also saw his own dick off with a pocket knife, but was it _going_ to happen? Not in a million years.

Thinking of dicks, CJ's body had decided that it wanted to be where it had been just a little while ago. Edge had been touching him before, so if what he was saying was true and Chris doubted Adam would lie to him, then he'd liked touching Chris. Liked it a lot.

 _and I wanted to see you smile again._

"You did?" Chris kept his voice low, just a murmur in the still alley. It was steamingly hot and he was glad he still didn't have his shirt. Although he felt pretty fucking vulnerable standing half-naked in front of the guy who'd just bared his soul to him. He should probably reciprocate.

But Chris liked body contact when he talked, so he got some. Taking the bigger than usual three steps, he leaned his entire body against Adam's. Although he always felt short at the arena surrounded by absolute giants, Adam was just tall enough to please Chris, without him feeling like a little kid. He softly nuzzled his face back into the smooth neck so near his nose and took two fistfuls of the shirt at Adam's hips. Not even waiting to see if the other man closed the embrace he explained.

"You made me smile the moment you breathed in my ear Adam," CJ didn't try to conceal the husky aroused note that had entered his voice. "Babe I don't care if you've slept with the entire roster, I'd do anything to have your attention. Hah. Even strip off and bounce on stage like a pole-dancer. I didn't...." Chris muffled his words a bit into warm, aftershave smelling skin. "I didn't know you liked me, or I'd never have jumped to Raw. I just figured that I didn't have a chance with you and was too scared to take the risk you'd turn me down."

Chris leaned his head back and fell into the hottest green eyes he'd ever seen. "I nearly picked up a twenty-year-old bass guitarist just to prove that I could, so what does that say about _my_ morals? Maybe..." he licked his suddenly dry lips. "Maybe we could stop treating ourselves so badly and give it a shot. I'm not asking for anything you don't want to give Babe, whatever to have to spare I'll take."

He'd initiated a kiss last time and Adam had run, so maybe it would be pushing it try again. But Adam had said, he  _thought highly_ of Chris so...what the hell. No-one ever said CJ was a cautious person.

Gently he leaned up, giving the taller man a chance to avoid him if he wanted, and brushed his lips softly to Adams.

****

Shawn jerked to a halt when he felt a hand fall gently on his shoulder. He didn't curse this time; he knew who it was. Although a cynical little voice in the back of his head was muttering something about history repeating itself, he could feel the weight on his heart lighten just a little. Maybe Dave wasn't going to just give up on him after all. As long as the only result of tonight wasn't just his best friend ripping his heart out and stomping on it, he could deal with it.

As much as his thoughts were jumping around, he wasn't prepared for the soft touch on his cheek and the open tenderness of the gesture brought tears to his eyes again. He blinked them away, already starting to seal up the weaknesses that the scene in the limo had provoked. He might end up crying himself to sleep, but he wasn't going to admit it if he did and he sure as hell wasn't going to cry in public.

 _"If you still want to have dinner with me, I'd love to spend time with you."_

He couldn't have prevented the smile that crossed his face at those words any more than he could prevent himself from breathing. Maybe there was some hope after all... unless Dave was just pitying him? The one thing he'd never been able to take was pity.

 _"...I'm not a big enough idiot to turn down dinner with my favorite person."_

His eyes widened for an instant at those words. Maybe he didn't have to worry about pity after all. Cocking his head slightly, he looked up at Dave, not realising how much his expression revealed.

"Favourite person, huh? Well, as long as you don't expect perfection, 'cause that's damned hard to come by, these days. Dinner with you would be wonderful, Dave." His voice softened a little as he allowed it to reflect some of his emotion. "If... If nothing else, I'd greatly appreciate the company. But I'd be happy if you wanted to think of it as my accepting your earlier invitation." Looking into Dave's eyes for a long moment, he saw regret and anger there, along with other unidentifiable emotions. Finally pulling his gaze away, he nodded toward the building.

"I doubt I'm really dressed for this place, but you should be just fine." Another smile, trying to rebuild some of himself. Reluctantly he stepped away from the touch that was almost anchoring him in place. Taking a step toward the entrance, he reached out without thinking and took Dave's hand, encouraging the big man to walk alongside him. He nodded at the maitre d' once inside and gave his name, shaking his head when the man asked where the third person was.

"He... he couldn't make it." Damn. His voice had trembled there. The maitre d' raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, and Shawn was silent as they were escorted to their table. Only when he started to sit down did he realise that he'd been holding Dave's hand the entire time and flushed faintly as he forced his fingers to release their grip.

"Sorry about that," he murmured. "I didn't realise..."

The menus being placed in front of them and the recitation of the specials of the evening distracted him and he glanced over the menu, ordering a longtime favourite before daring to look at Dave again.


	8. Arrangements

_"Well then what are we waiting for?"_  
   
Kevin couldn't help but laugh at the eagerness in his lover's voice. Turning to the other two in the limo, he asked, "Can you two grab our bags? We checked in earlier, so it's just our ring stuff." Smiling at Sean in thanks when the smaller man nodded, he got out of the limo and allowed Scott to drag him across the lobby.

When Scott wrapped himself around him inside the elevator, Kev forced himself to take a deep breath. His cock was throbbing almost painfully against his tight pants and having Scotty all over him wasn't helping his self-control. He ran his fingers through Scott's hair, knowing that they didn't have time to actually do anything in the elevator no matter how nice the idea of fucking Scott up against the wall sounded.

 _"Think we can both be naked in two minutes or less?"_

Kevin growled at the too-brief touch and followed Scott down the hall, moving at a slower pace. He kept his eyes locked on his lover, knowing that once they were inside the room, he was going to get to fulfil all the promises he'd made earlier. He was definitely looking forward to it. At the door, he leaned against Scott, almost pinning him against the door, and ran the keycard throught the sensor as he smiled at the other man.

"Yes."

Gently pushing Scott ahead of him, he shut the door after placing the "do not disturb" sign on the outside and slid the bolt home. He was going to make damned sure that they weren't interrupted. He pulled his jersey off as he turned around and tossed it toward the dresser before working on his pants, letting them drop to the ground as he stalked toward his lover, heat flaring inside him.

"Your turn, Scott," he practically purred, his eyes raking over Scotty.

****

Chris was touching him. Not just touching him, but practically plastered up against him. Adam was so stunned that Chris wasn't running the other way that he was frozen in place. Chris was touching him. Heated breath against his neck, hands fisted in his shirt and he still couldn't move.

 _"Babe I don't care if you've slept with the entire roster..."_

Adam's breath hitched in his throat. Chris didn't care...it didn't matter to him about the endless string of nameless people he'd been with. Jay, bless him, had been right after all. Adam felt his hopes rise with each husky word spoken by the beautiful man snuggled up tight against him.

 _"...Was too scared to take the risk you'd turn me down."_

Adam blinked as he pondered how they'd both made the same error. If he'd just taken the chance back then...so many things would have been different. It was useless to dwell on what-could-have-beens. He needed to worry about the here and now...and if what Chris was saying was true, then there might actually be a here and now to look forward to.

When Chris looked up at him, Adam was trapped in a sea of blue. He'd always loved Chris' eyes. He caught Chris' tongue slipping out to wet his lips and almost moaned. Did Chris have any clue at all what he was doing to him? As if the heat and weight of his body pressing against him wasn't enough to have Chris' mouth so temptingly close...it was like torture.

 _"I'm not asking for anything you don't want to give Babe..."_

As far as he was concerned Chris could have all of him and he'd be sure to tell him that just as soon as he had a chance. As soon as Chris' lips touched his he was finally able to peel his hands from their frozen position against the wall. He returned the gentle kiss as his fingers tangled in Chris' hair. Pulling back just far enough to growl out Chris' name, he then covered Chris' mouth with his own and kissed him with all the feelings he'd been holding back. He'd wondered for so long how Chris would taste, and now he knew...sweet, like a breath of fresh air.

As the kiss continued, Adam let loose of his hold on Chris' hair and ran his hands firmly down his back. Settling his hands firmly on Chris' ass, Adam shifted his legs slightly and pulled Chris between them, letting him feel the obvious evidence of his arousal. Moaning into Chris' mouth, he finally broke the kiss for a moment, leaning his forehead against Chris', his breath leaving him in harsh pants.

"Whatever you want to take, Chris...it's yours." And he meant every single word of it. Whatever Chris wanted, he'd give him.

****

 _"But I'd be happy if you wanted to think of it as my accepting your earlier invitation."_

If that's the way Shawn wanted him to think of it, then that was completely okay by Dave. With the way things had turned out he almost wished he'd just accepted Shawn's offer earlier as well. Even though Shawn was smiling now, Dave could tell it didn't really reach his eyes. He was hoping to change that or at least try to ease the pain that Shawn was obviously feeling over Hunter's rejection. He still couldn't figure out why Hunter had done it and that just bugged the hell out of him. Despite what he'd said to Hunter, Dave had a feeling it didn't have much to do with power in the company so that just left the big man clueless.

Shawn taking his hand had him smiling like the idiot he'd just proclaimed he wasn't. He wasn't even sure that Shawn realized he'd done so. Either way it didn't matter. He was completely happy with whatever Shawn was willing to give. When he had said he wouldn't play second fiddle to Hunter, that hadn't been the complete truth. If he actually thought that he had a slim chance to have any bit of Shawn's love for himself, he'd jump on it.

Dave considered growling at the maitre d', but didn't want to upset Shawn any more than he already was. There was the added factor that the guy couldn't have known what reaction his question was going to cause, but that was negligible as far as Dave was concerned. Shawn had already been upset enough tonight and he didn't want to see it happen anymore.

 _"I didn't realise..."_

Dave smiled and was about to comment on the fact that Shawn had been holding his hand, but the waiter distracted him momentarily. After Shawn had placed his order, Dave gave his own and added a bottle of wine to the total damage. Dave didn't drink often or a lot, but he figured that both of them could do with a little something to take the edge off, and a fine bottle of wine might help with that.

As the waiter left the table, Dave turned his smile back to Shawn and reached across the table to put his hand over Shawn's.

"You know... you are allowed to touch me Shawn, as long as it's what you want to do. I'm surely not going to argue about it," he said with a wink in the hopes of lightening things up a bit. "So...I ran into Scott and Kevin on the way out of the locker room earlier. With what I saw, I'm going to assume that they're...together?"

****

 _"Yes."_

It took Scott a moment to recall what Kevin was saying yes to. With the way Kevin had him pressed up against the door, he was surprised he could remember anything at all. He shook his head to clear it a bit as Kevin pushed him through the door and turned to lock it. While Kevin was occupied with securing their privacy, Scott yanked off his boots and tossed them carelessly to the side, luckily missing the lamp on the bedside table. He paused and simply watched as Kevin's jersey flew towards the dresser and the big man divested himself of his pants.

Kevin naked was always a lovely sight to behold and this time was no different for Scott. Scott let his eyes roam over Kevin's bare form as his lover came towards him. The way Kevin looked at him, eyes so full of heat, made Scott shiver.

"Your turn, Scott." Kevin's voice had his knees feeling a little weak as it always did when Kev turned that sexy little purr on him. Scott tilted his head to look at Kevin and rubbed his hand over his chin as if pondering some deep meaningful question. Lowering his hand he took a step forward, then another.

"I don't know, Kev," Scott said as he met his lover halfway, placing his hands against the warm skin of his Kevin's chest. Pressing a gentle kiss between his splayed hands, right above Kevin's heart, Scott then tilted his head up and smiled. "I don't think I'm going to manage it in two minutes after all."

Dropping to his knees before Kevin could react to what he'd said, Scott placed his hands on Kevin's hips and slid his tongue up the length of Kevin's hard shaft. Teasing his tongue slowly around the head, Scott let one hand drop from Kevin's hip to wrap around his shaft, holding it steady as Scott indulged himself in the taste of his lover. Sliding the tip past his lips, Scott enclosed the head within his mouth and teased the slit with his tongue. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to get away with his teasing much longer before Kevin decided to do something about it, Scott slid half of Kevin's large cock into his mouth. Increasing his suction, he bobbed his head slowly while relishing the salty-sweet taste lingering on his tongue.

****

 _"...you are allowed to touch me Shawn, as long as it's what you want to do."_

Shawn stopped breathing for an instant, feeling little sparks of heat shiver up from where Dave's hand covered his. If that's what he wanted...? He'd been attracted to Dave since he first met him. And now, knowing that Dave was interested in him... and apparently as more than just a crush, considering how thoughtful and caring the big man was being... If Shawn _wanted_ to touch him? Was he kidding? The bemusement that he felt pushed away a little more of the heartache that Hunter's words had caused and a real smile came to his lips. Before he could respond, though, Dave's next question brought a snort of laughter to his lips.

 _"With what I saw, I'm going to assume that they're...together?"_

Grinning broadly at that, Shawn nodded.

"You could safely assume that, yes." He raised an eyebrow at Dave, realising that the other man was trying to distract him from thoughts of Hunter and he appreciated the effort; he just wondered what exactly Dave's motivation was. "Kevin and Scott have been an item for... god. Almost ten years? No, more than that. Eleven years, now. Mind you, it's not been an easy relationship, given some of Scott's... problems... but over the last year or two, they've managed to get past the last of those."

A pained look crossed his face as he remembered some of the more painful moments that he'd witnessed, but it was followed almost immediately by a soft smile. "They were apart for a while, but from how they've been acting tonight, it's a safe bet that they're back together. For good, hopefully. I've never seen them act quite so... gently with each other. It's good to see."

He felt unexpectedly wistful as he thought of his friends. They loved each other so much, and had gone through so many wonderful ups and horrible downs, and were still together... would he ever have anything like that?

Recalling the present, he shook his head a little, clearing away the bittersweet thoughts. Almost hesitantly, he interlaced his fingers with Dave's, feeling oddly shy. And how strange was that? He hadn't been shy his entire life, but something about Dave seemed to make him feel like an awkward teenager with his first crush.

"Thank you," he said softly, looking up at the big man. "I know that you're kind of in the middle, between me and Hunter." His voice caught a little on the name but he continued, "And it's probably awkward, but... thanks. I'm glad you decided to have dinner with me after all. It means a lot."

That probably sounded stupid as hell, and hopefully it didn't sound too pitiful or too much like he was blaming Dave for the current situation, because he didn't. He knew Dave had been put in the middle but had felt like he was doing a good thing... and Shawn thought he had. At least he and Hunter had finally cleared the air... somewhat. Hunt was _not_ going to get off that easily, though. Shawn was going to find out what the hell Hunter had been trying to hide from him, whether it was personal or business-related, and he was going to find out _soon_. But for now... he was going to enjoy a nice dinner with some _very_ nice company.

Any further conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the wine and their food, and Shawn reluctantly pulled his hand away from Dave's in order to eat.

****

Kevin raised an eyebrow as he watched Scott act thoughtful. He recognised that expression: He was in trouble tonight. The soft kiss to his chest surprised him with its gentleness, making him miss Scott's next words... until it was too late.

 _"I don't think I'm going to manage it in two minutes after all."_

The question that had been on his lips escaped in the form of a gasping groan as his hands found purchase in Scotty's hair, clenching unconsciously. The only thing that kept him from thrusting forward into that wonderful hot wetness that was his lover's mouth was Scott's hand on him, holding him back as he oh so slowly drove Kevin insane.

"Scott... god..." he muttered, his eyes rolling back as Scott flicked his tongue just _so_ before trailing his fingers down to his balls. Forcing his fingers loosen their grip on Scott's hair, he leaned over and slid one hand down Scott's face, cupping his cheek. "Scott... sweetheart... stop, please." He saw the disappointment in his lover's dark eyes as Scott pulled away, pouting, and smiled down at him. "I love your mouth on me, Scotty. But I think I remember making promises to you tonight, and if you make me lose it now, I'm not sure I'll be able to follow through on them."

Reaching out, he pulled Scott to his feet, ruthlessly ignoring his aching cock. Wrapping one arm around Scott's waist, Kev pulled his t-shirt off with the other hand before leaning in and kissing him, nibbling at his lower lip before flicking his tongue against it, waiting only for Scott's lips to part to plunder his mouth ruthlessly, kissing his lover breathless. As he lost himself in Scott's taste, his free hand worked Scott's jeans open and pushed them down. Not releasing his grip, he walked Scott backward until his knees hit the bed, then pulled back enough to smile at his lover.

"Love you, Scott," he husked, his voice rough. He pushed Scott back until he was laying across the bed, his feet still on the floor. Pausing to cast a long, admiring look over his lover, he ran his fingers down Scott's ribs to rest on his hips. "Gonna make you _scream_ , Scotty," he promised in that same gravelly voice.

Sinking to his knees between Scott's feet, too focused on what he was doing to notice the customary twinge at the movement, he leaned forward and mimicked Scott's earlier movements. Running his tongue up Scott's cock, he reached out with his hand and fumbled under the pillow for a minute, glad he'd thought ahead that afternoon. Smiling at Scott's reaction, he slowly swallowed his shaft, not stopping until his chin was pressed against Scott's balls. He swallowed, his throat massaging the hard flesh inside it, before rising up until only the tip was still in his mouth. Repeating the movement, just as slowly, he let Scott's shaft slip out of his mouth, pressing a gentle kiss to the tip, then lifted Scott's balls with one hand as his tongue flicked out, delicately lapping at the small puckered entrance. He circled it with his tongue before gently probing at it, his tongue pressing inside. He held Scott's hips down with his other hand as he worked at the sensitive flesh, determined not to stop until he had Scott begging.

****

Okay so maybe bringing up Scott and Kevin hadn't been so brilliant. Although Shawn had seemed happy that they were back together, obviously not all the memories were happy ones. But knowing about Shawn's friends was a way to get to know him as well and Dave honestly wanted to know everything about Shawn...good and bad.

When Shawn linked their fingers, Dave smiled. He really liked this almost shy side of the man he'd come to admire so much. Dave meant to dismiss the part about being in the middle of Shawn and Hunter. As far as he was concerned, from now on unless Shawn needed his help dealing with Hunter, there was nothing to be in between. At least until Hunter decided to stop being a dick and face up to the truth. He'd continue on with Hunter as he had in the past, since that's what Hunter seemed to want. The waiter appearing with their food pushed those thoughts to the side. Dave missed the contact of Shawn's hand on his, but he did have to let the man eat, regardless of his own preferences.

As he sat and twirled another bit of linguine on his fork, Dave wondered what the hell had possessed him to order it. He'd be lucky if he ended up with more in his mouth than on himself. 'Smooth there, Dave, real smooth,' he thought to himself. Maybe Shawn would drink enough of the Latour that he wouldn't notice Dave's lack of finesse with his meal. The dry red French wine was pretty good and it damn well should be for what he was paying for it, not that the cost mattered at all tonight. As long as Shawn walked away happy, then Dave was happy as well.

Taking a break from fighting with his pasta, Dave smiled at Shawn and then took a sip of his wine.

"So let's make a deal...no talking about work tonight in any way, shape, or form. Instead, why don't you tell me something about Shawn Michaels? What you like to do when you aren't on the road or something about your family. I really would like to get to know you better, Shawn." Hoping that he wasn't prying, Dave took another sip of his wine before setting it on the table and smiling at the man across from him.

****

Scott was a little disappointed when Kevin asked him to stop. He loved listening to the sounds that Kev made while he was going down on him, but if it was what Kevin wanted...Scott reluctantly pulled his mouth from Kevin's cock and pouted up at him. Kevin's words made him feel a little bit better because he certainly did not want to miss out on any of the things Kev had promised him earlier. He just wanted to lose himself in Kevin and enjoy having his undivided attention.

Before Scott knew what had hit him, he was half-naked and his mouth was under assault by Kevin. He didn't object in the least. Truth be told, he actually liked having Kevin undress him in his impatient yet so gentle way. When the back of his knees hit the bed, Scott returned his lover's smile, knowing that before long he would be screaming just as Kevin had promised.

 _Love you, Scott."_

Those words never failed to bring a smile to Scott's face. Even with everything that had happened between them, they'd never lost that love for each other that they'd discovered so many years ago, and if Scott had his way, they never would.

The way Kevin's eyes roamed over his body was almost like a caress in itself and Scott shivered slightly knowing that Kevin would follow that look by touching him until he was a whining, begging mess. Considering that he almost whined just from the touch of Kevin's hand on his hip, that was a pretty safe bet. Scott had no doubt that Kevin would manage to make him scream because Kevin always kept his promises to Scott.

The light touch of Kevin's tongue along his swollen length almost stole the breath from him, but somehow he managed to spit out Kevin's name in a rough low tone. "K...Kev, please."

Scott whimpered wordlessly as Kevin rewarded him by slowly sucking him down his throat. Kevin's next pass had Scott biting down on his lower lip for a second before he let it slip from between his teeth, the whine he'd been trying to suppress slipping from his mouth. Kevin liked hearing his responses and Scott wasn't about to disappoint him. When Kevin released him from the wetness of his mouth and moved on, Scott knew he was in trouble.

Kevin's tongue teasing his entrance drew a loud moan from Scott as he tried and failed to move his hips. Scott released his hands from their grip on the comforter, not even remembering having grabbed it in the first place, and let one tangle gently in Kevin's hair while the other covered the hand on his hip. Running his fingers gently up and down Kevin's forearm as he squirmed beneath Kevin's onslaught, Scott let his fingers wrap tightly in Kevin's hair. Giving the blond locks a hard jerk; Scott tried uselessly once again to move his hips. Knowing that the only way he'd be getting anything more would be by voicing his need, Scott forced a few words past his lips in a deep husky tone.

"God Kev...please. Need you. L...Love you, Kev." His words were followed by a long loud moan of pleasure as Kevin hit a particularly sensitive spot.

****

Spearing another bite of his farfalle, Shawn snuck a glance at Dave as he chewed. The big man almost looked like he was playing with his food instead of eating it, and he smiled briefly, remembering razzing Hunter about the same thing more than once. The thought killed the smile almost as quickly as it had appeared, and Shawn squeezed his eyes shut for a minute, forcing the thoughts away. He was _not_ going to dwell on Hunter all god damned night! He ate a few more bites of farfalle interspersed with broccoli and chicken, then sipped at the wine. Damn. Good stuff... he made a mental note not to let Dave try to pay for dinner all by himself. They'd more or less invited each other out, really...

 _"...why don't you tell me something about Shawn Michaels?"_

Shawn nearly choked on his wine. Blinking at Dave, he was more surprised by the sincerity on his face than he had been by the question. He wasn't kidding! Nobody ever asked about him without really wanting to hear stories about his sexual exploits, which were legendary. He managed not to make a face at that thought, knowing that the stories nowadays were what he'd well and truly earned by doing stupidly outrageous things when he was young enough not to care. But Dave... Dave wasn't asking about that, was he?

 _"I really would like to get to know you better, Shawn."_

A nice warm fuzzy feeling settled into his stomach, making it a little fluttery as he smiled at Dave, more flattered by the genuine interest than any empty compliments he'd ever received.

"I don't get that question very often. I don't think I'm all that interesting outside the ring, honestly. HBK's a lot flashier and outrageous than I am. Usually, anyway," honesty forced him to add. He shrugged a little, sitting back. "I dunno. What do you want to hear, Dave? I don't have any brothers or sisters, but I do have lots of cousins. Dad was in the air force, so I grew up around that. Mom didn't work, but she did have lots of friends, and of course church. I went to so many Sunday school lessons..." Shawn shook his head, smiling at the memory. "I was always a bit of a troublemaker---loudmouthed brat, Dad called me---and I think Mom despaired some days."

Picking up his fork, he took another bite as he thought. Another sip of wine and he tilted his head, watching the light shine through the drink.

"I tried college and didn't like it. But Dad decided to support my try at wrestling and helped me pay the fee for Jose's school. He didn't much like my chosen profession, but he's come to terms with it, mostly."

Shawn chatted about his life as they ate, and only when he finished his meal did he realise that he'd talked for over an hour. He'd covered his early years in the business, meeting Marty---although he'd skimmed over how close they _really_ were at that time---getting into the WWF and getting thrown out again, meeting Kev and Scott and Sean and Hunter... He'd managed not to let his voice shake during that, and had left it pretty brief. He'd mentioned Mark, and _had_ admitted that they'd been together for a while. Not too many people actually knew that they'd been serious for a while, and since his retirement had been the nail in the coffin, so to speak, he'd always wished they'd been able to end it better. They were friends now, but... Well, that was in the past.

"And if I get the time, I like to practice archery. Fishing is nice, but archery's much more of a challenge." Pausing, he looked at Dave to see if he'd bored him to tears. Taking a final drink of wine, realising how warm and fuzzy he was feeling around the edges, he smiled at Dave, feeling relaxed for the first time that night.

"I'm sorry. I really do babble when people let me... and alcohol doesn't help. My party days are well behind me," he apologised, blushing slightly. Damn, he'd had too much to drink. "Whew. Sorry, Dave. I think I've had a little too much. D'you think you could walk me back to my room when we get to the hotel? I'm kinda clumsy when I get like this."

Pausing and sighing a little more loudly than he'd intended, he leaned his head on his hand, frowning down at the table. "Back to my empty room. I'm tired of it always being empty," he muttered, wishing that things had gone differently earlier. Maybe then he'd be brave enough to ask Dave to stay with him. If he did that now, though, it'd give completely the wrong impression. All he really wanted was to just not be alone tonight.

****

Adam's growl sent shivers down CJ's spine despite the warm, balmy air of the alley. That kinda thing just shouldn't be as big a turn on as it was, nor should hands on his ass, pulling him forward until his hips were nestled in the leather apex of Adam's legs. But it was. A massive, hard-on-inducing turn-on that he relished. The sensuous mouth locked on his was firm and wet, sliding along Chris' so perfectly. Their tongues dueled for several seconds, before allowing exploration of teeth and lips. CJ felt like he was burning from the inside, going up in flames and Adam a solid island of cool to drown in. Not only was he solid, but the truth of his interest in Chris was pressed firmly against his silver-covered groin. But then the lips were gone, Chris reaching up like a cat into your palm, to try and recapture the sensation.

 _Whatever you want to take, Chris...it's yours_

How about everything? CJ didn't say the words out loud, he doubted Adam wanted to hear that, but he let his desire soak into his expression as their foreheads touched. Drawing in much-needed oxygen Chris tilted his head slightly away from Adam's. Letting the general sense of happiness overwhelm him, CJ smiled, well _smirked_ if he was going to be honest. Not to ridicule Adam's vow, never that, but merely to show him how much he enjoyed receiving the offer.

Chris let his eyes take a slow perusal of Adam, starting at the boots he could barely see, up the long, long leather pants to where their hips practially merged, silver and black like a ying-yang. The fine mesh shirt with ripped muscle and two tantalizing nipples underneath, long column of throat that CJ felt he was developing a definite fetish for hiding his face in and finally that wicked, sexy lovely face, surrounded by wild streaked honey hair. Normally sporting reticent disinterest or cool disdain, only very occasionally a 'manic' wicked grin, the face now reflected passion and subtle nervousness. God he'd love to make Adam grin.

"Now let me see," CJ filled his voice with speculation. "Anything I want huh?"

Reading the affirmative in the green eyes staring so intently into his, Chris snagged a handful of shirt again and pulled Adam down until his lips brushed Adam's smooth cheek.

"How about we head back to the hotel, get naked and I order you to drill me through the mattress?" Breathing out so that the puff of air would tickle Adam's ear CJ continued, "then we order room service, take a shower and I return the favour."

Chris hoped Adam might see the wisdom in his suggestion.


	9. Aftereffects

Hunter reached out and carefully placed the crowning glory on his achievement. There were twenty-four glasses in his suite, tumblers, champagne flutes and wine glasses. Twenty-one of which, he'd broken two and one was in his hand, now reflected the light from the bedside lamp like a crystal palace. A shiny, sparkly crystal palace that would make Alice In Wonderland proud. Snow White had a palace like this...or was it Cinderella? Sleeping Beauty? Whatever. One of those Disney girls had got a Prince Charming with a sparkling castle...and a fairy that kept whacking it with her wand. Stupid fairy.

Hunter had got a castle. It wasn't sparkling, but it reflected the sunlight on a fine day. Eight stories tall and all the servants followed him around. He even had his picture on the wall there and everything.

He hadn't got a prince though. Maybe he was The Prince? He'd married the King's Daughter after all so he was probably The Prince. He'd better keep an eye out for stupid fairies or his castle would turn to dust. For some reason that seemed incredibly funny to Hunter. So funny that he almost knocked over the gleaming statue of glasses as he tried to control the spasms in his stomach. His castle couldn't turn to dust, it was all ashes now anyway.

Looking for his bottle, Hunter was amused to note it was almost empty. With completely steady hands, he unscrewed the cap and poured himself a careful measure. No necking on the bottle for this Prince, no thank you. He was a Gentleman, and Gentlemen drank from the glass. Putting the bottle back on the glass coffee table, hunter leaned back against the couch and surveyed his masterpiece from his position on the floor. The twin of his whiskey bottle sat in the middle of the castle of glass, surrounded by attendant tumblers. He hadn't considered how he'd get it out afterwards, but then logical planning was beyond him at the time.

He had a castle, sure it was small but then Hunter wasn't ambitious. That sent him into another fit of giggles until he almost wept. Almost. Adjusting his thought process backwards several steps he continued. Hunter was a Prince, he had a Castle with servants, he could probably get a horse if The King let him...so what was missing? Of course.

The glass structure tilted precariously as Hunter leaned backwards up the couch to retrieve his suit jacket. Diving into the inner pocket he pulled out his cell phone and examined it. He didn't have much luck with cell phones and this one wasn't much different. The numbers were almost unreadable! And they kept swapping around just to fool him. Hunter struggled for several long minutes till he remembered Greg's lesson on Voice Activation. Pressing his thumb onto the little green telephone, Hunter spoke the name of the person he wanted to talk to. A soft beep and then it was ringing.

"Ha!" Hunter congratulated himself, he was smarter than a piece of technology.

He was starting to lose count of the rings when a breathless voice answered.

"Hunter what is it?" Oh, that's right, it was The Princess.

"Steph? That you?" Because it might not be, although The Princess had a pretty distinctive voice when he thought about it.

"Hunter? What the hell! What's going on?" Ooops, she sounded angry. The Princess wasn't one to be messed with when she was angry. Why had he called her again. Oh yeah...

"Steph?"

"Hunter?" Not angry now, The Princess sounded worried. Good, this was a serious business. "Is Shawn okay?"

Hunter just let that question slide away from his sodden thoughts.

"Princess? My castle's gonna fall down when the fairy hits it," he explained.

"---"

"Steph?" Maybe the fairy had gotten to her already. Stupid fairy.

"Hunter? Have you been drinking, Honey?" Nope, she hadn't been fairied yet. Good. He liked The Princess, even when she was angry and her voice went funny.

"Yes." He didn't know how to lie to The Princess. He'd lied to everyone else though. 'Specially Shawn. That had been just about the biggest lie that Hunter ever told. Dave had caught him on it, but Dave had special powers to see straight through Hunter so that was to be expected. He couldn't hope to measure up to Dave when he was invisible. "It's empty but if I get the other bottle the castle will fall down."

"The OTHER bottle?? Hunter where are you?" He'd had to hold the phone away from his ear then.

"Suite four," he told her. He'd seen the number on the card in the slot by the door.

"Where Honey? The Grand is it?..." he heard some muffled thumping as The Princess did something. Her voice sounded different as if she was talking to someone else. "...that's where they are tonight right?...No...he'd just totally gone....hang on...."

Now THAT wasn't true. He hadn't gone anywhere all night, just sat right here to protect the castle. The Princess had lied to...to...that's right...Meg. Pretty Meg with short blond hair and a briefcase. Meg always carried a briefcase so she was Meg, The Princess's Briefcase Holder. Long name.

"Hunter....just relax Honey, I'm gonna call Ric okay? He'll be over in a minute."

"Why?" He liked Ric, but he could hardly see how his mentor was gonna stop the fairy.

"Just to keep you company okay?" Hunter smiled at that, The Princess was always nice to him.

"Okay...sure." Ric could maybe help him get the bottle out of the castle.

"Good Hunter, I'm gonna go back to bed now. I'll call you tomorrow okay?"

"Thank you," he responded politely, she was The Princess after all. "Bye Girl." Because that's what he always said.

"Bye Hunter." The dial tone echoed through the hotel room. Hunter hoped it wouldn't make the glass break. Then his castle would be dust.

That was so funny Hunter laughed till he had to muffle his sobs in the couch cushion.

****

Kevin smiled as he heard Scott stop fighting against the noises he was drawing out of him. He loved hearing his lover whimper and moan; it just turned him on even more when he knew how much he was affecting Scott. Feeling Scotty's hips jerk against his grasp, Kevin redoubled his efforts, knowing how close Scott already was to begging for more.

When one hand reached down and tangled in his hair, Kevin shuddered. If Scott was resorting to his hair... he growled at the sharp jerk on his hair, the momentary pain almost instantly turning into a bolt of lightning that went straight to his cock. He loved it, loved having his hair played with, and Scott knew his weakness well enough to use it when he needed to. The bit of pain only heightened the sensation for him.

 _"God Kev...please. Need you. L...Love you, Kev."_

Oh, yeah. That was what he'd been waiting for. The moan that ripped out of Scotty's mouth drew another growl from him in response and he sat back. Finally lifting the hand that was holding Scott's hips down, he fumbled open the lube that he'd picked up earlier and squeezed some onto his fingers. Scott whined at the loss of contact, his hips moving restlessly, and Kev reached up to caress his hip reassuringly.

"Easy, Scotty, easy," he said hoarsely. Sure that the lube was warm, he circled Scott's entrance with one finger before pushing it in gently. At one point in their relationship, he would've just given in to Scott's demands at this point and fucked him... of course, at that point neither of them cared how they felt afterward, either. Now, he wasn't going to do _anything_ to Scott that would leave him hurting later... except when that was the plan from the beginning, of course. Kev still looked forward to those times, rarer now than they had been in the past, but had discovered that he enjoyed making love to Scotty slowly, gently, _lovingly_ , even more these days. The noises that slipped from Scott's throat prompted him to add another finger, scissoring them as he stretched his lover, watching his face as he brushed against his prostate. When he added a third finger and saw no pain on Scott's face, he spread lube over his aching erection and removed his hand, standing up with only a slight creak.

"C'mon, sweetheart, turn for me. Head up by the headboard," he rasped, pushing gently at him until he moved. Kneeling on the bed between Scott's thighs, he leaned forward and placed a hand on either side of his head, kissing him deeply as his cock nudged at Scott's entrance. Pushing forward slowly, Kev groaned deeply as he was enveloped within his lover, stopping the slow glide only when he was fully sheathed. He never pulled his eyes away from Scott's.

Just as slowly, he pulled his hips back until only the tip of his cock was still inside Scott before thrusting forward again, settling into a slow rhythm that nudged against Scotty's prostate every few strokes. The slow pace was killing him, but he wasn't going to give either of them the faster pace that their bodies were demanding until he'd fulfilled his other promise. Panting, Kev smiled down at Scotty.

"Time to scream for me, sweetheart."

****

Despite what Shawn had said, Dave found everything about Shawn to be interesting. He liked knowing that Shawn was an only child and that he'd spent quite a few Sundays at Sunday school. He listened attentively to everything from Shawn's dad helping him pay for wrestling school all the way to Shawn's interest in archery and fishing. He'd been a bit surprised to hear that Shawn had been seriously involved with Mark, but only because it wasn't common knowledge as most relationships were backstage.

As far as Dave was concerned, Shawn could 'babble' all night and he'd still be completely interested, but he did note that Shawn seemed a bit embarrassed by it. He'd just have to be sure to point out to Shawn that he'd enjoyed every minute of it. The wine might have had a little to do with Shawn's talkative state. It had turned out to be a very good wine and Dave had had his own share. If he didn't have such a naturally high tolerance for the stuff, he most likely would have been just as chatty. Finding the pink tinge to Shawn's complexion rather cute and endearing, Dave smiled when Shawn asked for his help back to his room. Clumsy or not, Dave was happy to have any excuse to spend a bit more time with Shawn.

 _"Back to my empty room. I'm tired of it always being empty."_

Dave was pretty sure that Shawn's words hadn't been intended for his ears, but it struck him as strange how he'd had the same exact thoughts earlier in the evening. Maybe they could both avoid being alone tonight, although Dave wasn't about to take advantage of Shawn in his current state. As much as he'd love to spend the night exploring the body of the man sitting across from him, it just wasn't going to happen tonight. Besides Shawn being just a bit tipsy, he'd had quite an emotional day and Dave wasn't going to compound that by having Shawn wake up next to him wondering what the hell they'd done the night before. That still didn't mean they had to go to bed alone did it?

Flagging down the waiter, he handed him his credit card and made sure to mention they were in a hurry to get out of there. As soon as the man came back, Dave scribbled his name on the slip, adding in a generous tip, and sliding his card back in his pocket. Holding out a hand, he helped Shawn to his feet, and then guided him out to the waiting limo with an arm loosely around his shoulders.

Dave wondered if Shawn might fall asleep on the way to the hotel as short as the ride was. He sat beside him with his arm still loosely around Shawn's shoulders, enjoying the warmth of Shawn leaning into his side. The trip was quickly over as was the short elevator ride up to Shawn's floor. As they walked down the hallway to Shawn's room with Dave's arm holding Shawn steady, Dave fought with himself over the thought he'd had in the restaurant. Would Shawn even accept his offer of company for the night? There was only one way to find out. Dave would just have to suck it up and ask despite his nervousness. As Shawn leaned against the wall next to the door searching for his keycard, Dave took a deep breath and considered how to phrase his request.

"Shawn, I know that tonight might not have started out the best, but I really did enjoy having dinner with you. It was nice to have the chance to get to know more about you. I wish tonight didn't have to end and...." Dave paused for a moment raising his hand to stroke gently over Shawn's cheek as he had earlier.

"I heard what you said at the restaurant about lonely hotel rooms and I know I probably wasn't supposed to hear it, but I was thinking the same thing myself earlier tonight. If we stayed together...we wouldn't be alone. I promise no funny business because I'd never try to take advantage of you, but maybe...maybe I could just hold you while you sleep. If you want me to." Dave smiled at Shawn, hoping that he would agree to his idea. If things went wrong later when Hunter finally came to his senses, at least Dave would have this one night with Shawn to remember.

 

****

Damn. He just loved that smirk. Something about it always made him feel all warm and tingly inside. Then again maybe that was just the way that Chris was looking at him at the moment, his eyes all heated as they roamed his body.

 _"Anything I want huh?"_

You got it babe. Absolutely anything...even me. Though he wasn't about to say that thought out loud. He'd already taken more of a risk than he was completely comfortable with. After all this wouldn't be just another nameless person...it would be _Chris_. Chris wasn't 'just' anything.

 _"...And I return the favour."_

Adam shuddered as Chris' hot breath blew across his ear. He moaned loudly, the sound echoing off the brick walls in the alley. His eyes dropped shut as his mind raced through pictures created by Chris' words. How about it? Well hell fucking yes was his first reaction and his second, but he'd never be so ungentlemanly as to put it that way out loud.

"I think...." He opened his eyes to look at Chris and swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry. "I think that if you're going to give me those kind of orders, I could get real used to taking orders from you, Sweetheart."

Grabbing Chris' hand he literally drug him through the back door and through the club. That's when he remembered that they'd hitched a ride with Jay and Ty. Aw hell. Looking for the pair at the table he'd cornered them at earlier, he saw that they were still sitting there.

"We'll have to go drag Jay and Ty out to take us back to the hotel," Adam said, pointing in the direction of the couple. "We rode here with them, remember?"

He didn't think it would be a problem once the two found out they'd be rooming together that night rather than split up between he and Chris. Adam was just about to head towards their table when he caught sight of Austin who was caught up against the bar in a full press by Rosey with Shane whispering in his ear.

Turning to look at Chris and laughing rather loudly, he said, "I don't think it'd be nearly as funny if we aren't here to watch it and I'm suddenly feeling rather generous. What do you say, should we call them off?"

****

As lost in his own thoughts as he was, Shawn didn't realise that Dave had taken care of dinner until the big man helped him to his feet. Damn, he thought. He'd have to take Dave out to a nice dinner to make up for that. The arm around his shoulders added to the pleasant warmth that was filling him and he couldn't help but lean into Dave, putting a tentative arm around his waist. If Dave said anything, he could always claim it was to help his balance.

The short walk to the limo made him realise that he didn't want Dave to leave him alone tonight. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to express that wish without it sounding like a complete drunken come-on line, so he bit his tongue, instead trying to snuggle up against Dave in the limo without _acting_ like he was snuggling. If Dave wondered, he'd surely blame Shawn's closeness on the alcohol, right? Taking advantage of that thought, he leaned his head against Dave's shoulder and let his eyes drift closed.

He'd actually nearly dozed off when the limo arrived at the hotel. Dave's gentle touch on his cheek brought him back to wakefulness and he blinked up at the big man, a little embarrassed, but found himself wondering as he saw the expression on Dave's face just how he would've been woken up if he hadn't responded to that touch. He was more tired than he'd realised... probably the stress of the night, because he'd been pretty energised after the show, regardless of his encounter with the ring post. As they rode together up the elevator, Shawn realised that he could easily get used to having Dave touching him. The thought made him a little mournful as they stopped outside his room while he dug his keycard out of his pocket.

 _"...I know that tonight might not have started out the best..."_

God, just please don't let Dave say that he just wanted to be friends, now. That would the final blow for his composure tonight, and Shawn really didn't want to have a complete breakdown. He was pretty sure that he'd lose it at some point during the night, but at least then he could pretend to himself that he was asleep or something.

Denial, thy name is Shawn Michaels.

 _"...I wish tonight didn't have to end..."_

His eyes widened slightly as he pulled his keycard out, the soft touch to his cheek freezing him in place as he stared at the other man, suddenly almost nervous. He didn't want the night to be over, either, regardless of the pain earlier. He didn't want Dave to walk away from him again.

 _"...I could just hold you while you sleep..."_

Finally realising that he'd been holding his breath, Shawn exhaled and took a deep breath, Dave's smile sending an odd little shiver down his spine. Forcing himself to move, he ran hesitant fingers, shaking slightly, down Dave's shoulder before smiling back at him.

"I... I'd like that," he said quietly. "I'd like that a lot, Dave." Deliberately not thinking about Dave taking advantage of  him, he hoped the big man would see the sincerity in his eyes. Blinking a little, he turned enough to run the keycard through the sensor and pushed the door open, walking in and shedding his jacket, dropping it on the chair in the corner. His bags were sitting by the dresser, and as he glanced around, he realised that he was going to have to find something to wear to bed. He disguised his moment of embarrassment by pulling his cap off and tossing it on top of the jacket as he headed for the suitcases.

"Umm... Make yourself comfortable, Dave. I just..." He could feel himself turning pink and turned away from the big man. This was why he didn't drink much anymore---he had no self-control when he did. Not to mention some of the other side effects... well, at least he hadn't had so much that he'd jumped Dave at the restaurant.

Dammit, that hadn't helped his blush. Opening a suitcase and digging through it, he hoped desperately that he'd actually packed something he could wear to bed. "I... uh... I just have to find something to wear."

Not quite daring to look at Dave to see his reaction to that statement, Shawn thought that it probably wasn't news to him. If he didn't wear anything under his tights---or his jeans---it shouldn't be surprising that he didn't normally wear anything to sleep in, either. Although he wasn't quite sure why he was so embarrassed about it; he never had been before. Aha! He pulled out a lone pair of pajama bottoms that had been buried at the bottom of his suitcase. Maybe it was because Dave exuded a sort of classy air that made him more self-conscious or something. Hunter did that lately, too, what with all his Armani suits and such.

Standing there, holding the pajamas, feeling all warm and fuzzy, Hunter's name nearly shocked him. And much to his dismay, he could feel the walls he'd been trying desperately to rebuild all evening start to crack. He was _not_ going to start crying in front of Dave, dammit! He was stronger than this! Even if he _had_ just had his heart torn to shreds, he was _not_ going to lose control of himself... The tear that slipped down his cheek caught him by surprise, and with an almost angry movement he wiped it away as he turned toward the bathroom.

"I'll just be a minute." His voice was tight, probably revealing more than he wanted to. His lips compressed into a tight line as he tried to force his control back into place. Closing the bathroom door behind him, he stripped quickly and pulled on the pajamas after taking care of his other ablutions. He brushed his teeth and picked up his hairbrush, brushing his hair out and pulling it back before he took a breath and opened the door again.

He wasn't quite prepared for the sight that met him and stopped cold in the doorway. The big man had taken off his shoes and socks... and his shirt. Shawn felt his mouth water at the sight and forced down his libido. Even if he thought he were really in any kind of shape for something like that tonight, Dave would surely play the good guy to the hilt and be too honourable to take him up on the offer. He'd already said that he wouldn't take advantage of him, after all... too bad Shawn almost wanted him to.

Of course, the only other man that he'd wanted to take advantage of him had refused, too, albeit unknowingly. Shawn had practically thrown himself at Hunter during their DX days and Hunter had oh so gently refused to see what he was really doing... like tonight. Shawn blinked hard, then forced his voice to operate.

"Bathroom's free, if you need it..."

Damn. His voice was shaking. Dropping his gaze, he walked over to the bed, suddenly feeling awkward. As Dave walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him, he pulled the bedclothes back and sat on the bed, staring at the paisley pattern on the comforter.

How many times had he done something like this with Hunter? Hunt had always been so worried about him, so watchful... so many nights they'd spent together in bed because Hunt didn't want to leave him alone. Something about that thought nagged at him, but he couldn't quite catch it as other memories filled his mind. Hunt with his arms around him, holding him after the breakup with Mark... brushing his hair out of his face with a concerned look when he was sick... grinning at him when he was so grumpy in the mornings...

A choked sob escaped him and he pressed a fist against his mouth, shaking his head. He'd spent so many years loving Hunter, had so many memories of him... and now it was all over. How could they still be friends, with this between them? Another sob, and he could feel the tears welling up. Dammit! He didn't want to do this, didn't _want_ to lose control. Not now, not with Dave here... sweet Dave. Caring Dave. So much like Hunter...

The tears spilled over and he leaned forward, hiding his face in his hands as the pain crested and spilled over, escaping him in sobs that shook his body, leaving him blind to anything else.

****

Scott couldn't help the whine that slipped from his mouth when Kevin pulled away. Kevin's touch always left him feeling so needy, so wound up that losing it even for a moment was almost painful. Kevin's voice and gentle touch calmed him for a moment and luckily that was all Kevin needed before he was ready to start the next phase of their lovemaking.

When Kevin slowly slipped a single finger inside him, Scott whimpered and tried to move his hips to hurry the process along. Of course Kevin wasn't about to move any faster until he was ready. Scott loved the new gentleness between them, but at times like this he wished that gentle didn't take quite so long. When Kevin finally gave into his whining and added a second finger, Scott couldn't have been happier. Kevin's gentle touch against his prostate sent little sparks of pleasure rushing through him. Scott gasped, his eyes squeezing shut and he tried to arch into Kevin's fingers, but was limited by the awkward position.

"God Kev...more...please."

By the time Kev got around to adding a third finger, Scott was more than ready for the main event. He was almost ready to take control of things himself and jump the big man right there on the floor if he had to. Luckily, Kevin took pity on him and decided that he was ready to go. The temporary loss of Kevin's fingers had him ready to start whining again, but Kevin's directions cut it off before it could escape his mouth.

 _"C'mon, sweetheart, turn for me. Head up by the headboard."_

He was supposed to be able to move after all that? He wasn't at all sure that he could, but Kev's gentle nudge got him started and he somehow managed to make it to the requested position. And then Kevin's mouth was on his again and he could feel the gentle nudge of Kevin's cock against his entrance. He let his hands roam up and down the wide expanse of Kevin's back as Kev gently pushed inside him.

This...this was the reason that he would always love Kevin. This was the reason he'd fought so hard to clean himself up yet again. Not the sex, but that look that Kevin had in his eyes right now. The way that he felt whenever Kevin looked at him just like that. It made him feel loved, cherished, and desired...all at the same time. It made him feel like he was worthy of having all of those things, despite all the times he'd messed things up or fallen off the wagon.

Kevin's withdrawal and consequent forward thrust back into his body drew his thoughts back to the present and Kevin's other promise. His nails dug slightly into Kevin's back as Kevin's cock brushed his prostate, a long low moan slipping from his throat. It was good. It was always good with Kevin, but this slow pace was going to kill him he was pretty damn sure.

 _"Time to scream for me, sweetheart."_

He wanted to scream...in frustration if nothing else. Anything to get Kev to move a bit faster. Growling as another set of sparks skittered through his body when Kevin nudged his prostate, Scott wiggled until he could slide his hands into Kev's hair and gave it a sharp tug.

"Kev if you don't move a little faster...I'm going to cut you off for a week," he growled out in between heavy breaths. He knew that it was a false threat and he was betting that Kevin would know it as well. Maybe he could try another tactic. "Please. More Kev...please," he managed to gasp out as Kevin hit his aim once more.

**** 

 _"I'd like that a lot, Dave."_

Dave let out the breath he hadn't realized that he'd been holding. Thank goodness he hadn't made a fool of himself yet again. The way Shawn was looking at him made him believe that Shawn actually would like having him there. He followed Shawn into the room and watched as he removed his jacket and his cap. It might be crazy, but he was just a little bit nervous. It got worse when he noticed Shawn's blush.

 _"I... uh... I just have to find something to wear."_

Dave almost groaned. He hadn't even given a thought to what he'd wear to sleep in and he figured stripping down to his underwear would really give the wrong impression. He'd have to manage with his slacks. It wasn't as if he hadn't done it before. That's when his mind wandered to what Shawn normally wore to bed. Dave blushed a bit himself at the direction of his thoughts and he shoved them firmly from his mind. If he started thinking that way then Shawn surely would doubt his intentions. If not from the sight of his own blush then surely the fact that he'd have something prodding him in the back all night long would make him wonder if Dave planned to stick to his word about hands-off.

Shaking his head, Dave turned to see Shawn with a pair of pajama pants in his hand and sighed in relief. His slacks would work just fine. He was only a bit surprised at Shawn's seemingly sudden emotional state. Dave had been expecting more of a show of emotion from the man ever since the incident in the car. When Shawn made a hasty excuse and hurried into the bathroom, Dave decided to let the incident slide. Obviously Shawn just wasn't ready to deal with it and Dave wasn't going to push him. He'd already pushed enough so far tonight.

While Shawn was in the bathroom, Dave sat on the bed to take off his shoes and socks before standing and placing them neatly beside a chair next to the small table in the room. He slowly unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it over the back of the chair. It would need dry-cleaned anyway so no use in worrying about wrinkles.

Just then Shawn walked out of the bathroom and Dave let his eyes wander over him briefly. It wasn't like he didn't have a picture burned into his mind of Shawn bare from the waist up. He saw him like that all the time. He'd also fantasized about him more than once and not just his chest was bare in _those_ fantasies. Staring at the man he'd promised to 'just hold' all night would not be a good thing. Then again, as distracted as Shawn seemed to be now, he probably wouldn't notice. Obviously the events of the night were finally starting to sink in.

 _"Bathroom's free, if you need it..."_

Dave hurried into the bathroom and took care of his needs. It wasn't like there was much to do anyway. As he was in the process of getting ready to walk out the door, he realized that he was still wearing his belt. Biting his lip in consideration he unfastened it as he was walking out of the bathroom.

"I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to lose the belt. I wouldn't want it to scratch...." Dave trailed off as he saw Shawn huddled up on the bed, crying his eyes out. He wasn't really surprised at all. He probably wouldn't have lasted this long before giving into the need to let his emotions get the better of him if he'd gone through what Shawn had tonight. "Oh Shawn...Sweetheart," he said quietly, the endearment falling from his lips before he even realized he'd said it.

Pulling the belt quickly from the loops of his slacks, he tossed it in the general direction of the chair he'd been sitting in and walked over to the bed. Crawling up next to Shawn, he leaned against the pillow and pulled the sobbing man onto his lap, his arms wrapped around him. With Shawn's head leaning against his shoulder he stroked his hand soothingly over Shawn's back and arm as he whispered to him. He wasn't sure Shawn would even notice, but he had to try something.

"Shh...it's okay, Shawn. You know he didn't mean it. Regardless of what he said, Hunter does love you, Sweetheart. One of these days he's going to have to admit to it. If it will make you feel better, I'll go find a chair and smack him over the head with it for you." Okay, so maybe that last bit was out of place, but he was willing to try anything to get Shawn's heartbreaking sobs to stop. Dave continued to hold Shawn and whisper to him in the hopes that something he said would help ease Shawn's pain.

****

Chris' body was so closely pressed to Adam's that he felt the small shudders that rippled through the other man. His heart and his dick did triumphant simultaneous nip ups at the sensation. _He'd_ made Adam tremble. Despite Edge's earlier words, CJ wasn't a hundred percent convinced that he'd been interested oh so long ago. Sure, his explanation made sense, 'stay away from the one you actually like', but the small part of Chris that had been ignored for the better part of a year by the man he had a huge _thing_ for wouldn't go away.

Not that it mattered in the slightest right now, because said 'man of the thing' was looking at Chris like he was particularly favoured dessert.

 _I could get real used to taking orders from you, Sweetheart_

CJ's laughter peeled across the alley as he was pulled inside. "No you won't," he yelled over Mac's raucous voice, but he doubted Adam could hear him. "Austin doesn't call me Napoleon for nothing." Not that he didn't call Steve 'Genghis' in retaliation, Stone Cold was barbarian through and through.

Did he just have a kink, or was Adam pulling him by the hand through a crowd a turn on? Maybe it was just the feel of someone touching him, or the 'claim' perception that he was with Adam and therefore no touchies. He'd done the same move earlier but excused it as way of not losing the man in the crowd. Yeah, not a kink, just nice touching.

Oh hell. Yeah it was a kink.

Chris followed behind Adam, admiring the view and indulging his kink all the way. When Adam stopped and pointed out Jay and Ty, CJ grinned. He would have absolutely no trouble forcing the couple to leave early so he could get laid. He'd left enough parties in his time because Jay had an 'itch' and getting his own back was fine with him.

 _should we call them off?"_

Following Adam's gesture Chris' grin turned nasty. "I'm tempted to say leave them," he watched as Austin slapped Rosey's hand from his ass. It was a move more suited to a Victorian maiden than the Toughest S.O.B. in WWE and seeing it CJ felt his revenge meter satisfied. "But he can make me laugh and he'll never come out with us again if we don't save him."

Nodding he followed Adam once again across the club. _Not a kink, not a kink_. Reluctantly releasing Adam's fingers he watched as the taller blond pulled Rosey to one side. Moving in, Chris smiled gratefully at Shane, then got right into the bald man's personal space. Returning Austin's embrace from earlier he wrapped his arms loosely around Steve's neck and leaned in till they were nose to nose.

"I'll rescue you this time you Fucking Nutcase, but remember if you try something on me again, my _Boyfriend_ will be looking for revenge." Chris infused his words with all the menace at his disposal. He knew it was a HELL of a presumption to call Adam his boyfriend. They'd only kissed twice after all. But Steve didn't know that so CJ felt he could get away with the threat. Besides, it had been nice to say it out loud.

Just to prove he hadn't lost all his pissyness where Austin was concerned, as he drew back he grabbed Austin's ear and gave it a short, hard twist. Smugly pleased with Steve's exaggerated wince and ear rubbing, he turned back to Adam. Time they lit a fire under Jay's ass and headed for their hotel, cotton sheets awaiting.

He stopped dead in his tracks at the odd look in Adam's eyes. 

****

Hunter had moved from stage 3) giggly, right over 4)stare numbly into space, to stage 5) maudlin. He couldn't even muster the interest to try the tablecloth trick with the runner under his Glass Castle. Fairy'd get to it eventually. It'd all be dust and ashes.

The door opening caused him to unsteadily swing around. He'd locked it hadn't he?

"Hunt?" The electric blond head of Ric Flair poked into the room. One sniff, one look at his normally perfectly coordinated friend was explanation enough. "Hey Champ, what's happening?"

Ric was here. That was a good thing Hunter knew, although why he wasn't sure. But Ric was wrong about him, just like Dave was and just like Shawn had been. For ten years Shawn had been wrong.

Looking away from the man quietly closing the door, Hunter took slow measured steps through the arch into the bedroom and sat down wearily.

"Not the Champ Ric, you should know that," Hunter was one of those very rare people that got more coherent the drunker he got, rather than less. He just got dizzy, that's all.

"Sure you are Champ, everyone knows that." For all his often manic excitement Ric Flair was nobody's fool. Hunter had never drank to excess in all the years they'd known each other. Something very bad had to have happened for his friend to do this to himself. His pale blue eyes took in the glass castle, the empty bottle of whiskey, now sporting a tie, the broken glasses and the cell phone with the engaged tone echoing around the room.

Something very bad.

"Nope not anymore," the blond disagreed. "Benny's Champ now, then Randy....." Tired eyes the colour of the liquor in the bottle looked up at him. "...do you like Randy, Ric? I know he can be a prick, but the kid's got poten...p'ten...gonna be good in a few years. Is it too early? I pushed him you know, you were there. He gets a quick run while I'm with Shawn...." That shut Hunter right up. He wasn't gonna think about Michaels tonight. _Oh yeah?_ Vince's voice was back. _Think calling him Michaels will give you some distance? Like you won't care so much if he's not Shawn anymore._

The empty glass in his hand had tilted precariously until it was lifted away by Ric. "Is this about Randy Champ? Of course I like the boy, he's got fire no doubt. But what's the matter? You know Pat wanted you to have the title back after Chris' run, Vince agreed. Why'd you say no and give Randy a shot?" Ric's Southern accent was strangely soothing to Hunter's worn thoughts.

Hunter turned the question over and decided not to lie. He'd never wanted to lie to anyone. But he had...even when it meant he'd want to die after...he'd lied because he had to be like Dave, and do the right thing.

"I got to do a programme with Michaels," he answered ignoring the sneer from Vince. "Randy's ego's no worse than anyone else in the locker room and better than some." Hunter wondered if he was starting to sober up or if he'd just gone onto a sober-like stage of drunkenness.

Flair sat beside the younger man on the bed and adjusted his jacket.  "So if it's not Randy then what's the matter Champ?" he flicked a look at the empty bottle again. "Why the whiskey tonight?"

Ignoring the question Hunter leaning heavily onto Ric's shoulder. "How'd you do it Ric? How'd you stay a decent man when you gotta sell yourself so low in this world?" It was pretty self-pitying but hey...Ric had knocked on his door after all. 'Cept he hadn't, he should probably remember something like that.

"Who you callin' decent Champ?" Flair sounded genuinely surprised. "I got so much crap all over me I'm amazed I'm not stuck to floor with it." Even drunk Hunter winced at another of Ric's colourful expressions. Lifting his arm, the older man dropped it around Hunter's slumped shoulders. "This business can rip your heart out and then stomp all over you if you let it. But you didn't Hunt, you rode the tide like a pro and look where it's got you. The top of the heap, the King of the Castle, you're the Champ, Champ. You're a natural." Ric was trying to lift Hunter's spirits, he had no idea of the invisible wounds he was causing.

"Yeah, a natural." Hunter agreed is eyes drifting closed, his weight sliding him backwards onto the bedspread. "Ten years," he muttered as he nodded off.

Ric had absolutely no idea what was going on.

****

 _"...He'll never come out with us again if we don't save him."_

If he could make Chris laugh, then maybe Austin wasn't all that bad. At Chris' nod, Adam walked over to the bar with Chris still in tow. When he got next to the two men, he temporarily let go of Chris' hand and put a hand on Rosey's shoulder to guide the big man off to the side. He thanked him for his and Shane's assistance, told him that they were off the hook since he and Chris would no longer be around to watch the festivities, and wished he and Shane a happy night of partying.

 _"...My Boyfriend will be looking for revenge."_

He just barely heard Chris' proclamation over the noise of the band, but he _had_ heard it...at least he thought he had. Adam turned to see Chris plastered up against Austin, but that didn't bother him at all. He was still semi-frozen from what Chris had said. _Boyfriend_...

Adam negligently waived away Rosey's offer to give him half his money back, the other half of which the two planned to use to get rip-roaring drunk. Adam didn't need the money and it had been well worth the two hundred dollars that he'd given them.

He was still stuck on that one word...boyfriend. Is that what Chris wanted him to be? Sure, he had heard Chris earlier when he'd said he wouldn't have jumped to Raw if he'd known that Adam had liked him, but it hadn't really sunk in. Did Chris honestly want to be _with_ him? Was he really interested in more than one night of what Adam was suspecting was going to be really, really hot sex?

If that _was_ what he wanted then Adam was more than willing to try. He just had to keep his insecurities wrapped up tight enough that he didn't make a mistake and mess things up. This would _not_ end up like his thing with Terry. He had said that he would give Chris whatever he wanted and he had meant it. Realizing that Chris was now looking at him and most likely wondering what the hell was the matter with him, Adam smiled almost shyly and extended his hand towards the blond.

"C'mon. Let's go find Ty and Jay."


	10. Intentions

Kev sucked in a breath as Scott's fingers tangled in his hair and yanked. His hips instinctively snapped forward in response to that before he could stop himself. Groaning, he shook his head, grinning breathlessly down at Scott.

 _"...I'm going to cut you off for a week..."_

"Not that easy, Scotty," he said, slowing his movements again. He knew the threat was an empty one; Scotty could no more keep his hands off Kev for a week than Kev could keep from touching Scott. They were addicted to each other, and it was one addiction that Kevin knew he'd go to his grave with.

 _"Please. More Kev...please."_

Damn. That desperate note in Scott's voice always did him in. Gritting his teeth as he pulled out slowly one last time, he shifted slightly to get better purchase, then paused, looking down at his lover.

"I'll give you anything, Scott," he said huskily, forcing his voice to work. "But I don't plan on breaking my promise, either."

With that, he snapped his hips forward, his eyes rolling back as he pulled back and thrust again, not giving either of them a chance to adjust. A growl escaped him as Scott wrapped a leg around his waist, pulling him in even closer. He slammed into Scott ruthlessly, his hips pistoning back and forth, relishing the feel of Scott's hands clenching on his arms, the sound of his voice as he cried out, the taste of his mouth as he kissed him again. Snaking one hand between them, he wrapped his fingers around Scott's twitching cock and began stroking it at the same ruthless speed, determined to make his lover come screaming his name.

All too soon, he felt the electric tension at the base of his spine snap, and he threw his head back, his eyes closing as he erupted with a hoarse cry, burying himself in Scott one last time. Almost from a distance he felt a warm rush over his hand and Scott's voice crying out.

Collapsing on top of his lover, he buried his face in the side of Scott's neck, just breathing in his musk as his breathing slowed. After a few minutes, he shifted, gently sliding from Scotty's body and rolling to his side. Propping his head on one hand, he ran his other hand over Scott's face before laying it on his chest, over his heart. As he met his lover's eyes, Kev couldn't help the smirk that he felt curve his lips.

"Told you, sweetheart. I always keep my promises."

****

Shawn only vaguely heard Dave's voice, as wrapped up in his misery as he was, but he felt terribly exposed in front of the big man. What would Dave think of him, crying like this? He _hated_ being vulnerable in front of other people, and that's all he'd been tonight... He tried desperately to stop the tears, but couldn't control them, the emotional stress of the evening pouring out of him. Hunter... even thinking the name brought a fresh wave of pain.

He felt the bed dip and tried to turn away, not expecting Dave to reach out and pull him onto his lap. As much as he craved the touch, as much as it comforted him, Dave's arms around him pained him. The tenderness of the gesture actually made it worse, somehow, and he buried his face against the big man's shoulder as he wept, the sobs shaking his body.

The gentle touches to his back started to relax him before he was even conscious of them, and his sobs started to calm. The tears didn't seem to want to stop, but they weren't wracking his body anymore, and he slid an arm around Dave's waist, craving the contact as he quieted, hoping desperately that his incredible show of weakness wouldn't drive the other man away.

Dave's soft voice finally penetrated the miserable fog he was wrapped in and he stiffened slightly as he heard what Dave was saying.

 _"...Regardless of what he said, Hunter does love you, Sweetheart."_

That wasn't particularly comforting, Shawn reflected bitterly. So what if Hunt loved him, if he was willing to lie to him and drive him away? Fresh tears came to his eyes at that, before he realised that Dave had called him "sweetheart". His eyes widened against Dave's shoulder, the tears dying away as he started to hiccup. Did Dave mean it? Did he even realise what he'd said?

 _"...I'll go find a chair and smack him over the head with it for you."_

He couldn't stop the giggle that came to his lips, even as he winced at the high-pitched edge to it. For Christ's sake, he didn't _giggle_! But he did, and he couldn't seem to stop, as the giggles turned into chuckles, which turned into laughter, which turned into sobs again. But this time the sobs were quieter, almost cleansing. Shawn clutched at Dave as he cried, afraid the other man would get disgusted with him and leave, and he didn't think he'd be able to stand it if someone else walked away from him right now.

Finally, the tears stopped. Shawn took a few long, shuddering breaths, still trembling as he stared at Dave's shoulder. He was almost afraid to look up. Dammit, he'd just fallen apart like a little kid or something...

"Guess I'm not so perfect after all, huh?" His voice was rusty and he winced at the sound of it. His throat was going to be sore in the morning. Reluctantly lifting his head, he wiped ineffectually at the wetness on Dave's shoulder, not quite willing to meet the man's eyes. Clearing his throat with another wince, he said quietly, "Thank you. For being here... for not leaving."

Leaning back, he screwed up his courage and pressed a kiss to Dave's cheek, still not looking directly at him.

"If... if you're not disgusted with me... I'd... I'd really like it if you'd stay, still." His breath hitched in his throat. "I don't think... I don't think I could stand being alone tonight." Almost holding his breath, he waited for Dave's answer.

****

Adam looked a little surprised or confused. Despite his covert admiration of the man, CJ still wasn't completely cognizant of all the other man's expressions. Some were easy, like that super-hot lust one from the alley or the manic 'you are so fucked' one that _everyone_ knew. But this was a new one, one that Chris was going to call 'startled', like Adam had just seen something he'd never thought he'd see. Maybe Rosey had flashed him or something but CJ doubted it. Insatiable curiosity being one of his many flaws, he was about to ask what happened when the sweetest, shyest smile he'd ever seen on a man broke across Adam's face.

Wow.

If he hadn't fallen hard for the guy on that plane trip, Chris would be in 'major like' territory right now. For a split second he thought, _I really shouldn't be doing this to him_. Oh, he'd disembowel himself before he'd deliberately hurt Adam, but seeing that deep vulnerability in the emerald eyes frightened Chris. _What if I do something to hurt him, like Terry did?_ It was a huge responsibility Adam was giving him along with his body.

Momentarily swamped by self-doubt, CJ looked at Adam's offered hand. What if he couldn't live up to Adam's expectations? Jesus, the guy was trusting _him_ after being hurt so bad before... _what if I fuck this up?_

Fortunately CJ's thoughts only lasted for a moment, a moment that would pass into history as Chris' natural courage and confidence took over. He wouldn't hurt Adam if he could possibly help it. And if he did, he'd apologise, make it up to him and move on. Chris lived in the right here and right now, and right now, his future lover was offering his hand and his body.

Chris Jericho was clever enough to grab at the prize being offered.

Slipping his hand into Adam's he offered a blinding smile to his _boyfriend_ , smirking inwardly at the term and gave Austin the finger. Although indulging his kink would have been fun, CJ had a better idea. Twisting his hand through the long fingers around his, he tugged Adam's arm around his waist in a half-hug from behind. Raising the fist he'd made of their hands to his lips, he kept Adam tight against his back as they pushed through the crowd towards Jay and Ty.

When he'd take a lover to bed, Chris always liked to sleep in this position. Spooned with the reassuring warmth of a body behind him. He hoped Adam liked it too....or Chris would just have to order him to do it.

Once they'd arrived at the table, CJ leaned back against Adam's strong chest and stared intently at Jay's ear. After a few seconds Christian pulled his tongue off Ty's neck and looked up at them.

"What?"

Chris smirked at the irritated tone in his friend's voice. Jay hated being eyeballed. He didn't know if Jay had registered his and Adam's proximity and he frankly didn't care. His friend would nag it out of him later anyway.

"We're leaving and taking your car," Chris shouted pleasantly. "You can come or ride with Trish, Molly and Steve." He doubted Tyson would even fit into the girls' tiny rental. "Coming or going?"

****

 _"But I don't plan on breaking my promise, either."_

Scott knew that he wouldn't give in on his promise. Kevin never would break his promises to Scott. He somehow always managed to see them through. Not that Scott wanted him to break this promise at all. He would gladly scream down the roof if Kev would just _move_.

Just like that. Scott threw one leg around Kevin's waist in a bid to get him closer...deeper. Scott wasn't completely sure which was a bigger turn on...the low growl from his lover or the way that Kevin was slamming inside him and battering his prostate.

"Yes...yes, Kev. Just like that," he shouted as his hands clenched on Kevin's biceps. Kevin's mouth covered his in a fierce kiss and Scotty wondered briefly, very briefly, how he was supposed to scream for Kev if he was kissing him. The thought left his mind as Kevin's hand wrapped firmly around his cock, moving in a rhythm to match the way Kevin was pounding into his ass.

His eyes locked on Kevin's face as the big man broke their kiss and tossed his head back, a harsh cry erupting from his mouth as Scott felt Kevin's release flooding into him. Kevin always looked so fierce...so starkly beautiful when he came, though he knew Kevin would likely smack him in the head if he said so. No matter what you wanted to call it, that was enough to send Scotty rocketing over the edge right behind him. His essence pouring over Kevin's hand as Kevin's name was ripped from his throat.

Scott welcomed the weight of Kevin collapsing on top of him as they both calmed their breathing. Something about this point of their lovemaking always made him feel so safe. He was Kevin's and Kevin was his...and that's all he needed to know. As Kevin slipped off the top of him, Scott clamped down on the whine of loss that he felt trying to make its way out of him. Kevin's hand touching him once again and the look in the big man's eyes when they met Scott's did more to soothe him than anything.

 _"Told you, sweetheart. I always keep my promises."_

Scott shook his head at the smirk on Kev's face and the smug tone. Scott loved Kev more than anything, but sometimes the man was just way too proud of himself. Scott smacked him lightly in the arm before rolling to his side to face his lover. "Smug bastard," he said almost fondly. "Although that is one of the many things I love about you. Keeping your promises I mean."

Despite his desperation to stop them, Scott's indiscretions from earlier came back to him at that moment and he found himself a bit unsettled. He'd promised Kevin when they got back together that he'd try to control his impulsive streak. Obviously he hadn't done such a good job of it today and it had come back to bite him in the ass more than once. "I just wish I were as good at it as you are, Kev," Scott said quietly, a sad look on his face.

"I'm sorry for jumping the rookie earlier. I honestly didn't intend for it to go that far. I was going to let it go with taking him down until he made the comment about...about the drinking. He doesn't know Kev...the things that I did and the people that I hurt. I couldn't stand him throwing it in my face like he knew anything about that part of my life. I shouldn't have let him bait me. I just...now Vince is going to be pissed because his boy will miss TV time and it will cause problems for Hunter...again. I'm going to try to talk to Vince and smooth things over, but you and I both know that's not my forte."

Scott buried his head against Kevin's chest as he tried to figure out how to spill the news about Dave, Hunter, and Shawn. The thing with Nitro was bad, but that...that was family and Scott had screwed up big time. He just hoped that Kevin understood that he honestly had been trying to help.

"That's not even...it's not even the worst thing I did tonight. When I...when I talked to Dave, I was honestly trying to help Kev. I swear I was. I heard his conversation with Shawn and I thought for sure that Shawn was going to be happy about the invitation. Then egomaniac HBK showed up and between that and the way that Shawn kept looking at Hunter." Scott shook his head slightly as he thought back to that moment. "I thought that Dave had figured out Shawn's feelings for Hunter. The way he switched gears on Shawn, I was sure that was it. I could see how disappointed Shawn was with the change in Dave and I was just trying to help."

Scott bit his lip as he looked up at Kevin to see how he was going to react to the next part of his little confession. "I thought that I could convince Dave that just because Shawn loves Hunter, it didn't mean he couldn't care about someone else. I just didn't realize that it wasn't Shawn's feelings that he figured out. He'd pegged Hunter's instead and...my telling him about Shawn's feelings didn't exactly help. He said he was going to make sure that Shawn knew how Hunter felt about him. Then you told me that Hunter was taking them both to dinner and...Kev, I just don't have a good feeling about this at all. I wish I could learn to keep my damn mouth shut."

****

Dave was glad that Shawn had finally stopped crying, not because he minded that Shawn had cried all over him, but because he was hoping that Shawn felt a little bit better now that he'd let loose. Dave wasn't so sure that was the case, but it was hard to tell when Shawn wouldn't even look at him. Shawn was a proud man and Dave could understand that he might be a little embarrassed at falling apart, but from Dave's point of view there was no reason for him to feel that way. He'd been entitled to a breakdown after what had happened earlier. The feeling of Shawn's lips brushing across his cheek sparked a warm tingly feeling somewhere in the vicinity of his heart. If he hadn't already been in the process of falling for Shawn, the tender touch would have surely headed him in that direction.

 _"I don't think... I don't think I could stand being alone tonight."_

Dave thought for just a few seconds about how to frame his reply to Shawn. He didn't want to screw this up because he had a feeling that a lot was riding on how he handled this. As far as Dave was concerned, honesty was usually the best policy, especially since Shawn had already been lied to enough tonight.

"Shawn, I never expected perfection. None of us really are. I know for a fact that I'm not." Dave smiled as he used one finger to gently lift Shawn's face so that he could look at him. Running his fingers gently over Shawn's cheek, he answered Shawn's other fears. "I'm not disgusted in the least, Sweetheart. If it had been me, I'd have been crying in my wine at the restaurant. You're a stronger man than I am Shawn. There's no reason for you to think any less of yourself for crying over something that hurts. I'd love to stay with you, if you still want me to, but I have two conditions."

He locked his eyes with Shawn's so that Shawn could see he had no ill intentions. He'd promised he wasn't going to take advantage and he meant it, not just of the fact that Shawn had been drinking, but in regards to his emotional state as well. "The first is that I would really like it if you would take the tie out of your hair. I've always liked it better down," Dave said with a shy smile. "The second thing that I wanted to ask you, and this one is optional...is that I would like to kiss you goodnight. If that's okay with you?"

Dave held his breath as he waited for Shawn's reaction to his request. He really hoped that he hadn't made a mistake, but if this ended up being his only night with Shawn, he wanted to be able to remember everything about him. The way Shawn felt sleeping in his arms, the scent of his hair, the way he tasted...every little thing he could remember would be locked up in a special spot he had reserved just for tonight.

****

Adam wasn't even going to attempt anything as difficult as thinking at this point. The way Chris had grabbed his hand and practically wrapped Adam around him had short-circuited his brain completely. Adam had absolutely no objections to the position what-so-ever. In fact, he was pretty damn fond of it, if he were honest about it.

When they reached the table, he vaguely listened to Chris' words to Jay, though the part of him that was actually thinking at the moment was entirely interested in another sort of talking. Chris leaning up against him felt perfectly right to him. He let his free hand drop to Chris' hip, his long fingers stroking idly over the shiny material.

 _"You can come or ride with Trish, Molly and Steve."_

Unable to resist temptation any longer, Adam leaned in and nuzzled his face against Chris' neck. He let his tongue slide lazily over the spot where Chris' neck met his shoulder. Adam's hand tightened on Chris' hip as he involuntarily thrust his own hips forward, his hardened length pushing against Chris' spine.

 _"Coming or going?"_

Raising his head, Adam blushed a little. He'd completely disregarded the fact that they were standing in front of Jay and Ty. Oh well. He honestly didn't care if they were being obvious. Jay already knew how he felt about Chris, so it shouldn't come as a huge shock that Adam had taken Jay's advice. The only shock might be that he'd actually managed to fix the mess he'd made.

"They'll want to come. After all, it's not every night that they have the room to themselves all night. I'll even spring for room service if that's an incentive, but please do not give me any of the details of what you do with it," Adam said with a smirk as he looked at Jay.

Leaning closer to Chris' ear, he decided to share the real reason for prodding the other two to come along. "I'm not sure I can keep my hands to myself all the way back to the hotel and I'd really rather not end up parking the car in the hotel lobby." Adam traced his tongue slowly around the shell of Chris' ear as they waited for Jay and Ty's reply.

****

Shawn tried not to hold his breath as he waited for Dave's reply, but he couldn't help the nervous anticipation crawling up his spine. He hoped that his sudden emotional scene hadn't changed Dave's opinion of him. He didn't let himself fall apart like that very often and hated it when he did. He felt so... unmanly, and it was totally against his nature. His heart lifted a little as he listened to Dave's words, not believing for a second that Dave would ever fall apart crying, but it was still nice to hear.

 _"There's no reason for you to think any less of yourself for crying over something that hurts."_

Mouth twisting slightly, Shawn shrugged noncommittally, not wanting to completely agree with something that went so totally against his grain, but not wanting to argue with Dave over it if it meant that Dave wanted to stay with him.

 _"...but I have two conditions."_

Shawn's eyes closed. Here it was. This was where Dave was going to shoot him down somehow: ask for a blowjob, a photo, _something_. It might be cynical, but it had happened before when Shawn had dared show weakness in front of someone. Never with Hunter, his mind supplied, and he winced a little at the thought. He couldn't compare Dave to Hunter; they were different people, but... Dave was revealing parts of his personality similar to what Hunter had shown him over the years. He forced his eyes open again, meeting Dave's intense gaze.

 _"if you would take the tie out of your hair."_

Blinking in surprise, Shawn lifted a hand to the back of his head almost without thinking about it, pulling the band out of his hair. He certainly hadn't been expecting that. Wondering just how often Dave had looked at his hair to arrive at a preference brought that warm feeling back to his heart, too. About to toss the hair tie on the bedside table, he stopped cold when he heard Dave's second request.

 _"...I would like to kiss you goodnight. If that's okay with you?"_

He couldn't breathe. He knew his eyes were wide and he suspected that he'd paled a little, but... a kiss? Such an innocent request. Yet, the wine and the aftershocks of adrenaline still in his system made his breath come a little faster after that initial pause. His cheeks flushed as blood rushed back into them and he shifted a little as he sternly pushed away the less innocent thoughts that came to mind; after all, Dave had said that he wouldn't take advantage of him. Dammit. Hopefully Dave hadn't noticed the hesitation and misinterpreted it. The look in his eyes told Shawn that he was very serious about the request, and Shawn realised that he very much _wanted_ Dave to kiss him. Even if that was all that ever passed between them, Shawn wanted to have something to remember.

Lifting his head further, he placed his fingers at Dave's neck and smiled slightly at him, forcing himself to stop dwelling on the emotional upsets of the evening for just a few minutes.

"It'll be a bitch to comb out in the morning, but as far as your first request goes... done." He dropped the hair tie on the table beside the alarm clock without shifting his gaze. "And as far as your second request..." He paused, drawing in a long breath. For just an instant, he wished that none of the drama earlier had happened, that he and Dave had just gone to dinner and had a lovely first date... and that their first kiss was going to be the precursor to far more. Just for an instant. Then he banished those thoughts from his mind and tilted his head just so. He knew his voice wasn't quite steady, but didn't care as he finished his answer.

"Please?"

****

Kevin grinned as Scotty smacked him, having fully expected the blow. He loved teasing his lover, and normally it made Scott laugh. But tonight... he wasn't surprised as Scott's face fell. Scotty had been upset ever since the incident with that idiot Nitro, and Kev _knew_ it would come out sooner rather than later. He loved Scott for always being honest with him, but it hurt sometimes, hearing Scotty apologise for being human, as though he weren't allowed to make mistakes anymore now that he didn't have the bottle to blame.

 _"He doesn't know Kev...the things that I did and the people that I hurt."_

No, he didn't, and Kev could feel his own anger at the little prick starting to rise up again as he watched the damage that one nasty comment had done to his lover. He sat up a little and pulled Scott up against him, wrapping his arms around him, trying to offer some comfort through the touch.

 _"...but you and I both know that's not my forte."_

Actually, Kevin knew that Scott was damned good at talking to people, regardless of their position or power. He'd shown that time and time again, but the bottle seemed to have drained all of his confidence away with it. Vince would understand, Kev was sure, once he'd heard what the little punk had said to Scott. Hell, there were days when _Vince_ would've hit the kid for saying something like that. If nothing else, he'd talk to Vince privately if he had to, but he was pretty sure it wouldn't be necessary.

And, he reluctantly admitted, Hunter had almost definitely already smoothed things over. Hunt was damned good at that, especially with his current pull in the company, and he'd help his friends---his _family_ , a small voice in the back of his mind insisted---without even stopping to think about it. Maybe it was time that he have that talk with him... maybe it was time they clear the air between them and work things out. He missed Hunt... not that he'd admit that out loud.

When Scott wrapped himself around Kev, Kevin started to worry. This was above and beyond any normal sort of Scotty-insecurity.

 _"...I was honestly trying to help Kev. I swear I was."_

Shit. This wasn't sounding good _at all_. He forced himself to relax his suddenly tighter grip on his lover, listening without responding. Shawn and Hunter had danced around each other for years, but he'd never thought it was anything more than a game. Shawn's feelings for Hunter? Kevin's eyes closed. How in the hell could he have missed _that_? It didn't surprise him at all that Scott knew all about it; the dark-haired man who was so upset right now was one of the most sensitive people Kevin had ever known, regardless of how he appeared to people. Kev had never known anyone else who could read people so easily or so accurately, and if Scott was saying what Kevin thought he was... this was one big mess.

 _"...I just don't have a good feeling about this at all. I wish I could learn to keep my damn mouth shut."_

Shit, shit, _shit_. His mind racing, Kevin caressed Scott's back reassuringly.

"Scotty, sweetheart, you were trying to help. That's the important thing. Maybe you shouldn't have said anything, or maybe you should have done exactly what you did. Either way, it really doesn't matter now; playing the "what if" game will make you crazy, babe, and you know it." Hoping that Scott would listen to him, Kevin paused, trying to remember if he had Shawn's room number. He wasn't quite ready to give Hunter a call, but he definitely wanted to check on Shawn. Tilting his head, he leaned his cheek against Scott's.

"Whatever's happened, Scott, ultimately it'll work out. Nothing good ever comes from keeping secrets from people you love. We both know that." Kissing him gently, he paused before grinning ferociously. "And definitely don't worry about Nitro. He's not worth your energy." He held Scott tightly to him, hoping that his lover would feel the reassurance and love he was trying to pour into him.

"I love you, Scott. We'll all work through whatever happens. It'll be fine." Pausing, he gave in to the inevitable. "But... I think I do want to call Shawn. Just to check. 'Cause if it didn't go the way he wanted it to, he shouldn't be left alone tonight. Not that I think that'll be a problem," he added hastily, seeing the look on Scott's face. "I'm sure everyone's just fine. And if not... well... we'll see what we can do in the morning. But _neither_ of us is going to be up all night worrying about them, okay? They're grown men. And they're both stubborn as hell, you know that. They'll be fine."

Shifting slightly so that he could reach the phone, Kev wedged it under his chin and dialed what he hoped was Shawn's room number. Waiting as the phone rang, he kissed Scott again, running his fingers through the dark hair reassuringly.

****

The way Shawn automatically reached for the tie in his hair gave Dave some hope that his requests hadn't been unacceptable. Then as he finished his second request, Shawn seemed to pale for a moment and Dave wasn't quite so sure. Maybe it had been too much to hope for after all that had happened tonight. He didn't show his thoughts by so much as a twitch. Dave would wait until Shawn answered him and either way he would accept whatever Shawn decided.

The gentle touch of Shawn's fingers on his neck startled him just a bit. He'd been concentrating so hard on not showing any reaction until Shawn said something that he hadn't been paying much attention to where his hands were. His mistake.

 _"It'll be a bitch to comb out in the morning, but as far as your first request goes... done."_

There was a simple solution for that, if Dave was brave enough to voice it. He smiled as he waited for Shawn to answer his second request as well.

 _"And as far as your second request..."_

The slight pause was enough to make him second-guess himself yet again. Luckily it didn't last all that long. Shawn's voice was a little shaky, but he sounded as if he were sure. Dave certainly hoped that he was.

 _"Please?"_

Dave was pretty sure that his face lit up like he'd just won the lottery. To him, having the chance to kiss Shawn was better than winning a dozen lotteries. It was something that he'd wanted to do for so long and now Shawn was not only agreeing to it, but he'd said 'please' to boot. Dave wanted to get up and run around screaming like a nut. Obviously he wasn't going to actually do that, but the thought was there.

Smiling almost shyly at the man sitting still sitting in his lap, Dave ran his fingers slowly through Shawn's now loose hair. It was just as soft and silky as he always dreamed it would be and Dave could imagine himself simply doing this all night long if he could get away with it. For right now though, there was something else he needed to attend to.

Cupping Shawn's head in his hands, his fingers gently burrowed in Shawn's hair, Dave bent his head a bit closer to Shawn's. "If it tangles, then I'll just have to brush it out for you," he said quietly, his lips a hairsbreadth from Shawn's. Then he let his lips brush Shawn's in the gentlest of touches. When Shawn's lips parted under his, Dave moaned Shawn's name quietly against his lips and let his tongue slip into Shawn's mouth in a gentle foray. 'Sweet...so sweet. Better than any dream I've had,' Dave thought as his tongue touched briefly against Shawn's.

He had honestly intended to keep it brief...gentle, but the way Shawn seemed to melt against him had him wishing he weren't quite so honorable. The kiss intensified, though Dave wasn't quite sure which of them had initiated the change, and for a moment or two he let himself indulge in the blissful exchange. As his tongue twined with Shawn's, Dave felt the urge to let his hand drop to Shawn's chest and explore it. Just as he was preparing to do so, he suddenly realized that he was about to break his promise and that just wasn't something that Dave was prepared to do. If only...

Dave gently broke the kiss, laying his forehead against Shawn's as he panted slightly. "Shawn, I can't... I just can't, not tonight. I promised you, Sweetheart." He sincerely hoped that Shawn understood. He wasn't rejecting him at all; he just wanted them to both be fully aware of what they were doing. Between Shawn being tipsy and the emotional stress he'd been put through tonight, there was no way that Dave thought that he could make that choice. "When...if something else happens between us, I want it to be because that's what you are sure you want. You have a lot to think about...a lot to deal with right now. It may sound silly, but if we...I want it to mean something Shawn. I know what it will mean to me, but..."

The ringing of the phone made Dave pause. What if it was Hunter calling to say he wanted to talk to Shawn? How would Dave handle it if Shawn did leave?

Shawn didn't look at all like he was interested in answering the insistent ringing. Dave sighed quietly. He could understand his reluctance to talk to anyone, but if they were calling this late, it had to be important, right? Wrapping one arm around Shawn's waist, Dave reached for the phone with the other hand. If Shawn wouldn't answer it...then he would.

"Hello?" he asked hesitantly, not sure from the look on Shawn's face if he'd done the right thing or not.

****

Scott let himself curl around Kevin and accept the comfort of his reassuring touches. Kevin always found a way to make him feel better, even if things weren't all fine and dandy. He was really trying to take Kevin's words to heart...hoping for the best.

 _"Nothing good ever comes from keeping secrets from people you love. We both know that."_

They both knew it very well. It hadn't happened often between the two of them. The only times he could actually remember had been when he had been drinking, but whenever he'd tried to keep a secret from Kevin it had ended in disaster. Thankfully that wouldn't be a problem anymore. Scott had promised both himself and Kevin that this time around there would be no secrets and that was a promise he fully intended to keep.

The gentle kiss surprised him, though it really shouldn't have. Kevin really wasn't angry with him, despite all Scott's fears that he would be. Scott closed his eyes and sighed in relief. He really needed to have more faith in Kevin and from now on he promised himself that he would. Kevin seemed almost happy about what he'd done with Nitro and that puzzled him slightly, but he would take Kevin at his word and not worry about it, although he made a note that he should still have a word with Vince just to try to smooth things over. It was his mess after all and Scott couldn't expect Kevin or Hunter to clean up after him all the time.

 _"I love you, Scott. We'll all work through whatever happens. It'll be fine."_

The first four words were all the reassurance that Scott honestly needed. As long as Kevin loved him, they could make it through anything...the past proved it. Although Kevin's next words had him clenching for a brief moment.

 _"Not that I think that'll be a problem..."_

Oh no...of course not. Because Hunter and Shawn aren't both stubborn bastards that refuse to face up to the truth of how they feel...no problem there at all. Scott grimaced as a few choice scenarios of the discussion with the two of them and Dave filtered through his head.

 _"...And they're both stubborn as hell, you know that. They'll be fine."_

Hearing Kevin echo his own thought wasn't exactly a comfort, though he was sure Kevin had meant it as such. Scott crossed his fingers as Kevin dialed the phone. He just hoped that Shawn was okay. Scott had a feeling that Shawn would bear the brunt of anything bad that came out of this...he really hoped he was wrong.


	11. Conversations

  
Kevin started to get impatient as he listened to the phone ring, wondering what the hell was wrong that Shawn wasn't picking up. It was only... glancing at the clock, he almost groaned but managed to bite it back, not wanting to worry Scott needlessly. It was only ungodly late, and he was probably waking Shawn up. Joy; bitchy Shawn without enough sleep was always fun.

 _"Hello?"_

The almost hesitant greeting threw Kevin's thoughts off-track and he frowned into the phone, trying to place the voice.

"You're not Shawn. Who the hell is this and where's Shawn?" He couldn't help the growl; he was starting to get worried. If someone else was answering the phone... and it wasn't Hunter... that meant that the conversation between them and Dave _couldn't_ have gone well. Wait a minute... His frown softened into a bemused look as he ran idle fingers through Scott's hair. "Is this Dave?"

****

Chris's eyes went slightly out of focus as he felt Adam kiss his neck. Unconsciously he tilted his head slightly, offering better access to his partner. Small shivers were winding their way down his back from the point of contact, each one detoured around his hip and went straight to his groin. When Adam's arm tightened and he felt an unmistakable bulge press into his tailbone, CJ almost purred with pleasure. He realised he was staring numbly at Tyson's beard when Adam's voice brought him out of a kiss induced haze.

 _but please do not give me any of the details of what you do with it_

The reference was lost on Chris for a moment, till he remembered the conversation on the way to the club. Cocking an eyebrow at Jay, his expression promised to get all the details later. CJ was a grand master at being a complete and utter pest if he wanted to, he would just bug Jay until he gave in and told him what they had done with what food stuffs.

 _parking the car in the hotel lobby._

Chris's laugh was swallowed by the music, as was the gasp that the comment produced. So Adam thought he couldn't keep his hands to himself enough to drive huh? Immediately CJ promised himself that he'd test that resolve asap. He'd never gone down on someone while they were driving before, but there were long stretches of interstate between bookings and those trips could get very, very boring.

"Just...just...shut it Copeland...Okay?" Jay was out of his precious seat and tugging on his lover's arm the moment the words 'room service' left Adam's mouth. "Fine, we're ready to go anyway. Aren't we Bun......Honey." Chris's other eyebrow shot up to meet it's twin at the quick correction. What the hell had Jay been going to say? Bunnykin? Bunnybabe? Bundlelove? He'd have to make a bet with Adam later, his fifty was on Bunnykin. The man CJ would now know as Bunnykin lifted his keys from his pocket and used his massive tattooed arms to clear a space for the three Canadians through the crowd. A man less suited to the endearment 'Bunnykin' Chris couldn't imagine.

Feeling even more juvenile by the moment, CJ held onto Adam's hand the whole time they traversed the club, and even poked his tongue out at the bouncer from earlier. Given that he was still half-naked it probably didn't have any of the menace he was trying to impart, but hey, he was leaving with the most gorgeous guy in the club, so 'take that' you _Door Bitch_.

He finally released Adam's hand to allow the other man to climb into the back seat of the rental. Sending up a prayer to the Gods of the NYPD that Bunnykin wouldn't get pulled over, Chris completely ignored a dozen road rules and climbed onto Adam's lap, just as the car started. Locking his lips onto the startled ones finally... _finally_...at the same height as his, CJ decided Kiss No. 3 should take place in the back seat of a car. Just like the boy next door.

He just hoped Bunnykin didn't have an accident.

****

Hunter woke briefly at the sound of a voice nearby. Given that he'd slept completely alone for the past eight months meant that someone was in his room. That he might have invited them there didn't even occur to him.

Rolling over, he half buried his face in the pillow and cracked open an eye to survey his suite. Not totally plastered anymore, Hunter was in that floaty almost _this_ , almost _that_ state that didn't hurt but wasn't blissful either. After a few moments he managed to bring the far end of the room into focus and saw Ric Flair sitting on his couch, eating grapes and apparently having phone sex with someone called Candy.

Given that he wasn't dead or he hoped to God, dreaming about Ric having _any_ kind of sex, Hunter searched his memory for answers.

Shawn, Dave, Limousine quickly followed by Hate, Whiskey, Hate, Castle and Stephanie. Great. He'd called Steph on the other side of the country and she must have had Ric come over to make sure Hunter didn't throw himself off the balcony.

Sobering up was not any kind of option right now so he lifted his torso off the bed in an easy push-up, got his feet to the floor and took seven careful steps into the main room. Ric had liberated the second bottle of Gentleman Jack from the Glass Castle without casualties, so Hunter stole the top turret and poured himself a double shot. He tossed it back to the amusing sound of Ric trying to wrap up from 'do ya like my finger in ya' to 'Ho-Boy Champ! I gotta go Candy my love, I'll call ya back later'. He could just imagine Candy's reaction to that.

Hunter was pouring another glass before the first had finished scalding his throat when the bottle was snatched from his hand. Shrugging he simply shot back what he'd been able to pour and looked around for something to incapacitate Ric with.

"Champ, listen to me. Champ? Hunter? Listen to Ric here Champ." The older man was pursuing him around the room, waving one hand to get his attention while dancing to keep the bottle out of reach with the other.  "Whatever happened, you can't do this Champ. C'mon Hunter...now put that lamp down Champ."

Hefting the weighty light fixture Hunter eyed Ric and then the bottle. Holding out his free hand he said, "Give me the bottle Ric...now!" It was a sign of his condition that he spoke so tersely to his much admired mentor.

"No way Champ," the bright blond head shook from side to side, the whiskey bottle clasped like an infant to his chest. "Not until you tell me what happened tonight."

Hunter inspected his options. One, he could brain Ric with the lamp, possibly hurting him badly in the process or Two, he could confess to someone who might... _might_...not hate his guts for it. Either way he would get the bottle. Given that he wasn't a hundred percent sure he could catch the wily bastard in his condition he opted for his first choice.

Carefully replacing the lamp on the side table, Hunter sank onto the couch and pushed his fingers into his tousled hair. Staring at the floor, he was peripherally aware of Ric placing the whiskey back on the table and sitting next to him. Deciding he'd get this over and done with he spoke sharply and quietly.

"Dave asked Shawn out but Shawn was a bit spooked so I put them in a limo to take them to dinner. In the limo Dave tells me he's told Shawn I love him and that Shawn loves me. It's a total lie on Shawn's part and I say so, telling Dave about the Clique and how we're close, but not that close. Shawn says...god.." he couldn't keep his voice steady here,  "...he says it's true...that he did love me...Jesus..." a momentary stop to choke back the wetness in his eyes. "But that he liked Dave too. There was no way he understood what he was saying so I told him I didn't feel the same and that Dave was wrong. They went to dinner. I came here and got shit-faced. You came over, I passed out. Now I'm gonna get paralytic and then pass out for the second time. You go back to Candy and where your finger should be."

Explanation done, Hunter reached for the bottle, found his glass, poured a double and leaned back to drink it.

Ric sat silently beside him with an expression remarkably reminiscent of a gold fish.

****

Too wrapped up in Chris to have noticed that Jay and Ty had agreed to leave, Adam was a bit startled when they started moving. Since moving was a good thing...anything to get them back to the hotel and a bit of privacy...Adam wasn't about to argue the temporarily loss of Chris' ear to nibble on.

As they crossed the club, Adam let himself indulge in a rather obvious grin. When they passed the bouncer and he saw Chris' tongue poke out at the man, Adam's grin grew even wider. He wiggled his eyebrows at the man as they passed. It was damn juvenile and totally out of character for Adam, but he was so happy right now that he didn't give a damn who knew it. He was finally going to have a chance with Chris after a couple of years of fantasizing about him, so he felt more than justified for being over-the-moon happy.

When they reached the car, Adam's first thought was that he was going to jump in Chris' lap as soon as the door closed behind him. Only Chris beat him to it. Suddenly finding himself with a lap full of gorgeous blond and a mouthful of said blond's tongue, Adam figured this was as damn close to heaven as he was likely to get...at least until they reached the hotel room. Not wanting to get ahead of himself...this was a moment to be cherished after all...Adam returned the kiss with all the feelings he'd been storing up for so long.

While his tongue slowly explored Chris' mouth, Adam's hands fell to his hips. His hands tightening reflexively, he pulled Chris into him, bringing their groins into full contact as he moaned loudly into Chris' mouth. More than ready to let his hands explore certain territory that he'd spent more time staring at than he should have, Adam lowered his hands to the shiny silver material covering Chris' enticing ass. Squeezing gently, then running his long fingers slowly over the firm curves, Adam forcibly pulled his mouth from Chris' and panted deeply as he tried to catch a breath.

Leaning in so that his lips brushed against Chris' ear, Adam spoke to him, though not nearly as quietly as he should have with company in the car. "Want you Chris...so much," he said breaking one hand from it's grip on Chris' perfect ass and moving it to his bare chest. As he brushed the tips of his fingers over one golden nipple, he smiled against Chris' ear.

"I've dreamt about this," he said, his voice husky with arousal as his hand slid lower to trace the definition of his soon-to-be-lover's ribs. "About you..." Adam said, his voice dropping to a near whisper as his hand splayed over rippling abdominal muscles, his thumb tracing a circle around Chris' navel. "About us..." Lowering his mouth to the curve where Chris' neck blended into his shoulder he spoke one more word against the sensitive spot. "...together."

Simultaneously he latched onto the sensitive skin with his mouth, tracing it with his tongue, as his hand lowered one last time to caress slowly over the prominent swelling within those tight shiny pants. He savored every touch of golden skin and taunt muscle, every taste from Chris' sweet mouth to his salty skin, knowing that this was far better than any dream he'd ever had.

****

That warm feeling just kept growing as Shawn watched Dave's face light up. He was genuinely surprised at the big man's reaction---was just kissing him _that_ big of a deal? His kisses weren't quite as free as they'd been in the past, but surely they didn't warrant that kind of response... did they? Dave's fingers sliding through his hair sent little shivers down Shawn's spine, and he found himself returning the sweet smile, almost hoping that Dave would break his word about keeping his hands to himself that night. Not that he'd want him to break his word, but for that reason...

He blinked as Dave's hands slid around to cup his face and felt his stomach flutter. He hadn't had enough wine to blame the reaction on that, although he'd had enough that he was still a little overly emotional... so it must be Dave's touch that was doing it to him. He tried to push away thoughts of Dave touching him in other places, but couldn't quite manage to do so, and he could feel his body stir at his vague imaginings.

 _"If it tangles, then I'll just have to brush it out for you."_

The thought almost took his breath away. Mark had loved to brush his hair, but no one else he'd been with had cared. It was such a sensual experience for him, and he hadn't realised how much he'd missed it... until now. He resolved to definitely claim major tangles in the morning regardless.

Any further thoughts were driven from his mind as Dave's lips brushed against his. His fingers tightened on Dave's neck and his lips parted instinctively as he leaned forward, practically melting against the other man. It'd been so _long_ since he'd kissed anyone... and even longer since he'd felt like _this_ from a kiss. The fluttery feeling was back and getting stronger as the warmth that had seeped into him started to heat up. He responded eagerly, wanting to learn Dave's taste, wanting _more_...

A quiet noise of protest slipped out of him when Dave lifted his head, but he understood why Dave had stopped. Damn it, why did he have to get interested in an honourable man _now_ of all times? He kept his wry smile to himself, realising that Dave would probably misinterpret his twisted sense of humour.

 _"I promised you, Sweetheart."_

That warmth swelled in his heart and he blinked... must've gotten some dust in his eye there. He wasn't quite sure why hearing that endearment from Dave affected him so much, but he was already getting used to it. Hopefully he'd be able to continue hearing it in the future.

 _"When...if something else happens between us..."_

The little slip almost... _almost_... escaped Shawn's notice, but he did hear it, and couldn't help the slight smile that curved his lips. He almost felt like getting up and dancing, knowing that Dave _wanted_ something to happen between them. All of his earlier insecurities about this just being a crush on the big man's part had slipped away, sometime between the gentle touches earlier and the nonjudgmental embrace minutes ago. No one acted like that just because they had a crush on you; Shawn wasn't about to be so stupid as to believe that the L-word applied to either of them yet, but he highly suspected that it _could_ apply, given time and opportunity to develop.

 _"You have a lot to think about...a lot to deal with right now."_

Very true, but nothing that he wanted to think about or deal with _right_ now. Right now, he'd much rather enjoy his time with Dave... and his position. Only rarely had Shawn found himself in this kind of position, because he hated showing his weaknesses to himself, let alone other people, and he'd managed to forget completely how much he enjoyed having someone else that close to him. He adamantly refused to think of the name of the only other person who'd been that close to him in recent years. He was feeling good at the moment, almost hopeful, and was not about to lose that feeling.

 _"I know what it will mean to me, but..."_

Shawn cursed under his breath as the phone rang, interrupting a sentence that he very much wanted to hear the end of. What _would_ it mean to Dave if their relationship progressed? Obviously more than a one-night stand, but was he interested in something long-term? Maybe even something... permanent? He wanted nothing more than to ignore the phone and continue their conversation, and glared over Dave's shoulder at the obnoxious thing. Somehow, he wasn't surprised at all when Dave leaned over and picked it up, although the arm around his waist made up a little bit for his irritation at the interruption.

He watched as Dave answered the phone, wondering who in the hell it was. It _could_ be Hunter, he supposed... and if he looked out the window, the moon would be blue, too. More likely it was Kevin calling to check on him to make sure that he was taking care of himself. It's not like Kev would know anything about what had happened earlier, after all, so at least Shawn would be able to avoid that particular freak out until the morning.

"Kev?" he asked in a whisper, barely managing not to roll his eyes. "Calling to check up on poor injured me, probably." Oops. The eye roll had escaped that time.

Shrugging a little, Shawn leaned against Dave again, enjoying the closeness while he could. In the morning, once the effects of the evening had worn off, he wasn't sure if he'd be quite so willing to jump into Dave's arms and be held. He detested overly emotional, demonstrative people and had always tried damned hard not to be one of them. Tonight had been exceptional---in a bad way---for that. But he'd worry about that tomorrow. For the moment, he'd soak up the comfort that Dave was offering... and keep an ear on the conversation going on right above him.

****

 _"You're not Shawn. Who the hell is this and where's Shawn?"_

Dave pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment and gave it an odd look. The voice sounded familiar, but Dave hadn't quite placed it yet. All he knew was that whoever it was didn't sound like they were very happy that they had ended up talking to him and not Shawn...at least if the growling was any indication. He placed the phone back up to his ear and tried to figure out how he should answer the man.

 _"Is this Dave?"_

Okay...the growly person knew who he was though he wasn't sure how. Why would anyone expect to find him in Shawn's room, except maybe Hunter? He was about to ask who in the hell it was when Shawn's whisper clued him in.

 _"Kev? Calling to check up on poor injured me, probably."_

Now that Shawn had said his name, Dave knew that it was indeed Kevin. He noticed the way that Shawn rolled his eyes, though he wasn't sure he was supposed to have noticed. Obviously Shawn wasn't in the mood to talk to Kevin so Dave scrambled to give him a reason not to have to. Dave didn't want to come right out and tell Kevin what had happened, though he was pretty sure that Scott had told Kevin all about their earlier conversation. Maybe he could drop a few hints without actually saying it directly. As Shawn leaned against him, Dave reached up with his free hand and ran it gently through Shawn's hair.

"Is there any particular order you'd like me to answer those in, Kevin?" Dave asked in an amused tone. "Yes, this is Dave and Shawn is...sleeping. When he and I got back from the restaurant, he had a bit of a headache so he was resting and he just fell asleep. Did you need me to wake him up?" Dave leaned down and silently pressed his lips against the top of Shawn's head. He hadn't meant to do it, it had simply been an impulse to comfort Shawn in any way that he could.

 _"I see. Well, thanks, Dave. No, don't wake him up if he's asleep. I was just calling to see if he was... okay."_

Dave was glad that Shawn wasn't looking at his face or he would have caught the slight grimace that Dave couldn't hide. Was Shawn okay? Hell, no. Was Dave going to come right out and tell Kevin that? Again...hell, no.

 _"Hunt said he was taking you two to dinner... he didn't go, after all?"_

Ouch. He didn't really want to mention Hunter's name in front of Shawn right now...or make it obvious that Kevin had brought him up. Debating with himself, Dave finally decided that he was more likely to be able to clue Scott in on what had happened without actually coming out and saying it than he would Kevin.

"No. It didn't work out that way. Could I...talk to Scott for a minute if he's there? I wanted to talk to him about that story line we were discussing earlier." Dave heard a vague mumble from Kevin and then Scott's voice.

 _"Hey, Dave. What's up?"_

"I wanted to apologize for being so abrupt earlier. I was in a hurry to get out of there. I'm not usually so rude. Anyway...I wanted to let you know that I don't think that story line is going to pan out like I had planned. I didn't really think it through and the person that I mentioned didn't seem to see the benefits of it. Maybe you and Kev can change his mind." Dave was pretty sure that Shawn was listening to every word he said, but he hoped that Shawn wouldn't ask him about the conversation that he'd had with Scott or the person in question. He wouldn't lie to him if Shawn came out and asked about it. Shawn meant too much to him to start out any possible relationship they might have by lying to him.

 _"I see. You told them then...I was kind of worried about what would happen. So you're saying that Hunter was being a stubborn pain in the ass? Is Shawn okay?"_

Dave suppressed the sigh that wanted to slip out. No Shawn wasn't okay...but Dave wasn't about to come right out and say that. Kevin and Scott showing up here tonight would most likely not be a good thing since Shawn didn't act like he wanted to talk to them right now.

"Yes, he was. I'm going to stay here tonight and wake Shawn up a couple of times just to make sure, but he seems to be doing better. I'd better go before I wake him up with all this noise I’m making. You and Kevin have a good night."  
 _"Thanks for letting me know, Dave. Take good care of him. We'll talk later."_

Dave half turned to hang up the phone only then realizing that he was still combing his fingers though Shawn's hair. Shawn hadn't seemed to mind overly, thank goodness. Dave wrapped his arms tightly around Shawn, laying his head against Shawn's.

"You ready to call it a night, Sweetheart?" All he wanted to do was cuddle up next to Shawn and hold him close for the rest of the night. They'd deal with everything else in the morning.

****

Kevin frowned a little as there was a pause. He was pretty sure that he was talking to Dave, which meant that things were... interesting.

 _"...and Shawn is...sleeping."_

Barely managing to restrain a snort, Kevin shook his head. Sleeping? With Dave in his bed? Was he really supposed to believe that? If Scott was right about what had happened earlier, Kev suspected that they weren't doing anything much, but he couldn't keep from smiling a little. He caught Scott's eye and grinned, mouthing Dave's name at him with a little shrug.

"I see." Yes, he did. He wasn't as good at this interpersonal thing as Scotty was, but he certainly wasn't blind. "Well, thanks, Dave. No, don't wake him up if he's asleep. I was just calling to see if he was... okay."

If things had gone down anything less than perfectly, Shawn was probably far from "okay", but at least he wasn't alone. And if Dave called him on it, he could always claim that he was just asking about Shawn's injury. Pausing for a minute, he tried to figure out a diplomatic way of asking without actually _asking_...

"Hunt said he was taking you two to dinner... he didn't go, after all?"

Maybe that would work. From the look on Scott's face, though, he suspected he could've found a better way of asking.

 _"Could I...talk to Scott for a minute if he's there?"_

Story line, huh? Kevin rolled his eyes but held the phone out to Scotty, shifting just enough so that Scott could hold the phone comfortably.

"Dave wants to talk to you... about that "story line" you talked about earlier." His voice was wry, and he continued to run his fingers through Scott's hair reassuringly. When Scott took the receiver from him, he ran his other hand down Scott's back, taking every chance he could to touch his lover.  Cocking his head, he listened to the faint tinny voice on the other end of the line, trying to hear what Dave was saying to Scott.

****

Listening to Dave as he spoke, Shawn sighed softly into the big man's chest, wondering if Dave even realised that he was still petting his hair. He loved his friends, his _family_... but he could really do without the uber-protectiveness at times. Kevin was especially bad about it, since he felt compelled to act out his "Big Daddy" role every time anyone in the Clique had problems... even though Kev's patience was limited at best and his temper usually ended up trying to "fix" things. Scott had gotten incredibly good at calming people down without anyone, especially Kevin, even noticing that he was doing it.

 _"...he had a bit of a headache so he was resting and he just fell asleep."_

Shawn smiled, appreciating Dave's white lie. To be honest, Dave's _protectiveness_. Why wasn't it bothering him when Dave did it? He shrugged to himself. Did it matter? Dave had somehow picked up on the fact that he wasn't all that eager to talk to Kev right now and was expertly fielding the man. He really didn't feel like going over everything that had happened earlier, and if he did talk to Kevin, the man would end up pulling it all out of him somehow.

He felt Dave tense slightly at something Kevin said, and wondered if Hunter's name had just been brought up.

 _"Could I...talk to Scott for a minute if he's there?"_

Shawn twisted slightly so that he could look up at Dave, wondering what the big man was so carefully not saying. Story lines? There was no reason for Dave to be discussing story lines with Scotty... He blinked as he realised what was being said. He'd been so caught up in things that he'd never stopped to wonder how Dave had found out so quickly what his feelings for Hunter were. Scott knew... he'd known for years. But what in the world could've prompted him to tell somebody he barely knew? Dave must've figured some of it out himself... maybe when they were talking. Maybe that was why Dave had walked off like he had. Well... whatever had happened, Shawn wasn't going to worry about it. Scott had done whatever he'd thought was best, and since it had turned out with Dave holding him tonight, he wasn't complaining. At least, not right now.

 _.and wake Shawn up a couple of times..."_

Shawn had to press his face into Dave's shoulder to hide the expression on his face at those words. He couldn't help but laugh, but he wished almost desperately that the images that had been brought to mind were the _real_ reason why Dave would be waking him up. The mere thought of the big man over him... _in_ him... made him shudder. Biting his lip, he tried to suppress his body's reactions to those thoughts, not wanting to make the night more difficult for either of them than it already was.

When Dave wrapped his arms around him, Shawn was a little startled. He hadn't even noticed that the call was over, although he was glad that Dave had been the one to answer the phone. If Kevin had asked him what had happened, he probably would've lost it again. He was starting to lose the soft fuzzy feeling that the wine had caused---the trainer would have a fit if he knew that Shawn had been drinking after getting a head injury!---but Dave's embrace brought that warm feeling back in full force.

 _"You ready to call it a night, Sweetheart?"_

Was he ready to... oh. Right. Honour and all that. Shawn tried to calm his suddenly racing heart and turned his head to meet Dave's eyes, hoping that the effects of his wandering thoughts weren't too obvious. He loved the idea of being in Dave's arms all night, but... he really wished that they weren't _just_ going to be cuddling. Hopefully he wouldn't embarrass himself in his sleep or wake up poking Dave in the hip or something.

If they were going to get to that point, Shawn was pretty sure that Dave would want Hunter to have been dealt with, one way or another, and he didn't really want Hunt hanging over their heads either. If he was going to get past this, he was going to have to talk to the man. Firming up his resolve, he decided to do so first thing in the morning. Better to get it over with rather than let it build up into something worse than it was.

But for now... he smiled at Dave and carefully brushed a soft kiss against his lips. It took more restraint than he'd expected to pull away again. That could be a bad sign. If he was already getting addicted to the big man, and they hadn't even _done_ anything... well. Worry about that later.

"I'm more than ready, Dave." Shit. He bit his lip as soon as the words escaped him, not having meant them to sound quite like that. "I mean... I'm exhausted. I'm just glad we don't have an early plane tomorrow." As if to prove his point, a yawn worked its way out of him and he smiled.

"I think we should probably get more comfortable, though." Dammit! What was _wrong_ with him tonight? Did _everything_ he said have to sound sexual?

"I don't know about you, but I don't sleep well sitting up." Almost afraid to look at Dave's face and hoping that he wouldn't think he was trying to lead him on, Shawn reluctantly wriggled out of Dave's arms. He scooted down under the sheet, pulling the blankets up and looked up at Dave expectantly.

****

When Shawn turned to look at him, Dave couldn't quite interpret the look he gave him. Dave wondered if Shawn was going to ask about the "story line" that he and Scott had been talking about and he sincerely hoped not. When Shawn simply smiled at him and kissed him softly, Dave wanted to let out a huge sigh of relief, but knew that he didn't dare. He stopped himself from pulling Shawn back into his arms and deepening the kiss. He was the one that had put a stop to their kissing earlier and he wasn't about to play the tease. There was no way that things were going any further between them tonight and Dave didn't want to take the chance that he might want to let them. Ha! He would love to let things go farther, but he'd made a promise to Shawn and he intended to keep it.

 _"I'm more than ready, Dave."_

His eyebrows shot up at the little bit of honesty. He couldn't blame Shawn really. It had been an awful night for the beautiful man in his arms. When he saw the way Shawn was biting his lip and heard the quick qualification he made to his earlier statement, Dave wasn't sure what to think. Shawn seemed almost...nervous.

Dave smiled over the small yawn. It did indeed seem that Shawn was exhausted and it was time for him to get some sleep. Things might look better in the morning, though Dave wasn't going to hold his breath when it came to dealing with Hunter. Maybe he should try to talk to him again tomorrow?

 _"I think we should probably get more comfortable, though."_

Get more comfortable...Dave's brain seemed to twist that particular phrase to suit it's own purposes. Imagining actually "getting more comfortable" with Shawn was not a good thing when he was about to have the man in his arms...for completely _innocent_ purposes. Fighting the instinctive reaction of his body, Dave kept his smile locked firmly in place. He was not a teenager, damn it. He could and would control himself.

 _"I don't know about you, but I don't sleep well sitting up."_

Dave couldn't look at Shawn for a moment because he was sure his face was showing the proof of what he'd been thinking. Shawn's earlier comment had been completely innocent and Dave had managed to interpret it as an invitation of sorts. Not good...not good at all.

As Shawn wiggled out of his arms and slid under the covers, Dave managed to get himself back in check, at least for now. When Shawn looked up at him expectantly, Dave slid under the blankets and lay down on his back. He opened his arms and smiled at the man beside him.

"Come here, sweetheart. I can't keep my promise to hold you all night if you're way over there," he said with a wink. Now if he could just manage to keep his mind from straying into forbidden territory, he might not embarrass himself tonight. It was going to be tough though with two arms full of the man he was falling for more every minute. Dave was starting to wonder if he had a hidden masochistic streak.

****

Chris practically melted all over Adam as they kissed passionately in the back seat.

Kissing Adam reminded him of when he'd tried wine for the first time at the age of seventeen.  He'd liked it, of _course_ he'd liked it, but it was the subtle tastes and flavours that made Chris realise he'd need far more experience before he could truly appreciate a good red. Lips sliding against smooth wet partners, CJ catalogued Adam through his taste buds. The sharp bite of the whatever-it-was that Adam had been drinking and the malty-sweetness of beer blended with a unique warm, spiciness that CJ identified as pure Adamness. Like those long ago reds, it was a taste Chris was pretty sure he'd soon become addicted too.

When Adam's hands fell to his hips and inched them closer together, Chris moaned into the kiss. He could feel the evidence of Adam's arousal against his own and it made him want more, far more than was possible in the back seat of a moving vehicle. Although for a chance at Adam, Chris was willing to give it a shot. The feeling of two hands cupping his ass caused CJ to gasp and almost bash his head on the ceiling of the cab, but the firm grip his thighs had on Adam kept him in place.

 _"Want you Chris...so much_

"Not as much," Chris countered, his voice roughened from the sensation of fingers on his nipple and the ticklish skin over his ribs, "as I want _you_ Adam."

The droplets of Adam's words were accompanied by cool, delicious touches that sent Chris into a relaxed, molten puddle. Normally he was hyperactive when indulging in foreplay, but with Adam all his previous experience went out the window. Despite their mutual, _agonising_ , need, there was no rush. No frantic coupling without the time to lavish full attention to his partners wants. Oh no. This time CJ was gonna indulge himself on Adam, as he hoped the other blond wanted to experience Chris.

His own hands weren't exactly paralysed either. From where he'd gripped the long streaked hair when he'd initiated the kiss, CJ dropped his fingers to cup Adam's jaw, tracing the side of his throat, before once again taking a handful of shirt to hold to as leverage. He flexed strong thigh muscles and ground forwards, once again forcing their erections into mutual agonised pleasure. Adam's hand stealing in between them was both a relief and a torment as his own sex was massaged by long fingers.

As Adam's tongue touched the shivery spot on his neck Chris let his head fall back, baring his throat in submission. The hand on his groin was making thinking almost impossible and CJ began to lose awareness of where they were. His entire world was refined down to Adam's body, Adam's mouth and Adam's hands.

Chris gave a sharp, involuntary hiss of pain before his sex fogged brain even noted the problem. He jerked back so suddenly he would've fallen into the front seat, hadn't Adam's other hand been still at his hip. Catching himself by broad shoulders, CJ looked ruefully down at his side. Softly touching his still-bruised skin, he was reminded of last weeks encounter with a chair.

"Sorry Babe, it just caught me by surprise, I must have twisted too far," the pain receding Chris smirked into Adam's concerned expression. "Lost my head I guess you could say." He leaned back again till Adam could see his body in the glow of passing street lights. "Still black and blue from last week, light's so bad at the club I don't think anyone noticed."

Letting his own fingers explore Adam's still covered torso, Chris leaned in for another kiss, hoping Tyson took the longer route back to the hotel.


	12. Concerns

Ric looked down at the man he'd just bodily dragged into bed and sighed. When Stephanie had called him he'd thought it was a practical joke on Ms McMahon's part. It had to be. Hunter didn't drink. Everyone knew that, it was just part of the WWE, like Vince's temper and the oxymoron that was the 'creative department'. Hell, the man had only sipped wine at his own bachelor party for pity's sake. Now this. Ric had to hand it to the Champ once again, when he did something, he sure as hell went all or nothing on it.

Fortunately only a small part of the second bottle had been imbibed by Hunter before he'd passed out on the couch.

Eyeing the second bed, Ric toed off his shoes, draped his jacket over the desk chair and settled down for a few hours shut-eye himself. Hunter would be alright. What he'd said was the whiskey talking. He and Shawn were closer than brothers and no stupid mix-up would affect that. Hunter just over-reacted about everything related to Shawn. He'd spoken to Joanie a few times about what Hunter was like when Shawn underwent back surgery. More stressed than during his own quad rehab she'd confided.

Hunter was just blowing things out of proportion, Ric assured himself as he set his phone alarm for 6 am.

He settled back and shut his eyes, thinking of Candy in her crotchless panties.

By tomorrow this would all have blown over. 

****

Shawn wondered if Dave was having the same problem he was, seeing the odd expression on his face. If he were... no. He was going to be good tonight, not entice the man he was getting more interested in all the time into breaking a promise. Just because he was tired of being alone didn't mean that he had the right to mess with Dave's emotions. And, as much as he hated to admit it, Dave was right in that he really wasn't in any condition to be making decisions right now. The alcohol was fading, but Shawn wouldn't put it past himself to do something stupid just to get back at Hunter for hurting him. He winced slightly at the name, but pushed it away again. He'd worry about that in the morning.

For now, he was just going to look at the gorgeous half-naked man in bed with him for a minute. He let his eyes travel over Dave before he realised that he was staring, and probably about to start drooling. Shaking his head slightly, he returned Dave's smile a little hesitantly, hoping that Dave hadn't noticed his momentary preoccupation.

 _"I can't keep my promise to hold you all night if you're way over there."_

Taking a deep breath, Shawn scooted over, pausing for a second to figure out how best to do this. It was a little-known secret that he was a cuddler in bed, which was part of the reason he'd been so miserable with his bed empty for so long. Normally he'd just drape himself over his bed partners, but in this case... He settled his head against Dave's shoulder and slid an arm across the big man's chest, letting his other arm wedge underneath Dave's shoulder and the pillow. If Dave was willing to hold him all night, that would probably work. If not, well... they'd figure something out.

Debating with himself for a second, Shawn finally put a leg over Dave's, keeping it just above knee level. That left certain parts of them out of contact, although Shawn was afraid that he'd wake up trying to drill a hole in Dave's hip. It might be normal male automatic response, but it would be... interesting... in the morning if that happened. Hmm... Dave had promised not to do anything _tonight_. Nothing had been said about tomorrow. Suddenly having to hide a smirk, Shawn bit his lip before turning to press one last kiss to Dave's cheek.

"Good night, Dave," he said softly, almost surprised at how comfortable he felt. Yawning again, he let his eyes drift closed and was asleep before he realised it.

****

"You're kinky, you know that?"

Chris shifted against Eddie, raising a puzzled face to his lover. "What do you mean, kinky?"

Eddie grinned, using Benoit's distraction to sneak a hand down to his hip, slowly rubbing his thumb against the sensitive spot there.

"Kinky, ese. Having sex with the belts on? I never would've thought you had it in you."

Chris glanced almost guiltily at the bedside table, the two championship belts glinting in the sliver of light coming in through the curtains. Watching his lover blush was something that Eddie never got tired of. The fact that it was a rare sight only made him try harder. Speaking of which... He shifted his hand slightly, grazing against Chris's crotch. Chris twitched.

"Eddie..."

Assuming an innocent look, Eddie blinked at him. "What?"

"Aren't you _ever_ satisfied?" Benoit sighed, smiling a little as he moved, bringing Eddie's fingers into contact with his cock. Eddie smiled back at him, wrapping his fingers around the softened shaft, massaging it gently. He brought his other hand up to Chris's cheek, turning his face so that he could lean down and kiss him. Finally pulling away, he chuckled at Chris's quiet moan.

"With you? Never," he whispered, shifting them until he was lying over Benoit. It had been far too long since they'd been able to spend any real time together. The clothes strewn across the room testified to the frenetic pace of their earlier lovemaking, but Eddie wanted to take his time.

Moving slowly, he licked, touched, tasted, pinched every inch of Chris's body, inhaling the heady scent of his lover's arousal as he brought him to a fever pitch. By the time he was ready for more, Chris was a whimpering, pleading mess... just how Eddie liked him. Pushing into him at a snail's pace, Eddie muffled Chris's groan with his lips. Their bodies moving together slowly, Eddie allowed their pleasure to build languidly, their orgasms cresting like an ocean wave only moments apart.

"Te amo, Chris," Eddie whispered, smiling into Chris's hair as he listened to the other man's breathing slow. Chris reached up, wrapping his arms around Eddie.

"Love you, too," came the softly tired reply. Kissing Chris's forehead, Eddie closed his eyes, content for the first time in over a week.

****

"You're not Shawn. Who the hell is this and where's Shawn?"

Scott looked up at Kevin in surprise and almost laughed. Kevin would never consider the possibility that he might have dialed the wrong room number. Scott could just imagine some strange person at the other end of the line getting extremely irate over Kevin interrupting their sleep.

"Is this Dave?"

Ohhh! Maybe Kevin hadn't dialed the wrong room after all. This was an interesting development to say the least. Scott watched Kevin as he waited for an answer. When Kevin mouthed the name 'Dave' to him, Scott wasn't sure whether to be really happy that the big man was apparently in Shawn's room or worried that something had gone really wrong during their discussion.

"I see. Well, thanks, Dave. No, don't wake him up if he's asleep. I was just calling to see if he was... okay."

Asleep? Yeah, right. Like there was any chance that Shawn was sleeping while Dave was in his room. Question was...was Shawn about to end his streak of spending the nights alone in his bed or was Shawn a complete mess and Dave was there to keep an eye on him. Scott didn't even consider that he might be there because of Shawn's head injury. He hadn't been showing any signs of having a concussion. Unless either Dave or Hunter had smacked him upside the head with another blunt object...Scott winced as he considered that possibility.

"Hunt said he was taking you two to dinner... he didn't go, after all?"

Scott's eyes widened as he looked at Kevin. Where was all that tact that Kev was purported to have? Surely not much in evidence tonight. Though Scott couldn't really blame him after he'd had to put up with Scott's near hysterics earlier.

"Dave wants to talk to you... about that "story line" you talked about earlier."

Scott barely kept from flinching and he was sure his expression looked like he was being confronted by some dreaded evil monster instead of a simple telephone. Kevin's fingers sifting through his hair reminded him that Kevin would be right here for him no matter what Dave wanted to say to him and Scotty hesitantly reached for the receiver. Kevin's hand running down his back made him shiver and he had to shake his head slightly to clear it before focusing on the phone in his hand. He raised the phone to his ear and surprisingly his voice came out much steadier than he felt.

"Hey, Dave. What's up?"

 _"Anyway...I wanted to let you know that I don't think that story line is going to pan out like I had planned."_

Scott shook off the apology. It wasn't really necessary. Dave had had every reason to want to leave in a hurry earlier. The story line didn't pan out...Shawn must be right beside him, otherwise Dave would have found a more direct way to bring up their discussion. Apparently things hadn't gone well...at least from Dave's point of view. Scott wasn't so sure that Hunter and Shawn being together was such a good thing. They were both so damn stubborn. Though if that had been their decision, Scott would have supported them one hundred percent. It sounded as if Hunter had been the one to nix the idea. Scott wondered why. There was definitely something going on there and Scott was determined to find out what. Sounded like he and Hunter would be having a heart to heart sometime tomorrow.

 _"Maybe you and Kev can change his mind."_

Scott wasn't sure about that, but he was sure that they'd be finding out the reason for Hunter's attitude. Which reminded him...he had a question or two for Kevin about their dear friend. Something hadn't been right there earlier and Scott wasn't one who liked to be left in the dark.

"I see. You told them then...I was kind of worried about what would happen. So you're saying that Hunter was being a stubborn pain in the ass? Is Shawn okay?" Scott's voice was completely calm. Now that he knew what they were dealing with, to some extent, he would be able to cope much better. Just like the situation with Nitro, he'd helped create this mess and it was his responsibility to help clean it up.

'No more time for self-pity, Scott. It's time to fix your mistakes and move on. You can't just let Kevin take care of you all the time or you'll end up going right back to the bottle. Your little episode earlier proved that.' Scott thought to himself. That just wasn't going to happen. He loved letting Kevin take care of him, but he needed to be able to stand on his own two feet as well.

 _"Yes, he was. I'm going to stay here tonight and wake Shawn up a couple of times just to make sure, but he seems to be doing better."_

Scott was torn between being angry at Hunter and laughing over what Dave had said about waking Shawn up. He knew that more than likely it wouldn't be in the way he'd interpreted it, but he was betting Shawn wouldn't object at all if that were the case.

"Thanks for letting me know, Dave. Take good care of him. We'll talk later."

He was thankful to Dave. Shawn obviously hadn't felt like talking to them, so Scott had a feeling that things were...really not good with Shawn. Shawn didn't take much to coddling, but Scott could more often than not coax him into opening up. That Shawn hadn't answered the phone himself and hadn't taken the phone once he knew who it was...told Scott that Shawn just hadn't wanted to deal with things right now. Which meant that he and Kevin would have been left in the dark until the situation exploded. Scott was sincerely hoping that it wouldn't come to that.

As far as Dave being with Shawn...Scott was completely comfortable with it. He was a pretty good judge of character and he'd been impressed with Dave since the first time he'd met him. True, he hadn't spent a lot of time with the man, but from what he had seen, Dave was trustworthy and kind to a fault. If he was there with Shawn, then Shawn would be in good hands.

Scott handed the phone back to Kevin as he sifted through the various things he'd learned from the phone call. He looked up at Kevin and shook his head.

"It's not good. We're going to talk to Hunter tomorrow," Scott said decisively. "We're going to go check on Shawn too...whenever I decide to let you out of this room," he finished with a disarming smile. "I've got other plans for you yet tonight, Kev." Running his fingers gently up Kevin's bare chest, Scott stopped to toy with the ends of Kevin's hair. Scott pressed his body flush with Kevin's and looked into his eyes as he let his hand tangle firmly in the golden locks. "And I'll get to them, as soon as you tell me what the hell is going on with you and Hunt."

****

Dave had sensed the slight hesitance when Shawn had moved closer to him. He couldn't blame the guy. This wasn't exactly a normal scenario for a first date. At least not in Dave's experience. In all honesty, if things hadn't happened the way they had with Hunter, Dave most likely wouldn't have been in Shawn's bed at all tonight. It wasn't that he had any kind of rule against first date sex, but he tended to shy away from it. Dave was definitely more of a relationship type guy than one that indulged in what he considered meaningless sex. It wasn't like he'd never had a one-night stand, but it was an exception, not the rule for him. With Shawn...it was out of the question.

Dave already had feelings for Shawn, though he wasn't ready to put a name to what exactly they were. He wasn't willing to settle for a flash-in-the-pan sexual affair with the man. He wasn't expecting a commitment, not right now, but he at least wanted to be sure that there might be a possibility of a future for them. He admitted to himself that he was already in too deep. If things didn't work out between them, he was already to the point where it would hurt.

Dave had expected to be facing a pretty damn uncomfortable night. Between trying to hide his body's reaction to having Shawn in his arms and the thoughts he was bound to be having as a result, he'd thought it would be something akin to hell on earth...holding him so close, yet not touching. As Shawn settled against him, Dave was surprised at how comfortable he actually felt. It seemed...right. That thought damn near terrified him. How was he supposed to go back to his lonely bed tomorrow night after feeling the way that he was right now?

Dave pushed that thought aside as Shawn kissed his cheek. He couldn't dwell on it. He was determined to view this as a gift. One night to remember everything he could about being here with Shawn...just in case.

 _"Good night, Dave."_

Dave unconsciously tightened his arms just a bit. "Good night, Shawn," Dave said, his happiness at just being there reflected in his voice.

Before long he could tell by the deep even breaths against his chest that Shawn was asleep. He should have been tired himself, but found that he honestly wasn't. His mind was too busy tossing random and not-so-random thoughts at him.

Why had Hunter denied his feelings for Shawn? That one perplexed Dave. Who in their right mind would turn down the chance to be with Shawn? Dave knew that Hunter wasn't crazy. There had to be something deep going on with him and Dave really wanted to know what it was...not only because it had affected Shawn, but because he was genuinely worried about Hunter. Ouch. Guess that had snuck in under his radar, hadn't it? If Dave looked at things with true honesty, despite the fact that he'd tried to keep his relationship with Hunter on a professional level, Dave did care about the man.

He tried not to panic, he really did, but his breath still caught for a moment as he tried to work his way through his thoughts. Dave had never really thought that there was a possibility of anything happening with Hunter. He hadn't let himself explore any feelings he'd had for the man except for the occasional twinge of desire. Hunter was a damn attractive guy so it wasn't unrealistic that Dave would occasionally wonder what it would be like to touch him, but he'd always tried to cut off anything beyond those thoughts. He'd wanted to accept the man's overtures of friendship and had to force himself to shy away from them. That should have told him what his mind was just now figuring out. Despite all his safeguards, he already had some sort of feelings for the man.

He couldn't possibly have feelings for both Hunter and Shawn...could he? Things just didn't work that way. He pushed away the thought that Shawn had said earlier that despite the fact that he loved Hunter he still wanted to get to know Dave...that the two weren't incompatible. They were incompatible...weren't they?

Dave closed his eyes and swallowed harshly. This whole situation was turning into a huge mess. He almost wished that Hunter had just agreed with him earlier tonight. Shawn and Hunter would be together and he would be...somewhere else right now. Despite the fact that Hunter and Shawn would have been happy if the situation had been resolved that way, Dave was kind of glad that that hadn't ended up being the case. Didn't that make him kind of selfish?

Sighing quietly over his indecision, Dave was startled to realize that at some point during his mental wanderings, he'd managed to memorize Shawn's breathing pattern. Once again he thought about how comfortable he was here, just holding Shawn. Obviously nothing was going to be resolved in his over-tired state. Maybe that was his problem. He was just tired. That excuse had about a snowball's chance in hell of flying, but it had been worth a shot.

He needed to talk to Hunter. Shawn needed to talk to Hunter. Hunter needed to stop being such an obstinate pain in the ass. When they woke up in the morning, maybe they should go talk to Hunter and just get everything out in the open. What's the worst that could happen?

Moving gently so that he didn't wake him, Dave pulled Shawn just a little bit closer. Taking comfort from the weight of Shawn's body against his, Dave finally ordered himself to stop thinking so much about what-ifs and just enjoy the here and now. He drifted into an uneasy sleep almost two hours after Shawn had cuddled up against him.

**** 

If the sharp hiss hadn't caught his attention, the way Chris suddenly shifted would have. Concern in his eyes, Adam looked closely at the dark mark on Chris' side. Well...as closely as he could using the streetlights. He made a mental note to be careful not to put his hands there...at least with any kind of pressure. Then Chris kissed him again and he zoned out everything but that pleasurable experience.

His hands had migrated to Chris' thighs, sliding firmly over the smooth material covering taunt muscles. He was so involved in trying to explore every inch of Chris' mouth with his tongue that he missed the fact that the car had ceased moving. Jay's snort of laughter and his subsequent words vaguely penetrated the sensual haze fogging his brain.

"And they say that we're bad? You guys could have saved it for the room, you know." There was a slight pause from Jay until he noticed that neither man seemed to have heard him. "Hey!! We're here!"

Adam finally realized that Jay meant that they were at the hotel. Somehow he managed to pry his mouth from Chris' and gently slide the blond off his lap. Grabbing hold of his hand, Adam opened his door and climbed out of the vehicle, Chris following closely behind him. Turning to look at Jay, he smiled.

"We'll be in our room, you two can have the other. Be a doll and just take our bags to your room would ya? Room service is still on me, but remember the rule. Good night, boys!"

Wrapping his arm around Chris' shoulders, Adam ushered him into the hotel and straight into the elevator. He considered picking up where they had left off in the car, but knew that probably wouldn't be the brightest idea considering how he wasn't real coherent when he was kissing Chris. They could end up with a huge audience without meaning to. Not good.

Silently cursing slow moving elevators, Adam almost cheered when it reached their floor. As the two of them hurried down the hallway to the room, Adam smiled almost shyly at Chris. He was ecstatic about finally spending a little time alone with him, but at the same time he didn't want to rush through anything. As long as he had waited for it, he wanted to savor every moment of this night. Swiping the keycard through the door, he waved Chris in ahead of him.

"After you, Sweetheart," he said quietly, following Chris through the door. "So...are you hungry? Not that food could ever taste better than you do, but I haven't eaten since this morning. Besides...if we order something sweet and sticky for dessert, we can rival Jay and Ty for messiest hotel room," he said with a wicked smirk.

****

Chris followed Adam into the hotel in somewhat of a daze. The evening had started to take on an edge of unreality since Adam had first whispered into his ear. His reactions had been fairly extreme, even for him, but CJ attributed that to the presence of Adam and the amazing turn of tonight's events. The muted but still bright lights of the hotel lobby woke him up slightly as Adam chatted to Jay then led him to the elevator. Feeling self-conscious about his nakedness for the first time, he resisted the urge to crawl into Adam's side. Instead with a head toss he stalked passed the interested receptionist and tried not to jump Adam as they reached their floor.

The hotel floor was pretty quiet considering the amount of wrestlers staying here, normally the room hopping, loud discussions and almost fights kept things lively till well into the morning.

 _...rival Jay and Ty for messiest hotel room...._

Raising a hand in a TMI gesture, he grinned at the taller man.

"So not thinking about Jay and Ty right now Babe," putting a deliberate saunter into his walk, CJ moved to the telephone and picked up the room service menu.

"Well hello Natalie," he said brightly. "Can I please order two Julie's steaks with vegetables, two lemon cheesecakes, a jug of ice water and a bottle of the Lanyard Creek Merlot?" If he was having Adam, he was going to have him with a decent red too. "Room 634...Copeland...thank you Natalie."

Dropping the phone back into its cradle, he turned back to face his soon-to-be lover and indulged himself in another slow perusal.

"Don't know about you Babe, but my feet are killing me." Sitting on the side of the bed, he lifted one foot and began unlacing his boot. "I should know better than to try and keep up with Trish. That chick is the child of Barbie and the Energizer Bunny."

Finishing with the other boot, Chris scooted back further on the bed and crooked a finger at Adam.

"C'mere Babe, your King commands it."

****

Hunter was dreaming. He had to be, because if this was really happening then he'd kill himself right now. Drifting between sleep and almost awake meant reality was blending with his subconscious a bizarre and psychedelic way. Like when your father is yelling at you in your sleep and you wake to find the radio on...that kinda reality.

Although this was really bad.

For some reason he was in Vince's office at Titan Towers. His father-in-law was throttling Scott Hall, fingers choking the life out of the dark man lying near death on the floor. Hunter wasn't just not helping Scott, he was holding Kevin down on the floor, forcing the big man to watch his lover being murdered. Hunt couldn't move, couldn't tear Vince away and help Scott, couldn't even let Kevin go. And the Big Man was screaming at him, yelling obscenities and threats right into Hunter's face.

All the while Shawn and Dave were making out on Vince's desk. Hunter's attention was divided between hungrily staring at the entwined men and keeping Kevin trapped and away from Scott.

When Stephanie rode in on a horse, Hunter nearly cried.

Stephanie started throwing champagne glasses at the men on the desk but they ignored her. Scott reached towards Kevin as he gasped out his last breath,

Hunter really, really wanted to wake up.

****

Adam leaned against the wall and simply watched Chris as he crossed the room. Appreciating the fluid graceful movements of the blond was not something new for Adam, but it was one of the rare times he'd let himself do so without his ever-present shades. He continued watching as Chris ordered their meal and then turned to look him over. Adam shivered slightly under Chris' gaze, though he doubted it was visible to the naked eye, he'd gotten pretty good over the years at letting people see only what he wanted them to see.

Smiling over Chris' comments about Trish, Adam had to agree. The woman's energy was boundless. Chris sliding back onto the bed had his thoughts going in a completely different direction. The way Chris crooked his finger at him made him smile. Such a bossy little thing, though when it came to Chris bossing him around, he had no real objections.

 _"C'mere Babe, your King commands it."_

Using the wall to brace himself, Adam lifted each foot and pulled off his own boots. He tossed them negligently into the corner before lifting one hand and running it slowly down his own chest, stopping at few buttons still fastened. Popping them open deftly with one hand, he left the shirt hanging open and finally pushed away from the wall. Crawling onto the end of the bed, he moved slowly forward, his actions pretty similar to that of a great jungle cat. Positioning himself over Chris in pretty much the same way he did when he entered the ring, Adam leaned in and ran his tongue slowly over Chris' lips.

"You beckoned, king of mine? Was there... _something_ that you wanted?" Adam said, his voice husky and a genuine smile on his face as he pulled back enough to look into Chris' eyes. He somehow managed to suppress the goofy grin that wanted to take over as he thought about Chris actually being 'his'.

****

 _"...I'm not in love with Shawn."_

Shawn whimpered, his head tossing as his heart tightened. The words he'd always been so afraid of hearing... Why had he ever told Hunter the truth? So much better that he keep his secret than _this_...

 _"...I care too much for Shawn to lie to him..."_

His fingers clenched as his teeth ground together. Bastard. He didn't know how, but he _knew_ Hunter had lied to him. And as soon as he had the opportunity, he was going to tell him that... and then beat the shit out of him if he didn't tell him the truth.

 _"I'm sorry Shawn, but I don't...feel...the same way..."_

Hunter's earnest face floated in front of him... taunting him. As much as he wanted to punch that familiar face, he wanted to kiss those lips...

"Dammit, Hunt! How could you _do_ this to me?" Just tear my heart out and hand me back the shredded pieces, expecting me to act like nothing ever happened... He fiercely blinked back the tears prickling at the backs of his eyes. His voice echoed hollowly, and he felt his breath catch in his throat. His arm tightened, and he became aware that he _wasn't_ alone. Even as he wondered, he realised who he was with, and his lips curved.

 _"...I'd love to spend time with you..."_

How could he have wondered if Dave were serious? The man's sincerity was written in every fibre of his being, obvious in the eyes that so clearly showed his emotions when he let them.

 _"...you are allowed to touch me Shawn..."_

Oh God, if only he was. His fingers twitched, moving without his realising it, stroking softly across the warm skin they were lying on.

 _"...Shawn...Sweetheart..."_

He sighed softly, the heartbeat underneath his cheek comforting him, allowing his inner pain to be soothed away. He knew it was temporary, that he'd have to face that pain, but for now he just wanted to enjoy this. Turning his face into that delicious warmth, he pressed a kiss to the skin he could reach, savouring the slightly musky taste that lingered on his lips.

 _"...I know what it will mean to me..."_

He sucked in a deep breath, wondering...

Shawn's eyes shot open.

Staring wildly into the darkness, it took him almost an entire minute to place where he was. The softly breathing warm bulk that he was lying on threw him until he realised who it was... Dave. The name made him smile, before the realisation of _why_ he was there made those damned tears burn at the back of his throat again. Dammit, hadn't he cried enough over this? Forcing them back, he slowly became aware that they'd shifted positions during the night.

He was still facing Dave, still draped partly over him... but Dave had shifted, almost facing him now with one hand under his head. Shawn's arm was still draped across Dave's chest... stroking it. Shawn pulled his hand away as though it had been burnt when he realised that he was rubbing soft caresses across Dave's collarbone... and nipple. What the hell was he doing?

Even as he wondered, he realised that somehow, they'd tangled together, their limbs meshed... and his body had enthusiastically responded to the situation. Trying to pull a leg back without waking Dave up, his eyes fluttered shut as his now-aching cock brushed against Dave's hip. Forcing himself to take deep breaths, he carefully edged his leg away from Dave... only to stop cold, a quiet moan escaping him as he felt a matching hardness pushing insistently against his thigh.

He was stuck.

No matter what he did, he was going to touch _something_ that he shouldn't, and they'd tangled together so well that the only real way to get out of it was to bodily push the other man away... and that wasn't something he was willing to do. Even if Dave _did_ wake up and he died of embarrassment...

Even if Dave _didn't_ wake up, and he died of unrequited horniness... Shawn's mouth twisted into a grin as a quiet laugh escaped him. At least he'd die happy, right? Well... frustrated, but in a good way.

His eyes finally adjusting to the dimness of the room, Shawn propped his head up on his hand, watching Dave sleep. Looked like the big man wasn't having the most peaceful sleep, either. Shawn frowned a little as Dave's head twitched, his lips moving... was he saying something?

Leaning closer, trying to hear the barely-whispered words, Shawn had his ear nearly against Dave's lips. And when he heard what Dave was saying... his head whipped around, his eyes wide, as he stared at the other man.

And lost his balance.

His elbow slipping on the sheet, Shawn's head fell onto Dave's chest. Cursing silently, he leaned back, hoping that he hadn't just woken his bedpartner. Because if Dave had been dreaming about what he _thought_ he was dreaming about...

Reluctantly, he raised his eyes to Dave's face, almost afraid to look.


	13. Temptations

Guh.

CJ was seriously at a loss for words as Adam crawled up onto the bed like a big black panther. So slow and menacing... but in a good way, a really, _really_ good way. He made Chris feel like prey that was about to get ravaged or ravished if Chris had his way. And amazingly it seemed he would...have _his_ way that is. If he was reading the man right, Adam seemed genuinely willing to obey Chris' directions on what they would do. A surprise considering Adam was so intense about almost everything in his life, that he would submit to CJ's authority was a tantalising shock.

Head spinning with all the fantastic, porny ideas he could order Adam to do, Chris settled back onto the pillows and looked thoughtfully at the gorgeous face hovering so close to his.

"First I want you to kiss me," CJ wasn't going to try and stop the smile crossing his features or the lust darkening his eyes and tenting his pants, "use lots of tongue."

He saw the green cat-like eyes brighten in response.

"Take off your clothes," a thought occurred. "Slowly, like a tease. Then climb back on the bed like you did before, all slinky and sexy."

Okay, now for the really fun stuff.

"Unbuckle my belt and unzip me," now Chris was getting all _sorts_ of ideas. "Then go down on me, but don't bring me off. I want to come with you inside me."

He lay back and waited to see how far Adam would let him go.

****

Kevin watched Scotty's face as he talked, taking in every wince and frown and smile. His lover was one of the most expressive people he'd ever known and he'd always loved to watch him while he dealt with other people. No matter how controlled his expression was, Kev could always tell his real thoughts by watching his eyes. That sparkle revealed his amusement at something Dave had said... about waking Shawn up? Kevin had to bite back a comment at that, seeing the angry spark in his eyes at the same time. Instead, he contented himself with stroking Scott's hair, working out the snarls in the wavy strands.

 _"It's not good. We're going to talk to Hunter tomorrow."_

Kevin hung up the receiver, raising an eyebrow at Scott's tone. It wasn't often that Scott got like this... but Kev loved it when he did. As much as he loved taking care of his lover, Scott taking charge of things was a huge turn-on for him.

 _"...whenever I decide to let you out of this room..."_

He had to bite back a moan as he saw the look on Scott's face. That little smile... the tone of voice... He could feel his body responding even after the incredible sex they'd had earlier. Scott's fingers in his hair made him shift, but when Scotty _yanked_ on the strands... Kev couldn't stop the growl that escaped him and he shifted his grasp on Scott, intending to roll them over so he could ravish his lover all over again...

 _"...as soon as you tell me what the hell is going on with you and Hunt."_

Shit.

His eyes closed momentarily, not quite able to face his lover. So much for all of his nice "always tell the truth" lines... But this thing with Hunt was one big mess. Trust Scott to spring this on him at a weak moment. His mouth twisting into a reluctant smile, he opened his eyes again, shaking his head at Scott.

"You don't play fair, Scotty," he rumbled, running a hand down Scott's back. Moving them both forward a bit to lay back against the pillows, his hand not stopping its caress, he stared at the ceiling for a long moment, trying to gather his thoughts. He'd never discussed it with Scott because it had been the beginning of his last fight with his demons... the fight where Kev had walked away from him.

Taking a long, shuddering breath, he turned his head to look at Scott again, feeling guilty all over again.

"It... it started with the nWo comeback a couple of years ago. When... when we were having... problems," Kevin hedged delicately. God, he hated dredging all this up again. When everything had happened, he'd been so angry and hurt and confused... and so totally self-centered. He just couldn't meet Scotty's eyes, so expressive, while he told him this. He'd be lucky if Scott ever forgave him once he knew the truth.

"When you... when Vince let you go," he cringed over the euphemism but couldn't bring himself to say anything else, "I... I didn't react well. You know that." He tried to force away the memories of him yelling and ranting and throwing things at walls before breaking down. The real breakdown hadn't started until the next day, though... the day that he walked out on Scott, leaving him drunk on their hotel room floor before making that phone call. He couldn't quite stop the tear that rolled down his face as he remembered the broken look on Scott's face… right before he took another drink. Walking out on him that night had broken his heart, no matter how much good had come out of it. Walking out had finally convinced Scott that rehab needed to _work_ that time.

"So... when I heard that Hunter had... had something to do with it, I just lost it."

The ceiling had the most terribly interesting pattern sculpted into it, Kev mused idly. He realised that he'd tightened his grip on Scott to an almost painful point, and forced himself to relax. It was in the past, and Scott wasn't going anywhere. Not now. Not unless he got so upset with Kev's stupidity that he left... a deep shudder ripped through Kevin at that thought, and he closed his eyes again. After a long silent moment, he continued, his voice quiet.

"I can't even remember who it was that originally told me. How stupid does that make me? But when I went to Vince, went to argue with him... _beg_ him to keep you, he just looked at me and said that the decision had been made. And... that if I had questions about it, I could talk to Hunter because he'd been involved."

Another silence, this time as Kevin rolled that statement around in his head. He'd realised long ago that he'd most likely misread it, but his own damned stubbornness had kept him from doing anything about it. Scott would surely force him to do something now, though.

"When I went to talk to Hunter, I... I wasn't too calm. I pretty much accused him of pulling strings to get you fired." Kevin winced at the memory. "I yelled, I said things that I don't really remember... I didn't give him a chance to answer, really. By the time I'd run out of things to call him, he just had this closed-off look to him... he just _looked_ at me and shook his head, and asked me how I could think that. And he walked away."

"After... after I'd... walked out..." He stopped, swallowing past the remembered pain clogging his throat. "After I... left you... Shawn stayed with me. He didn't understand how I could blame Hunt, and... by that time, I didn't, either. But when I tried to talk to him later, he just... he played cold. And it pissed me off, and then I was injured..." Another long shuddering breath, remembering those hard, lonely months when he'd been hurt and was alone and couldn't even _talk_ after the surgery and wasn't sure if he'd be able to again... "And then it was too late. Now we're on speaking terms, but..."

His voice trailed off and he kept his eyes closed.

"I know I'm an idiot, Scotty. I know he didn't do what I thought he did. Hell, he probably tried to convince Vince to keep you. But... there was so much going on..."

He knew that his expression gave away more than he wanted to, but how could he try to keep hiding this from Scott when Scotty was trying so hard to be completely honest with him? His arms tightened around the form of his lover again, hoping desperately that Scott wouldn't hate him for this one.

****

They were yelling at each other loud enough that the kitchen staff in the hotel could probably make out every word legibly. Maybe that was an exaggeration...then again maybe not. Dave flinched as Shawn yelled at Hunter.

"You lied to me, you bastard! Now tell me why!"

Dave shifted positions, noting the aggressive stance that Hunter seemed to have taken. He probably shouldn't be here, but when Shawn had decided to confront Hunter, Dave had wanted to come along. Vince wouldn't be happy if the two ended up destroying a hotel room. Just as Hunter attempted to lunge at Shawn, Dave wrapped his arms around the man's waist to hold him in place. He was forced to lean back on his heels to keep Hunter from getting closer to Shawn.

This was really, really not going well. He'd thought things were temporarily under control, but he hadn't been prepared for Shawn to lunge at Hunter. The momentum of Shawn crashing into muscular blond sent the three of them careening backwards...straight onto the mattress. Dave groaned from the bottom of the tangle of limbs. He was a big guy, true, but the combined weight of Hunter and Shawn was enough to knock the breath out of him when he hadn't been expecting to have them land on him. Surprised that the bed hadn't collapsed, he was truly thankful for the sturdy wood frame, which had managed to withstand nearly eight hundred pounds worth of bodies falling onto it simultaneously.

With Hunter's back pressed against his face he couldn't see exactly what was going on, but he could tell the two were still struggling from the way Hunter was wiggling on top of him. He tightened his arms around Hunter's waist and his breath caught in his throat as Hunter's ass shifted against his groin. Oh dear lord...this was _not_ the time to be having this reaction. Dave almost snorted. Was there ever an appropriate time to be having this reaction? Little flashes of heat rocked through him again as Hunter shifted positions and Dave knew he had a limited amount of time to get Hunter off him before the blond noticed his reaction.

"That is enough!" The two men above him suddenly stilled as they realized the "mat" they were struggling on top of wasn't actually an inanimate object. He missed the exchange of sheepish expressions between the two from the position he was in, but suddenly Shawn was beside him on the mattress with his hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry, Dave. We got a little bit out of control." A little bit? Dave laughed loudly. He just couldn't help it. A little bit?

"Uh...Dave? If I promise to behave, do you think you could let me go now?" Dave almost jumped at the sudden words from Hunter, his arms immediately loosening their tight hold. As Hunter shifted to roll off of him, he innocently brushed his backside against Dave's groin again, drawing an unbidden low moan from the big man. Dave closed his eyes, a blush burning across his skin as he realized there was no way the two of them hadn't heard the noise. His only hope lay in the chance that his slacks were loose enough to hide his current condition.

Forcing himself to open his eyes, he peeked at the two men beside him. Shawn was on his right, Hunter on his left and as he looked at them he realized his hopes were pretty much shot. The two of them were wearing smiles of amusement and Dave didn't have to ask why.

"Damn, Hunt, maybe we should roll around on top of him together more often if that's the response we're going to get."

The teasing note in Shawn's voice had Dave sighing, his blush intensifying as he closed his eyes again. He would have shot off the bed right then if not for the firm grip that Shawn still had on his arm and the sudden weight of Hunter's arm across his abdomen. Dave was hedging his bets on his chances that the mattress would suddenly open and swallow him whole, when he was shocked by a warm set of lips covering his own. He whimpered as a warm tongue pushed insistently inside his mouth at the same time that someone's hands were tugging at the dress shirt tucked into his slacks. A gentle hand roaming across his bared midriff startled a squeak out of him that no one ever would have expected to hear from the "Animal".

Another set of nimble fingers danced over his collarbone and down across his nipple, pulling another low groan from him that was muted by Shawn's mouth. Yes it was Shawn's, because Dave would never forget how sweet he tasted. As Shawn shifted his mouth to Dave's sensitive throat, Dave felt an unmistakable pressure against his hip. A few seconds later he felt the gentle stroke of a thigh brushing against the evidence of his own arousal.

He froze, suddenly realizing exactly what he was in the middle of...that being Shawn _and_ Hunter. This couldn't possibly be real...he was not in a bed with both Hunter and Shawn, yet it felt incredibly real...at least parts of it did. The sensations continued though feeling somewhat subdued compared to others. Two sets of lips burning across his skin, two hands with different ways of touching him, two different men that he...no, no, no. This had to stop before he lost his mind. He couldn't have _both_ of them. They belonged with each other and the sooner he got them to see that...the better off they'd all be.

"Sh...Shawn, what are you...Hunter, you have to...Oh god...stop." They might have actually listened to him if his voice hadn't been so laden with passion.

About ten seconds and a thump against his chest later, Dave woke up, fully cognizant of his surroundings, as he always seemed to be upon waking. He was in bed, Shawn's warm body tangled intimately with his. Dave blushed immediately...for two different reasons. Part of it was guilt over the immense enjoyment he'd been having in his dream. The other part was embarrassment over the condition his body was currently in...a combination of said dream and having Shawn pressed up against him, he was pretty sure.

And he was fully aware of the fact that Shawn was awake, which made his embarrassment even worse. He really hoped he hadn't been talking in his sleep, something he knew that he did on occasion while he was dreaming. If Shawn heard any of that particular dream he might just decide that Dave wasn't as sincere as he'd said he was. If that happened, Dave was going to seriously consider throwing himself under a truck.

When Shawn looked up at him, Dave smiled at him. "Good morning, Sweetheart," he said, his blush increasing over the huskiness of his voice. Maybe he could blame it on the fact that he'd just woken up.

****

 _"First I want you to kiss me..."_

Like he was going to argue with that? Right now, kissing Chris had to be number one on his top list of things he loved to do. The fact that Chris was ordering him to do so...was kind of erotic in that kinky dom/sub sort of way. Adam wasn't usually one for taking orders, he was much more likely to be giving them when it came to this arena. The fact that he was not only letting Chris order him around, but he was enjoying it as well spoke of the level of feelings he already had for the man. He wasn't nearly ready to confess to such feelings yet though. That would be getting way ahead of himself. He'd probably scare Chris half to death if he did.

 _"I want to come with you inside me."_

Adam barely restrained the shudder that wanted to work its way through his long frame. He certainly had a list to work his way through now...didn't he? And he was going to enjoy every damn minute of it.

Smirking at the beautiful man laying beneath him, he refrained from commenting on his bossy nature...at least for now. He dipped his head and ran his tongue slowly over Chris' bottom lip, which was still a bit swollen from their previous kissing. Lifting one hand from the mattress, he placed it along the side of Chris' neck, running his fingers slowly over the smooth skin as he gently pushed his tongue between his soon-to-be lover's lips. Starting out slowly enough that he could have counted Chris' teeth if that had been his aim, Adam set out to give Chris exactly what he'd asked for.

After several moments of gentle exploration, Adam twined his tongue around Chris', his low moan muted by Chris' parted lips. Like flipping a switch, the kiss changed from gentle and slow to deep and hungry. Adam spent a few more minutes kissing Chris breathless before pulling away to find himself gasping for breath. Smiling broadly, he winked at Chris who seemed to be just a little bit out of it.

Rolling to the side and off the bed, managing to land agilely on his feet, he stood still for a moment. His second 'task' would by far be the hardest as he'd never really stripped with the intention of seduction. Usually his partners' idea of foreplay was having him toss off his clothes with all haste...but if Chris wanted teasing, then Adam was going to give it to him.

Laying his hands gently over his bare abdomen, he ran them slowly up his chest skimming over his nipples and up to his neck, tilting his head back as he bit his lip to stifle the moan of anticipation trying to slip from his throat. Hooking his fingers just below the collar on his shirt, he pulled the cotton slowly over his shoulders until it caught in the crook of his elbows. Dropping his hands towards the ground he let the material slide down his forearms and over his hands.

Even as his shirt hit the ground his hands were moving again. Running them slowly over the front of his leather pants, he groaned as he brushed against the bulge contained within. Returning to the snap, he lifted his head once again and looked directly at Chris as he popped it open, his eyes burning with want. Lowering the zipper almost tooth by tooth he gasped over the release of pressure on his swollen shaft. Slipping his hands inside the pants, just over his hipbones, he slowly pushed the leather over his hips and smoothed it down his legs, not daring to look at Chris at that moment. Managing to kick the pants off and strip off his socks as well without falling on his ass was an adventure and he was feeling just a bit embarrassed. Sexy stripping was most definitely not his forte.

Ignoring the fact that he was now probably pink from head to toe, he slid back onto the edge of the bed, crawling up it just as his 'king' had requested. Reaching Chris' waist, he paused and dropped a kiss just below his navel. Taking his time, he unbuckled Chris' belt and unfastened his pants, lowering the zipper the same way he had his own...slowly. Spreading the shiny silver material wide open, Adam smirked as he ducked his head. Stopping with his face just inches from Chris' swollen shaft, he finally addressed the blond beauty.

"Austin's right. You are a bossy little thing. Lucky for you I happen to like you that way most of the time," he said quietly, his breath blowing over Chris' exposed cock. Bending down he slowly slid his tongue up the length of Chris' shaft. He spent a bit of time teasing his tongue up and down the smooth skin before moving on to circle around the crown. Listening to all those little noises that Chris was making just made him work all the harder to keep his teasing slow and easy.

Finally wrapping his lips around the tip, he figured now would be a good time to speed things up just a bit...or maybe a lot. Dipping his head he swallowed half of Chris' thick shaft before pulling his lips slowly back up to the head. On his return trip down, he took the full length, burying his nose in the blond curls at the base, his chin brushing Chris' heavy sac. Now that that was accomplished he could go back to his slow teasing until his 'king' decided that he'd had enough.

****

 _"Good morning, Sweetheart."_

Shawn couldn't quite find his voice to reply. Dave had been dreaming about... him. And Hunter. If nothing else, his immediate blush would've given away what his dream had been about... if Shawn hadn't heard him say both their names in that husky, low voice...

He shivered, his own body reacting vehemently to the images that were filling his head, as well as the position that they were still in. He could still feel Dave's erection prodding insistently at his thigh, and he was sure that Dave could feel his, poking him in the hip. He didn't blush, but he could feel heat rising up in him nonetheless. Trying to shift, all he managed to do was rub against Dave, surprising a soft moan out of him.

"Dave..." Twisting to stare at him with wide eyes, Shawn traced the line of his face with a finger that nearly didn't tremble. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against Dave's, letting his instincts have full control.

****

 _"You don't play fair, Scotty."_

In all honesty, he hadn't, but from the way Kevin reacted to the question he was damn glad he'd asked it. It must be something big if it upset Kevin this much just to think about it. He listened carefully as Kevin began his explanation, his own thoughts scattering here and there. The time Kevin was discussing had been an awful time...for both of them.

Scott knew exactly how Kev had reacted. Not reacting well was an understatement. Kev had been livid. Despite the alcohol-induced haze he'd been living in, it had scared the hell out of him. And it had given him yet another excuse to get stinking drunk. Vince had fired him and Kev was mad about it. As long as he had another bottle...Vince didn't matter, he could have cared less about his job or lack of one, and Kev...if Kev was angry with him then that left him with pretty much no reason not to keep drinking. He knew that it wasn't going to help, but it could at least dull the pain of Kev's disappointment in him.

It hadn't been until Kev actually left him that he realized exactly what he'd done to himself...what he'd done to Kevin. The fact that Kevin had actually left him hurt more than anything...so much so that he'd been holding a bottle of prescription painkillers to wash down with the nearby bottle of Jack that he'd dug up from god knows where when the cops showed up to haul him off. He had honestly felt that without Kevin by his side, life just wasn't worth living. His first few weeks in detox were complete hell.

Once he was finally clean, he realized what he had almost done. While that scared the hell out of him, the thing that made him work through his problem and stick to it this time was hoping he'd have to the chance to apologize to Kevin for everything he'd done. He hadn't even dared to hope that they would end up back together, knowing that he had to have his own reasons to make it work because if they didn't work things out he'd be right back in the bottom of a bottle.

Thankfully they had worked things out. It was something Scott had given thanks for every single day since it had happened. Kevin taking him back was the icing on the cake. Despite how worried Kevin sounded as he confessed what had happened with Hunter, Scott wasn't going to let him beat himself up over it. He wasn't going to get too angry with him over it either. It was in the past and though Kevin had made a huge mistake with their friend, it had happened at a very tumultuous time in his life. Now Scott would just have to help him fix it. The only reason he was really upset was because Kevin had let it drag on this long without fixing it.

When Kevin finished speaking and squeezed him tighter, Scott sighed quietly. Running his hands gently over Kevin's shoulders in a comforting gesture, Scott smiled a little sadly at his lover. He knew that Kevin was worried about his reaction. It was obvious just from looking in his eyes.

"Kev, I'm not going to tell you that you weren't in the wrong, because you know you were, but I can...I can understand with how things were then that you might have lashed out. Hunter was just the wrong target and it makes me sad that he caught the flack for the things that I did. We're going to have to fix it. You and me...both of us, together." Leaning up, he kissed Kev gently, just before he smacked him in the back of the head.

"And that's because you haven't fixed it before now," he said with a nasty grin. "Now since we can't go banging on Hunter's door until later today...how about we get back to where we were heading before." Tangling his hand back in Kevin's hair, he looked Kevin in the eye and smiled at him. "Love ya, Kev."

****

CJ honestly didn't realize what he had let himself in for with his erotic 'commands'. If he had been mostly hard already just from Adam's nearness, his cock felt like iron in the prison of his tight silver pants. Adam had kissed him till his brain had trickled out his ears. On and on the kisses had gone, dragging the breath out of him, turning his bones to jelly. And opening a deep yawning pit of need inside his heart and his body. He had never wanted to be fucked so badly in his whole life.

Then, god, the striptease, that had seemed like such a fantastic idea, till the fantasy of Adam undressing for him became reality. To see each piece of clothing peeled away, every smooth plane of skin, revealed to his gaze like a priceless artifact at an auction. He'd seen Adam's expression though and regret momentarily quieted his ardour. Chris hadn't wanted him to do anything he didn't want. But they were only just starting to learn each other. Given time...if he was allowed the time...he'd make sure he knew everything Adam didn't like and memorise everything he did.

Chris certainly didn't regret asking Adam to climb back onto the bed though. To have skin glide across skin was turning him on so completely, he wanted to drop his charade of relaxed command and flat out beg Adam to take him any way he wanted. When his swollen sex was released he gave a great long shuddering sigh. CJ had stayed quiet through force of will so far, but he was physically incapable of being silent during sex and wasn't even going to try.

 _...bossy little thing..._

"You have no idea..." he gasped as Adam began to torment him with tongue and lips. Because he normally wasn't. Not in here, not in bed. Much as he liked this new kind of kinky fun, CJ was normally so lost in the feel of his partner that he never planned ahead or gave directions or anything. It was far more often the other way around, him being obedient to his lover's will. And while he wouldn't say it was his preference per se, he sure as hell liked fucking....he just liked being fucked that little bit more.

"Oh yes...that's good...so good Babe...oh Adam...yes…just.... _just_ there...oh god..," Chris was more aroused than he ever remembered being in his life. But it was almost too much. He wanted to look into Adam's eyes as he came, watch the man's face when they made love for the first time.

"Stop please," he begged, all command gone from his tone, lost to the waves of heat flowing from his cock to his brain. Thank god Adam was still with it enough to obey even that pathetic order.

With a clench of stomach muscles he sat up and raked his hands through the streaked hair that had flicked so teasingly at his skin. Smashing his lips almost clumsily against Adam's, he pulled him up to the head of the bed and settled the long, muscled body against the pillows. Breaking the kiss, Chris curled his hand around Adam's hard sex, testing its satin feel and size. Feeling an aching hunger blossom deep within his body, he moved to straddle Adam's lap.

Then the remnants of his brain shot up one, devastating, thought.

Chris looked into wicked green eyes and winced, his own cheeks pink with embarrassment. "Babe our gear?" CJ didn't recognise the lust-filled burr that his voice had become. "What should we...um..?" he was actually blushing. Chris hadn't though he was capable of that anymore, "...use?" He hoped Adam would get his meaning.

****

The complete clarity that Dave had awoken with suddenly seemed to fog over just a bit. A quiet moan quickly followed by his name falling from Shawn's lips flamed the fire that had been smoldering within. The gentle touch of Shawn's finger had him close to trembling, the feeling of Shawn's mouth pressing against his stole what little restraint he'd had left.

After waking up in the state that he was in with two arms full of an equally aroused Shawn, he could hardly be blamed for losing his head for a moment...or two...or three. Tangling his hand gently in the beautiful blond mane that had been set free last night, Dave parted his lips with a moan and deepened the kiss to a slow, steamy exploration. An involuntary shift of his hips forced his erection into contact with Shawn's firm thigh and Dave couldn't suppress the quiet whimper he released to Shawn's mouth.

He was perilously close to forgetting every reason he'd had for not making love to Shawn, when a short vision from his earlier dream flashed through his head. 'No...not now,' he thought, even as he thanked goodness that the vision had appeared, reminding him of the other part of the equation. Gently pulling his mouth from Shawn's, Dave laid his forehead against Shawn's shoulder, his heavy breaths sounding loud in the silent room.

"Shawn, I'm so sorry. I just...I can't..." He shook his head in exasperation, his forehead rubbing against the smooth skin of Shawn's collarbone. "Until you talk to him...until we know where we all stand...it just doesn't feel right."

Raising his head as his fingers combed gently through Shawn's silky hair, Dave hoped that Shawn could see the sincerity in his eyes. "It's not that I don't want to, because I do. God, do I want to...but it wouldn't be fair to any of us, Sweetheart."

If he had to walk away from Shawn now, it would hurt like all hell because he had a feeling he was already in too deep. If he and Shawn made love...walking away after that would have the same effect as ripping his heart from his chest. He wouldn't _want_ to walk away, even if that ended up being the best thing for all of them. He just hoped that Shawn could understand where he was coming from.

****

He hadn't wanted to stop. Immersed as he was in the way Chris tasted, the silky swollen shaft pressing against his tongue, and the beautiful sound of his voice crying out...Adam hadn't wanted to stop at all. If it had been an actual order, Adam may have ignored it just to see what his punishment for disobeying would have been, but he couldn't ignore Chris' plea. Reluctantly letting Chris' cock slip from his mouth, Adam sat up and waited to see if Chris would issue another command.

He was surprised to find himself suddenly on his back against the pillows with Chris' heated mouth covering his own. When Chris broke the kiss, Adam considered pulling him back down for another. That thought lasted for all of about two seconds. The sensation of Chris' hand wrapping around his aching hard shaft drove every thought from his head.

"Oh god...Chris," he moaned, his head tossing back against the pillows, his eyelids clenched shut, and his hands tangled in the blankets beneath him. Feeling Chris shift, Adam opened his eyes and looked at the beautiful man astride his waist. The shiny material of Chris' pants rubbing against his shaft damn near sent him into orbit. He clamped down firmly on his response. No way was he going to blow this chance by crossing the finish line prematurely. He wanted...no, needed Chris, maybe too much. Adam had been dreaming about being with the man for far too long and now that he had the chance to make it a reality he wasn't about to screw it up.

 _"What should we...um...use?"_

Adam was stumped for a moment over the meaning of Chris' vague question. Use for...? The pretty pink tone of Chris' cheeks in addition to the husky tone of his voice held Adam pretty much spellbound. Making Chris blush was definitely going to be a priority from now on...damn beautiful when he did so. He was supposed to be answering a question...wasn't he?

What should we use? Adam blushed a bit himself as he realized what Chris had been asking about. Oh for god's sake...how pathetic was he? The way he looked at it, he had three options. Option one was to suggest that one of them go and get their bags from the other room so they could use the baby oil he had stashed there. Not an option at all as far as he was concerned. That would involve one of them getting dressed since he wasn't about to let Chris walk the halls naked and he preferred not to do so himself. He may have slept with a lot of men, but he wasn't much of an exhibitionist in that sense.

Option two involved going over to the closet and digging through his other bag for the necessary item. Problem with that option was that involved actually getting off the bed and being able to walk. That meant he'd lose those few precious moments of contact with Chris that he was storing up in his mind just in case Chris decided he was completely happy with a one-off.

Option three was probably the simplest and the fastest, but it would reinforce the things that he'd told Chris earlier. How many guys carried packets, yes that was plural, of lube in their wallets? The fact that he'd stuck them in there because it had become a habit embarrassed him just a little bit. He chewed his lip for a moment as he thought it through. Chris had said he didn't care about Adam's past so there was a chance that he'd just be grateful that it was there. He'd never know for sure unless he took that risk.

Lowering his eyes in a completely foreign gesture of shyness, he forced himself to speak. "Wallet, back pocket," he said quietly, gesturing towards the discarded leather on the floor.

****

His hands sliding up to wrap around Dave's shoulders of their own volition, Shawn responded eagerly, pressing closer to the other man. The whimper that escaped Dave when Shawn's thigh brushed against his erection only further fanned the flames, his fingers tightening on Dave's back as he gave himself over to their kiss, wanting nothing more than to spend the rest of the day like this...

He whimpered when Dave pulled away, his body aching. It had been so long since anyone had touched him, let alone provoked this kind of reaction from him. Worry flashed through him that Dave had changed his mind about him, about them, and his eyes closed as hurt pulsed through him at the thought. It wouldn't be the first time that showing his real self rather than HBK had driven someone away. His panting breaths mingled with the sound of Dave's harsh ones as he tried to calm his racing heartbeat. The fact that he was hard as a rock wasn't helping his efforts, though.

 _"...until we know where we all stand...it just doesn't feel right."_

Shawn blinked at Dave, taken aback by his words even as he felt relieved. He understood what Dave was saying, but wondered if the big man realised what exactly he'd just said. Forcing himself to take deep breaths, he remembered the conversation in the limo the night before... and remembered the expression on Dave's face when he was telling Shawn how Hunter felt. With that, other memories started coming back to him, memories of Dave watching Hunter... in the ring, backstage, in the locker room... He bit his lip as he stared at the top of Dave's head. How in the hell had he missed _that_? A rueful smile slid over his lips for an instant---the same way that he'd missed Dave's feelings for _him_ , that's how.

 _"God, do I want to...but it wouldn't be fair to any of us, Sweetheart."_

There it was again. Shawn suddenly wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. How screwed up was _this_? He loved Hunter and suspected he could develop feelings for Dave; Dave had feelings for both of them; and Hunter was being a complete bastard to both of them. The feeling of Dave's fingers running through his hair helped him calm down a little; he had to bite back a purr at the sensation, and he smiled at Dave, trying very hard not to shift at all, since no matter how he moved at the moment, something overly sensitive would brush against something else.

"I want to, too, Dave," he said softly. "But... I understand your position. And I'm sorry to have put you in it." He sighed, facing the inevitable. "I have to talk to Hunter. And then... I guess we'll see." He blinked as some of his thoughts from the night before started to come back to him... Hunter had been lying to him about _something_... He shook his head slightly. His mind was still fogged with both sleep and lust, and he just couldn't make sense of it right now.

Pulling his hands back, he cocked his head at Dave. "And I have to get up. Want to give me a hand up?"


	14. Surprises

_"Wallet, back pocket,"_

Feeling his embarrassment drain away at Adam's instructions, CJ leaned forward for another hot, drugging kiss. Pulling back he said, "I knew there was a reason I wanted to jump you." Unfortunately CJ would have to move away from Adam to get to the pants on the floor. But then... Adam had been standing close to the bed when he'd done his 'I'll put a hundred in his pants' strip. Winking naughtily, CJ tried another order, "Grab a handful and don't let go."

Relinquishing his own hold on Adam's delicious cock, Chris left his knees astride Adam's strong thighs and twisted down off the bed. It was a stretch for his fingers to snag the black leather. If Adam hadn't braced his legs into the mattress he'd have fallen flat on his face. It was a testament to their working relationship that they trusted each other in any physical situation. Snagging the pants, Chris sat back up, holding the leather like it was a stuffed animal prize. This would be the pinnacle of all physical situations in Chris' mind.

Adam just _did it_ for him like no other. The looks were divine, the same warped sense of humour, the slightly crazy 'whatthefuckshegonndo' atmosphere that surrounded the guy and now, god help him, the tender, enticing Lord of Sex in the bedroom. He just couldn't wait to see more facets of Adam come to the fore.

The interruption and small game had pulled CJ back from the almost frantic precipice of arousal he'd been walking. It was still there, the hot, freakish hum of want, want, want. But he had more of a handle on it now, now that he wasn't just lying back and soaking in it. Pulling out Adam's wallet, he rakishly tossed the pants over his shoulder and lifted one of Adam's hands from his ass. Putting the black square into his fingers, Chris dropped another kiss onto those lonely-seeming lips and smiled.

"Don't go away." Sitting up and back, CJ wiggled his pants down past his hips with quick, sure hands. It was a bit of a challenge as he didn't want to lift off Adam enough to put his knees together, but Chris was _completely_ familiar with getting his clothes off in weird positions. Putting his palms flat of either side of Adam's hips, Chris leant forward and buried his face in Adam's neck. While pressing hot kisses into the soft, soft skin, he was deftly sliding one foot, then the other out of his silver Y2J pants.

"The fun kind of push-ups," he murmured into the same skin, before biting gently and rubbing his tongue over the abused spot.

Pulling back he saw Adam had retrieved a small packet of lube from his wallet. Plucking it away, Chris tore open the pack with his teeth and reached down to once again fondle that steel-in-satin so soon to be deep inside him. The lube was slightly warm from the wallet's close proximity to Adam's backside, so Chris squeezed some onto Adam's fingers before smoothing it onto the cock in his hands.

****

 _"I want to, too, Dave."_

It was a sure thing now...he was in hell. Those softly-spoken words sorely tested his limits. He had to be insane putting a stop to things the way he had when it was what they both wanted, but at the same time it was the right thing to do and he knew it. He was just immensely grateful that Shawn understood why he had had to do it.

 _"I have to talk to Hunter. And then... I guess we'll see."_

That was the gist of it. It all hinged on Hunter and what Hunter decided to do. Dave hoped that Shawn could get the man to open up and be honest with him. The things that Hunter had said last night weren't the truth and until Shawn had the truth he couldn't really be sure of what he might want. He wasn't sure whether Shawn would agree or not, but he was going to be there when Shawn went to talk to Hunter. The situation was too explosive and he had a feeling that things would most likely get out of hand, hopefully not to the extent that he suspected.

 _"And I have to get up. Want to give me a hand up?"_

"That's a trick question, right?" Dave said, smirking at the man in his arms. "Do I want to... no, not really, but I will."

After brushing his lips softly against the top of Shawn's head, he set about carefully disentangling their bodies. Rolling himself off the bed, Dave stood and then slipped his arms under Shawn and plucked him from the mattress. Dave set him on his feet with a smile, running a gentle hand down his arm before turning towards the chair that he'd laid his shirt on the night before.

Noting that it was only slightly wrinkled, Dave pulled the shirt on and started to button it. He needed to go back to his room. Not only did he need to take a shower; he didn't even have a change of clothes since he'd left his bag in the limo last night. Hopefully Hunter had had it sent to his room, but regardless, his other bags were still in the room he'd checked into yesterday.

The problem was that he didn't really want to leave Shawn alone right now. He could just imagine Shawn going down to Hunter's room without him and that thought didn't sit well at all. He would just have to take his cues from Shawn's mood as to whether he had time to run back to his room or if he'd have to go with him wearing the same thing he'd had on last night.

****

 _"...no, not really, but I will."_

Returning Dave's smile, Shawn was relieved that they were able to be so comfortable with each other, considering the situation. It was a little surprising, but then, he'd been unusually comfortable around Dave since he'd first met him, only his underlying attraction to the big man holding him back from being too friendly. Little things that Dave had said coming back to him, it was obvious to Shawn that he felt the same about both Shawn and Hunter... whatever that might be. That was probably why Dave was in apparent denial about his feelings for Hunter. Hunt had complained to Shawn more than once that Dave insisted on keeping some distance from him, no matter how friendly he tried to be. Neither of them could understand why... until now.

Of course, if Shawn was right about Dave's feelings for the two of them, that made the whole situation so much more complicated. Multiple relationships were rare, to say the least, and they weren't something that most people thought about, let alone considered a reality. Since he'd been involved in multiple relationships, in one way or another, off and on for some time, it was something he tended to take for granted, which might be a problem if he and Dave did get together. They'd definitely have to sit down and talk about things... after they had their little chat with Hunter. That could change things in any number of ways.

Startled a little at Dave's literal interpretation of his request, Shawn blinked as he was set on his feet, the gentle caress to his arm doing nothing to help calm him down. Not very many people had ever been able---or willing---to do things like that with him outside the ring. Hunter wasn't normally able to do it unless Shawn let him or if Shawn was caught by surprise. Those who _could_... well. Mark, Kevin, and Scott made up the list, and he'd been more than happy to let them do whatever they wanted.

The memories that came to mind brought others with them, and he felt his temperature go up as he remembered the night he'd spent with Kevin, after Hunter had handcuffed him to the ring ropes during Raw... For an instant, he could still feel the raw chafing of the bare metal at  his wrists, the pulsing heat of the stripes down his back and the handprints on his ass, the scream that he couldn't hold back any longer as Kevin roughly pushed into him...

The soft noise that escaped him at the memory brought him back to the present. He felt himself flush a little as Dave glanced at him, and turned away for a minute to gather his thoughts. The last thing he needed right now was to be contemplating whether or not Dave shared that kind of interest.

As he stared at the wall, the thoughts that had been nagging at him last night finally started to coalesce as his mind cleared. As his mind turned to his best friend, he wasn't really surprised to realise that there was a low, throbbing anger pulsing in him, growing as he turned over the last twenty-four hours in his mind.

 _"...I care too much for Shawn to lie to him..."_

Hunter had definitely lied to him; looking back at it now, he could see that clearly. He'd known the man for too long, too well, for him not to be able to see the signs of it. Remembering Hunter's initial hesitation before answering, Shawn frowned. The split-second when Hunter had told Dave that winning Shawn's heart would be a prize... Shawn winced, remembering that, but forced away the pain, trying to examine his memories more closely. For just that instant, there had been... _something_... in Hunter's eyes. Something intense... but he hadn't seen it well enough to be sure of what it is. The bastard had clearly lied, though. The only question was, about what?

Something about what Hunter had told him about his marriage didn't sit right, and Shawn wasn't sure why. If Hunter and Stephanie hadn't married for love, then why had they married? Hunter had gained power from it, certainly; he'd gained incredible influence with Vince and in the company, but at the same time, he'd lost respect and friendships in the locker room. That was a trade off that once upon a time, Hunter wouldn't have been willing to make.

And if it was just about the power, why had Steph married him? She didn't need Hunt---she was the Billion Dollar Princess, the heir to the McMahon throne. She held control over the creative side of things, which meant that she controlled everyone's careers in one way or another. After all, no air time because you weren't in a storyline meant no exposure... which eventually meant no job. Would she have married Hunt just because she was involved with a woman? Shawn wasn't sure about that. Normally, Vince was willing to overlook people's predilections; while he was as susceptible to ego-stroking as anyone, he usually judged on ability and competence, not personal choices or lifestyles. Of course, that was assuming that Vince would extend the same attitude to his children, and that was a big assumption. But if that were the case... why had Hunter married Steph? Power alone wouldn't cut it as the explanation.

 _"...I'm not in love with Shawn."_

Shaking his head a little, Shawn knew, now that he was thinking more clearly, that that had been the biggest lie of all. There were too many things, over too many years, for Hunter to so categorically deny his feelings for Shawn. It might not end up mattering; Hunt might love him but be perfectly happy with Steph... that could be why he'd pushed Dave at Shawn. That didn't seem right, though, considering the marriage situation. If what Hunt had told them about him and Stephanie were true, then Hunter hadn't been involved with anyone since the wedding, and that had been quite a while ago.

No matter how Hunt felt, there was clearly _something_ there. If there wasn't, he would never have spent so much time helping Shawn out of the problems he'd gotten himself into, whether it was holding him through the night during withdrawal, holding his hair out of his face when he was violently sick after yet another night of partying, staying up with him all night to take care of him when he was sick or when he was having back pains... holding him during his breakdown after Mark had ended things.

No. Something wasn't adding up here, and he was goddamned well going to find out what it was. Realising abruptly that his jaw and hands were clenched, he _was_ a little startled to realise just how angry he actually was. He was more furious than he could remember having ever been before, and that was saying something.

Turning back to Dave, he cast a long, admiring look over the man without even realising he'd done so. Raising his eyebrow as he saw that Dave had put the same shirt he'd worn the night before on, he tried to push his anger away momentarily.

"Aren't you worried that somebody will think something happened?" He meant to sound teasing, but knew that some of his worry that Dave really _was_ concerned about that had shown through. He could feel the anger thrumming through his veins, though, and knew that he wouldn't be able to control it much longer. Confronting Hunter was a necessity, no matter how much it might hurt to do so.

****

 _"Love ya, Kev."_

Kevin knew he had a goofy smile on his face, but he couldn't help it as he looked down at the man still asleep in his arms. Shifting a little, he still felt a bit of an ache in his nether regions, but it wasn't exactly a painful one, and he certainly wasn't going to complain about it. Last night... well, last night had been a bit of a roller-coaster ride for both of them, but they'd managed to clear the air on a few things that they'd both avoided talking about for far too long.

He loved Scott so much... more than he'd _ever_ be able to express with words, more than he even probably knew. He was still amazed every day to know that Scott felt the same way about him, and although he'd never admit it, he thrived on hearing those words. Not that the words really _meant_ a lot, in and of themselves---they were just words. But looking into Scott's eyes when he said them, watching his face soften just for that instant, that particular shine of emotion revealing itself... He'd never get enough of that. Scott's very touch told him how he felt, and hopefully he was similarly expressive for Scotty. He'd never asked him, since that would mean revealing just how much he'd thought about it... but he knew that Scott knew already anyway. It was just part of their bond.

Brushing a stray lock of hair out of Scott's eyes, he turned his head and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. Scott always brought out the gentleness in him, the soft streak that he normally hid from everyone. But with his lover, he was utterly free to be himself. Not even with the rest of the Clique was he this open... but Scott was different. Scotty made him whole.

The demands of his body forced him away from his early-morning musings and he reluctantly unwrapped Scott from around him, positioning him comfortably under the blankets before sliding out of bed. His eyes caught the glow of the alarm clock and he made a face at the hour. Way too damned early to be awake, but he knew that there was no way he was going to be able to get back to sleep now. He should be up anyway, since they still had to eat and pack before catching their flight later.

And if Scott still wanted to talk to Hunter... He rolled his eyes as he pulled clean clothes from their suitcase, not turning on any of the lights as he moved around the room, trying not to disturb Scotty. If they were going to talk to Hunter today, it would almost have to be before the flight. And he wanted to check on Shawn, too...

Heading into the bathroom, he set his clothes down on the counter, then took care of his morning needs. As he started the shower and stepped in a little gingerly, his mind supplied memories from the night before: Scotty's lips wrapped around his cock; choking out Scott's name as he came into that talented mouth; clutching at Scott as he pushed inside him oh so slowly... the expression on Scott's face when he came.

Kevin shuddered a little, his hand falling to wrap loosely around his hardening shaft. He bit his lip as his eyes closed, his head falling back under the water. Only Scott was able to affect him like this. Only Scotty... Kev moaned quietly as he stroked himself, oblivious to anything else.

****

 _"I knew there was a reason I wanted to jump you."_

That comment was so different from what Adam was expecting that it startled a smile out of him. The smile grew when he was commanded to grab a handful. Like he was going to argue with that command? He didn't think so. Luckily he had figured out what Chris had planned and braced himself appropriately so that Chris didn't end up eating the hotel carpet. He didn't complain when Chris pulled one hand away from his lovely backside, after all it was for a good purpose. He dug into his wallet and removed a packet of lube.

 _"Don't go away."_

That was the easy command to follow yet. With Chris on top of him, he couldn't actually go anywhere unless he tossed the gorgeous blond off him first. Yeah, like that was going to happen in this lifetime. Adam's eyes were glued to the sight of Chris pushing his pants down over his hips. Soon Chris would be naked and naked Chris was a very good thing in his opinion. He'd been wishing for one for Christmas for the last few years. It wasn't Christmas, but he sure as hell was thankful for the gift he'd been given tonight.

Then Chris had his face buried against his neck again, the heated kisses distracting him from noticing whatever else Chris might be doing, though he certainly had a guess. The gentle bite followed by Chris' hot wet tongue pressing against one of his most sensitive spots drew a low moan from his throat.

He barely noticed Chris snatching the lube from his hand, but he definitely noticed Chris' hand wrapping around his length once again. He hissed quietly at the sensations it provoked, the simple touch so much more powerful because of the person responsible. Feeling the lube squeezed onto his fingers, then the sensation of Chris spreading the lube on his swollen flesh, Adam trembled slightly. Close...he was so close to what he'd been dreaming about for what seemed like forever. Having Chris this way was something he'd fantasized over more than a few dozen times and the reality was so much better than anything he'd been able to think up in his head.

Deciding that it might finally be time for him turn the tables, he pushed himself into a sitting position using his forearm so that he didn't get the lube on the bed rather than its intended location. Tangling one hand in Chris' hair, he tugged gently, pulling his head back so that he had access to his neck. Pressing his tongue flat against the base of Chris' throat, he slid it slowly upward until he reached his chin. At the same time he slipped his slick fingers between them brushing his knuckles down Chris' hard shaft and against his balls before sliding them completely underneath him.

As he nipped at Chris' neck gently, he circled one finger around the puckered entrance a few times teasingly slow before pushing the tip of his finger inside. As he withdrew his finger and began pushing it back inside, he lifted his head and placed his mouth next to Chris' ear as he spoke quietly to him.

"God, Chris...want you so much. Can't wait to be inside you...feel you wrapped so tight around me. Better than any dream I've had, Sweetheart."

Returning his attention to the smooth column of Chris' neck, he interspersed gentle kisses with tiny flicks of his tongue as he slowly pumped his finger inside him. When he sensed that Chris was ready he added a second finger with the same deliberate slow pace. Keeping his movements gentle, he moved his mouth to suck on Chris' collarbone as he crooked his fingers inside him, finally bumping against his prostate.

****

He'd noticed the increasing tenseness in Shawn's frame, despite the fact that he was facing away from him and knew without a doubt that he was thinking of Hunter. A lot of things hinged on what would come out of the talk the two of them were going to have, a talk that was going to happen whether Hunter wanted it to or not. Even if it didn't happen this morning, Dave knew that Shawn was going to corner Hunter and try to get the truth from him. He just hoped that the confrontation wouldn't end up becoming physical...both Shawn and Hunter were as stubborn as they came.

As he finished buttoning his shirt, leaving the top two buttons open, he looked up to find Shawn's eyes on him. Trying not to feel self-conscious, he reached for his shoes and socks, intending to sit down and put them on.

 _"Aren't you worried that somebody will think something happened?"_

He froze for just a second before picking up his shoes and standing back up. He thought that Shawn had been joking, but he could sense the underlying tension in the question. Dave knew that he wasn't worried about it, but was Shawn? Hoping that that wasn't the case, Dave settled himself on the edge of the chair somehow managing to keep his face from showing his concern.

"No," he said firmly as he pulled on one sock. He looked up at Shawn then and shrugged. "If I were worried about what other people think, I'd never have answered the phone last night." He reached for his other sock and pulled it on as he continued speaking, partly as an excuse to hide the extent of the truth from showing in his eyes. "The only way that I'd be worried about it, is if you were worried about someone thinking that."

Dave finally risked a look at Shawn, hoping that he wouldn’t find any signs of worry on his face. "If you are, then you can check the halls to make sure no one's looking before I walk out the door," he said jokingly, sincerely hoping that Shawn wouldn't want to do so.

****

Scott finally allowed himself the smile he'd been fighting to hold back once Kevin entered the bathroom. He'd been having a lovely dream about Kevin, lying on a private beach with him and watching the waves from the ocean crashing over the sand, when he'd been pulled to awareness by the feeling of Kevin pushing his hair from his face. He'd wanted to smile immediately when he felt Kevin's gentle kiss against his forehead, but he hadn't dared let it show.

Kevin would probably grumble if he knew that Scott had done the same thing a thousand times...pretending to be asleep while in his arms, soaking up the unexpected touches. Kevin always showed him affection and gentleness, unless gentleness wasn't a part of the plan, but the fact that Kev did so even when he thought Scott was sleeping meant more to him than Kevin would ever know. It was times like that that he truly felt the depth of Kevin's love for him and he was so thankful that such a good man would feel that way about him.

He'd continued to feign sleep as Kevin carefully tucked the blankets around him and crawled out of the bed. Scott had watched through slitted eyes as Kevin gathered his clothes from the suitcase without turning on the lights. He most definitely would have grumbled about stumbling around in the dark when Scott was clearly awake. Scott had barely managed to suppress a snicker over his careful trek across the room.

Once Kevin was out of sight, Scott felt safe to let the goofy smile free. God, did he love that man. Last night had been incredible despite the emotional issues they'd both had to face. First Kevin making love to him, then Scott making love to Kevin. Scott had relished every moment of their private time together. After reassuring Kevin that he still loved him despite his blunder with Hunter, he had finally been able to have the pleasure of using his mouth to bring Kevin to completion, swallowing his essence even as he had prepared Kevin to accept him. He had nearly lost it as soon as he'd pushed slowly into Kevin's tight heat, the way Kevin held onto him the only thing preventing it. He'd held onto a slow pace as long as he could, wanting to give Kevin as much pleasure as he'd been given earlier. When he'd finally exploded inside Kevin, he'd shouted his lover's name.

Hearing Kevin start up the shower, Scott stretched his back before he climbed out of bed. He bypassed the suitcase, figuring he could get his things after they were finished. Scott slipped into the bathroom and watched as Kevin's head dipped back into the water, his hand wrapped tightly around his swollen cock. Moving quietly, Scott slipped into the shower behind Kevin. As he pressed the front of his body up against Kevin's back, he gently pulled Kevin's hand away from its task.

"I believe that belongs to me, Kev," he said silkily as he pressed gentle kisses along Kevin's spine. "And I don't recall giving you permission to play with it," he said, smothering his grin against Kevin's shoulder as his hand stroked slowly over Kevin's hip. "So I guess I'll just have to punish you." As he finished speaking he wrapped his hand loosely around Kevin's hard shaft, giving him a few slow strokes even as his other hand landed stingingly on Kevin's ass.

****

As Adam's fingers moved and stretched him, Chris sunk his teeth into his lower lip to stifle the terribly uncontrolled moan threatening to escape him. For some reason he wanted to be a bit less vocal in bed with Adam than normal. Not that he didn't think the gorgeous man beneath him wouldn't like it, he honestly had no idea what Adam would and wouldn't like, but he almost felt he needed to be on his best behaviour. Screaming and coming after the man touched his prostate for the first time wasn't exactly how he wanted this to go.

Still, he could lose himself in sensation without totally going off the deep end, particularly if he drew Adam with him. The glorious skin pressed against him was so smooth and warm that CJ could see a full body massage in future somewhere. Another brush of Adam's fingers sent tingles, like tiny electric shocks, up his spine from his ass to his skull. In retaliation he tightened his fingers around Adam's shaft and gently rubbed his palm across the weeping head. He almost wanted to slide back and swallow Adam deep down into his throat, but another part of his body needed that hot hard shaft even more.

Eventually the tormenting feel of Adam's talented fingers became too much and Chris pulled back and way from their sensual probing. He frankly didn't care if he was _ready_ because he wanted Adam in him right now. They all said he was bossy... so be it.

"Want so you much Lover, want you so deep inside you'll never find your way out. You dreamed...? God damn Adam you are my wet dreams come to life Babe..." Bracing himself with one hand on Adam's shoulder, CJ rose up on his knees, pressed his forehead against Adam's and lined up Adam's cock with his hole. His own body practically vibrating with need, Chris could feel the way his lover trembled and tilted his head to press his lips to Adams' as he lowered his hips onto the swollen length.

He knew what to do to accept Adam's hardness inside him and CJ did it, exhaling and relaxing as he slowly sank down. It burned a little and the pressure was intense but Chris felt the friction turn to pleasure because it was Adam inside him, Adam's solid length bringing forth those revealing moans and whimpers.   

God he loved this position, he could look straight into Adam's burning green eyes and lean forward to almost touch their lips together. But not quite. Chris stopped with just a breath between them. He brushed his fingers over Adam's face and smile at the desire that burned there.  So slowly it almost ached, CJ lifted himself up until just the tip of Adam's cock still rested in his body. Hands tightening on the headboard behind Adam's shoulders, Chris pressed down hard, grinding their hips together. The air hissed through his teeth at the hot glide of his lover's incredible cock pushed back into him.

"So good... good... God Adam…" With that husky utterance CJ rode Adam's sex, drawing the flesh in and out of his body in a decadent wild rhythm.

****

The beep, beep, beep of Ric's watch slowly roused Hunter from another awful dream. This time he'd been watching Vince drown Scott in alcohol while Dave and Shawn slow danced in a WWE ring. Laying back with his head cushioned by the pillows, Hunter examined the ceiling and wondered about his issue with his father-in-law.

He actually didn't blame Vince for Scott's problems with the bottle, there was a hell of a lot more than just his work that made Scott an alcoholic. But Vince could have handled Scott's time in the WWE better, and god was _that_ an understatement. Hunter had only once felt more helpless that day in Vince's office. He'd been on the verge of threatening to quit himself over the issue, but V.K McMahon had seen the look in his protégé's eyes and by his body language alone flat out _dared_ him to do it.

Hunter hadn't spoke a word, just turned on his heel and left. After the terrible fight with Kevin he'd almost made the phone call to do it anyway. To prove to Kevin and himself that he'd go into bat for his family, that he wasn't so protective of his own fucking career that he'd ignore Scott's. Once again he hadn't.

In the end it had been the right thing to do. For all that Scott had nearly killed himself a short while later, his subsequent break up with Kevin and time in detox had actually helped him to get better. Hunter was still, even months later, so damn _worried_ about Scott all the time. So worried that he had to stop himself from interfering in their careers to try and help them. He'd found out the hard way that meddling in the contracts of the various members of the Clique just made thing worse, not better.

Hunter heard Ric moving around, but was too focused on the deep throbbing beginning to develop in his frontal lobe and his memories to acknowledge him. The blond man muttered that he was too old to be a baby-sitter, told Hunter if he had to puke to use the toilet and something vague about Shawn. Then he left.

God... Shawn.

With awful clarity, he remembered last night. The conversation in the limousine and Dave and Shawn's faces causing Hunter to sit up suddenly. Then causing him to clutch his head and whimper at the staggering pain that wracked his skull. Fortunately his choice of whiskey had the distinct purpose of causing a massive drunk without the resulting nausea. His headache, however, was another matter.

Stripping off clumsily Hunter walked very slowly into the bathroom. Setting the shower for the hottest he could stand without scalding himself, Hunt loaded a toothbrush and set about scrubbing away the fur residue of whiskey on his teeth.

He probably wouldn't survive the day in this condition, but at least he'd be clean doing it.

****

 _"If I were worried about what other people think, I'd never have answered the phone last night."_

Dave's immediate response reassured Shawn, and he smiled tightly, his control on his temper holding on by a very thin thread.

 _"...then you can check the halls to make sure no one's looking before I walk out the door."_

Shaking his head, Shawn walked over to where Dave sat and crouched down in front of him, one hand on his knee as he met his gaze.

"Not a chance. If anything, Dave, I'd love to go out there _shouting_ that you spend the night with me last night. But then, shame isn't something that I've got a lot of acquaintance with," he said with another smile. "I just... I wasn't sure if you wouldn't be bothered by other people assuming..." His voice trailed off, and he shrugged, rising to his feet. "Good."

He pressed a quick kiss to Dave's temple, then turned to his suitcase and grabbed clothing out of it, heading into the bathroom to change. Normally he would've just stripped down in the main room, but all things considered, he thought it was better not to tempt either of them too much. And honestly, his libido had rapidly cooled down as his temper started to flare. He could feel his fingers shaking a little as he pulled on his shirt... from anger. He was practically _vibrating_ , fury pulsing through him with every breath.

While he had a reputation that he'd probably never live down, one thing he wasn't known for was lying, and it was something he had limited tolerance for from others. Not telling Hunter about his feelings for him probably counted in some weird way as a lie, but since he'd never had any indication that they would be welcome... Shawn shook his head sharply as he buttoned his jeans. No. He'd made it a point to always be honest with his family, and the fact that he _knew_ Hunter had looked him in the face last night and _lied_ to him... especially about something as important as _this_...

They were going to get this resolved, and get it done _now_ , if it killed him to do it. He couldn't move on until he knew the truth, and now he had a reason to move on: Dave.

If Hunter, through some ungodly twist of fate, decided to tell him that he loved him just as much---Shawn snorted at the thought even as his heart clenched in pain---then they'd have to sit down and figure out if they were going to be able to do anything about it. If they did, then they were going to have to talk about Dave, because Shawn was _sure_ that the big man had feelings for both of them, although he wasn't taking any bets on what exactly they were.

If Hunt told him the same thing he had last night---and Shawn thought that that was much more likely to happen, given how things normally worked out for him, and the lack of any real sign of that kind of feeling from Hunt for the last decade---then at least Shawn could turn to Dave without feeling like he was using the man. Dave had told him that he wouldn't play second fiddle, and he _never_ wanted him to feel that he was.

Regardless, he was more than interested in moving ahead with Dave, exploring this new possibility. If that exploration included Hunter... well, he certainly wasn't going to complain. He just wasn't sure how Dave would react to the idea.

Walking out of the bathroom, he glanced around the room, catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He was practically _bouncing_ with anger, constantly moving, shifting his weight... As much as he'd love to have Dave fulfill that little promise from last night about brushing his hair out, as much as he'd like nothing more than a leisurely morning of lying in bed with the big man... he couldn't. Not right now. Not with this fury inside him.

With a sudden sharp jerk, he headed for the door, decided. He was damned well going to go down to Hunter's room right now and have it out with him. If he waited, he'd lose his best chance at getting the truth from Hunt, and he could draw boundless support from his anger to help him out. Only when he reached the door did he realise that he'd been muttering under his breath the entire time. One hand on the doorknob, he swung around to look at Dave, knowing that his emotions were probably visible a mile away at the moment.

"I'm going to talk to Hunter, Dave. You can come with if you want, but it won't be pretty."

Walking through the door, realising as soon as he felt the carpet under his feet that he was barefoot and not giving a shit, he headed down the hall. Hunter was at the other end of the floor in a suite. The only thing that meant to Shawn at the moment was that he was less likely to be interrupted by irate neighbours during the yelling that he knew was about to happen.

Stalking down the hallway, focusing on his anger, he became aware of Dave following him as they passed the elevators and couldn't help the tiny quirk of his lips. So short a time, and yet Dave was already showing more than just a crush. Too bad he'd prompted this particular scene; his motives had been good, but Shawn briefly felt sorry for him for being involved before pushing the emotion away. He had to concentrate on Hunter, or he'd lose his focus and walk away. Dealing with his problems directly wasn't something he'd ever been good at, and if he lost the anger that was filling him, he'd never have the courage to do this.

Stopping in front of the door, he just stared at it for a second. If Hunter tried to dodge the question this time, he really was going to beat the shit out of him. Raising his fist, he hammered on the door, almost gleeful that it was an ungodly early hour of the morning, and realised he was growling. Narrowing his eyes, he raised his voice, not caring if the entire hotel heard him.

"Open the goddamned door, Hunt, and open it _now_ , you son of a bitch!"


	15. Explosions

Shawn's reassurances went a long way towards easing his mind. If Shawn wasn't worried about people thinking something happened between them last night, then he didn't have to be worried about it either. The fleeting kiss brought a smile to Dave's face as he slipped his shoes on. He was happy that Shawn wasn't shying away from him after he'd put a stop to things between them earlier.

His eyes followed Shawn, who was carrying a change of clothes, into the bathroom. That was probably the best thing that Shawn could have done. If Dave had had to watch him strip down to nothing, he wasn't sure he could have kept himself under control. From the tenseness in the way Shawn was carrying himself, he seemed rather irate about something and that wouldn't mix well at all with Dave jumping him. Something...ha! Irate about Hunter and his lies, if Dave had to guess. He didn't blame him at all. If he were Shawn, then Hunter would be nursing a bruise or two at the very least by now.

Dave turned and snagged his belt off the back of the chair and was threading it through his pants when Shawn walked out of the bathroom. Oh boy. Shawn was so worked up that he'd rival Sean with the bounce in his step, only Sean's was usually due to excess sugar rather than anger. Dave didn't have a good feeling about this...not good at all. Dave could hear him speaking quietly as if he was talking to himself, but he couldn't make out any of the words. So not good. He watched as Shawn stormed towards the door and stood up, prepared to follow him whether Shawn wanted him to or not.

 _"I'm going to talk to Hunter, Dave. You can come with if you want, but it won't be pretty."_

He was sure that Shawn hadn't heard his muffled snort, since he was already halfway out the door by the time Dave responded. Won't be pretty? More like it will be lucky if everyone emerges with all their limbs still intact. He followed Shawn out the door and down the hall, having to increase his pace to keep up with the shorter man. If he hadn't been watching so closely, he would never have seen the slight hesitation before Shawn pounded on the door. Leaning against the wall next to the door, his stance seemingly casual, he watched Shawn, the renewed anger showing clearly in his face.

 _"Open the goddamned door, Hunt, and open it now, you son of a bitch!"_

Slipping his hands in the pockets of his slacks to keep himself from reaching out to try to calm Shawn down, Dave closed his eyes. Let the games begin.

****

Kevin bit his lip as he stroked himself more firmly, not wanting to make too much noise and wake Scotty up. Their lovemaking the night before had been incredible, all the moreso because it was the first time in quite a while that Scott had taken charge like that... and that was a _huge_ turn-on for Kev. As much as he liked playing the dominant role, he loved it even more when he didn't have to. Very few people knew that; Scott was one, but he didn't do it very often. Sometimes Kev worried that it was because he was too overbearing or too demanding, but he'd had that conversation with his lover in the past and didn't plan on repeating it. Scott had been surprised, to say the least, and his actions had proven to Kevin that he didn't have any issues with being dominant when he wanted to be.

A soft moan slipped out of his mouth as he remembered that night, the first time Scott had ever been that way with him... Kevin had never _truly_ begged before, not for _anyone_ , but he had that night... and many nights since. And he'd loved every minute of it. It was a button that only Scotty really knew how to push, and when he chose to, Kev knew that he was in for a helluva ride. It varied every time; sometimes Scott just wanted to lead... but sometimes... sometimes his lover wanted to see just how far he could push him.

The sudden sensation of a familiar body pressed up against him brought him back to the real world even as Scott pulled his hand away from his straining shaft.

 _"And I don't recall giving you permission to play with it."_

Oh, dear God. Kevin shuddered at the words, recognising Scott's tone of voice. His lover was feeling playful today...

 _"So I guess I'll just have to punish you."_

The moan that tried to break free as Scott's fingers wrapped around him came out as a choked cry when he felt the sharp blow to ass. The instinctive flinch forward, away from the blow, forced his cock further into Scott's grip, and he did moan as those clever fingers moved _just_ so. The next blow caught him by surprise, delivered after a pause for Scott to shift slightly, kissing the back of his neck as he did so. Another blow, and another, and that hand never stopped moving... Kevin was crying out with every movement, tossing his head back as breathless whimpers and broken pleas escaped him.

"Scott... God! Please... more..." The blows changed, coming faster, harder, guaranteed to leave lasting marks. Kev twisted in Scott's grasp, gasping, not trying to escape anymore but pushing his hips back, eager for more. His lover obliged, the warm throbbing pain from each blow overlapping and redoubling, spiraling throughout his body, driving him insane. His cock throbbed in Scott's grasp, each blow to his ass seemingly connected directly to his dick. When he felt Scott's teeth sink into his neck, sending a shooting pain down his spine, at the same time that he landed a particularly hard blow, he cried out, his hips thrusting forward into Scott's tight grasp.

"Scott...!" Kev felt his orgasm start, coiling at the base of his spine, before it overwhelmed him and his body arched, his head falling back against Scott's shoulder as his hands clenched, releasing in hot jets over Scott's hand. When he finally relaxed, he staggered and would have fallen if Scott hadn't pulled him back against his own body, holding him tightly. He turned within that embrace, wrapping his arms around Scott and laying his head on his shoulder again, silent for a long moment. He realised finally that he was shaking, and that Scott was petting him, running a hand comfortingly over his back as he murmured to him.

He felt... exposed, somehow, but not in a painful way. With Scott, it was never painful. Scotty always seemed to know, somehow, when he needed this, and he always gave him what he needed. Slowly gathering up the pieces of his ego and putting them back together, calming in Scott's arms, he realised that he could feel Scott's erection pressing against him. Raising his head, he met Scott's gaze, knowing that Scott could see every emotion in his eyes, and whispered hoarsely, "Love you." 

Before Scotty could protest, and Kev knew that he would, knew that he would say this hadn't been about _him_ , he sank to his knees and slid his lips over the head of Scotty's cock, savoring the taste for the briefest instant before sliding forward until the hard shaft nudged the back of his throat. Using every trick he knew, he made love to Scott with his mouth, wanting nothing more than to return some of the pleasure he'd just been given.

****

Adam gasped, fire singing through his veins as Chris' fingers brushed over the head of his cock. Every touch, every sensation feeling so deliciously intense because it was _Chris_ that was providing it. When Chris pulled away from his careful stretching, Adam almost protested. He didn't want to risk hurting his lover because he wasn't prepared, but it seemed that Chris was finished waiting.

 _"You dreamed...? God damn Adam you are my wet dreams come to life Babe...."_

Those words only served to increase his trembling. That Chris wanted him as much as he wanted the gorgeous blond was more than he had hoped for, but the fact that he did already had Adam wishing for more. Neither of them had spoken of anything past this one night, but Adam was sincerely hoping that it would lead to much more.

He relished every point of contact between them: the hand clenched tightly on his shoulder, the way their foreheads were pressed together with their breath mingling between them, the way Chris' thighs framed his hips just so, and the way Chris' hand held him so firmly as he prepared to take him inside. The gentle press of Chris' lips against his gave him a point of focus for a moment before it was blown away by the sensation of Chris' silky heat closing around his hardness.

His world narrowed down to just the two of them. In that moment nothing else mattered. Chris' body clenched so tight and warm around him, the breathy moans and whimpers echoing in his ears, the eye contact between them...everything so intense that it was almost too much. The only thing that kept him in check at that point was the thought that he didn't want to disappoint his lover...and that word now applied to Chris in more than one way, though he wasn't near ready to admit it out loud yet. He was almost scared to keep his eyes locked with Chris' for fear his emotions would be clear enough for him to read without him having to say a word, but he couldn't look away.

Adam's hands flew to Chris' waist as he raised himself so slowly that it seemed to take an eternity. Then Chris slid down his throbbing length, grinding against him and Adam couldn't help the gasp of surprise that came from him. The erratic pace that Chris set had him moaning in no time at all, not to mention the sparks of pleasure that rocked through him as he heard his name from Chris' lips.

He slid one hand from Chris' waist to tease over his hip before lowering his hand to wrap around Chris' hot swollen cock. Leaving his hand loose for the moment, he let Chris' own momentum force his length through his hand. The hand still on Chris' waist clenched tighter as Adam leaned in to nuzzle against Chris' throat for a moment before nipping gently at the warm flushed skin. He licked slowly over where he'd nipped, enjoying the slightly salt taste.

"Fuck, Chris. Love being inside you, sweetheart." He tightened his grip slightly on Chris' heated flesh, hoping to draw more sounds from him. The vibrations against his lips pushing him that much closer to the peak. "Love the sounds you make...so damn sexy."

****

Scott clamped down tightly on the reaction that Kevin's cries provoked in him. He had a feeling that he loved these special times between them just as much as Kevin did, though he tried not to let on. He was pretty sure that Kevin didn't realize the reason he hadn't taken charge more often was because he was selfish. He had enjoyed Kevin's dominance way too much when they were together before. There was at least one area of his life that he didn't have to worry about trying to control, not that he'd been so spectacular about controlling any of the other areas. Since he'd managed to get clean this time around, he'd faced exactly how selfish it had been of him to hold out on Kevin.

He planned to make it up to Kevin now that his lover had taken him back, given him another chance. Kevin had admitted to him once before that he liked not having to be in charge all the time. Scott hadn't taken proper notice then, but he had remembered. He had to admit that hearing Kevin cry out and beg for more, watching his lover drop the strong façade that he showed to everyone else, his letting Scott see a side of him that no one else got to see... that showed a level of trust that Scott had come to crave.

Now that he was more in control of his own life, he planned to make his forays into control with Kev a more frequent occurrence... anything to make Kevin happy. From the sounds he was making and the way Kevin arched into his blows... Kevin was very happy at the moment. At Kevin's plea, Scott increased the pace and strength of his blows, giving Kevin exactly what he'd asked for... more. He could tell that Kevin was getting close... the way his cock was throbbing in Scott's hand, the desperation in his cries. Scott leaned forward and sank his teeth sharply into Kevin's neck... it was one of Kevin's triggers and Scott wanted to push Kevin over the brink he was hovering on... just as he delivered a sharp stinging blow to his ass.

Scott relished the way that Kevin arched against him as he came, trusting that Scott would support him. His eyes locked on Kevin's face as he felt the first spurt of Kevin's release bursting over his hand. Beautiful... that was the only word to describe his lover in that moment.

As Kevin collapsed against him, Scott held him tight, allowing his lover to turn towards him when he was ready. Kevin's head rested against his shoulder and he could feel the way Kevin was shaking from the force of his release. He stroked his back gently to help calm his lover. He knew exactly how Kevin was feeling right now, having been on the receiving end of a spanking more than once himself.

"Love you, Kev. Love watching your face, hearing the sounds that you make when you come for me," he said quietly as he continued his petting.

When Kevin raised his head, Scott could read everything he was feeling in his eyes. The love that was shining there made his heart skip a beat. God... he'd never get tired of seeing that look in Kevin's eyes. He felt it even before Kevin's whisper reached his ears.

He was about to return the sentiment once again, but before he could get it out, Kevin was in front of him on his knees. Scott was about to protest, despite his aroused state, that Kevin didn't need to do what he was about to do. This time had been strictly about Kevin and Kevin's needs. He would have been completely happy to finish their shower and get dressed without anything more. If Kevin was satisfied then so was he.

Kevin didn't give him the chance to say a word. He hadn't even managed to open his mouth before Kevin's was wrapped around his cock. Scott gasped quietly as he watched his shaft disappearing between Kevin's lips, a moan slipping from his throat as he felt the head hit the back of Kevin's throat.

"Kev, you don't have to..."

Kevin must have known what he was going to say because he chose that moment to pull back, scraping his teeth gently over Scott's shaft until he reached the head, which he circled with his tongue. Scott whimpered quietly, his eyes drifting shut, knowing that Kevin was determined to see this through. He reached for his lover... one hand falling on his shoulder for support, the other tangling in his wet hair as Kevin bobbed his head slowly, drawing him back into that wet heat.

He was thankful that Kevin grabbed hold of his hips to keep him from thrusting forward. Scott didn't want to hurt Kevin, but the urge to move was so strong. He loved the way Kevin's mouth wrapped around him, sucking strong and hard as he pulled back. Even with their previous lovemaking, Scott knew he wouldn't last long at all. He gave into the sensations Kev was evoking in him... the teasing of his tongue, the gentle way he scraped his teeth over the sensitive skin.

Scott forced his eyes open and looked down at Kevin as he neared the edge. Kevin's eyes locked with his and then Kevin released the tight hold on his hips. Scott was so close that he couldn't control his reaction, his hips bucking hard forcing his cock into Kevin's mouth. He cried out as Kevin hummed appreciatively around his hard throbbing shaft. The vibrations proved too much, his hips thrusting forward as his release exploded from him into the warm welcoming heat of Kevin's mouth.

"Kev! Oh god... Kev!" Scott shouted as he fought not to collapse on top of Kevin.

Scott dropped his other hand to Kevin's shoulder, using both to support him for a moment as he panted harshly. His legs trembled slightly as Kevin pushed himself from the floor of the shower with a slight groan. Kevin's arms wrapped tightly around him as his lover moved them both under the cooling water of the shower. Scott shivered slightly as they rinsed themselves off, but considered a cool shower completely worth the time they'd just shared.

Hopping out as Kevin turned off the water, Scott grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself before grabbing a second and holding it out for Kevin. As Kevin stepped from the shower, Scott wrapped both the towel and himself around his lover for a moment, basking in the tenderness as Kevin held him in return. He leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to Kevin's lips as he began toweling him dry.

"Love you, Kev," he said with a smile as he tossed the towel in the corner. Scott kissed him gently one more time before heading out to the main room to find his clothes, leaving Kevin to put on the ones he'd brought into the bathroom with him. He sighed in contentment as he pulled clean jeans and a tee shirt from their suitcase. Technically the tee shirt was actually Kevin's, but Scott pulled it on anyway, smiling over the way the cotton felt so soft against his skin just like Kevin's hands when he touched him.

His smile slipped to a frown as he remembered there were things they needed to get done today before their flight. He hoped that Kevin wouldn't be too much of a growly bear when he insisted on going to see Hunter, but he was determined not to let the situation between Kev and Hunter go on any longer. They also needed to go see Shawn and make sure he was okay. Scott wasn't looking forward to either visit but they were necessities. Scott smirked as he told himself that no matter how much Kev pouted, Scott was going to get his way.

****

At least the shower meant he didn't feel any worse. Hunter was pretty sure he had a day full of traveling, appointments and never-ending phone calls. Maybe if he just cancelled his day he could crawl into bed and pretend the world didn’t exist for another twenty-four hours. He’d have to talk to Shawn sometime, he knew that. Would have to handle looking into his beat friend’s eyes and know that he’d pulled one over on Shawn. A man Hunter had once sworn he’d always be there for. Pulling on his shorts and dress pants, he sat on the bed, head in his hands and wondered if he'd made the worst mistake of his life last night.

 _"Open the goddamned door, Hunt, and open it now, you son of a bitch!"_

No.

That wasn't Shawn.

No way.

But the unmistakable voice came loud and clear through the rattling door making Hunter’s hopes a lie. Shit. Hunter quickly glanced around the hotel room and sighed. No time to clear away the bottles or the glasses. He sniffed. At least the room didn't smell too bad, Ric must have opened the balcony before he left. Rising from the bed, he walked to the door like an old man. Hunt knew from experience it was better to have an inch of wood between you and Shawn when he was angry. Putting both palms on the door he wondered if he could feel the heat of the beautiful man through the wood. Resting his forehead on the door, he imagined what Shawn would look like. No way was he letting his best friend in, right now his defenses weren’t just down, they were practically non-existent.

"Go..." Hunt swallowed as his parched throat cracked the words. "Go away Michaels. It's 7 am."

 _Michaels? Do you really think that will work?_ Oh great...Vince was back in his head again.

****

Adam's words made him shiver. Which was insane as he was burning up from inside and out. The fingers stroking his cock in time with the hard rod in his ass, meant CJ was enjoying the best of everything Adam had to offer, and enjoying it he was. His orgasm was bubbling up to his knee caps right about the time Adam called him 'Sweetheart' again. Chris gave a moment's thought, a moment was about as much as he was capable of in this position, to trying to suppress the wild exhilaration about to blow his head off. But he couldn't and he wouldn't suppress anything. Adam seemed to be getting off of Chris' uninhibited reactions, so he let go the reigns on his self-control.

Once more entering that hyper/high mode of pure feeling, CJ started talking against Adam's lips as if having a complete, manic, dirty one-sided conversation.

"Doesn't that feel great?... ooh yes... just great... marks of out ten for this Babe... uhh... more like five stars... god yes, right there... do _that_ , do _that_ , do _that_!... never even thought... never thought... liked me... liked you... fucking wanted you... want you, Adam... want you... god... you are so beautiful... fucking love it... ahhhh… yes... again... damn... your hands are so incredibly perfect... perfect... feels right... ummmm... yes... keep doing _that_ , keep doing _that_..."

Chris wasn't coherent enough to wonder if Adam would be put off by his unintelligible babble, he was too busy feeling and dying and letting that burn run from his thighs to his brain. The hard sex slid into him again and again, stretching him, sending his nerves alight, Adam's hands twisted and pulled at his cock until Chris' eyes crossed.

Deep inside the erotic haze into which CJ's mind had taken a nose dive, the command to keep Adam with him was beating like the throb of a drum. Chris slid his hand from the headboard and rubbed his fingertips over Adam's chest, softly scraping each nipple with a fingernail.

"Like that Babe?... ahhh... please tell me you like this?... God... you're so fucking good Adam... I want you to like this Babe please... that okay?" Thumbs now to torment to the small nubs. "You feel so good... god I want you... c'mon yes... that's wonderful... there... there... there..."

And the wildfire has taken him over, stealing his voice at long last and rendering him a creature of sensation. Chris' climax bolted out of him, spreading his seed across Adam's fingers and spasming the muscles in his body to an almost painful degree. Desperately he held onto Adam's hair again, locking eyes with green orbs almost inhuman at the moment of ecstasy.

He had no voice, but his lips shaped one word.

****

Staring at the door, bouncing impatiently as he waited for an answer, Shawn refused to think about whether or not this was the best way to handle things. It probably wasn't, but it was the only way he knew right now, and Hunter had succeeded in doing something that very few people had done in the past: Ripping away every last shred of Shawn's patience until he was so angry he almost couldn't _think_.

 _"Go away Michaels. It's 7 am."_

What the _hell_ was up with that? The only person he was "Michaels" to was Bret, these days... and Vince, when he was pissed off at him. He'd _never_  been "Michaels" to Hunter. His best friend's refusal to use his name did something to him, wounded him somewhere deep inside in a way that he'd never known was possible.

Shawn's eyes narrowed as he glared at the door, biting back the pang of concern that tried to well up at the sound of Hunter's voice. Whatever the man had done to himself last night, it couldn't possibly compare to what he'd done to Shawn. And however bad it was, it wasn't nearly enough.

He was aware of Dave next to him, leaning against the wall in an almost forcibly casual pose, and wondered briefly what the big man thought of him _now_. It'd been _years_ since he'd lost his temper like this... well, no. He'd _never_ lost his temper like this before. He'd never had cause to. Speaking of which... he pounded on the door again.

"You'll open this fucking door, _Helmsley_ , or I'll goddamn well break it down," he snarled, one hand flat on the door. His fingers were almost itching with the need to hit, punch, do _something_ , and if Hunt wanted to play obstinate with the door, Shawn would be more than happy to demonstrate his current willingness for physical violence on it. It was only a hotel room door, after all... not Hunter. Something inside him cringed at the thought of hitting Hunter for real, rather than the almost playful fighting they'd done off and on for years on the show... but something else _loved_ that idea.

****

 _"Can you two grab our bags? We checked in earlier, so it's just our ring stuff."_

Sean nodded at Kevin, the big man turning to get out of the limo. Smiling over the way Scott grabbed Kevin's hand and practically dragged Kevin behind him, Sean turned to Glen and raised a brow.

"Was it just me or was Scott acting a little strange tonight?" he asked his lover who was watching the retreating forms of the two men as well.

"Sean, it's Scott. Since when do any of you guys act normal?" Glen said, a grin on his face and shrugging his shoulders before he moved to climb out of the limo.

"Hey!" Sean hollered as he followed Glen out of the car, watching in appreciation as the big man leaned over to pick up the bags the driver had set on the curb. Shaking his head ruefully over how easily Glen could distract him, Sean bounced over and picked up his own bag. "You are so going to pay for that later," he said nodding, "but seriously though... don't you think he was a bit off even for Scott? And what he said to Kev... I just worry about him... both of them sometimes after... " Sean studied the sidewalk for a moment as he remembered some of the not so good times that Kev and Scott had gone through.

Glen smiled, his manner softening as he looked at his normally bouncy lover. "I know things were bad for awhile Sean, but I honestly think Scott has a grip on things this time," he said as he watched the car pull away from the curb. Grabbing Sean's hand he led him towards the doors to the lobby. "If there is something going on with him and it's something important, you know that eventually Kev or Shawn or Scott is going to tell you about it."

They'd both noticed the omission of Hunter's name. Hunter had been so distant lately that Sean was worried about him too. He and Glen had talked about it more than once, but neither had any suggestions as to what to do about it. Glen had suggested talking to him about it, but Sean knew that Hunter would more than likely tell him it was nothing and send him on his way. The alternative being Hunter growling and then changing the subject to something related to work. Sean figured Hunter should be way happier being married to Stephanie than he was, and that bugged the hell out of Sean. What was his problem anyway? Maybe he'd mention it to Kev at the next show.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sean said as they reached the elevators. Turning and smiling at the man he loved, Sean suddenly regained his bouncy attitude. "So...what about those plans you have for tonight?" he asked with a wicked grin. "They don't involve cherry ice cream by any chance, do they?"

Glen laughed loudly as they stepped through the open doors into the elevator. "God, Sean, you are completely weird. You do realize that don't you?"

"Of course...but that's why you love me, babe." Sean said with a confident smile as he followed Glen into the elevator car, his arm slipping around the larger man's waist.

****

 _"Go away Michaels. It's 7 am."_

He managed to hold his casual stance, though just barely. Hunter's gravelly voice spoke of a rough night, but the words he chose spoke much louder. Michaels? Dave couldn't remember _ever_ hearing Hunter address Shawn that way outside the show. Obvious provocation? Maybe. Dave figured that more than likely it was self-defense. If Hunter thought he could get Shawn mad enough to leave, he was dead wrong. Shawn was already madder than Dave had ever seen him and he didn't think Shawn was going to just walk away when he was this pissed off.

 _"You'll open this fucking door, Helmsley, or I'll goddamn well break it down."_

If it weren't for the parties involved, Dave would have been amused over his apparent recently developed talent for mind reading. This was already getting ugly and the two men hadn't even set eyes on each other yet. The way Dave was feeling though, he was ready to break down the damn door himself. They couldn't settle anything if Hunter insisted on hiding behind a hotel room door, not to mention that if Shawn kept shouting in the hallway they were bound to draw attention to themselves. He didn't really care about it, except for the fact that Vince would have a fit if he found out they were airing their dispute in public.

Dave turned his head and opened his eyes. Shawn looked like he wanted to really do some damage to something...or someone. Dave sighed silently. This wasn't going to be pretty...not pretty at all.

****

Adam smiled as Chris started his litany of incoherent babbling. That Chris was as talkative in bed as he was out of it really didn't surprise him at all. He did find it rather adorable though and sexy as hell, especially considering some of the things that Chris was blurting out. Five stars? Damned if he wasn't happy about that. As long as Chris was happy with what he was doing, Adam was completely thrilled.

That Chris had wanted him... still wanted him... he wished to god that he had known. Maybe it wouldn't have taken him so long to get up the courage to talk to Chris about it. Now that he had...he would give anything to have this night repeated... again and again and again. Chris' compliments had him nearly blushing. Beautiful? Chris didn't have to look any farther than the mirror to gaze on someone beautiful, yet he considered Adam to be beautiful?

Thoughts flitted through his mind, barely registering, but creating a warm glow in his chest. He tucked them away for later consideration, the conflagration burning in his cock much to powerful to allow any lingering sentiments. As Chris' nails scraped across his sensitive nipples he cried out in answer to Chris' babbled inquiry.

Adam growled low and husky as he felt Chris' body tighten around his throbbing length. Then Chris' release shot over his hand and Adam whimpered as the warm silky muscles in Chris' ass clenched spasmodically around his cock. Chris' hands winding tightly in his hair sent a bolt of pleasure straight down his spine to his balls and he could feel himself poised on the precipice of his own explosive release. When his eyes locked with the normally blue, now almost black eyes of his lover, he shuddered. He barely caught the movement of Chris' lips, but that one word soaked into his over-stimulated brain and gave him the last push that he needed.

"Oh god Chris!"

Adam kept his eyes locked with Chris' as his hand moved from Chris' cock to join the other at Chris' waist. His hands clenched uncontrollably and a loud deep growl erupted from his throat as he thrust upwards and poured his seed inside Chris' welcoming body. Panting harshly, he leaned forward, despite the hold Chris had on his hair, and covered Chris' mouth in a feral kiss. As he pulled away he locked his eyes with Chris' once more.

"Chris," he said, his voice cracking momentarily. "Sweetheart, that was so fucking incredible...beyond anything I ever dreamed. You... you are incredible, Chris."


	16. Encounters

Shit, shit, shit.

He'd never heard Shawn this angry before, not even at Vince. Not even when the doctors had said he'd never wrestle again. That had been a fury born from despair and loss rather than pure rage. For all his passion in the ring, Shawn just didn't get _that_ angry with people in the real world. Frustrated...sure, kicking a locker when your friend is fired... definitely. But not this kinda angry. So great that Hunter could practically feel the heat through the door.

OK Hunt, c'mon be a man. Let him in, it looks like he hates your guts so it's not like you're in any real trouble. Once more looking around the room, he forced the embarrassed flush from his cheeks and straightened his spine. He could out-game anyone... even Shawn. He'd done it last night he could do it again. Reaching out, he turned the handle and quickly backed across the room. He wasn't retreating, he was just getting some personal space. Time to play 'disgusting playboy' Hunt.

He'd never graced Shawn with his 'I am the man' routine. Mostly because the blond would have just laughed in his face. After all Shawn was 'the man' way before Hunter became 'the Game'. But then, even the great HBK had never worked the system like Hunter. No one had.

Time to put his game face on.

****

Chris was just drifting. Kind of like flying, or floating down from a cliff, light as a feather. Like Wile E. Coyote pressed flat by a stream roller, so he swung from side to side as he fell. No gravity, no impact. Adam was his steamroller now and God the man could _drive_! Chris' muscles were almost sore, but the sweet, peaceful lassitude engulfing him was better than any drug. He'd just had the best orgasm of his adult life.

CJ was feeling no pain.

Reality eventually penetrated his happy little zone out. Adam's name still on his lips and his lover's growling, broken voice in his ears.

 _beyond anything I ever dreamed_

Blinking slowly, Chris looked back into Adam's face, seeing the affection there as well as the satisfaction. It registered that Adam had planted a pretty awesome kiss on him just five seconds ago, but CJ had been so high, he hadn't noticed. In contrast to his earlier babble he was remarkable unable to come up with anything to say. The Buffy reference of "Fire Bad...Adam Pretty" was about as much as the mush his brain had become could handle.

Some, small irritating part of his mind mentioned the whole after sex business that should be taken care of...but Chris really couldn't bring himself to give a fuck.

"Adam... Babe... that was wow... just... wow... with an exclamation mark and everything." Hating the loss, Chris lifted himself from Adam's still half-hard shaft and collapsed on the bed beside him. Keeping his foot and palm in contact with Adam's skin, CJ gave a great exaggerated sigh and smiled goofily up into glorious green eyes. "Still tripping on the afterglow Babe.... wow."

Chris felt like humming...so he did.

****

His fingers almost tapping on the wood underneath them, Shawn glared at the door, waiting for Hunter to open it. If he didn't do it, and do it _soon_ , he really would break the damned thing down. No way in hell was Hunt getting out of _this_ conversation... especially not by hiding in his motel room. If nothing else, Shawn was pretty sure that Hunt would rather have this talk in the hotel room rather than on the plane later.

As soon as the door clicked open, Shawn shoved it open with as much force as he could muster, sending it crashing back against the wall. Part of him was disappointed that Hunter hadn't been standing behind it. The other part of him was horrified at the thought, but the anger filling him stomped that little voice down until it quieted again; this was _not_ the time to be feeling soft and sympathetic.

He stalked into the room, barely noticing Dave following him and shutting the door behind them. Casting a quick glance around the room, he couldn't help his eyes widening as he saw the stack of glasses and... whiskey bottles? What the hell? Hunt didn't drink. Finally settling his eyes on the man across the room, he took in the bloodshot eyes, damp hair, and fine lines of pain on his face.

Good.

If Hunter felt like shit right now, that meant that he was more likely to give Shawn the truth. Not to mention that it made him feel better, in a nasty little way, knowing that Hunt had been messed up enough last night to drink himself blind. Shawn knew _exactly_ how bad Hunter had to be feeling right now, having drunk himself into oblivion more than once in the past, and whiskey had been a favourite at one point.

Advancing until he was only a few feet in front of Hunter, refusing to give him the space he so obviously desired, he glared at the other man, knowing that every emotion he was feeling was written on his face and not giving a damn. His body was practically quivering, from the growing nervous tension as well as from rage. Hunt could play every mind game he knew; Shawn wasn't about to fall for any of them. He'd seen them before---hell, he'd _taught_ most of them to Hunt, in one way or another.

"Care to tell me the _truth_ , Hunt? Or do I have to beat it out of you?"

****

Ignoring the pain in his knees, Kevin tilted his head enough not to choke on the water pouring down on them from the shower and slid his hands up to hold Scott's hips still as he lavished attention on the hard shaft in front of him. He used every little trick that he knew Scotty couldn't resist, and smiled to himself at the soft noises that escaped his lover. When he felt the flesh under his tongue swell, he raised his head so he could watch Scott; his lover was beautiful when he came, and Kev never got tired of watching him.

Releasing his restraining grip on Scotty's hips, he expected the sharp thrust that followed and hummed, swallowing Scott's release. Listening to Scotty shout his name made a warm---not to mention smug---tingle go through him. As Scott clutched his shoulders, Kevin slid his hands back up to Scott's waist as he stood up, groaning a little as his knees protested. Holding Scott close, he moved them both back under the shower to rinse off, smiling ruefully as he felt the coolness of the water. He'd just have to wash his hair that evening.

Not moving too quickly yet, he turned the shower off as Scott got out, wishing that his knees weren't so damned creaky these days. He was trying to take it easy on them... of course, going down on Scotty in the shower probably wasn't following doctor's orders for knee care, he admitted to himself with a smirk.

When he was met with a towel and an armful of Scott, his arms instinctively wrapped around his lover, smiling at him. Yeah, it was gonna suck to sit on that plane later, but it was more than worth the discomfort to have moments like they'd just shared. No one else could do for him what Scott did. Scotty was the other half of his soul. Caught by surprise by the thought, Kev swallowed past the unexpected tightening of his throat, his smile lingering as Scott toweled him off. It wasn't often that they were actually _that_ thoughtful of each other, but then, he'd always made an effort to do things like that after he'd taken charge with Scott...

 _"Love you, Kev."_

Dammit, there was that choking up again. Scott was gone before Kev could find his voice, but he knew that Scotty had seen the glimmer in his eyes when he kissed him. He got dressed slowly, thinking about the changes in their relationship. They'd always been touchy-feely and comfortable around each other, but this time... they were more thoughtful, taking the time to do the little things, go the extra step, for each other. Kev knew that on his end, it was because he was so grateful to have Scott back. After being apart for almost two years, he appreciated his lover as he never had before, and he knew that if they were ever apart again, it would kill him. It nearly had last time.

Shaking his head at himself, he brushed out his hair and pulled it back. He was being uncommonly thoughtful this morning. It was probably because of all the discussion he and Scott had shared last night, but still... he needed to get focused. They still had to track down Shawn to find out what the hell had happened the night before, and he knew that Scott wanted him to talk to Hunter today. His mouth twisted briefly at that thought, but he already knew that he'd do it... because Scotty wanted him to. If Scott ever realised just how twisted around his little finger Kevin was... Kevin laughed softly at that thought. His lover undoubtedly _did_ know, and used that knowledge shamelessly. Shrugging a little, he knew that he didn't care. He loved Scott, and trusted him, and knew that those feelings were shared. Neither of them would ever do anything to hurt the other. Not anymore.

Walking out into the main room, he laughed when he saw Scott wearing one of his old "Big Sexy" t-shirts. Running a hand across his back, Kev smirked at him.

"Shouldn't that read, "Property of", sweetheart?" he asked with a broad grin. Ducking the swipe that Scott aimed at him, he sat in the chair across his room and pulled on his socks and shoes before standing up again.

"So, I'm starving. Why don't we grab something to eat downstairs, then come back and pack up before checking out?"

****

"G...god, I can't believe I let you t...talk me into t...this." Glen's voice trembled slightly as he looked at his lover poised above him.

Sean snickered as he looked down at Glen, his finger trailing through the cold sticky pink mess spread over his lover's chest. "You are such a baby. Don't worry lover, you are going to be thrilled by the time I'm finished. Promise." Sean bent his head, letting his tongue scoop some of the sweet pink treat from the indentation over Glen's breastbone. He trailed his tongue lazily towards a nipple, stopping just before he reached it to pull his tongue back in his mouth and swallowing.

Glen groaned, shivering slightly as Sean's tongue snaked out across his nipple, scooping a tiny piece of black cherry off the tip. Sean was certifiable and Glen figured he must be as well for agreeing to this. Not that he wasn't enjoying the way Sean's tongue was moving over him, but the damn ice cream was fucking cold as hell. He was never letting Sean order room service again. He twitched and moaned as Sean worked his way through the sticky pink goo smeared all over his chest and stomach. Thank god he was almost done.

Sean smiled as he licked off the last bit of the ice cream from Glen's stomach. His lover's skin was flushed pink from both the coldness of the ice cream and undeniable arousal. Glen could hardly deny it, the proof was nestled quite nicely against the cleft of his ass at the moment. Glen's eyes were clenched shut and his hands were wrapped around fistfuls of the blanket and Sean thought he made the perfect picture.

That all changed the moment that Sean shifted so that he was sitting on Glen's thighs. The growly "don't you dare" didn't phase Sean at all and he picked up the spoon from the bowl even as Glen's eyes shot open. The obvious threat Glen was about to make when he opened his mouth was cut off by a howl as Sean tipped the spoon and a huge glob black cherry ice cream landed on Glen's swollen shaft.

"Sean!" Glen's shout was loud enough that it was probably heard in the room at the other end of the hall. Sean grinned from atop his perch before laughing at his lover's obvious distress.

****

When he heard the click from the door, Dave tensed slightly then watched as Shawn stormed into the room, the loud crash of the door smacking against the wall echoing out into the hallway. Dave shook his head trying to hide the smile that wanted to creep onto his face. Shawn's passion, even born of anger, was an amazing thing to witness. There would be no half steps here...Hunter was in big, big trouble.

Pushing away from the wall, Dave followed Shawn through the door, albeit slower and much more calmly...at least on the outside. Pushing the door shut, he turned back to face the room and once again took up a casual stance, leaning his shoulder against the wall with his hands tucked in the pockets of his slacks. His face expressionless, he scanned the room with his eyes.

He almost raised a brow over the glasses and whiskey bottles sitting in disarray. As long as he'd known Hunter, he had never seen the man take a drink...of any kind. Obviously from the state of the room, he'd had more than just one drink last night: the obvious glasses and bottles, clothes strewn across the floor leading towards the bathroom, and the bed sheets were tangled as if someone had been...no, maybe Hunter was just a restless sleeper. If he'd had a few bad dreams, it was nothing compared to what Shawn had gone through last night. Dave tensed and let his eyes wander over Hunter slowly. From the way Hunter looked, he definitely did not have company last night...at least not _that_ kind of company.

Hunter had showered not too long ago, that much was obvious from the dampness of his hair. Looking closer there was a pinched look at the corner of his eyes. Dave almost grinned...definite signs of one bitch of a hangover headache. He would have felt sorry for Hunter on any other occasion, but after the lies he'd told last night, Dave felt a little less sympathetic than he normally would. The closer Shawn got to him, the more nervous Hunter seemed. Hmmm. Wonder why that might be? Scared he's going to see through your lies if he gets too close, Hunt? It wouldn't be obvious to someone unfamiliar with Hunter, but if you looked into his eyes you could see the slight hint of restlessness there.

Dave wondered for a moment if he should leave the two of them to talk about this alone. Hunter might be more likely to open up to Shawn without him there and this was between the _two_ of them. The tension between the men was a palpable presence in the room and it was for that reason that Dave didn't turn and leave the room right then.

 _"Care to tell me the truth, Hunt? Or do I have to beat it out of you?"_

Oh boy. Dave clenched his fists within his pockets to keep the placid look on his face. His eyes moving to observe Hunter his only noticeable reaction, Dave prepared to step in if necessary.

****

Looking at the rather goofy smile on Chris' face as he lay beside him, Adam laughed happily. He had wanted to cheer Chris up and it seemed he had, though not in the way he had planned, that was for sure. To his way of thinking this way was infinitely preferable. He vaguely wondered for a moment about the look on Chris' face earlier and who had been the one actually on the receiving end of that look, but pushed it off to the side. There would be no stray thoughts to ruin the happiness he felt right now. Chris was here with him right now and he was going to enjoy it for however long it lasted.

 _"Still tripping on the afterglow Babe....wow."_

Adam grinned in return when Chris started humming. Too incredibly cute...though he wasn't going to risk bodily harm to tell Chris so. Turning on his side, Adam reached up with one hand to play with the ends of Chris' hair, which were splayed across the pillow. His smile softened as he looked at Chris, lazily sprawled against the pillows. He realized that for the first time in a very long time the loneliness that seemed to be his constant nightly companion was missing. The warm glow that had settled in his chest earlier returned and gained a bit in intensity.

Adam withheld a sigh and rolled from the bed with a bounce. If he got too sentimental then Chris would notice and he did not want to risk having him run shrieking from the room. He would take his cues from Chris on how much he should reveal and leave it at that. Walking into the bathroom he washed his hands and wet a cloth with warm water. Adam wasn't sure if they were sticking with the original plan which included a shower, but either way he was sure that Chris would probably appreciate being able to clean up a bit before the food got here.

Snickering quietly as he thought that they probably should have ordered breakfast at this time rather than steak, he walked back into the main room and settled on the bed beside Chris. He ran the warm washcloth over Chris' stomach and was debating the wisdom of letting Chris take care of the other areas he might feel needed cleaned when he was saved having to make the decision by a knock on the door.

"Uh...I'll get that if you want to...." Adam smiled indicating the washcloth before climbing off the bed. He realized that he probably shouldn't answer the door completely naked, not that he was shy but Vince would have a cow over the exposure, pun definitely intended. Adam grabbed his wallet before snagging a towel off the rack in the bathroom. Wrapping the white terrycloth around his waist he tucked the end in at the top and then opened the door, his 'I just got some and you didn't' smile in place.

Pulling a bill for a tip from his wallet, he handed it to the young man pushing the room service cart. "Thanks. I'll take it from here." Adam grabbed the cart, pulled it into the room, and shut the door waving nonchalantly to the startled man. He pushed the cart farther into the room, stopping to let his eyes wander over Chris for a moment.

"I don't know about you, sweetheart, but I'm completely famished. Ready to eat?"

****

The hand trailing over his back made him smile.

 _"Shouldn't that read, "Property of", sweetheart?"_

Scott growled playfully and turned, taking a swipe at Kevin's head, which Kevin of course ducked. He'd never admit it to Kevin, because the man would be too damn smug, but Scott would gladly wear a shirt proclaiming him Kevin's property... though only in private. Imagine the ramifications if he actually dared to wear one in public. Vince would boot his ass out of the company yet again for making a spectacle of himself and Scott wasn't quite ready to give up on his career just yet. Scott smiled slyly, thinking that he just might have to get a shirt printed up that way sometime as a surprise for his lover.

 _"Why don't we grab something to eat downstairs...."_

Scott pulled on his own socks and boots before turning towards the door. "Sure thing Kev, just don't forget that after breakfast we need to stop by Hunter's room on the way back here." Scott could imagine the grimace on Kev's face, even though he wasn't looking at his lover. "I want to stop and check on Shawn too, but since he had company last night...." Scott trailed off, the implication that he didn't want to disturb Shawn too early just in case Dave had actually 'woke Shawn up a couple times in the night' implicit in his tone.

Opening the door, Scott waited for Kevin to exit the room, making sure he had his keycard with him before closing it. Linking his hand in Kevin's, Scott led him towards the elevator where he could see a couple standing waiting on the doors to open. Scott occasionally had to remind himself that he needed to watch their PDA when it came to the general public. He couldn't wait for the time when both he and Kev had retired and it wouldn't be necessary to keep their relationship quiet, but at the same time he knew that neither he nor Kev were ready to give up the spotlight yet. Noting that it was Benoit and Eddie, Scott kept his hold on Kevin's hand, not worried at all that the two would have a problem with it.

The doors to the elevator opened just as they reached the pair and Scott waved them in first, following behind with Kevin in tow. "You two look like you had a busy night," Scott said with a smirk at the pair. "You heading down for breakfast?" He asked as he slipped his arm around Kevin's waist, his hand brushing across Kevin's ass lightly along the way.

****

"Aren't you _ever_ going to get up?"

Eddie grinned at the tone of his lover's voice and raised his head, currently propped on his arms crossed behind it, to look at Benoit's face. His lover was standing half-dressed in the middle of their hotel room, looking impatiently at him.

"Sí ese... eventually." He knew that his careless tone would provoke Chris further, and his lover didn't disappoint, narrowing his eyes. Letting his grin widen slightly, he continued, "After the show's over, anyway."

He watched with glee as a dull red spread over Benoit's face, his lover's mouth snapping closed as he turned away, pulling on his shirt with a sharp tug. His grin softened as he watched, knowing that he was an incredibly lucky man. Chris had been with him, originally as a friend, later as a lover, through the worst times of his life, and now, through the best. No one else had ever been willing to put up with his mood swings, his sense of humour, his _attitude_... but Chris was. Benoit put up with far more than Eddie would ever have been able to.

Almost as if sensing the direction of his thoughts, Benoit turned around, still pink around the edges, but smiling a little now.

"You'd think by now that I'd be past that reaction," he murmured as he sat on the edge of the bed, leaning over Eddie. Chris couldn't help it; he loved to look at the man. They'd been together for years now, in one way or another, and he still never got tired of just _looking_ at him. Eddie was so full of life... there were days when Chris could keep going just by being near him and soaking up some of that energy.

Leaning down further, he brushed a soft kiss against Eddie's lips before standing up. With a smirk, he reached down... and dragged the blankets off the bed, leaving Eddie exposed.

"Chris, what are you doing?" Chris's lips twitched with the effort of holding back his laugh as Eddie sat up, looking offended... and chilly.

"I'm getting you up," he informed him with a straight face. "No puns intended, Eddie. I'm hungry, and we don't have all morning before we have to be at the airport for our flight. So... c'mon, already. Slowpoke."

They continued needling each other as they finished their morning rituals, packing everything and setting their bags by the door as they left, Chris checking to make sure that he had the keycard to get back in.

Eddie had an arm around him, and Chris couldn't quite keep the little smile that brought off his face. Neither of them were big on public displays, but after a week apart, Benoit didn't mind at all if Eddie wanted to touch him. He punched the down button when they reached the elevators, then stood there chatting with Eddie as they waited. Only when two other people stopped next to them did he even realise that they had company.

Nodding at Scott as he and Eddie stepped in, he pushed the button for the first floor as the dark man spoke.

 "You two look like you had a busy night,"

Eddie grinned, seeing Benoit's expression tighten just a little. They'd never made a secret of their relationship, but they'd never been _public_ with it, either, and Chris still had some issues sometimes with other people commenting on it. Eddie didn't care, although he was sensitive to his lover's moods. Tightening his grip on Chris's waist just a little, he nodded at Scott, sharing a look of understanding.

"You heading down for breakfast?"

"Yeah. You too? Want some company, ese? It's been a while since we've seen each other," Eddie said, cocking his head. He'd never been great friends with either of the two men, but he'd been friendly with them when he was sober... and he'd been one of Hall's drinking buddies when neither of them were. Now that they were both clean, he found himself thinking that it would be worth it to turn that casual relationship into an actual friendship. He and Scott had a lot in common... including their senses of humour. He chuckled quietly as he heard his lover heave a long-suffering sigh, not so quietly, into the corner.

****

Kevin bent his head a little as he tried to hide his smile. Scott was acting much more dominant than he normally did, whether he realised it or not, and Kev was enjoying every moment of it. Their relationship didn't revolve around the question, but it was nice for him to see Scotty so confident again.

 _"You two look like you had a busy night."_

Running a quick glance over the other two men, Kevin had to agree. They were perfectly clean and dressed, but they had a certain look to them... a look that he was sure he and Scotty shared. While Scott and he hadn't been apart for more than a day or two since they'd been back together, last night was the first time in a while that they'd spent that much time alone together. Since the entire Clique had been reunited, there had been far more late nights spent talking with long-missed friends and family than late nights spent having wild sex with his lover.

He followed Scott obediently into the elevator, noting with some amusement Benoit's slight discomfort with Scott's comment. Benny had always been a little uptight; guess some things never changed. And then again... some did, he thought as he looked at Eddie.

He'd had his share of problems with the Latino when he was drinking, not the least of which was his being involved with _Scott_ drinking, but he respected him a hell of a lot for getting sober. He'd never seen Eddie quite so... happy. He seemed more energetic, too. Kevin did smile a little at that; Scott had the same "symptoms"... being sober did wonders for your energy levels and your happiness.

"You heading down for breakfast?"

As Scott's hand brushed over his ass, Kev flinched, even that gentle touch aggravating the marks Scott had left there not that long ago. He bit his lip, casting a sideways look at Scotty as his lover slipped his arm around his waist, and got nothing but a raised eyebrow in return. They'd made love three times in _way_ less than a day... even though his spirit was more than willing, his body just wasn't quite able to respond to the not-so-subtle teasing.

The look in Scott's eyes told him that Scott was feeling the same way... but Kev knew his lover well enough that that didn't mean he wasn't in for some serious teasing that day. The thought of sitting down to eat breakfast in public made him wonder what he'd been thinking to suggest eating downstairs. Even sitting in the chair long enough to pull on his shoes had made his ass ache more than it had to start with. Sitting on a restaurant chair for at least an hour while they ate... with company... Casting another look at Scotty, suspiciously this time, he wondered if that hadn't been why his lover had been so willing to eat downstairs.

Taking a deep breath, Kevin tried his best to ignore the slight throbbing, following Scott out of the elevators once the doors slid open again. He mourned the loss of the arm around his waist, but knew as well as Scotty that they had to watch their PDAs a bit more, with Vince ready to start breathing down their necks for the slightest reason. Last night was probably going to come bite them in the ass---Kev winced a little at that thought---but at least it had been provoked, and even Vince would see that. Hopefully.

Uncharacteristically quiet, Kev followed the others into the restaurant, chatting a little with Benoit, and tried not to wince too obviously at the pain that flashed through him as he slowly sat down in the hard-backed chair. At least he could blame his lack of speed on his knees...


	17. Demands

Chris was still humming, slightly out of tune he'd admit, when Adam rolled off the bed. As if attached by a string, his head turned on the pillow, eyes locked to the tall man's sleek, tight backside. CJ couldn't get over how comparable they were in size. Adam may be quite a bit taller, most guys were, but Chris had more muscle so they were pretty well matched. He'd never realized he'd had a thing for huge, bulky guys until he'd fallen hard for Adam, 'built' sure...they all were...but not some giant Neanderthal with the brains of retarded budgies.

Listening to the run of water, CJ continued to swim in a nice golden haze and followed his thought train into a station. "Does that mean I deliberately dated guys who I could outsmart in a second, but who could toss me round like a doll?" It was an almost disturbing self-revelation, but Chris let it drift away like all his unpleasant thoughts at moments like this.

The soft swipe of the damp towel across his stomach brought Chris a little more down to earth and he once more fixed his eyes on his new lover. His soft "Hey," of welcome was lost in the knock on the door. While Adam grabbed their food, thankfully wearing a towel CJ noted, Chris pulled the bed apart and wrapped his lower half in the crisp white, sheet. He'd been told once he looked good splayed out on white sheets and if he was gonna keep Adam's interest he better use every trick in the book.

Seeing Adam's grin, Chris indicated the bed in front of his crossed legs.

"You're right, we should have got eggs, but I'm up for the cheesecake." He grinned naughtily at the pun.

What followed was a lovely breakfast of cheesecake, wine and small pieces of steak, fed to each other on forks. Chris kept threatening to used his fingers and finally did offer Adam some cream from his fingertips. As the scarily talented tongue licked his fingers like a lollipop, CJ was fairly sure things were gonna go hard-core pretty soon, so he decided to drag out the fun, by jumping from the bed in a sugar-induced high.

"Gonna shower," he said over his shoulder on the way to the bathroom. "You better be following me."

'Little Napoleon' indeed.

****

Scott raised a brow at the flinch from Kevin. Well now... he honestly hadn't been thinking about Kev's 'condition' when he'd touched him, but once he'd noticed the reaction that Kev gave, he decided that maybe breakfast in the restaurant was a very good idea. Not that he wanted Kev to be embarrassed, but a little good-natured teasing would do the man some good. As much as he'd love to drag Kev back to their room and take advantage of Kevin's "tender" state, neither of them were getting any younger and if he were honest, Scott knew that there was no way he was up for another round... yet.

Scott smirked thinking of all the nice ways he could even the score for Kev's "property of" joke and decided that all was fair in love and war... and at the moment this was both in a way. Plus it would sort of be like foreplay... for when he was ready to jump on Kev again.

He'd also noticed Benoit's reaction to his comment. Poor uptight Benoit. Since Scott was in such a good mood, maybe he'd have to see if he could get the poor guy to loosen up a bit and if not... then he and Eddie could have a blast in the process. Eddie... now he and Scott hadn't been close previously, except when they'd both been drinking... then they'd been the best of friends as all drunk people consider themselves to be. Since they were both clean now, maybe they could be friends while off the sauce as well. Scott seemed to remember that Eddie could be a really funny guy when he wanted to be... drunk or sober.

Scott noticed how quiet Kev was. While Scott and Eddie kept up a steady stream of chatter, Kev and Benoit were chatting intermittently. At least Benoit wasn't a complete stick in the mud. Scott also noticed Kev's reaction when he sat down. Whoops. Poor, poor Kev. Scott could barely suppress a snicker. This was going to be so much fun.

When the waitress approached and asked for their orders, Scott sat back until Kev had ordered an omelet with sausage and cheese, toast, hash browns, and orange juice. Barely managing to restrain himself to a friendly smile, Scott looked up at the waitress, his eyes shining with suppressed laughter.

"Oh and can you make sure he has plenty of ice for his... glass," Scott said rather loudly, somehow managing to almost omit the first two letters of the final word. "He's a bit sore," he said pausing for the briefest moment. "His throat, I mean," he finished almost innocently.

The waitress smirked at him, obviously having caught onto his hints. "Sure thing, sugar. Extra ice for Big Sexy. I hope it helps with his... discomfort," she said with a wink as she collected the menus and turned to walk away.

Ignoring Kev's reaction as well as Chris' and Eddie's, Scott turned to Eddie with a conspiratorial smile. Benoit was probably going to have a fit, but Scott was in too good of a mood to worry about it. "So tell me the truth, chico. Pretty cool being champs at the same time right? Only one thing though... it had to make that time-honored celebratory tradition a little rough. Deciding whose belt went where I mean." Scott fiddled with his fork for a moment, letting that set in before he looked up and smiled. "Kev always insisted on putting his on the nightstand except when we had the tag titles, then we put them on the dresser together."

****

Adam was in heaven; at least that's what he figured upon spying Chris all tucked up in the white sheets. Although... angels didn't tend to enjoy much "cheesecake" that he'd ever heard of and he doubted one could pull off the wicked grin Chris was sporting. Adam somehow managed not to blush over the inference and settled in to enjoy their breakfast in bed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd done something like this... oh wait, yes he could.

No one would ever guess that Mark was a closet romantic or at least he had been back then. He had fond memories of his time spent with Mark during their "Ministry" days, even though it hadn't been much beyond each of them scratching an itch. At 26, he hadn't been near ready to settle down into anything serious and Mark hadn't been interested in commitment either. Mark had confided that he was still trying to get over the bad end of a good relationship. Even though he'd never specified whom that relationship had been with, Adam had his own ideas on who it might have been.

That's when Adam remembered that Mark had also been his last in another area. Maybe he should mention to Chris that it had been awhile since he been in that position, so to speak. Adam had been surprised to find out that Terry wasn't at all interested in an "equal" relationship. No wonder he'd ended up with someone like Brock. And when Adam had gone on his bender, he'd tended to avoid any guy that might be looking to rough up a "pretty boy wrestler". He'd stuck to guys he knew he wouldn't have to fight for dominance and he couldn't remember a single one of the guys he'd picked up asking to switch things up.

With Chris... he was willing, no not willing... actually looking forward to the experience. Then again, he'd be eager to do almost anything to please Chris. He shook himself internally from his odd mental wanderings and focused on the man in front of him. As they fed each other tidbits from a fork, Chris kept teasing about feeding him with his fingers. When he finally offered up a bit of cream on his fingers, Adam jumped on the chance to tease him. He used every tongue trick he could think of to lap the sticky treat off Chris' warm sensitive skin being sure to keep his eyes locked on Chris' face for his reactions.

 _"You better be following me."_

Adam smiled over the blond's bouncy exit from the bed and the reappearance of his commanding disposition. Shaking his head, he trailed slowly behind Chris into the bathroom, reaching the door as Chris was turning on the water. He waited until Chris was in the shower, then followed him, positioning himself so that Chris was closest to the shower head.

"Well... we've figured out how good I am at following commands, so I think for at least a little while we should find out how good _you_ are at it," Adam said with a smile even as he put his hands on Chris' waist and turned him so they were face to face. "Back up, sweetheart," he said, not really giving Chris a choice as he backed him under the water to wet his hair. He reached for the vanilla-scented shampoo he'd used just after he had checked in earlier, squirting some in his hand so he could use it to wash Chris' hair.

As he ran his fingers through the golden locks working up a lather, he covered Chris' mouth with his own, taking his time to explore while his fingers massaged Chris' scalp. He took his time rinsing out the shampoo, smiling at Chris all the while before following a similar procedure for the conditioner. Once that was rinsed out as well, Adam grabbed a similarly scented bottle of body wash and set about washing Chris from head to toe, inserting a simple command where necessary to gain his lover's compliance.

Starting out with the broad span of Chris' back, he stroked the cloth slowly over the smooth skin tracing each ridge of muscle and the peaks and valleys of his spine. He made sure to trace the roundness of each side of Chris' muscular ass, using both the cloth and his bare hands, relishing the feeling of the bubbles over flawless skin. After spending a bit of time washing the back of each well-muscled thigh he worked his way down to Chris' calves, kneeling in the shower in front of Chris so that he could reach properly.

He pressed gentle open-mouthed kisses over the swell of Chris' hip on each side as he worked his way to the front of his legs. As he reached the thigh area, he moved to tease Chris' navel with his tongue. By-passing the groin area for the moment, Adam stood again, licking and nipping the curve of Chris' neck as he washed his arms and chest, lingering over his nipples before moving on to the rippling muscles of his abdomen.

As he finally moved the cloth over the silky skin of Chris' hips, he raised his head and smiled somewhat shyly. "If I remember correctly, you said something about returning the favor after a shower." Adam moved the soapy cloth lower, sliding it slowly between Chris' thighs before moving back up to brush the underside of his balls. "I'm all for it, but it's been a really long time since I've...." He trailed off, knowing that a smart guy like Chris would be able to figure out the implication. He also knew that he was most likely a little red and not from the temperature of the water. "So my last command for you is... be gentle." He ducked and kissed the end of Chris' nose just as he raised his hand, moving the soap covered cloth slowly over Chris' cock.

****

He held his breath as the door was almost torn from it's hinges by the enraged man. Hunter watched Shawn storm into his hotel room, all on fire. He'd recognised the anger through the door, but the beautiful Texan was almost vibrating with rage. Being the focus of all that passion was intimidating to say the least.

Oh Jeez.

Dave.

Just standing the door way, looking smooth and cool, but a hint of worry on his handsome features. Hunter had learned the other man's expressions over the last few months of them working together and had flattered himself he had the bigger man worked out. Was Dave worried he'd hurt Shawn? Surely if he'd had the power to do that, it had happened last night. Last night?

Wait... what? Dave was here at 7 am?

That meant... oh.

Hunt really hadn't thought it would hurt. He'd wanted this after all, done his damnedest last night to make it happen, so he should be pleased. And he was. He WAS. Just also insanely jealous... of both of them. Jealous of Dave for winning what he'd so hopelessly longed for and jealous of Shawn for being able to reach Dave when Hunter never could.

At Shawn's harsh question he crossed his arms across his chest and pushed out his chin in a pugnacious expression he just _knew_ Shawn hated. He had to keep the other man off balance, had to fire the hate his heart mourned to see burning in those lovely eyes. Had to stop Shawn from wrecking his own life too.

"What truth would that be exactly Shawn?" he said as if it didn't matter a damn that he'd lied to the one person who would have forgiven him anything.  

****

His eyes locked on Hunter's face, Shawn caught the brief shift of his eyes and turned slightly to see Dave standing next to the door. Narrowing his eyes at the expression Hunter tried to hide, he felt almost triumphant... but something inside him screamed at him.

That flash of pain had been quickly hidden but not quickly enough. Not to mention... jealousy? A darkly amused smile curved his lips as he tilted his head, glaring right back at Hunt. If the other man thought that something had happened between him and Dave last night... well, he was right. It just hadn't been what Hunter so obviously thought it was. Knowing that he _was_ jealous just fired his anger more; the fact that he felt like he had some kind of right to _be_ jealous, after pushing Shawn away with the dirtiest method he knew...

And there was a familiar expression. That damned obstinate stance, right down to sticking his chin out. God, he _hated_ that expression... and Hunter knew it.

Go on, Hunt, _push_ those buttons harder... His fingers itched with the need to _hit_ , and he crossed his arms over his chest to keep from punching his best friend, forcing it back for the moment.

If he hit him _now_ , he wouldn't get his answers, after all.

"How about why exactly you fucking _lied_ to me last night?" His voice was icy calm and amazingly steady. Even as he spoke, he could feel his pain returning, trying to push forward through his rage. His anger overtook it, though, building in waves. He was almost shaking with the force of it... if he weren't so upset, he'd be frightened by its strength. As it was, he welcomed it, drawing on it to keep him going.

****

Dave hadn't missed the flash of pain or the lingering jealousy in those hazel eyes. He fought the urge to smirk at Hunter. Right, Hunter. You aren't in love with Shawn, grass isn't green, and the sky isn't blue. He knew exactly what Hunter was assuming and Dave could understand how he might. He had shown up at an early hour, with Shawn, in last night's clothes... the only thing was Hunter was adding two and two and coming up with five in this case. What he was assuming... hadn't happened and Dave was going to be sure to point that out to him. He wasn't going to let Hunter use it as an excuse to keep his own feelings hidden, not when so many things hinged on him admitting the truth... Shawn's happiness being the most important.

And there went Hunter trying to bury his reaction behind his mask. That belligerent stance would have had most people turning and heading for the door, but not Shawn. Instead Shawn adopted a pretty similar stance of his own. Oh it might look carefree, until you noticed the way he was almost shaking where he stood. Shawn was way beyond pissed and Dave didn't blame him in the least... though Dave did consider moving closer to the two, just in case...

For some reason, his mind chose that particular moment to take in the fact that Hunter wasn't wearing a shirt. His eyes lingered for a moment over the bronze skin before he managed to curb his instinctive reaction to look. He'd been doing it for so long now that it was almost second nature... the difference being that he was usually more careful about when he dropped his guard and took that notice. He should _not_ be staring at Hunter that way. Regardless of whether his previous assumptions had been wrong or not, it did not mean he was free to show interest in the man... especially since he was supposed to be interested in _Shawn_ , not Hunter. He tried to give himself an out by reminding himself that looking wasn't a crime... but he knew it was so much more complicated than that.

****

Kevin hadn't realised how hungry he was until he looked at the menu. Apparently a night of wild sex did wonders for the appetite, he thought with a little smile. The little bit of conversation between him and Benoit died down as they decided what to eat, but the chatter between their lovers more than made up for it. Kev kept half an ear on the conversation, happy to see Scott reaching out to other people. Scotty had always been a people person, but his battles with his demons had almost trained him out of even trying.

Once the waitress arrived, he gave his order---with an appreciative once-over, since she was a cute brunette---and turned his head to ask Benoit about his training regimen while traveling.

 _"He's a bit sore."_

His head whipped around to stare at his lover, his eyes a little wide. Surely he hadn't just heard Scott say what he _thought_ he'd said... had he? Noting the devilish glint in those dark eyes, Kevin was afraid he had.

 _"Extra ice for Big Sexy. I hope it helps with his... discomfort."_

Oh no... no, no, no. Scott had _not_ just casually _joked_ about... He squirmed a little as he fought to keep from flushing. Bad enough that Scott had said something like that in front of people they knew, who were familiar with the stories about them... but in front of a _waitress_? He was actually a little taken aback by the amount of dismay he felt; he and Scott had joked about their sex life in front of others ever since they'd hooked up. Hell, they'd made up more outrageous stories than anything they'd actually done! Why was it bothering him now?

Shifting uncomfortably in the thinly-padded chair, staring at the upside-down coffee cup in front of him, he finally figured it out. Glancing at Scott, who was smiling while he talked to Eddie, Kev took a deep breath. Just because it had been the first time in literally years that he'd given up control like that didn't mean that it was an earth-shattering event. They'd done it before, after all. And Scott _wasn't_ belittling him at all. He wouldn't do something like that. He was just getting him back for that "property of" joke earlier, Kev knew, and after a minute managed to push away the vague hurt trying to settle in. Scott wasn't joking about what they'd done, after all. He was just needling Kev to get a reaction... something they did to each other all the time. He'd just relaxed enough to raise his eyes again when he heard what Scott and Eddie were talking about.

 _"Deciding whose belt went where I mean."_

The innocent expression did _not_ suit his lover at all, Kevin thought with a grin. He had some very fond memories of deciding exactly where each of their belts went the first time they'd won the tag championship... and every time afterward. The wide grin on Eddie's face told him that the Latino knew exactly what Scotty was saying... and that the two across the table had indeed had a time deciding that very thing. Casting a sideways look at Benoit, he wasn't entirely surprised to find the man staring resolutely at his napkin, a pink tinge slowly creeping up his neck. He was kinda cute that way... maybe that was why Eddie always gave him such a hard time backstage. If Scotty blushed so cutely, he'd be trying to provoke that reaction all the time, too.

 _"Kev always insisted on putting his on the nightstand except when we had the tag titles, then we put them on the dresser together."_

He couldn't quite bite back the snicker at that one. The statement was entirely factually true... but the underlying meanings were damned different from what it sounded like. Leaning back in his chair and stretching, slowly enough to look deliberate but really to minimize any additional aches, he grinned broadly at the other three.

"Yep. Had a helluva time fitting mine up there sometimes, too, but then my belt always was bigger." Settling back down into his chair, hiding the wince, he dropped a hand on Scotty's shoulder, smirking. "When we both had belts, it was always a juggling act, y'know? Trying to get them to fit together... the dresser had more space but it was still cramped for two of 'em. But at least that way we got to look at them in the mirror."

Not minding in the slightest that he'd just made Benoit stare at him, he turned his head as a movement caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Seeing the waitress approaching, he moved a little to allow her more room as she started setting dishes down in front of them. He was just digging into his omelet when she paused just long enough to catch his eye. Wondering why Scott was grinning so broadly, he looked up again... as she set an extra glass, full of ice, in front of him.

"Don't want you to be too... uncomfortable, sugar," she purred, winking at him before walking away.

Damn. He hadn't blushed in _years_. Resolutely looking only at his plate, he ignored his lover's laughter and ate, plotting his revenge.

****

 _"Oh and can you make sure he has plenty of ice for his...glass."_

Reaching for his water glass after placing his order, Eddie had to bite back a laugh at Scott's words. Casting a look over at the big blond, his eyebrows raised momentarily at the almost embarrassed expression on Kev's face. Well, well, well. Looks like things were a little different between the two of them now, huh? Not quite able to keep the smirk off his face, Eddie sipped his water, watching with interest as Kevin refused to look at anyone for the next few minutes, instead appearing to be deep in thought. Wonder if Scott had expected that reaction? He'd be willing to bet not... wonder if Kevin had expected it?

Eddie had more experience than most people knew, and he recognised the signs the other two were giving off. For some reason, Kevin seemed to be uncomfortable with the discussion... of course, for someone normally as controlling as Kevin was, Eddie supposed that having his lover just indirectly tell people that he'd given up that control recently could be disconcerting. Glancing over at his own lover, Eddie wondered if he'd ever be able to persuade Chris to try that sort of game. It wasn't something he really wanted to do all the time, but the thought of being able to drive Chris past all that precious, tightly-held control was... enticing.

Under cover of the table, he slid his hand onto Benoit's knee, interlacing their fingers. When Chris cast a somewhat startled look at him, he just smiled at him.

Chris listened without talking to the chatter between his lover and Hall. He felt a little uncomfortable sitting with the two Outsiders, since he and Bret were still good friends and Bret couldn't stand _any_ of the Clique, but realised that he couldn't let that opinion influence him. After all, he had to work with these guys.

When Scott told the waitress to bring extra ice, his eyes widened as he stared at the other two for a minute before recovering himself and looking down again. Had Hall just said what it seemed... ? Looking at Nash, shifting uncomfortably in his chair, it seemed that he hadn't misunderstood. The thought of Kevin Nash submitting to _anyone_... the thought sent an unexpected sliver of lust down his spine. Blinking, he quickly looked at his glass.

To say that _that_ had been an unexpected reaction would be putting it mildly. He'd never been attracted to either of the Outsiders, although he could see why others would be. Surely it wasn't the thought of submission that had caused it?

 _"...it had to make that time honored celebratory tradition a little rough."_

Eddie did laugh that time, knowing exactly what Scotty was _really_ talking about. Seeing Chris flush, he couldn't keep the grin off his face.

"Yeah, ese, we did have to sort out some confusion about whose title went on top... and they didn't want to fit real well. But we got it done." He was definitely enjoying this conversation. Obviously his and Scott's senses of humour were still compatible even without alcohol between them.

Chris hated it when he blushed; the fact that he'd just done so because of a teasing comment from Scott Hall, of all people, didn't really help... nor did his lover's laugh. Seeing Kevin looking at him wasn't helping him stop the damned blush, either.

 _"But at least that way we got to look at them in the mirror."_

He couldn't help it. He stared at the big man, shocked by the images suddenly turning in his head. The whole dialogue had been thinly disguised at best, but this... Shaking his head a little as the waitress brought his order, he tried to push the thoughts away. And Eddie had said _he_ was kinky?

Happening to glance up as he took the first bite of his breakfast, Eddie caught the exchange between Kevin and the waitress... and almost stared as he watched _Kevin Nash_ blush. What he wouldn't give for a camera! That probably hadn't happened in _years_... certainly never before that he could remember.

"Hey, Kevin... if your throat's _that_ sore, I know a great home remedy," Eddie said with an almost straight face. "Nice and warm, and it easy to fix. Just takes the right touch." Pausing, he took a drink of his juice before continuing with a smirk at Scott. "Sort of a... home brew, but it works every time."

He could see Chris biting his lip next to him as he speared a sausage with rather more force than he strictly needed, and knew that his lover was perilously close to laughing. Clapping him on the back, Eddie grinned at him, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Just ask Chris. I fix it for him any time he gets a little hoarse... works wonders to soothe the throat. Tastes good, too, even if he says it could use less salt sometimes."

Watching his lover's flush increase, Eddie stopped, knowing that he'd be paying for the teasing at some point, but couldn't quite keep the smile off his face as he ate.

****

Hunt narrowed his eyes at Shawn's question. So is this what Shawn was so burningly angry about? Had he worked out Hunter had been lying through his teeth about 'not feeling the same'? The last thing Hunter would ever call Shawn was stupid... so if the blond was calling his bluff, he'd just have to bluff harder. God... it just wasn't supposed to be this difficult. Hunt had paid the price to get what he wanted and now his own damn feelings had caused him to wreck the best friendship he'd ever have in his life.

Why couldn't Shawn just accept what Hunter said and move on? He had a fucking chance with Dave, for crying out loud. Why risk messing that up to go digging into Hunter's motivations? Hunter almost sighed in frustration, the answer was obvious.

Because he was _Shawn_.

Without realizing what he was doing, Hunter rubbed his hand across his forehead to sooth the ache there. Dammit to hell. His head was pounding twice as hard now that Shawn had brought a _mountain_ of tension and aggression into the room.

To be honest, he just wasn't in the fucking mood to deal with this right now. Shawn may want to explode all over him and dig into his heart, but Hunter wasn't gonna give him anything. Not a damn thing. Guy should go back to humping his new boyfriend and leave Hunter in peace. Shawn may want to know why he'd lied, but just like what Hunter wanted, he wasn't gonna get it.

"Did I lie Shawn? About what? About how we're best friends? About you and Dave being good together? I think it's obvious I told the damn truth there." He gestured at Dave savagely. "So I didn't fucking lie about anything I said right? Why don't you go play with him and leave me the fuck alone?" Spinning away he turned towards the balcony window, so he wouldn't have to watch them leave.

****

Oh that was nice. So nice Chris was sure he would be poking a hole through Adam's hip if the guy kept up with the shampooing thing.

So he had a hair kink...so what? It was pretty freakin' obvious from his own less than dull style that CJ liked having good hair and he more than liked people touching it. A lot. In fact if Adam went on much more with the conditioner he would just....

"Oooohhh." It wasn't particularly intelligent, but then, finding suitable words while you receive an all over body wash from the man of your dreams, tended to tangle even Chris' flexible tongue. Follow orders? Of course Chris could follow orders... that was the whole point of giving them. If he'd needed a doormat he cold have stayed with Bill, for God's sake.

Part of his instinctive attraction to Adam hadn't just been his looks... okay that was a big part, the guy was stunning, but it had been more than that, with all cliché implied. Adam had mattered to CJ right from the moment they met. Jay's hopelessly introducing two people at the first WWE promotion Chris had attended. Chris first reaction had been... wow he's hot... followed by... he's with Jay... a thought so scary with his current knowledge. But he hadn't been with Jay, thank god, he just hadn't liked Chris in _that_ way. Still, it hadn't stopped Chris from putting Adam on some unattainable pedestal. He was funny and smart and gave shit twice as good as he got it. He also never seemed to take Chris too seriously, which was something the blond had loved.

What? Be gentle?

Oh Jesus. A long time? How long? Like a couple of months or a couple of years? Not that CJ had a problem being gentle with his lovers. He liked gentle almost as much as he like 'hard and fast baby'. But this was Adam, and Chris didn't want to mess up. Thanking every god he knew that he was as much of a slut as Adam seemed to think _he_ was Chris leaned into the wet, soapy fingers coating his cock.

"Yes Boss," he answered the soft plea. God, Adam so was cute when he was shy. Chris would bet you a hundred that no-one, _no-one_ but a close lover of Adam would ever see him this vulnerable. It was a hell of an honour and brought all CJ's protective instincts to the fore. Now this wasn't about keeping Adam's interest with his own charms, this was about treating Adam so good, he'd never leave.

Never? That could be a wonderfully frightening thought. But Chris was a big one for going where his feelings led him.

Catching the body wash from Adam's hand, Chris smiled into his lovers green eyes. It wasn't any of his smart-ass, cutesy or fuck-me smiles, it was just Chris feeling happy and so flattered that Adam would give him this.

"Turn around please," he deliberately added the plea to show that as far as he was concerned Adam was doing CJ the favour here. Looking at the strong muscles and smooth tanned skin, Chris placed gentle kisses across Adam's shoulders before dropping to his knees. Also kissing each tight buttock, he slowly rubbed the soap into the round muscle before gently parting the flesh. Kissing the base of Adam's spine, to give him an indication of what was next, Chris leaned in and licked Adam from the back of his balls to his tailbone.

Sooo sweet. Even with the tang of soap mixed in. Leaning back in with his tongue, he caressed Adam's soft wet skin, before returning to the small hole that was his ultimate prize. With fingers and tongue he set about stretching and preparing his lover, with one thought that rose above all others.

Gentle.


	18. Releases

Dave shook his head, barely able to withhold a laugh. He'd been right about Hunter's assumptions and from his little speech just there, he'd also been right about him being pricked by the little green-eyed monster. If Hunter hadn't been suffering the effects of his overindulgence, Dave was pretty sure he wouldn't have given away quite so much of his feelings. The mask of 'the Game' was starting to slip and it would probably only take a few more sharp prods by Shawn before Hunter tossed it away completely.

Shawn's timing for this confrontation had been dead on, but Dave was feeling a little badly that Hunter was working with a misconception. Not that he hadn't wanted desperately to do exactly what Hunter thought he and Shawn had done, but they hadn't. And until Hunter finally told Shawn the truth, they wouldn't take things any farther than what they had. If he and Shawn did end up together, Dave didn't want any lingering emotional issues with Hunter to cloud their relationship, but before that was even possible they had to settle things here.

Taking a few steps further into the room, he looked at the man staring out the balcony window before slanting his eyes at Shawn. He wasn't sure that Shawn wanted him to clear up Hunter's misconception, but he felt the need to do it anyway.

"Hunter, as much as I would love to let you assume that what you're thinking is true, it's not. Whatever you _think_ happened last night, it didn't." Moving a little closer to the pair just in case things exploded like he thought they might, he assumed his previous relaxed position against a different wall. "So please, get your head out of your ass. Every one of us in this room already knows you lied. Be 'the man' and tell him why."

****

Chris was absolutely gorgeous at any point in time, but the way he was smiling at him at that particular moment pushed him straight from gorgeous to breathtaking. The way Chris was arching into his touch almost made him regret asking Chris to be gentle... after all gentle meant slow and he was already burning with the need to have Chris inside him.

 _"Turn around please"_

It hadn't been a command, but then where Chris was concerned, Adam didn't need it to be. He shivered as he felt the gentle kisses across his shoulders and reached for the shower wall for support. The kisses feathered over each buttock surprised him, his thighs clenching tightly in anticipation of whatever else Chris might do. The soapy fingers brushing over his muscles made him sigh quietly... so nice. Even with the warning kiss at the base of his spine, he hadn't really been prepared for what happened next.

As Chris' hot wet tongue swiped over his tender flesh, his head dropped against his arm and a low moan was torn from his throat. Chris caressed his skin with his tongue and Adam spread his legs further apart automatically, opening himself wider to his lover's questing tongue. He barely noticed the insertion of Chris' finger, except for the bolt of electricity that ricocheted up and down his spine. In no time at all he was begging for more, his voice husky with desire, as he thrust back against that single digit. Chris took his own sweet time with his stretching and Adam had a hard time remembering that Chris was just following his own order. Chris' tongue swiping over the edge of his hole around his fingers had Adam tossing his head back in a near wail and he knew he wasn't going to be able to take much more without exploding all over the shower wall.

"Chris... have to stop... don't want to..." Hoping that Chris would understand his broken words, he bit his lip on a whine as Chris' fingers slipped against his prostate once more. He almost whimpered from the loss as Chris removed his fingers and turned on shaky legs to reach a hand down to help Chris from the floor of the shower. "Bed... now."

Okay so maybe he wasn't quite done with commands, but Chris hadn't seemed to mind earlier so he wasn't going to worry about it. He wrapped his arms around Chris' waist and leaned down to kiss him passionately even as he was stepping backwards out of the shower. He groaned as he backed into the doorframe on the way out of the bathroom, Chris' hip brushing against his aching length. Finally maneuvering through the doorway, he broke the lip-lock and moved on to the curve of Chris' neck. Mumbling against the smooth golden skin almost incoherently between gentle nips and soothing licks, he snagged his wallet en route off the dresser where he'd tossed it after the visit from room service.

"Need you, sweetheart... fuck gentle... just want you..." He'd finally managed to pull a second packet of lube from his wallet with his blind fumbling behind Chris' back. As the back of his knees hit the mattress behind him, he sank down on the edge and ripped the packet open with his teeth before squirting it into his hand. He quickly smoothed the lube over the length of Chris' cock. "Need you inside me, Chris... now."

Adam slid backwards onto the bed not caring that they were still dripping from the shower. He couldn't even remember turning the water off, but that wasn't important right now. The only thing that mattered was having Chris inside him... branding him... claiming him. As he looked up into Chris' bright blue eyes, he tempered his commanding tone with a simple plea, hoping that it would gain him what he sought that much sooner.

"Please..."

****

The way that Benoit was blushing was altogether too cute. It made him wistful in a way because he hadn't been able to make Kev blush like that in _years_. He'd tried on many occasions, just because his lover was so damn cute when it actually happened. He sighed internally... oh well, nothing said he couldn't keep right on trying.

 _"...But then my belt always was bigger."_

Scott barely suppressed a snicker over that... damn braggart. Leave it to Kevin to point out that particular fact. The hand on his shoulder made him smile even wider. At least Kev wasn't sore at him over the comments to the waitress, though Scott had wondered there for a moment.

 _"...But at least that way we got to look at them in the mirror."_

Scott shivered as he recalled a few times they had looked at them in the mirror... in a rather unique way. Scott smiled at the stunned look on Benoit's face. They'd get old Benny to loosen up yet. Scott realized he was having a great time talking with Kev and the other two. They'd have to make a point of doing it again soon. Not that they didn't have fun with the rest of the family, but the rest of the guys, excluding Sean who seemed to be on a constant sugar high, hadn't been in the best of moods lately. It was just nice for once not having to spend every moment worrying about what was going on with them. Though Scott knew that after breakfast they'd be back to dealing with family issues, for a few minutes they didn't have to dwell on it.

Scott smiled again as he saw the waitress approaching. The girl was pretty damn smart and Scott had a feeling she was going to make a point of saying something to Kev. And damn she didn't let him down.

 _"Don't want you to be too... uncomfortable, sugar."_

Scott couldn't help the bubble of laughter that burst out of him. It was just too funny. Scott raised a hand to his mouth and muffled the last few chuckles as he noticed that Kevin had actually just turned the most delightful shade of pink. His mouth dropped open behind his hand. Now? Kev picked now of all times to finally give him the reaction he'd been trying to provoke for god knows how long? Of course it would be when he wasn't in any condition to take advantage of it. He watched Kev spear a bite of his omelet with a little more force than necessary and had a feeling Kev wasn't so happy about his own reaction. Maybe if he let Kev know exactly how much he had enjoyed it, it would take away some of the sting.

 _"Sort of a... home brew, but it works every time."_

He listened with one ear to Eddie's comments, a smile on his face and in his eyes as he lowered his hand down and placed it on Kevin's upper thigh. He squeezed firmly before letting his hand slide slowly up and down from knee to just below his groin.

"God, Kev," he said almost in a whisper, his reaction to Kev's condition completely evident in the husky tone of his voice even at the low level.

 _"Tastes good, too, even if he says it could use less salt sometimes."_

Scott smirked at the deepening blush that Benoit was now sporting, even though his mind was anywhere but at that table at the moment. Regardless of the fact that he and Kev had managed three times last night, Scott was pretty damn sure that he could have gone again. He was seriously considering dragging Kev back to their room whether they were done with breakfast or not. He speared a bite of his eggs and decided that they would have to wait. Even if Kev were up for another round, they still had to talk to Hunter before they left for the airport and they definitely needed to check on Shawn.

****

 _"So I didn't fucking lie about anything I said right?"_

Shawn had to bite back a snort of unamused laughter. Looked like The Game wasn't doing too well today; the hand rubbing at his forehead was one clue, but the inadvertent emotional outburst was a bigger one. Usually Hunt was far more controlled than this... apparently he'd picked the perfect time for this little dialogue. If Hunt was caught up with his headache and hangover, he'd be much more likely to tell Shawn what he wanted to know.

 _"Every one of us in this room already knows you lied. Be 'the man' and tell him why."_

Blinking, Shawn cast a quick glance at Dave, noting that he'd moved closer. Probably to grab one of them if it came to blows... which he was pretty sure it would. He knew how badly he wanted to hit Hunt right now, at least, and if he pushed Hunter hard enough, he'd probably feel the same way. Dave had just shown more mercy than he was capable of right now, too. He'd've been perfectly willing to let his "best friend" think that he and Dave had screwed each other blind the night before if it would help get him talking. No, he really wasn't a very nice person when he was angry. But even Dave's muted concern had been kind of nasty there at the end, poking directly at Hunt's most vulnerable spot---his ego.

Shawn moved closer to Hunter, stopping only inches away, seeing the incredible tenseness in that familiar body. A slight pang went through him as he let his eyes linger briefly on the bronzed skin, wishing he could reach out and _touch_... He stomped on the thought, reminding himself that he'd been able to touch it for years, for all the good it had done him.

"Oh no, Hunter. I _know_ you told the truth about that." His voice was low, controlled... vibrating with anger. "It's the part about not being in love with me that I have problems with." Glaring at Hunter's stiff back, Shawn circled slowly to the side as he spoke, each word falling sharply from his lips, designed to hit the heart.

"See, if you're not in love with me... why are you jealous of Dave?"

Step.

"Why do you spend nights in bed with me to make sure I'll sleep when I'm lonely?"

Step.

"Why did you hold me while I cried after Mark left me?"

Pause. Deep shuddery breath.

That had hurt more than he thought it would, but then it hadn't been a wonderful time in his life, either. Mark was the only other person he'd cared about as much as he had Hunter, and when Mark had ended their relationship after his forced retirement, it had _hurt_. Hunter had been his saving grace that summer, always there for support, both emotional and physical. Looking at where they stood now, Shawn's eyes closed briefly in pain before he steeled himself again, drawing on the rage still boiling inside to keep going.

Step.

"Why do you stay up all night with me when my back hurts?"

Step.

Finally, a glimpse of Hunter's face. He sucked in a sharp breath at the pain written on that face; he couldn't tell how much was from the hangover and how much might be from the situation, but... as much as he wanted to wrap his arms around Hunter, hold him, make it better... most of him was screaming in bloodthirsty gleeful triumph. Right now, he _wanted_ Hunt to hurt, to know how much _he_ was hurting.

"Why did you get plowed last night when you never drink?"

He took a deep breath, pushing away the burning sensation at the back of his eyes, embracing the anger that his renewed pain was feeding.

"Why are you trying your damnedest to push me away, Hunt?" Shit. He hadn't meant to let that raw edge of pain show in his voice.

His fingers twitched again as he watched Hunter standing there motionless, nonresponsive. His fingernails dug into his palms as his pain flared into anger, feeding the fire. He wanted so badly to reach out and... scream. Cry. _Hit_. Something, _anything_ , to get that stone face to crack.

****

"Harder, babe..." Glen's brow raised slightly as he redoubled his efforts to give Sean what he wanted. Clenching one hand on the headboard, he practically slammed his length inside his lover. "Oh yeah, just like that."

Moving his other hand from its spot on the bed next to Sean's head, he wrapped it firmly around Sean's swollen leaking cock drawing yet another cry from his lover. "So good babe... fucking love your hands... faster." It always amazed Glen how damn vocal Sean was during sex, not that he going to complain about it. He wasn't sure what exactly Sean wanted faster, so he increased both the speed of his thrusts and the speed of his hand stroking Sean's shaft. Biting his lip and hoping the pain would stave off his own impending release, Glen threw in a twist of his wrist at the end of each stroke. He was damn well determined that Sean was going to finish first tonight.

"Oh god... Glen!" Sean's passionate cry echoed loudly in the room, the same as Glen's had earlier. His back arched at an almost impossible angle as he sprayed his seed over Glen's hand. He panted harshly as he slumped back on the bed just in time for Glen to slam into him one last time with a roar as he reached completion. The weight of Glen collapsing gently against his chest was comforting rather than smothering, his lover holding part of his weight on his forearms to keep from crushing him.

"Sean... one of these days... you're going to kill me." Glen complained good-naturedly. "Way too much energy." His comment followed by a gentle kiss on the lips, Glen rolled them over so that Sean was on top of him.

"So are you saying I shouldn't wake you up early to return the favor?" Sean asked as he sprawled on top of Glen's chest.

"No I'm not saying that... I'm not dead yet, am I?" Glen grinned as he ran a gentle hand through Sean's hair. "Love you, Sean."

"Love you too, Glen." Sean's declaration was followed by an extended yawn.

Seemed Sean's energy wasn't endless after all. Glen closed his eyes, a smile on his face as he followed Sean into slumber.

****

Staring down at his plate as he chewed, Kevin tried to control his embarrassment. He was almost horrified that he'd just _blushed_... in _public_ , just to make it that much worse. Hearing Scott's laughter didn't make him feel any better, either. Normally he was so controlled... normally he could laugh off comments like that. Apparently this morning was affecting him more than he'd realised.

Sighing a little, he speared another piece of omelet, wondering why he was so surprised. Scotty was always... well, clingy, after something like that. Not that he minded; in fact, he appreciated it because it made him feel needed... Blinking, he cast a glance at Scott even as Eddie's words finally penetrated his mental haze.

Shaking his head a little, a small smile creeping across his lips, he wondered if Scott was enjoying the after effects of their time this morning as much as he would've if he were in his place. They _had_ rushed out of the room afterward. Normally, when he took control like that, he would spend time afterward just holding Scott, maybe talking with him. But this morning he'd been so focused on the day ahead... and to be honest, denying that he'd really had any lingering effects from the scene...

Faintly surprised that Scott hadn't jumped into the obvious opening Eddie had left and said something about Kevin already having tried that particular remedy, he almost jumped when he felt a touch on his thigh. Recognising the touch immediately, he relaxed again, a pleasantly warm shiver running through him at the teasing touch. If he were ten years younger, he'd be dragging Scott back upstairs right now...

 _"God, Kev."_

A muffled groan escaped him at those words, the huskiness of Scott's voice shooting straight down to his cock. He twitched in his chair, the pain in his ass suddenly mutating into a different feeling. Apparently Scotty _did_ appreciate his reaction. Feeling his blush finally start to fade, he realised that knowing that made all the difference in the world. Maybe he _was_ too controlling; he teased Scott mercilessly at times, but he couldn't seem to take even a mild joke himself... at least, not today.

Maybe spending some time in each other's arms wouldn't be a bad idea after all. He definitely needed some time to wrap his mind around things; he'd never reacted quite like this before. Of course, things had changed with their relationship since last time they'd done something like it, so it made sense. Probably.

Leaning closer to Scott, he put a hand on his lover's shoulder and said softly, "What do you say we head back to our room after this? We can hunt down the others later... after we spend a little more time together." Hoping that Scotty would understand what he meant, he sat back---wincing again---and tried to finish his breakfast without looking too obviously like he was hurrying.

****

Deep inside Hunter something wanted to scream in agony. Something else wanted to wrap itself around Shawn and bask in the warmth it found there forever. Another something looked at Dave then withered to death in shame.

 _Why...? Why...? Why...?_

Shawn just kept coming at him, both physically and verbally. Relentless in his logic and his awful, probing questions. Why had Hunter done any of those things? It had been so obvious to everyone but Shawn, even Dave had seen it and he'd only known the man a year. Being best friends with Shawn meant more than just laughing and crying together... it meant _knowing_. Knowing what the other person would do in any given situation. And Hunter _knew_ Shawn. The Heartbreaker would just kept pushing and pushing till Hunt gave in or ran away. He knew he'd never make it to the door, he was trapped.

It was just the final, fucking goddamned straw.

“Damn you Shawn,” Hunter muttered, his eyes on the city just rising before them. “Damn YOU!” He swung around to face his nemesis, his beloved, his...what?

“Fine! You want the truth Shawn? Really?” He stepped forward right into Shawn’s space. “Then fucking FINE! Of course I love you. Love _you_. Yes that’s right. It’s only ever been you Shawn. YOU. Not Joanie, not Steph. YOU! For nine _fucking_ years I’ve loved you, wanted you, goddamned needed you. But we were friends _first_. My best friend in the whole goddamn world. Do you know how important that is to me? So important I was willing to give up anything to keep that. I thought if I tried anything I’d lose what we had and I wasn’t fucking prepared to take that risk. Call me a damn coward if you want. I have... every damn day. But it was okay, because I knew… I KNEW you didn’t feel the same. Bret, Mark… they were the guys you loved. The guys you flirted with… them... not me.” Hunter knew he sounded childish, but he didn’t care right now, didn’t care about anything anymore. “And then last night… you tell me you _love_ me… me? That you have for years. I wanted to fucking _die_ in that limo last night Shawn. If I had known that ten years ago, I would be different right now. I wouldn’t have sold out, I wouldn’t be married to a woman who doesn’t love me and at war with half the fucking locker room. I would be so much better… if I’d known." He paused to suck in a lungful of air that sounded disastrously like a sob.

"But I didn’t... And I’m not, Shawn. So go be with Dave. He’s better than both of us combined.”

But even after this, this catharsis, the pain was too much, too huge to contain. Turning violently from Shawn he threw his entire weight and power behind his punch. Straight into the wall. But it didn’t help… so he pulled his arm back a second time to try and drown one pain with another.

****  
   
CJ was feeling slightly off-kilter and definitely more turned on than he'd ever been as he looked down at Adam's fingers smoothing lubricant on his erect shaft. The last few moments had been a lovely blur of motion, kissing, tongue, Adam and bed. He'd been so caught up in the taste and feel of preparing Adam in the shower, that he'd almost lost his balance when the taller man had turned and pulled him to his feet. Adam had tasted so very sweet. Yes, sweet.  _Really_. Maybe it was the foamy bath soap or the residue of their previous love making, but the ass he'd just gone to town on had been like ambrosia. It had.

Chris had worked first one finger then another into the tight hole, trying to loosen Adam as slowly and pleasantly as humanly possible. Even though he'd been rock hard, it actually hadn't been difficult to suppress his urge to just fuck, fuck, fuck and take the time to make things perfect. To be a gentle, considerate lover and savour the honour his beloved had bestowed upon him.

 Till Adam decided to turn the tables and forcibly drag him out of the shower.

 _fuck gentle... just want you_

Right, not gentle bestowing lover then. Okay, but what about...? The thought died a miserable death in Chris' head as Adam clumsily waltzed them out of the bathroom towards the bed. He'd be sure to kiss any bruise he found later on. Then Adam lay back on the bed, skin still glistening with droplets from their aborted shower. A dream come true. Such a magnificent possibility spread out before him like a feast for his senses and CJ wanted to touch every unheeded drop with his tongue, taste every inch of smooth, warm skin.

Maybe later. Right now Adam was ready in a way that Chris had never hoped he'd be. Prepared, willing and wanting. First, he just wanted to kiss those soft, soft lips. To convey his affection and desire to Adam before he gave into the other man's desperate need. Putting one knee on the bed between Adam's legs, CJ leaned over and lowered his weight onto his forearms as they bracketed Adam's head.

Their lips fitted together so perfectly, so completely. A seamless joining that Chris' body soon partnered Adam's in restlessly wanting to duplicate. Without breaking his contact with soft lips and agile tongue, Chris lowered his hips onto Adam's so his slick sex rubbed against a long thigh. Using his hand to guide his cock into position, CJ pretended a slow penetration until Adam's insistent moan against his lips moved him to push forward in one clean, hard stroke.

All of a sudden everything just meshed together. Adam's hard lean body pressed against Chris' in all the right places. The tight channel around his cock, so warm it sent prickles of fire from CJ's brain to his toes. Lifting back just enough to breath into Adam's mouth, Chris focused for a moment on not coming straight away. It took more like five moments, but eventually, he found his control and began to pull back and thrust into Adam in earnest.

"Fuck gentle?" he asked between kisses. "You say the sweetest things lover."

Heat built, a rhythm was found and, all the while, Chris drank deeply from that wonderful mouth. Bracing himself on one arm, CJ snaked a hand down between their sweating, urgent bodies and curled his fingers around Adam's swollen length. Rubbing his fist up and down the damp, velvet skin, Chris timed his actions to his thrusts, watching Adam's face to judge his reactions.

Ahh then. So. Squeezing the base of Adam's shaft when he pulled his cock out made Adam's eyelids flutter and his moans to take on that deep, wild tone.

Knowing he couldn't last very long at this vigorous rate, Chris kept his hand moving as he let himself fall into his own passionate build up. Adam's warmth, his willingness was pulling him back into his own personal heaven. Adam's taste, lush, vital and astonishingly spicy, was ready to send him over.

This close, this deep just didn't seem close enough. Chris rocked his lean hips, faster and harder, his strong rhythm becoming more erratic as he dragged them closer to completion. Totally lost to the tightness surrounding his aching member and the look of wild abandon on Adam's face, Chris leaned back in to rejoin their searing kiss. He thrust his tongue in deeply demanding forays that could easily have been violent if not for the fact that it was so damned erotic. And Adam didn't seem to mind.

The pressure built quickly, the intensity and the expectation so strong that, for a moment, Chris was slightly afraid of it. Till he let go freely, his hand desperately bringing Adam to orgasm before his own movements finally sent his soul back into that blistering white hot room.

****

Dave watched as Shawn ticked off each item on his list with another step in a tightly controlled circle around Hunter. He couldn't help feeling almost sorry for Hunter. The man might not be showing any physical reaction to Shawn's words... not so much as a flinch...but the pain Shawn's words were inflicting was clearly evident on his face, in his eyes. Dave swallowed harshly as he let his eyes shift to Shawn. He would certainly be feeling sorrier for Hunter if it weren't for the echoing pain reflected in Shawn. It showed plainly in his eyes, in the way he held his hands clenched so tightly, and it was evident in the raw tone of his voice as he asked his final question. Dave could tell just by looking at the man that Shawn was itching to jump on Hunter and beat the truth out of him. He tensed, ready to jump between the two when necessary. It was no longer a matter of if... this confrontation was going to become physical.

All of a sudden Hunter just seemed to explode. The anger and hurt finally cut loose in a magnificent display. Dave wasn't sure how to react. The truth was finally out there. Hunter loved Shawn. He'd known... hell he'd helped push Hunter to the point of admitting it. It didn't make hearing it any easier. He could feel the presence of Hunter's hurt in the air over the choices he'd made because he hadn't known that Shawn felt the same way about him. He refused to let himself linger on the ramifications that this was going to have on his own future.

Even as Hunter turned to slam his fist into the wall, Dave was pushing away from the wall he'd been leaning against. The damn fool was going to break his damn hand and that wasn't going to help mitigate the pain... not to mention that Dave couldn't stand the thought of Hunter hurting himself any more than he was already hurting right now. Approaching Hunter from behind, Dave banded his arms around Hunter's, even as he tried to take a second swing at the wall.

"Hunter, stop that! You're going to break your damn hand. You may have done things that you regret, but that doesn't mean it's too late. Shawn loves you _despite_ your faults and if I were you I'd stop whining and bitching because you've made mistakes and just be happy that he _does_ love you. As far as me being better than either of you, believe me... I'm not. I'd be damn happy to have either of you feel that way about me." Whoops. He had not meant to let that slip, but he couldn't stand letting Hunter think he was completely noble when it came to things he'd done. Hiding his face against the back of Hunter's neck, he took a deep breath and finished a bit more quietly.

"Instead of getting angry over the time you've missed, think about what you'd have to look forward to if you let yourself take the chance. You two belong together Hunter. Don't let your pride stand in the way of that." Even though he felt a twinge over trying to push the two of them together, he knew it was the right thing to do. Hunter and Shawn belonged together... if they could get past all the hurt. Dave hoped for their sakes that they could even as he pushed away an impending sense of panic. He had this feeling that he shouldn't have touched Hunter... shouldn't have touched him at all.

****

 _"Of course I love you. Love_ you."

Shawn's vision narrowed, disbelief nearly overwhelming him as he stared at Hunter, frozen to the spot in stunned shock. The words he'd wanted to hear for so long... the words he'd _dreamed_ of hearing...

 _"I wanted to fucking_ die _in that limo last night Shawn."_

The shaking in his body increased as his anger drained away, Hunter's words slamming into him like physical blows. He flinched back from Hunter's explosive rage, the unexpected sob wrenching at his heart. Nine years? Hunt had hidden this for _nine years_? He was a far better actor than anyone gave him credit for, Shawn thought numbly. It had taken this much, this combination of circumstances to force the admission out of him, and now...

Now Hunt was telling him to be with Dave? Because he wasn't good enough? As he stood there trying to absorb the overwhelming admission, he jumped as Hunt's fist slammed into the wall, rattling the painting hanging there. Dave moved damn quickly for such a big man, grabbing him before he could do any real damage.

 _"I'd be damn happy to have either of you feel that way about me."_

Shawn blinked. He couldn't cope with the statement at the moment, but he filed it away for later reference. That was definitely something that would have to be dealt with, since it was pretty obvious from Dave's stance that Shawn wasn't the only member of the Clique the big man had feelings for.

 _"Don't let your pride stand in the way of that."_

Pride... it hadn't been pride that had kept _him_ from telling Hunter the truth nine years ago. It had been fear; fear and the obviously mistaken belief that Hunt couldn't possibly feel that way about another man.

Shawn blinked again as he stared at Hunter, flushed and panting, straining against Dave's hold on him. It was Hunter's pride that was trying to drive him away still. Pride that was interfering with something that he'd dreamt of for a decade. Pride that was refusing to see what was standing right in front of him... hell, what was standing right _behind_ him! Finally finding his voice again, he took a step toward the two men.

"You... you..." Words failed him as he stared at his best friend. He was still shocked, but somehow not surprised, and that... that brought his rage boiling back up; rage at the situation, at their mutual blindness... at Hunter's goddamned ego still standing in their way.

"You stupid, arrogant, blind son of a _bitch_!" he growled, yanking on Dave's arm to turn the two around. Leaning in, he glared at Hunter, his vision blurring for an instant before going crystal-clear. He saw the pain, the anger in Hunter's eyes, and knew that his own were more than a match. But damned if Hunt was going to blame him for the choices _he'd_ made!

"Don't you fucking _dare_ blame me for what you've done. If you'd ever even dropped a _hint_ , a single _word_..." His voice gave out again as he realised that there were tears in his eyes, his pain overtaking his anger, mingling with it, creating an unnamable maelstrom of emotion.

His fingers itched.

Shaking his head to try to clear his vision, he acted purely on instinct.

He blinked almost dumbly as he watched Hunter's head rock back, the skin turning red almost immediately. Only the sharp tingling pain in his hand made him realise what he'd done.

It wasn't enough.

"You bastard... you selfish lying asshole!" he snarled, his body tensing, the anger and the shock and the pain overwhelming him, smashing what little control he still had. Before he could stop himself, he'd tackled the blond, sending all three of them crashing to the floor. He was still snarling at Hunter although he couldn't understand his own words, and he was pummeling him mercilessly, almost blind through the tears that he couldn't seem to stop.


	19. Confessions

Scott wasn't sure what to think at the moment. He'd heard Kev's muffled groan, but other than the fading of the pink in his cheeks, he hadn't shown much of a reaction so far. Of course Kev's reactions to pretty much everything had been atypical since they'd left the room earlier. And just because Scott happened to turn into a clinging mess every time they had one of their little scenes did not mean that Kev was going to react that way. He knew better actually.

Kev was so damn controlled all the time that sometimes it just drove Scott nuts, the only exception to the rule being Big Sexy's infamous temper. Kev had pretty much ignored the lingering effects that Scott knew had to be present. Hell he would have bet his job that Kevin's ass had still been that spectacular shade of cherry beneath his jeans even on the elevator ride down. If it were Scott in that position, he'd have insisted on sticking to the room and cuddling up in Kevin's arms... hell he'd bet that Kevin would have insisted as well. Instead, Kevin had been the one to suggest leaving the room for breakfast without any indication he was sore until there was direct contact with the affected area... and even that he had tried to stifle.

Maybe that's why he'd tried so damn hard to make Kev blush... to help him realize that he didn't always have to hold those reins so tight. Then again, maybe Scott had taken it too far. He felt kind of bad about the method of his teasing... using the waitress had been a bit much, even if he didn't regret the results. Kevin's abnormal quietness and uneasiness was starting to make him wonder. The hand dropping onto his shoulder almost had Scott shooting out of his seat for a split second until he recognized the touch as Kevin's.

 _"... After we spend a little more time together."_

If he hadn't heard the odd note in Kev's voice, he'd have made the same assumption anyone else would have on hearing Kevin's words, but Scott knew that this wasn't about sex... at least not about sex they hadn't had yet. Maybe Kev had finally figured out that he didn't have to be an impervious wall of strength all the time... not this time around.

Scott didn't even attempt to pretend like he wasn't in a hurry to get out of there. The sooner they were back in their room with Kev in his arms, the happier he'd be. Digging into his breakfast with uncommon vigor, he finished his just as Kevin was finishing his own. Wiping his mouth with a napkin and tossing it on the table, he reached for his wallet and tossed a handful of green into the middle of the table. There was enough there to cover all of their breakfasts along with a healthy tip for the very helpful waitress.

"I just remembered that I left the bag with my ring gear in the limo last night. I was a little distracted after what happened with Nitro," he said with a smirk in Eddie's direction. "I'm hoping Sean and Glen grabbed it for me, but if not I need to track it down before our flight. So if you gentlemen will excuse us...?"

Pushing his chair back and standing up, waiting for Kevin to join him, Scott smiled at the pair on the opposite side of the table. "It was nice talking to you two. We'll have to do it again some time... unless Chris is worried we'll rub off on you or something," he said with a wink before turning to Kevin. "You ready to go, Kev?"

Scott fought down the impulse to grab Kevin's hand and drag him off to the room. He'd already made a big enough spectacle of them with the waitress and in front of Chris and Eddie. Holding Kev's hand in the restaurant would be tantamount to announcing their relationship to everyone there. He wasn't quite that far gone yet. Instead he waited patiently for Kev to say his good-byes as well and then followed him to the elevator.

Scott thought that they were going to be lucky enough to have the elevator all to themselves once again, but at the last moment a young couple joined them in the small space. They were both grinning like loons and Scott suppressed a groan. Obviously they were fans... not something Scott particularly wanted to deal with right now. The girl was fairly bouncing in place and Scott thought she was going to burst before the guy finally spoke.

"We are such huge fans. Would you mind signing an autograph for us?" Scott pasted on a show smile as he looked at the girl who had produced a notebook and a pen.

"Sure... anything for a fan. Who should I make it out to?" Scott reached for the book and the pen, almost dropping both when the guy spoke again.

"You didn't hurt yourself last night did ya Mr. Nash? You seemed to be moving a little slow just now. We watch every week and we'd really miss seeing you on next week's show."

Scott wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. He was pretty sure that Kevin would not be amused, but at least he had a ready-made excuse with the condition of his knees.

****

The bed shifted under him from Chris' added weight and he shivered knowing that he was so close to having what he wanted... what his body and soul were craving. His heart sped up a beat as he looked into Chris' eyes. He saw the obvious desire and some other emotion that he was almost scared to put a name to just on the chance that he was wrong.

Then Chris slanted his mouth over Adam's and he let himself be drawn into the sweet welcoming heat of Chris' mouth. He ran his hands gently down Chris' ribs to his hips as their tongues danced slowly together. His quiet whine was muffled by Chris' mouth when he felt the slick length of Chris' cock glide along his thigh. If he weren't totally addicted to the taste of Chris' sweet mouth he'd have pulled away and begged Chris to take him when he felt the gentle touch of Chris' hot cock brushing against his sensitive entrance. Since Chris seemed intent on feeding his addiction, Adam settled for an insistent moan, which was swallowed by Chris' mouth.

One burning glide later and Chris was right where Adam had wanted him, claiming his body with his hot rigid length. Fuck that had hurt, but then he'd expected the pain, it having been so long since he'd participated in this particular activity. The burn started to fade almost immediately, overshadowed by the other feelings trying to claim a piece of his scattered mind. His heavy breaths mingled with Chris' as he fought the overwhelming urge to squirm underneath him. Instead he tried to concentrate on the lovely feeling of fullness and the way Chris' body felt pressed so close to his.

When Chris finally started moving, he couldn't control his responses. He barely heard Chris' question over the roar of his blood rushing through his veins. If he had been able to speak, he might have tried to answer said question, but he was tongue-tied between the sweet sensation of Chris thrusting into his ass and the slight bit of embarrassment that he'd said such a thing. He consoled himself with the thought that he'd hardly been coherent after enduring the sensually charged experience of Chris' talented tongue.

Then that same talented tongue was once again in contact with his own and he ceased any efforts to try to talk at all, settling for lusty moans and un-tempered whines to get his point across. As Chris' hand wrapped around his swollen throbbing shaft, he shuddered, his eyelids drifting closed of their own volition as he moaned desperately.

As Chris increased his pace, plunging even deeper inside him, Adam gave up any attempt to control his reactions to the pleasure. It was so good... too good for him to want to put limits on it and honestly he didn't want to hold back with Chris. He allowed every emotion he was feeling to show clearly on his face, in his eyes. Desire, lust, need, hope, and the love he'd kept buried for so long, having been sure that Chris wouldn't want nor need it. Adam welcomed the tongue plunging into his mouth so deeply, so desperately. A particularly intense thrust against his sweet spot had him hovering on the precipice. Chris' fingers stroking along his length pushed him right over and into pure unadulterated bliss, Chris' mouth muffling his shout of release.

He barely managed to open his eyes in time to look into Chris' as he found his own release. So blue... deep enough to drown in. As Chris collapsed against him, Adam forced his lethargic arms to move, letting one hand fall gently on the swell of Chris' hip as the other moved to stroke gently through his still damp locks. He didn't want to move from this spot. Adam would be quite content if they stayed just like this for the little bit that was left of the night and the rest of the next day.

****

 _"You ready to go, Kev?"_

Was he? Hell, he'd been ready to go ever since he'd started realising just how much he'd been pushing away. Kevin rose to his feet as Scott dropped money on the table, forcing himself to ignore the pain. He saw the look in Scott's eyes and knew that his lover had guessed more than he'd realised. Once again, Scotty was proving himself to be the more insightful of the pair. Kev's lips curved just a bit at the thought, well aware of his own shortcomings in the area of interpersonal communication.

Nodding at Eddie and Chris, he headed for the elevators, trying to keep his hands at his sides. They were almost itching with the need to wrap around Scott, the intensity of it taking Kevin by surprise. He'd obviously assumed too much this morning, and just how wrong he'd been in assuming that everything was fine and normal was making itself known more and more with every step he took. The _need_ to be in Scott's arms, to feel his lover reassuring him... that was new. Very new.

Moving as quickly as he could, the stiffness in his knees as well as the burning ache in his ass, made far worse by sitting in that damned chair for the last hour, made him a little awkward as he walked. Punching the button for their floor as Scotty followed him into the elevator, he was about to turn around and pull Scott into his arms when the doors abruptly slid open again.

He bit back a disbelieving groan as the two fans bounced into the elevator, trying to stay out of the way and not say anything. He loved their fans, but he _so_ didn't need this right now! He was half-afraid that he was going to go to pieces on Scott once they were alone together, with this growing emotional disturbance that he could feel creeping up on him. Now, rather than being in Scott's arms, he was signing autographs for kids who probably hadn't even been allowed to watch wrestling when he'd been in his prime.

 _"You seemed to be moving a little slow just now."_

Oh good God. He was _not_ going to blush again, he was _not_. Shaking his head and forcing a smile to his lips, he said gruffly, "Just my knees, acting up again. They do that." He took the pen from Scott, trembling a little as their fingers brushed together. Casting a quick glance at his lover, he knew that his reaction hadn't been missed. The almost calculating look in Scotty's eyes told him that he was in for it when they reached the room. Scott had always told him that he needed to loosen his control, that he didn't need to pull his shields up around him _all_ the time... and it looked like he'd just been caught doing exactly that.

Quickly signing the notebook and passing it and the pen back to the girl, Kevin waited impatiently for their floor. The couple didn't get off before them, to his complete lack of surprise. Murphy was apparently trying to kick him while he was down, putting him in an elevator with Scott and unable to touch him with two fans giggling and staring the entire time. He knew he was probably coming off as arrogant and growly, but he really didn't give a damn. All he wanted was to get back to the privacy of their own room. He had no idea what he was going to do once they were there, but he knew it would involve Scott, a lot of snuggling, and probably some stern lecturing from his lover.

When the doors finally pinged, he was out the door before they had even slid open all the way, and Scott wasn't far behind him. Glancing back, he could see the fans still watching them, and rolled his eyes as he turned around, heading as quickly as he could toward their room. Stopping by the door, he looked around as Scott swiped the keycard. Not seeing anyone, he moved behind Scotty as his lover pushed the door open. Waiting until the door had closed behind them, he wrapped his arms around the darker man from behind, holding him tightly, dropping his head to rest on his shoulder.

"I'm a fucking idiot, Scott, and I'm sorry." His voice was muffled, and he could feel that damned trembling return. "But... right now..." He paused. God, this was hard. This was _Scott_ , for crying out loud; he should be able to tell him _anything_... but this was different. This was... new. For some reason, they'd hit a level of intensity this morning that he'd never gone past before, even with their more carefully planned-out sessions.

Inhaling slowly, he forced himself to calm down a little, taken aback by the emotions starting to batter at him. Dropping his arms reluctantly, he stepped away from Scott and walked toward the bed, his head down as he looked at the floor. Sinking down onto the mattress with a slight gasp, he couldn't seem to raise his eyes to look at his lover.

"Scott... I..." His voice faltered, and he felt the bed dip as Scott sat down next to him. Leaning against the other man, feeling his arms come up to embrace him, he laid his head on Scott's shoulder again as he said softly, "Just... don't let me go. Please?"

****

He'd really wanted to punch the wall again, just to distract himself from what was going on in the room at the moment. Dave’s arms suddenly around him were unexpected and unwelcome. His words even more so. Hunter didn’t need to be told he was fucking up here, he could see that from the pain in Shawn’s eyes. It just made him even more determined to get them out of here… or him out of here.

 _that doesn't mean it's too late_

Yes it was... nine years to late. Was Dave really that naïve? Did he think _anything_ could be salvaged from this massacre of their feelings? “Let go,” he muttered to the bigger man, as lances of pain shot from his fingers up his arm. The sharp hurt being minor in comparison to the one that had started last night in a long black car. Much as he'd often speculated on the feel of Dave's arms around him in a non-work environment, this was hardly the time and place he would've chosen.

When Shawn hit him however, it was only that strong embrace that kept him on his feet. Almost happy that the other blond had given in to the obvious loathing he now felt, Hunter was tempted to lie back and let Shawn beat the crap out of him. He would only be the first in line when what he'd done got around.

But he was just as angry at Shawn. _He_ was the one who’d brought this up, he’d dragged it out of Hunter and now he didn’t like the fucking answer… well tough. He caught just a glimpse of Shawn’s enraged face before the impact of his body sent them tumbling to the floor. His arms were involuntarily pinned by Dave's weight, so he had no defense against Shawn’s rage. The hits were precise and nasty… but Shawn wasn’t the only one who knew how to fight. Twisting his legs around Shawn’s he tried to push the smaller man away.

“I don’t blame you for my life you little bastard. Get off… oof...” that one caught him in the midriff. “I blame me.” He was amazed he was so coherent.

****

Chris wallowed in the blissful afterglow, like a sleep-in on a Sunday morning. He knew his weight was probably uncomfortable for the man beneath him, but until he received those slight hints of _too heavy, too heavy_ , like a big sigh or an aborted movement, he was staying right here.

Long fingers were slowly caressing his sweat-slicked hair and a hand rested on his hip, seemingly to be drawing funny little circles. Chris was rising and falling minutely with each deep breath from the chest he was sprawled across and CJ timed his own inhalations to match. Pretty silly, but he wanted to.

Moving his face minutely, he took a lungful of damp neck and licked thoughtfully at the same spot. Not sweet this time, but the salty fresh taste of sex, a delightful flavour that sent shivers down to his toes. Mournfully he felt his softened cock slide out of it's new favorite place and Chris moved his hips just enough so that most of his weight rested on the bed a millimeter from his lover's hip.

"Hmmph," he offered as he reached for the still-damp towel and began to clean them slowly and thoughtfully. "Adam Copeland, my darling. I think I should tell you that those were the two best sexual experiences I have had in my entire life." Finished he tossed the towel towards the bathroom and settled in, using one broad shoulder as a not-very-soft pillow. "When we've slept for a bit can we go again?" It wasn't the classiest of seduction lines, but Chris' usual gift of the gab had disappeared somewhere around, "do me now" or words to that effect.

Reaching out, Chris traced one finger from the base of Adam's throat to his navel, then back again.

"It really didn't bother me when you told me about your recent sexy past, because mine could almost rival it in the meaningless liaison department. When it comes to what happened before tonight I have to say... I just really don't care. If you were hurt... I wish I could have stopped it. If you were happy... I wish I could have shared it. But when all is said and done, it just doesn't matter. If you hadn't been you and experienced what you've had to, good and bad, you might not be here right now. Two years ago we might've sucked at being together because we didn't feel then what we feel now. I don't wish the last year hadn't happened and I certainly don't regret anything in my relationship with you." Well... if he was all Mr. Honesty... "Okay, I regret not having fantastic sex until tonight... but the rest... the build up, I don't regret that. It's just made me happier we're right here... right now."

Reaching back to turn off the bedside lamp, Chris tugged up the light blankets and curled himself more comfortably into his new teddy bear.

"If you're still awake after I just vented my spleen, then I'm really madly in lust with you and I want to be that way for as long as possible. If you want to give me a chance, I'm sure this could lead to something." Chris shut his eyes wearily. "Something good."

CJ tried to hide his tension as he waited for Adam's response. It wouldn't do to dig a hole in the chest of the guy you'd just half-confessed your love to. He tried biting his lower lip instead.

****

 _"Let go"_

Sorry Hunter, that just isn't going to happen. As much as grabbing a hold of Hunter had turned out to be a bad thing for his own piece of mind, letting go of him would be an even worse mistake. If Hunter didn't end up trying to hurt himself again, there was always the chance he'd get angry enough to go after Shawn. Dave wasn't big on the idea of either of those things happening, so he stayed right where he was, despite the growing feeling of unease he was experiencing. Except he'd forgotten about just how angry Shawn was.

Surprised wasn't the word to describe how Dave felt when Shawn turned them both around to face him.

 _"If you'd ever even dropped a hint, a single word..."_

Dave almost flinched at the anger and pain in Shawn's eyes. He was worried about the anger... Shawn's control was obviously being pushed to his limits. Who knew how he'd choose to vent it once he went past those limits? He felt the pain, though surely not to the degree that Shawn was feeling it. Someone he cared about was hurting and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. The only person that could do something about easing that pain was the man in his arms right now... Hunter.

If that was what Hunter chose to do. Dave wasn't so sure that would be his choice at the moment, he could still feel the tension radiating through Hunter's rigid frame. He watched as Shawn shook his head, wishing he could reach out to him. He was lulled into a false sense of security by the tears shining in Shawn's eyes. Dave never saw it coming. Even though he saw Shawn's fist flying, he stood there stunned until Hunter's weight slumped against him. He couldn't let go of Hunter, because he was pretty damn sure that once Hunter actually processed what had happened, he'd take a swing of his own. Grabbing Shawn wouldn't solve the problem either... unless he took Shawn from the room and Dave was pretty sure that Shawn wouldn't thank him for doing that. As quickly as he was scouting his options, Shawn was that much quicker.

 _"You bastard... you selfish lying asshole!"_

Before Dave could implement any of his ideas, Shawn had lunged at Hunter, the impact sent him staggering and suddenly all three of them were falling. Dave was immediately swamped by a feeling of déjà vu and an even stronger feeling of panic. As he hit the ground, both men on top of him, the air whooshed from his chest, forcing him to spend a moment or two trying to get it back. During that moment or two, scenes from his dream flashed through his head. Somehow remembering that his yelling was the turning point in his dream, he snapped his mouth shut, determined not to make a peep, no matter what. He could tell the two were still struggling, or rather Shawn was most likely doing most of the damage, since Dave realized that he still had Hunter's arms pinned, but he couldn't tell for sure since Hunter's hair was dangling in his face.

He considered just letting Hunter go and letting the two fight it out, preferably not on top of him. Once again the choice was taken from his hands. He felt the shift of bodies against his groin and while he was trying to suppress his instinctive reaction to that, Hunter's head flew backwards and connected with the bridge of his nose. He turned his head to the side and bit down on his lip to avoid the shout of anger that was close to bubbling out of him, even as he felt the warm trickle of blood on his upper lip. Son of a bitch! He automatically loosened his hold on Hunter's wriggling body; one hand working it's way to his face to try to assess the damage.

Oh Vince was just going to love this. He wasn't positive, but he was pretty sure it was broken...the best he could hope for was not having to spend much time in makeup if his eyes happened to blacken as well. Despite his attempts to stem the flow, he could feel a steady drip of blood falling on his neck. So much for having to take the shirt to the dry cleaners. He almost laughed at the inanity of that thought when he realized that the fighting seemed to have stopped. At least the two didn't seem to be rolling around on top of him any more, although their combined weight still had him pinned. He thought he could hear talking, but couldn't make sense of the words with the sudden headache he seemed to have acquired. At that moment, he almost sympathized with Hunter... if he wasn't still buried under the man's weight, he just might have.

****

Hunt's legs around him didn't surprise Shawn, as well-acquainted as he was with Hunter's fighting style, and he twisted to keep his position over the other man. He wasn't about to stop now, now that Hunt had finally driven him to this. Nothing else would allow him to release his pain and anger... nothing that could happen now, anyway. He struck again and again, feeling Hunter twist beneath him, feeling the hard flesh yield under his fists, hearing Hunt's gasps and groans and his own short panting breaths.

Another blow, completely blinded now by the damned tears that he couldn't stop and the emotions filling him, and then he heard Hunt's words. He didn't blame... he blamed... he... he loved...

He stopped cold, a near-sob escaping him as he wiped his hand across his eyes with a sharp movement, staring down at the other man. The sharp twist of pain in his heart at the sight of Hunter beneath him, bruised and battered, with that look of pain and love and rage in his eyes nearly took his breath away.

"Hunt..." The name escaped him as a sigh.

He reached out with shaking fingers, gently tracing the livid mark of his hand on Hunter's cheek. The anger that had filled him since he woke up knowing the truth drained away, his pain muting as he saw its reflection in those familiar amber eyes.

"God." His voice was hoarse, his throat raw from the tears and the yelling.

Almost swamped by a sudden wave of shame, he bowed his head until his forehead was resting on Hunter's chest, one hand wrapped around his shoulder. More of those damned tears clogged his throat as much as he tried to fight them back, desperate not to show that weakness again. Even as he struggled with them, he felt one roll down his cheek, landing on Hunter's chest, followed by another one.

He wasn't sure what had just happened, but his anger was gone and his pain was less... maybe seeing that Hunter had hurt himself just as badly had done it. Whatever it was, Shawn didn't care. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shut out his view of the other man, not able to face the damage he'd done, the physical hurt he'd caused in his loss of control. He could feel more tears escaping and finally gave up the fight, too emotionally exhausted to try any more.

Finally, after taking in several sobbing breaths, he managed to choke out, "Sorry... God, Hunt. So sorry. Never meant to hurt you..."

****

Scott noticed the trembling fingers that brushed against his as he handed the pen and notebook to Kevin. It wasn't enough that the fans would have noticed, but then no one knew Kev as well as Scott did. Scott also knew exactly how he reacted when he and Kev were... playful. Granted Kev had never really reacted to it the way Scott had, but then it had been years since he'd dominated Kevin in that way... and Scott had been a bit more forceful this morning than he'd been in the past. There was also the aspect that most of the time they didn't do those kinds of things on impulse. There was usually a hint ahead of time that things were heading that way so that there was a chance for whoever was going to be on the receiving end to prepare mentally.

He had no doubt that Kevin had enjoyed what had happened between them this morning... his begging for more only one clue, but things had changed between them since the last time they'd forayed into this particular arena... they had changed. Kevin was trying to limit his reactions to what they'd always been before... that iron control that he relied way too heavily on ensuring it. He knew that Kevin would most likely be expecting a lecture, but maybe a little bit of empathy and a healthy dose of understanding would get him where he wanted to be. Of course that didn't mean he wasn't going to lecture Kev at all... he was just going to hide the lecture amongst the rest. Scott was itching to pull Kev into his arms, but he didn't dare... not with the fans staring at them there in the elevator.

As soon as the ping signaling the arrival at their floor sounded, Kev was headed out the half open doors of the elevator. Scott followed him, courtesy demanding that he nod a goodbye to the two that continued to watch them as they made their way down the hall. He swiped his card through the reader as quickly as possible and rushed through the door, Kev right on his heels. As soon as the door clicked shut, Kevin's arms were banding tightly around him and he could feel the weight of Kevin's head lying against his shoulder.

 _"I'm a fucking idiot, Scott, and I'm sorry."_

He was shaking his head even as Kevin released him and headed towards the bed. Scott noticed that Kevin couldn't or wouldn't look at him. This was hitting Kevin so hard and Scott could almost guess at the turmoil in his head... after all, Scott had been there. He sank down on the bed next to his lover and wrapped his arms around him, giving Kevin the comfort that he knew he needed.

 _"Just... don't let me go. Please?"_

"Shhh. It's okay, Kev. I promise I'm not going anywhere." Gently carding his fingers through Kevin's silky hair for a moment, Scott settled on the best way to go about getting Kevin to understand what he wanted to impart. "Scoot up here though and lay down with me. It will help if you're not sitting on the... affected area."

Moving up the bed, he pulled Kevin with him, settling the big man with his head against his chest, his fingers still running gently through his hair. Scott smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of Kevin's head, remembering how he'd felt the last time they had played a little rough.

"Kev, you aren't an idiot. I know you expect me to give you some big lecture, but I think a history lesson will help more in the long run. I know you remember the night we took the tag titles for the last time. Knowing that it was going to be a longer run than our previous runs with them... I remember how excited we were about it. God, we couldn't keep our hands off each other... gave the boss fits." Scott smiled remembering the way they were both feeling that night... pretty damn invincible... at least at the beginning of it.

"We swiped the handcuffs out of Steiner's bag, just for kicks. We were planning to slip them into Hunt's bag the next time we saw him because we knew he'd wonder how the hell they got there... only that wasn't what we ended up using them for. That was the first time we'd ever played without a little warning. We got caught up in the moment... a pair of handcuffs, the hotel bed, and your belt. I don't remember much about the time you were actually using the belt, except that I was begging for it. I craved every single lash you gave me and I loved how you ran your hands over the welts while you were fucking me. When I finally came... god... that was so damn intense." Slowly, Scott started expanding the length of his caresses, dragging his fingers through Kevin's hair and half way down his back. He was aiming for a reaction, whatever it might be, and he intended to get one...just not quite yet.

"You took care of all the cleanup, unlocked me, and we were both just about asleep when it finally hit me. I know you remember it, Kev. I completely fell apart on you that night. I tried three or four times to cut off my reaction to it... and I just couldn't. Eventually I fell asleep and when I woke up the next morning, I hid in the bathroom for an hour. I felt so damned weak for losing control like I had. The worst part was worrying about you thinking I was weak." Scott moved his hand even lower, stopping to work at the knots in Kevin's back just above his waistband. "We went out later that day and I was still feeling the aftereffects... still bearing the marks from the belt. I wanted to go crawling back to our room and not come back out until they were gone because I was so worried someone would notice. I wasn't embarrassed or ashamed, but at the same time I didn't want to advertise that "the Bad Guy" wasn't quite as bad as he liked to say he was."

"Someone did notice... Page of all people. I didn't really want to talk about it and he wasn't going to push with the mood I was in, but he did have something to say. He told me that losing control once in awhile didn't make you weak, it just made you human. I don't know how he knew what I was feeling, I'm guessing experience, but it doesn't really matter. The point is... he was right. Kev... we didn't plan what happened this morning. Maybe I shouldn't have sprung it on you like that, but it just felt right. You told me once that you liked not having to be in control all the time, but when do you honestly ever let it go? I know... I know I haven't always been the most reliable person, but things have changed Kev... I've changed, you have too. I'm not gonna break if you feel the need to lean on me sometimes, Kev. I'm not going to think you're weak...and it's not going to change how much I love you. You're a part of me, Kev. Even when we were apart... you were still there and you always will be."

Scott finally took the chance he'd been waiting for, letting his hand smooth down over the back of Kevin's jeans. His touch so light that he could barely feel the rough texture of the denim, he stroked over a spot that he knew was probably still bearing at least some mark of their earlier activity. The whole time he was crossing his mental fingers that he'd finally gotten through to Kevin.

****

The teasing tongue against his throat finally brought him back to reality...and what a sweet reality it was. Chris... him... in the same bed... together. Yep. Best place in the world to be to his way of thinking. He bit his lip to keep from flinching as Chris finally moved. Okay so he was going to be a little sore, but it was the good kind of sore... the very good kind. Adam immediately missed Chris' weight on top of him, but relished the way Chris used the towel to clean the evidence of their passion from his body. Even more he relished the words that Chris was speaking.

 _"Adam Copeland, my darling. I think I should tell you that those were the two best sexual experiences I have had in my entire life."_

Right there with ya, sweetheart. The warmth in his chest swelled upon his hearing the endearment. As good as things had been with Mark, it couldn't compare to what had happened with Chris tonight. Things were so much more intense when there were deeper feelings involved. Adam admitted it to himself, even if he wasn't sure he could admit it to Chris just yet.

 _"When we've slept for a bit can we go again?"_

Let's weigh this carefully... more really hot sex with the man I'm 99.9 percent sure I'm in love with... or more sleep. Duh! The lone finger trailing from his hip to his navel distracted him from giving the definite affirmative answer he had planned to give and by then Chris was talking again so he listened to that smooth voice, taking in every single word that was being spoken.

He agreed that maybe the past just hadn't been their time. If he'd honestly been ready to settle down back then, he never would have gotten involved with Terry. Friends with benefits had pretty much described what had been their relationship... that word being applied very loosely. Now... now he was tired of playing the field. Tired of feeling so alone even when someone was with him. He wanted someone to share his life with, not just someone that was looking for sexual gratification.

Adam blinked as the lights went out and Chris cuddled up against him again. It sounded like maybe that was what Chris wanted too. He could feel the tension radiating from the man curled up against him. Chris had been honest... Adam intended to be as well, but he wasn't sure exactly how much he should confess at this point. He curled his fingers through Chris' hair again, flinching as he shifted a bit. He was pretty sure that Chris had noticed and he didn't want him to worry about it. Best start there.

"Sorry 'bout that. The last time I... did that... was four years ago so I kind of expected that I'd be a little...." He could feel the blush working it's way into his face, but ignored it. The room was dark so it wouldn't be so noticeable. "Never mind that. You said a lot and I guess I should do this in order so I don't miss anything," he said with a gentle smile.

"I don't think I've ever lost myself in someone the way I did with you tonight. The way I felt... god, I've never felt that way with anyone before Chris... ever. If I hadn't been quite so intent on knowing what it felt like to have you inside me, I probably would have been a bit more... eloquent." Yeah... 'fuck gentle' wasn't exactly on his list of crowning achievements when it came to the romance department. "I'm definitely up for another go after we get some sleep... it will give me something good to dream about."

He sighed quietly as he considered the rest of what Chris had told him. "I can't say that I don't have regrets, because I honestly haven't liked the person I've been for the last year. I let the actions of one person control the rest of my life and at times I've felt rather pathetic because I couldn't stand to sleep alone at night. I know I've pushed Jay to his limits at times worrying about me and I'm not proud of that either. But, I agree that maybe we wouldn't have worked then. I was too centered on my career and even with the way I felt about you then, I probably wouldn't have been real good at any kind of real relationship. I could never regret the friendship we have, but I wish I'd been a little more open with you about certain things. I could tell sometimes that you weren't sure why I pulled away. I couldn't take the chance on you figuring out how I felt about you when I wasn't prepared to act on it. And it took until tonight before I could take that chance."

"I'll agree it's a damn shame that we missed out on all that great sex, but I figure if we work real hard at it, we should be able to make up for it." He was getting quivery just thinking about spending long hours alone with Chris, making up for all they'd missed. "What I'm trying to say is... I'd give you a million chances if that's what it would take, as long as I ended up with you beside me in the end. I think we already have something good... and for as long as you want me to be... I'm yours, Chris."

Okay... so he hadn't actually tossed that huge "L" word out there, but the way he figured it was as damn close as he could get without actually using that particular word. Chris hadn't said it either and he didn't want to scare the man to death the first night they were together. He'd wait and see how Chris took what he'd said so far and if that went well, he would spend the next few days showing Chris how he felt. Maybe by then he'd have worked up enough courage to actually spit it out.

****

Hunter felt his head snap backwards as Shawn's fist contacted once again with his jaw. The blow rattled his teeth and resulting impact on the top of his skull caused small white lights to blossom briefly before his eyes. He was still squirming, trying to both avoid Shawn's increasingly erratic attacks and to pull his arms from Dave's iron grasp.

As the spots cleared from his vision Hunter heard a grunt from Dave and then suddenly his arms were free. Snapping his head sideways to dodge a well placed slap, Hunt brought his arms forward to try and contain Shawn's thrashing body. He fought Shawn so many times in and out of the ring, that he almost fell into the rhythm seen by millions every other week. But this wasn't work, this wasn't going to end with a grin and a beer. Shawn was out of control and Hunter just wanted to stop him from hurting himself anymore.

It really hadn't occurred to him to try and hit back.

Then the blows stopped. It was like someone had flipped on a light switch. From one moment to the next, the man whose knee was pressing harshly into his groin, was enraged and violently physical, to frozen, shocked and seeping so much pain it hurt Hunter to even see it. All the fight drained out of Shawn under Hunter's gaze, the distressed face bowing to rest on Hunt's heaving chest.

He couldn't believe this was happening. Shawn wasn't trying to kill him anymore, Shawn was apologising to him... to _Hunter_. And Shawn was crying… Shawn was hurting so much he was crying. It was instinctive, his body responded to Shawn in pain in only one possible way… to try and stop it.

Faintly, Hunter also realised the position Dave was in beneath them. Another person's pain he was responsible for and another he'd have to take care of. But first... Shawn.

Sliding his hips from Dave's until he bore Shawn's weight alone on the carpet between Dave's braced legs, Hunter lifted his arms and wrapped them around the distressed man. His own anger and pain completely gone, Hunt sat them up and quite literally dragged Shawn into his lap. 

“Shhhh Shawn… shhhh. It’s okay Darling… shhhh. I’m sorry Shawn… I’m sorry. Don’t let it hurt you so much Darling please… I’m sorry…” he crooned into Shawn’s soft hair. “You were right Shawn Love… of course I love you… shhh… of course I do… I’m sorry I lied to you Darling... shhh." He gently rubbed the small of Shawn's back, a comforting motion his friend had responded to on more than one heartbroken occasion.

Shawn was hurting and Hunter would do anything in his power to stop it.


	20. Awakenings

Chris let his nervously-held breath out in controlled little bursts. He really hoped Adam hadn't noticed as they snuggled deeper into the mattress. Despite the warmth of the near dawn sunrise, Chris wanted to keep as much body contact with his lover as possible. Adam's skin... when not flushed with arousal that is... was just pleasantly warm. Enough that you were lured into cuddling, but not so toasty that CJ would have to escape across the bed to cool down.

 _for as long as you want me to be... I'm yours_

Now if that wasn't enough to reassure Chris' small fears than nothing would. A million chances huh? God... he hoped he wouldn't fuck up that many times. But given his recent history, CJ wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Despite the deep, happy sleepiness that was threatening to drown him, Chris allowed his brain to speculate on tomorrow... well today actually. In his mind he and Adam were joined at the hip for the foreseeable future. They'd have sex, he'd bully his lover into fucking him again, then get a real breakfast slash lunch. Maybe track down Jay and Tyson to see if they wanted to share a car again and go to the Smackdown taping just for fun. Somehow they'd fit in their gym time, CJ had to call people about a concert in three weeks and Adam probably had a personal appearance sometime soon. Chris hoped he'd be allowed to tag along. It'd be their new marketing campaign... two WWE stars for the price of one. Call now.

Belatedly realising he hadn't answered Adam's own pledge of 'not a one night stand', Chris smiled into the smooth, thankfully warm/cool skin.

"You're mine are you? Cool. I hope I don't need that many chances, but I'll take them in any case." Lifting his head, CJ pressed one last, hard kiss onto his new lover's mouth. "If you're mine, then it only seems fair you get something in return..." plonking his head back on his pillow cum shoulder. "...Only what you get? It's just me. But I get good mileage, have a steady job... kinda... have had my flea shots and won't scratch the furniture." Nine-tenths asleep, Chris' words began to wind down. "Free to good home. I'll pay for dinner and the movie. I'll scratch your back if you....."

****

He was free. He wasn't sure why the fight had suddenly ended, but he could hear Shawn's quiet crying and Hunter's voice calm and soothing... saying just the words that Shawn had wanted to hear from the very beginning of this whole fiasco. After finally managing a deep breath or two with the weight of both men now off of him, through his mouth of course, he rolled to the side and used his free hand to push himself into a sitting position.

He could still feel the stickiness of the blood on his neck, but pushed that thought to the side for a moment as he watched the two men. This was too... too emotional... too personal. He had a feeling neither man would appreciate having a witness to this particular moment and since they weren't trying to kill each other right now, Dave thought the best idea would be to give them some space.

He didn't want to leave the suite, just on the off chance that things did turn violent again. Shawn and Hunter were both damn incredibly stubborn. So as an alternative, he decided to head to the bathroom and assess the damage to his nose a little closer. He also planned to search for something for this damn headache he'd acquired.

Walking silently across the room, he finally found the bathroom. He locked the door behind him and grabbed a cloth from the rack, wetting it with warm water in the sink before he dared to even look. Lifting his eyes to look in the mirror, he grimaced. It didn't really look that bad, but he was a mess from the shoulders up.

Blood had soaked into the inside collar of his shirt and there was a nice path down the side of his neck. Yep, the shirt was toast, but at least it wouldn't be too noticeable to the casual observer while he was walking down the hall to his room later. Pulling the sticky garment from his skin, he slowly washed the blood off his neck and upper lip. Most of the bleeding seemed to have stopped, thankfully, but there was still a tiny trickle when he moved his head. He rolled his eyes and grabbed another washcloth from the rack.

Turning the water on as cold as he could get it, he soaked the rag and then wrung it out. He poked at his nose, deciding he didn't really care if it was broken. It was a small price to pay to make sure the two men hadn't killed each other, not that he'd been particularly effective from the bottom of the pile, he thought with a smirk. At least he'd avoided the chaos that had been his dream. Yeah... like something like that would actually happen in real life. 'That's why they call them dreams, Dave... you idiot,' he told himself as he noticed a slight darkening under one eye in the mirror.

"Aw hell. I suppose it could be worse," he mumbled quietly as he set the cold cloth against the bridge of his nose. He poked through the stuff on the countertop, not feeling bad in the least for looking through Hunter's things. If he could take the edge off his headache, he'd be just fine. A small bottle of Tylenol among the items almost rated a cheer. He popped the cap off blindly with one hand, shaking two tablets into his hand and downing them with a sip of water from one of the plastic cups on the sink.

Going over to the door, he listened carefully for renewed sounds of shouting, happy when he couldn't hear any. Hopefully the two would manage to talk things out and at least get themselves headed in the right direction. Dave wasn't quite sure how he felt about that deep down inside, but he wasn't ready to dwell on it either. Walking across the room, he sank down on the commode, the cold rag still on his nose and considered his other immediate problem.

He needed to come up with an excuse for Vince in case he ran into him. There wasn't really a chance that the man wouldn't notice and copping to a bar fight just didn't sit real well in Dave's gut. Maybe he'd get lucky and make it to makeup before Vince saw him at all. Those girls could do amazing things with all that crap they had in those little boxes. For some reason he had a feeling he wouldn't get that lucky.

****

Adam grinned as Chris' sleepy ramblings tapered off. Flea shots? Since he'd finally gotten around to actually furnishing his house while he was sitting at home after his surgery, he was glad to hear that Chris wasn't going to scratch the furniture. He shook his head and released a happy little sigh. Some of the things that Chris managed to come up with... too cute.

"Just you is all I really wanted, sweetheart," he said quietly knowing that Chris was too far gone to hear it, his lips brushing against silky blond wisps of Chris' hair. "Since you've had your flea shots, I'll even take you home with me if you want me to." Okay... it was official. He and Chris obviously belonged together... they were both insane.

He could feel sleep tugging at the edges of his consciousness, but his mind was still whirling with everything that had happened tonight. He settled into his nightly routine of cataloging his day and planning out the next. It might not work for everyone, but he felt better after making sure he hadn't forgotten anything that he was supposed to do. Today had started out the same old, same old and had progressed to annoying when he'd arrived at the arena. He hadn't had a match... so no new bumps or bruises to worry about.

He had had another run-in with Terry. Wouldn't it just figure that he'd come back to Raw instead of Smackdown just to find out that Terry had switched shows as well? Since he was no longer getting plowed by Brock on a regular basis, he'd turned into an even bigger asshole. That his former lover had taken the time to notice his new habits didn't impress him in the least and the fact that Terry took pot shots at him every chance he got wasn't endearing him to the man at all. Adam thought he might want to mention that to Chris, just in case. It didn't bother Adam at all and he was pretty sure Chris wouldn't care either, but Adam couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't want to gullet the guy if he said anything about Chris.

Pushing thoughts of his former friend away, he worked his way through the rest of the night. His promos had gone off without a hitch, and then he'd sat around and watched people. That was what he did after all... watch. Though some of them probably wouldn't be too happy to find out that that's what he was usually doing behind those dark glasses. Could he help it if people fascinated him? He'd spent quite a bit of time watching Chris of course... that was pretty much guaranteed on any night. He remembered then that Chris had a bruise. Whoops. He'd been so caught up in things tonight that it had completely slipped his mind. Chris hadn't seemed to favor it after that incident in the car, but he'd take the time to look it over in the morning... maybe a nice tongue bath would help. Okay... going off course again.

The rest of the night had been fairly interesting... okay extremely interesting. The fight with Hall and Nitro... that still amused him... stupid rookie. The tension from the little Clique gathering... once again amusing, but not public fodder if he liked his head where it was at. Then there was the moment he'd approached Chris and everything that had followed. He lingered especially over the time since they'd talked in the alley. He could feel his body responding to the memories of how Chris had made him feel tonight, but he pushed it away. Instead he indulged a moment or two just soaking up the warmth of the body still pressed close to him. Better if he actually got some rest so he didn't flub their next encounter.

He yawned sleepily as he considered what he had to do tomorrow... no make that later today. As far as he knew, he didn't have to be anywhere in particular. In fact, he didn't have any extra appearances this week until Sunday, just before 'Bad Blood'. He and Benoit had a signing that day, if he remembered correctly. Adam rolled his eyes a bit. Why they had a signing when they were going to lose to La Resistance, he had no clue. At least he'd get to work with Glen that night. Taking a good 'Choke Slam from Hell' was always fun. He laughed as he remembered that once upon a time, Glen had had a feud going with Chris just because he was too pretty. Damned if the writers hadn't gotten something right for once.

Adam's last thought before he let sleep claim him was the cozy realization that for the first night in a long time, he didn't feel alone. It was all due to the man curled up beside him and he hoped that it was going to be a recurring feeling for a long time to come.

****

The first thing Chris became aware of was that his feet were warm. The second was the slow, deep breathing of the man beside him in bed. The third was the insistent peel of a telephone. Pleased with the first, overjoyed at the presence of the second and extremely pissy at the third, Chris buried his face back into his pillow and moved his warm foot seven inches to the left. As wake-up kicks go, he tried to be gentle, but the phone was very annoying and Chris wasn't a hundred percent sure Adam would want anyone to know CJ was in his room, so he couldn't answer it himself.

It would be just his luck if Adam decided in the cold light of... CJ squinted at the bedside clock.... 11.45 am, that last night had been a big mistake. Not that Adam would be that deliberately cruel or anything, Chris was sure. It was just that they'd both been pretty hyper and emotional last night and just because Chris had no regrets, it didn't mean Adam was fine with everything. He suddenly and violently felt the need for coffee. Perhaps intravenously.

It would be correct to say Chris was _not_  a morning person.

He didn't lift his head as he heard Adam acknowledge the wake up call, just stayed face-first in the body-scented cotton and prayed he wouldn't have to get up any time soon. He hadn't even drunk that much last night and any alcohol would have been sweated out of his body by first his rigorous dancing, then even more rigorous love making.

Speaking of lovemaking... Adam was still in bed. He hadn't screamed, run or called security on finding CJ beside him. That was a good sign. Still keeping most of his face buried, Chris turned his head towards his new... what? boyfriend?... what was he, twelve?... and opened one sleepy blue eye. And what a sight it was that met him. All relaxed long, lean limbs, mussed streaked hair and speculative green eyes. It was the strangely hot expression in the emerald irises that caused CJ's usual morning Mr. Perky to sit up and take notice. Considering they only seemed to have slept for about six hours, Chris was quite proud of the fact.

Hoping Adam wouldn't feel uncomfortable at their 'morning after', CJ decided to take the straight forward approach. Chris arched and rippled his body in a long, pussycat stretch, sneakily twisting so the blanket and sheet slid down to rest just below his tailbone. Tucking both arms underneath his pillow, he smiled at Adam with somewhat dopey sexiness.

"You come here often?" Investing as much come-hither as he was able into his sleep husky voice.

****

Jay wasn't answering the phone. Why? He had no damn clue. The only thing he did care about was that it was driving him nuts. He considered putting the pillow over his head to tune out the insistent ringing and probably would have done so if he hadn't felt the warm slide of skin on skin. His eyes opened wide as saucers as the phone rang yet again.

'Oh god. Do not tell me I crawled in bed with Jay. Or even worse... Jay and Ty. Ewww.' He didn't want to open his eyes and look, but it struck him then that he was completely naked. Having Jay and or Ty waking up and finding him naked in bed with them was the stuff that nightmares were made of. Maybe that was it, he was having a nightmare... that would explain why the god damned phone was still ringing. He threw out his hand, searching for the phone, almost scared to open his eyes. He finally located the tool of the devil and pulled it across the bed to his ear.

"Mphhh."

He opened an eye enough to peek at his current bed partner as he was informed that the idiot on the other end of the phone was making the requested 11:45 am wake up call. Not Jay... definitely not Ty. Thank god. Blond tousled hair, fit, very nice looking... Chris. Chris was in his bed. Not just any Chris... Chris Jericho of the Magic Tongue, he worked out as his memory finally kicked in. And Chris was not only in his bed, but he was naked. Chris, who had had his flea shots and didn't scratch furniture, with whom he'd had really fucking hot sex with last night... not just once, but twice. The rest of his body finally caught up with his mind as he recalled Chris mentioning another go after getting some sleep. Adam just hoped he wasn't going to change his mind and run screaming from the room once he actually woke up.

Adam's eyes were glued to Chris as he stretched gracefully and the bedding slipped _almost_ low enough to allow him a view of what he remembered to be an extremely enticing ass. If he hadn't been 'awake' before, that surely would have been enough to wake him up. Actually, Chris could have been covered head to toe in burlap and it still would have been enough to wake him up.

 _"You come here often?"_

Adam wondered for maybe a millisecond if Chris sounded that damn sexy every morning... with any luck he'd have more than one chance to find out. Chris wasn't running, wasn't screaming... and he figured that was pretty damn close to an invitation... an invitation that he was just a bit more than eager to accept. Rolling to the side so that he was pressed up against warm, smooth skin, Adam used his fingers to comb tousled blond locks away from Chris' graceful neck. He pressed several slow kisses against the nape of Chris' neck before lifting his head, his mouth right next to Chris' ear. His hand drifted slowly down Chris' back before settling at the base of his spine.

"Only once so far, but I hope to change that in the very near future."

****

 _but I hope to change that in the very near future_

"God," Chris snorted into his pillow at Adam's terrible pun. But at least the words had reassured him that the other man had no regrets either. As had the fingers tangling in his hair and the warm kisses dropped across his neck. The hot, sleek bulge pressing into his hip bone in fact seemed to be quite pleased by Chris' identity as well. Lifting his head even further from the pillow, CJ rested his weight on his elbows and took a nice long perusal of his bed partner.

Adam was fully aroused, the gorgeous length of his blushing erection rising proudly from its nest of honey curls and pressing flat against his smooth belly, glistening at the tip with the evidence of his desire. He was beautiful, perfect. And he was waiting for Chris to do something. Deciding that ‘something’ as pretty as Adam’s sex shouldn’t be left wanting, Chris reached down and carefully wrapped his hand around the heated shaft, squeezing gently. Two tight strokes and he was rewarded by the erotic little moan CJ had barely caught last night. He’d have to try and get as many of those as possible later. Lazy morning sex was always a personal favourite of Chris’ and he hoped to add ‘slow and sexy’ to their small collection of sexual experiences.

Looking past wide tanned shoulders, Chris spied Adam’s wallet on the bed stand and hoped like hell his ‘as prepared as a boy scout lover’ had planned for three encounters when he’d packed his lube. Because there was no way in hell CJ was getting out of this bed before he’d been nailed through the mattress by said Boy Scout. Releasing the pretty cock regretfully, he shifted till his lips were an inch from Adam’s, the now vacant hand snagging the wallet and fiddling briefly for… yay success! Good Boy Scout… the small packet.

“That future is more than just very near Lover… it’s right now.” Pressing his mouth to Adam’s, his tongue played for a moment before running along Adam’s full lower lip, silently hoping for entry. The kiss deepened as Chris was granted entrance, tongues delicately dancing tip to tip, tasting every inch of Adam’s mouth with fleeting forays into wet warmth. Breaking the kiss, CJ deftly tore open the lube, “Right now.” He was back into Napoleon mode, but only for a moment and he squeezed part of the oil onto Adam’s palm and the remainder onto his own fingers.

Turnabout being just as fun, Chris dropped his head back to the pillows and reached behind him to sneak his slicked fingers beneath the sheet. Finding his own entrance, he slid first one, then quickly a second finger inside his tight hole, scissoring and twisting to loosen the muscle for Adam’s, totally in proportion to his height, cock. He often prepared himself like this for the majority of his ‘giant’ lovers and although Chris found the touch of another to be more arousing than his own, it would expedite matters considerably.

Besides…he wanted to watch Adam touching himself.

****

As Chris' warm hand wrapped his engorged shaft, Adam bit his lip lightly. Such a simple, gentle touch and yet all it took was two slow pumps of his hardened flesh to ring a moan from him. That's just what happened when Chris touched him. Then he was released from that magical grip and he became aware of the heated breath feathering against his lips. His own breath caught for a moment in anticipation, his ears vaguely registering Chris' search for the necessary item.

Then Chris' tongue was searching for entrance into the warm, wet recesses of his mouth and Adam happily complied. Hell... just kissing Chris was an erotic experience all in it's own. The slow gentle exploration by Chris' tongue stoked the heat running through his veins. When Chris broke the kiss, Adam considered initiating one of his own, but the sound of crinkling foil made him pause.

 _"Right now."_

Chris was obviously back to issuing orders and Adam was more than happy to follow them. He felt the oil splashing against his palm, but before the purpose of the oil could register, his eyes fastened on Chris' own oil-slicked fingers as they slid beneath the sheet. It took about five seconds for his brain to process exactly what those fingers were doing and another five seconds his brain to send the signals through his body. A strangled whine slipped from his lips as his head dropped against Chris' shoulder.

"God, Chris... you keep doing things like that and you'll kill me within a week," he whined breathlessly against the smooth skin of Chris' arm. The fact that the act was hidden underneath the sheet only made it all the more erotic as far as Adam was concerned, his fertile imagination producing a mental image of its own.

That's about the time that it registered in his mind exactly what he was supposed to do with his own portion of the oil. Well... if a show is what Chris wanted, then that's what Chris would get. His eyes locked briefly with Chris', desire burning in the green depths. As he wrapped his hand gently around his shaft, his eyes fluttered shut and a quiet moan slipped from his lips. His hand slowly glided up the length of his swollen flesh, pausing as he reached the crown before returning to the base. His hand fully slick now, he repeated the upward stroke, his fingers curling up around the head before retreating and joining his palm in the downward slide. After repeating the gesture several times, he held his hand still and thrust his hips upward, pushing his length through his hand, his head dropping back against his shoulders, his mouth opening with a groan. Lifting his head, he locked lazy green once again with wide blue.

"You like watching," his husky acknowledgment ending in a quiet hum as he thrust his hips once more. "Maybe next time, sweetheart," he gasped out as he lowered his hips. "Need you."

Even as he finished speaking he leaned closer to Chris, his mouth covering Chris' in deep exploration. They'd done the hard and fast bit, but this morning he was looking for slow and easy and if he kept touching himself with the sight of the beauty laying beside him, they weren't going to get either. He released his throbbing cock, using the kiss as a chance to slow things down a notch.

****

As he felt arms slide around him, Shawn stiffened momentarily before relaxing into the immediately familiar embrace. He should be recoiling, should be retreating, shouldn't be melting into those arms... but he couldn't help himself. Tears continued to drip slowly down his face, but the real problem was that he couldn't seem to draw in a breath. His breathing was hitching, unsteady, almost panting...

And then he heard Hunter speaking to him, in that soft, loving tone of voice, and felt the soothing caress on his back... For an instant, his anger flared again at the simple fact that Hunter felt he had the _right_ to do this, but it was almost immediately overwhelmed by a gentle warmth radiating through him, slowly calming his breathing and stopping the damned tears. As he finally took a deep breath, his aching lungs thanking him for the oxygen, he realised that his own arms had crept around Hunter and that his head was pillowed on Hunt's shoulder.

Just like Dave had held him the night before.

The thought was almost like a slap in the face, and he finally raised his head enough to look behind them, realising that Dave was gone. Before his overwrought emotions could flare into panic, he saw the closed bathroom door and had to smile a little. Dave was far too good of a person for him, really. Watching them had to be painful, but to give them space to talk... especially when Shawn knew that Dave was more than interested in the both of them.

But they'd have to deal with that later. Right now...

Taking a final shuddering breath, Shawn raised his head fully, looking Hunter in the eyes. A long, silent moment passed as he allowed the entirety of his pain to show in his eyes, seeing an echoing hurt in the whiskey eyes he was looking into.

As Hunter tried to speak, Shawn shook his head. Leaning forward slightly, he gave into the longing that he'd managed to suppress---mostly---for almost a decade. Pressing his lips gently against Hunter's, a soft exhalation escaped him at the smooth feeling, and one of his hands slid upward to wrap around Hunt's neck, tangling in the still-damp hair.

It was over quickly, but Shawn knew that he'd remember that kiss to his dying day. Few others came close. The goodnight kiss that he'd shared with Dave the night before was right up there with it, though. At the thought of Dave, Shawn blinked, then reluctantly leaned back.

They couldn't just ignore what had happened or why. They had to talk, and Shawn had to know _why_ Hunter had lied to him about this most important of things. And then... then he'd see where they stood... and then they could figure out what to do about Dave. He wasn't about to let the big man get away from him if he could possibly help it, not when there was already so much between them.

Slipping his fingers back down the column of Hunter's throat, Shawn smiled a little sadly at him.

"Maybe I should start over," he said hoarsely. The sore throat he'd woken up with hadn't improved, and his latest emotional bout had only made it worse. He wasn't quite croaking, but he might just end up that way if he wasn't careful. Tilting his head slightly, his eyes locked on Hunt's, he asked, his pain and hurt obvious in his words, "What happened, Hunt? Why did you lie to me? Why did you push me away? "

****  
   
 _"I promise I'm not going anywhere."_

God, he was weak. One little game this morning, and now he was falling apart...? Kev's lips twisted a little at the thought even as he nodded at Scott. He knew better than that, he _did_... but everything was different.

Maybe because it had been so unexpected, completely without warning... A slight shudder ran through him as he remembered that morning, the shock of Scott's words, the immediate lightning bolt of excitement at the initial slap on the ass... his unashamed begging for more. He could feel his cheeks heating again as he draped himself on top of Scotty, wrapping an arm around his waist. He bit back the purr that wanted to escape at the feeling of his lover's fingers on his scalp, wondering what exactly Scott thought of him now. Sure, Scott had taken the dominating role before in their relationship---theirs wasn't a relationship that revolved around that question twenty-four/seven, or even all that often, especially, and he'd gladly given up that control at times.

Or... had he?

Listening as Scotty spoke, his cheek pressed against Scott's chest so that he could hear the beating of his heart, Kevin wondered. Had he ever _really_ given up his treasured control? The only time it ever broke was when he lost his temper... His eyes fluttered shut in shame as he realised what that _really_ meant.

He'd never truly given himself up, given himself over to Scott the way that his darker lover was so willing to do for him.

Until this morning.

 _"...a pair of handcuffs, the hotel bed, and your belt."_

Kevin shuddered fully as Scott's voice, still bearing a hint of the accent of his youth, lowered slightly, the words bringing back the memories of that night. He'd been so caught up in the moment, so lost to the emotion, that he'd found himself bringing that belt down across Scott's back before he'd even realised that he'd handcuffed his lover to the bed, let alone that they were going to go there. They'd played those games before... but never like that. Never.

The purr finally escaped as he relaxed into the gentle fingers caressing his hair.

 _"I craved every single lash you gave me..."_

And he'd craved the reactions, the wild flinches, the almost-screams, that had resulted from every single lash.

 _"...that was so damn intense."_

He found himself nodding in agreement, remembering his own incredible orgasm that night. It had taken him long minutes just to force himself up, to move his weight off of his almost unconscious lover.

 _"I know you remember it, Kev. I completely fell apart on you that night."_

He did. He'd held Scotty for hours, worried that he'd hurt him, trying vainly to comfort him somehow, to stop the tears, the shaking... He'd failed. They'd only stopped when Scotty finally fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, not from the reassurance that Kevin had tried to offer.

As Scott's hand slid gently across his back, he felt himself relax a little more, understanding why Scott was telling him this. He knew the story, of course. They'd talked about it at the time, but... never quite like this. Scott had never really explained it to him this way. His purr intensified, the memories sending flashes of heat throughout him even as he relaxed under Scott's touch.

 _"The worst part was worrying about you thinking I was weak."_

He flinched. As much as he tried to suppress the reaction, he couldn't, and he knew that Scott had to have felt it. That hit far too close to home. His control was legendary. Throughout his career, the only time he'd ever lost that control was when someone had finally managed to push him over the edge and unleash his temper---and the only times that anyone had ever managed to do that had all involved the man holding him now. Realising that only made his shame greater. Knowing that Scott had been so willing to give himself over _completely_ to him, holding nothing back... and he was falling to pieces over the thought of doing the same thing. What did that say about him? Nothing good. Selfish, egotistic, self-centered... all words that had been aimed at him in the past. Before, he'd shrugged them off with a smirk. Now... now he was afraid that they were right.

As Scott's fingers started rubbing at the knots that had gathered in his lower back, he took a deep breath, forcing himself to let go a little. As hard as it was to let that tightly-held control go, maybe if he did it a little bit at a time... When Scotty hit a particularly sore spot, he sucked in a breath, releasing a low moan of pleasure as the knot uncoiled and relaxed, sending a new wave of warmth spreading through him.

 _"...because I was so worried someone would notice."_

Oh, Scotty. Kevin bit his lip for a second, but knew that Scott had dealt with this long ago, and that he _had_ been able to help... but he still wasn't sure _how_ Scott had done it. He'd never heard all of this, and until now, it hadn't even occurred to him that he'd been missing a few of the pieces. It wasn't something Scott had _hidden_ from him, he knew, but more like something that neither of them had even thought to bring up.

He loved holding Scott after one of their scenes, loved petting him, calming him down, helping him put the pieces back together...

Just like Scott was doing for him right now.

 _"...losing control once in awhile didn't make you weak, it just made you human."_

Kevin's eyes widened at that, and he shifted slightly so that he could look up at his lover. That was how he felt: weak. For blushing, for wincing as he sat down, for not being able to control his reaction... For giving Scott everything that Scott had ever given him.

 _"...but when do you honestly ever let it go?"_

He started at that and looked up at Scott, his eyes even wider. Maybe his lover hadn't intended it---maybe he didn't even _realise_ it---but there was hurt behind that question. Somewhere inside, a veil that he'd never noticed lifted. By keeping that control so tight, by keeping back part of himself... he'd hurt Scott. He'd hurt his lover. Not on purpose---never on purpose! But that didn't absolve him from what he'd done. He should've known better.

 _"I'm not gonna break if you feel the need to lean on me sometimes..."_

Blinking back the moisture that threatened to gather at the corners of his eyes, Kevin tightened his grasp on his lover. He _knew_ Scott was strong, _knew_ that he was capable of supporting himself and both of them... but he'd still denied him the chance to do so. Instead, he held onto that control that he was so proud of, and mourned the days when Scott had needed him for support... never seeing that Scott still needed him. Simply in a different way, these days.

 _"You're a part of me, Kev. Even when we were apart... you were still there and you always will be."_

Even as Kevin was soaking in the words, letting them fill him with an unexpected warm glow, making him feel needed and wanted and loved and supported... the incredibly soft touch on still-aching skin made him suck in a loud breath, his eyes squeezing shut as he flinched violently. The touch itself hadn't been painful, had barely been noticeable... but the timing, combined with what his lover was saying...

Kevin turned his face toward Scott's chest, not quite ready to face his lover with tears in his eyes, but after only a split second, raised his gaze upward. What was the point of Scott telling him all of this, the realisations that he'd come to, if he just wound everything up and wrapped it away inside again? If he wasn't willing share _everything_ with Scotty, then he didn't deserve to be with him.

"Scott..." His voice failed him for a long moment as he met those dark eyes, sinking into the love and trust and strength he saw there. "I'm so sorry. I never... I never realised..." Pausing, he forced himself to take a breath before trying again. "I never was able to let go like you do. I didn't know..."

Giving up for the moment, he pressed a kiss to the heart hidden beneath the t-shirt beneath him. Shifting uncomfortably against Scott, Kevin finally allowed himself to admit how much his ass _hurt_. He wasn't going to be able to sit comfortably at least for the rest of the day, and the jeans he was wearing were chafing unbelievably. His lover definitely had a stronger arm than he'd realised, he thought ruefully. Thankfully, the tears seemed to be momentary, but he knew that he wasn't going to be ready to leave Scott's arms for a long time... although hopefully his lover would allow him to get out of the jeans, at least.

He shifted again at another soft touch, whimpering. Any other time, he'd probably be aghast at such a broken little sound coming from his lips... but it was the same sort of thing that he loved hearing from Scott. How could he possibly not give back to Scott what he loved so much when it was given to him? He whined at a slightly firmer touch, jerking away from it.

"Scott... please. God." His breath caught at a softer caress along the curve of his ass. Another whimper, and he moaned quietly, "Hurts... so good..."

****

Hunter was still trying to reassure Shawn when soft fingers stopped his words. The look of hurt in the beautiful dusky blue eyes was almost drenched by the punishing tears. He'd never been able to stand seeing Shawn cry. It was like the man he loved just broke, his emotions bleeding into the air, into Hunter. He'd wanted so much to avoid hurting Shawn, to avoid any pain like other _people_ had caused. In the end it seemed he'd actually done a better job of bludgeoning the lovely soul in his arms more than any one else ever had.

 _Something else to be proud of hey Hunter?_

No, there were many things he'd was proud of in his life, but causing Shawn to be so angry, so downright vicious... that was something he felt ashamed of. His friend had stood by him in a lot of bad situations, situations for which Hunter only had himself to blame. But Shawn hadn't cared, hadn't judged him and then decided Hunter's politicking and business lunches meant he'd forgotten who he was.

 _How could you do this to us Hunter?... I don't even know you anymore._

Kevin's words often came back to haunt him, the dear voice literally dripping with disgust. Maybe Kevin was right, Hunter wasn't the same man they'd all known ten years, hell even five years ago. Nash had been partially mistaken that night... Hunter hadn't deserved the condemnation... that time. But plenty of other accusations could be leveled at his head and he'd couldn't plead innocent on those.

But Shawn had never accused Hunter of anything.

He never once battered even an eyelid at Hunt's co-called management manipulation.  _He'd_ been playing Vince and all the WWE for far longer than Hunter and was basically immune to all the politics by now, simply by benefit of being Shawn. The man who, unlike Hunter, had an inbuilt integrity that would only let him go so far, to only go to certain lengths in this industry. It was this honesty, this soul-deep expectation of honesty that could flat-out kill Hunter. It wasn't that Shawn didn't mind Hunter playing the game... it was he knew Hunter would do the right thing. He knew! How the hell could the guy expect Hunter to be so decent, when he could barely stand himself some nights?

It should hardly have surprised him then, that his friend would pound on his door and demand the truth from Hunter. Shawn had _always_ expected the truth from Hunter, simply by presuming that Hunter was too decent a guy to lie to him. Just like Dave had thought as well. The shit of it was, it didn't make Shawn naive to think that way. Oh no. Very few people saw the world _exactly_ as it was like Shawn Michaels. He just seemed to have a rose-coloured blind spot when it came to Hunter. And damn _him_ if Hunt didn't want to live up to it. To actually be the guy Shawn thought he was.

Shawn's eyes flicked momentarily away from Hunter's towards the bathroom and the bigger man became aware of the cool air-conditioned breeze at his back for the first time. Dave... god... Dave had been hurt when they were struggling on the floor. Hunt's skull still pulsed from the impact with Dave's what? His chin? He'd been so caught up on easing Shawn's pain, he'd forgotten the third member of this sad little triangle. Awesome, untouchable Dave Batista. A guy who actually _was_ the man Shawn expected Hunter to be. Dave, who would leave the room to give the guy he adored time with Hunter, a guy he plainly didn't like anymore, because it was the right thing to do.

Hunter contemplated what to do. He'd rather tear off his own arm than push Shawn off his lap, but maybe he should take a leaf out of Dave's book and 'be a man' by letting Shawn go see if Dave was okay.

Any thoughts were lost when Shawn kissed him.

God help him, Shawn kissed him.

Not like that time in the ring. That had been in public and a hilarious joke that had left Hunter nursing another bottle at 3 am the next day. That had been agony. This... this was what kissing Shawn was really like. Just a brush of lips, a gentle puff of air as his Darling gave a small sigh and pulled back, hand still tangled in Hunter's hair. There was only one word to describe that single kiss.

Peaceful.

Like the constant war he seemed to be fighting was over, the battle surrendered and finally Hunter could have a moment's peace. It was a precious, precious thing that kiss and Hunt knew he would hold the memory to him for ages to come. Once again he was lost in Shawn's eyes when his friend spoke.

 _What happened, Hunt? Why did you lie to me? Why did you push me away?_

Shawn's husky words brought Hunter back from the internal landscape of his thoughts. Right here, right now, Shawn was presuming Hunter would be that man he though he was. He thought for a moment how to answer Shawn. He'd given away the truth in his little hissy-fit from before and he couldn't back out now that Shawn was calling him to task. Lifting his own arm from its place around Shawn's slim waist, he reverently touched one high cheekbone of his beloved. Hunter found he really wanted to be the better man Shawn believed him to be. So he told the truth.

"Shawn," never Michaels, never again. "I lied because I realised at that moment that despite you loving me... God..." he shook his head in wonder, "...you _loving_ me, I wasn't the right guy for you. I didn't mean you to think I blamed you for my life these last ten years Shawn. I don't. Just... nine years ago I could've been good enough, could've been like Dave," Hunter gestured with his head at the bathroom door. "I'm not lying now Shawn, I do love you, with every bit of me I love you. But the man I am, the man who is your friend... he's not the guy for you Darling."

Hunter hoped Shawn wouldn't think this was another rejection, it wasn't. Hunter was just fixing his mistakes, telling the truth like he should have done last night.

"And don't say I'm being a martyr, 'cos I'm not." He tried to forestall any objections Shawn might come up with. "I'm not giving you passive-aggressive bullshit just so I can wallow in self-pity. This isn't me crying 'woe is me' and hoping to change the last nine years. I can't do that. What I can do is tell you... yes Shawn Michaels, I love you madly. But the _right_ man for you is in that bathroom, not sitting here with a hangover and a bad case of emotional baggage."

Hunter sat back a little, releasing his hold on Shawn, savouring the feel of his love in his arms... one last time.


	21. Agreements

The strong fingers stroked up and down, pausing at the round, soft head, before sliding down once again. Red tinged skin was slick and glistening, catching the little shimmers of light from behind the window curtains. Adam's hand was moving with such absolute, aching slowness that CJ began to gently rock his hips in time with Adam's movements. If the motion of fist on hard, delicious flesh wasn't enough to bring Chris' cock to full, swollen erection, the expression on Adam's face would have.

The beautiful man was twisting his hips with each pulse on his hand, small moans and ragged breathing giving away his own building excitement. Adam's head rested back on his own pillow, the green eyes half closed and sleepy, yet burning with a slow, warm desire. His long, pink tongue occasionally darting out to lick a full lower lip, dragging a corresponding sigh from Chris. CJ really wanted to watch Adam right to the end sometime, his eyes taking in every inch of his lover's passion and his fantasy. Wondering enviously what Adam was seeing when he shut his eyelids in several long slow blinks, Chris quickly finished his own preparations and lifted his head onto his hand to better enjoy the show, blue eyes wide and entranced.

Trailing his gaze openly from the tangle of sheets at Adam's knees to the bright green eyes, Chris was quietly stunned to see Adam's intense focus was completely centered on him. Not that he thought Adam would think about someone else while in bed with CJ, Adam wouldn't even think it, it was just that Adam's eyes were watching Chris so intently, Chris felt like he was being devoured. 'I probably have the same look,' he thought as he realised he'd been indulging a little visual feast of his own. His cock was rock hard now, Adam's display and his own fingers having brought Chris awake completely. The crisp cotton was a textural contrast to the slick feeling in his ass and Adam's smooth skin, only inches from his own.

 _Maybe next time, sweetheart_

Chris' "I'll hold you to that," was lost as Adam covered his mouth in a long slow kiss.

He'd been eager as for Adam's touch, Adam's cock in him as soon as possible. But the kiss sent him off-kilter. Like a long, warm massage on his lips, Adam's mouth was banking his fire, pulling him back from the almost desperate need to the relaxed laziness he'd felt upon waking. Chris' sex was still so hard a cat couldn't scratch it, but it wasn't crying and demanding attention like normal. He was too happy, too incredibly content to be all over Adam like a rash. The lips dancing with his own were distracting him too, he couldn't help but speculate on all the other places that mouth could go and hoped certain oral fixations could fit into 'next time' as well. Chris just plain hoped there'd be a whole heap of next times to try out.

Feeling all boneless and sensual like a cat dozing in the sun, Chris began a slow rumble in his throat. A combination of horny growl, aroused moan and playful purr that he hoped would prompt Adam into action. Pulling back from the kiss, CJ smiled and ran his finger across Adam's chest to stroke softly over the small pink nipple. He deliberately bumped his hip against Adam's slick shaft, causing a delightful friction against his own aching member.

"Tease," he accused sweetly.

****

He'd wanted a response... and boy did he get one. The loudly in-drawn breath and the way Kev flinched away from his hand confirmed his suspicions that Kevin really was hurting whether he was going to admit it or not. Now if Kev would just admit it, then Scott could go about soothing it away... but he wanted that admission first.

When Kevin buried his face against his chest, Scott thought that maybe he hadn't gotten through to Kev after all. 'Come on Kev, let me in. Just say it,' he thought, his mind scrambling for another way to get Kevin to open up to him, when suddenly Kevin raised his head and looked into Scott's eyes. His lover's beautiful green eyes were full of emotion, the golden lashes damp with unshed tears.

 _"I'm so sorry. I never... I never realised..."_

He didn't expect waterworks from Kev, it just wasn't his style, but the dampness of his eyes told Scott that maybe he had gotten through. Kevin realised that he didn't have to be a pillar all of the time... that Scott was more than happy to help bear part of the load. He didn't want Kev to feel guilty for continuing to act the way he had always had to and he would make sure that he knew that, but he also wanted Kevin to know that he had other options. Scott wanted Kevin to be able to admit to him when he hurt, when he needed comfort. He wanted him to know that he wasn't weak for admitting those things.

Scott smiled as his gentle stroke elicited a whimper from the man in his arms. Before today, Kevin would have bitten his tongue rather than allow that broken sound to become audible. Another firm stroke from his hand and he felt the flinch accompanied by a whine of discomfort. 'We're so close Kev. Just admit it. Let me have all of you.'

 _"Hurts... so good..."_

That's it Kev... finally. Scott tangled his hand in Kevin's hair, gently tilting his head back so that he could be sure Kevin understood what he was about to say.

"You don't need to be sorry, Kev. I just wanted you to be able to admit to me when you hurt, be able to come to me for comfort when you do. You don't have to be a rock all of the time Kev. It doesn't make you weak if you need me to hold you sometimes, to ease the pain. That's what a relationship should be." Scott hoped that Kevin realised that he was speaking about more than just the pain inflicted by his earlier actions, he wanted Kev to be able to come to him no matter why he was hurting.

He brushed his lips teasingly against Kevin's, initiating a slow gentle exploration of his lover's mouth. Rolling to face the big man, Scott pressed his body flush with Kevin's, keeping his hand tangled firmly in Kevin's blond locks. Using his other hand, he traced a lazy path down Kevin's broad chest. This wasn't about sex... it was about comfort. Slipping the tips of his fingers into Kevin's waistband, just behind the button, Scott gave a firm tug as he broke the kiss and allowed his breath to blow against Kev's mouth in slow puffs. He knew that the tug would force the denim into brief contact with Kevin's tender skin.

As he looked into Kevin's eyes, he slowly popped open the fastenings of his jeans. Kevin had earned a bit of relief and Scott was going to give it to him, just as he'd promised.

"I've got just the thing to make you feel better, lover." Scott smiled wickedly at Kevin, knowing exactly what Kev would assume he meant. Scott knew there was no way they were going to make it four...but that didn't mean Kev wouldn't think that's what he meant. "First, we have to get rid of these jeans because I know they're killing ya. I've been there. That rough denim against your tender red skin... it's chafing, ain't it, Kev?"

Even as he asked, not expecting a verbal reply, Scott was scooting towards the foot of the bed, pressing gentle kisses against Kevin's cotton-clad chest in his wake. When he reached waist level, Scott urged Kevin gently onto his stomach, his hands clasping the material on each side of Kevin's hips. Kevin automatically lifted his hips as Scott peeled the denim from his body as painlessly as possible. Scott grimaced at the bright red markings on Kevin's tender skin. How the hell Kevin had managed to sit through breakfast Scott had no clue.

Levering himself from the bed, Scott went over to their suitcase and dug through the contents, finally coming up with a small tube of cream. Settling himself with his ass against Kevin's thighs, he squirted a small amount of the cream into his hands, warming it before it came into contact with his lover's flesh. With a gentle touch, he smoothed the cream over the angrily-colored skin.

"This will help ease the sting, Kev. It works wonders on bruises as well. It will definitely make sitting on the flight later easier on you if we put some on just before we board the plane... or we could skip off to do it in the lavatory after we take off," Scott said with a wicked smirk. His hands moving slowly over the curved flesh, he made sure to cover every inch of reddened flesh.

"If you take your shirt off, I'll do your back too." Now that he had gotten Kev to admit what he was trying to get to all along, he thought maybe he owed Kev an apology. "I'm sorry for the things I said in the restaurant... in front of the waitress. I know that it bothered you. I'm not sorry that I got the reaction I did, though. You're beautiful when you blush, babe. I kind of wish that I could get you to do it more often. I know I shouldn't have taken things so far. Love you, Kev," Scott said, leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss against the swell of Kevin's posterior.

****

He'd never realised how little there was to do in a bathroom when it wasn't your bathroom in your hotel room. Dave had already re-wet his cloth with cold water and that had helped to stop the bleeding. He had washed his face and neck again to rid himself of any lingering evidence. There wasn't much he could do with the shirt... even if he soaked it, he had a feeling the brownish red spots were there to stay and since the shirt was of course dry clean only... that ruled out soaking with water. His nose was obviously a bit swollen and there was a slowly darkening pink moon under his left eye, which would be easy enough to cover up. Dave pressed the cold rag over his eye, hoping it would mitigate the bruising.

He'd run through a list of excuses to give to Vince, but figured that most of them were a result of his now-fading headache. Even Vince wouldn't buy that little green men had attacked him, but that still sounded better than a bar fight or telling the truth. Whatever he did settle on was not going to involve Hunter or Shawn or any mention of the word 'fight'. He'd even considered the old walking into the door excuse and had rolled his eyes at himself before he even finished that thought. That would translate to everyone else as a significant other beating the piss out of him and he was not even going to let that rumor get started. Maybe he could get away with saying he fell out of bed and hit his face on the nightstand... at least then he'd only be a klutz. That he could probably live with.

He wasn't going to use the shower, he'd already made use of the facilities, and there weren't even those tiny little holes to count in the ceiling tiles. That was probably a good thing because it would most likely fire up his headache again if he tried to concentrate on something that small. He wondered briefly what might be happening in the main room, but refused to let himself dwell on it. There was no screaming going on yet that he could hear and that was a good thing. As for anything else, he'd just wait until he got the all clear and left the room to see for himself what the two had decided.

****

Dual sensations skittered through his body as Chris brushed fingers over a sensitive bud and his hip bumped against Adam's rigid length. He moaned low and husky at the contact. Adam turned a smile on his lover - a simple smile of happiness; not his manic 'you are fucked' grin, not the lazy 'cat that got the canary' smile, nor the shy half-smile that seemed to be making an appearance more often. He skimmed his hand down the smooth skin of Chris' back, before finally pushing the strategically draped sheet even lower. Chris' relaxed pose, like that of a great jungle cat, belied the strength and power of the man assuming it. Adam knew that in less time than it took to blink, his blond lover could pounce into action. Pressing a warm open-mouthed kiss against a silky shoulder, Adam let his desire-laden words wash over Chris' warm skin.

"Tease? No... I'd never tease you, sweetheart." Another kiss in the midst of a shoulder blade as he shifted fractionally closer.

"Teasing implies that I won't deliver..." Another fractional shift, lips changing direction to press against one ear as Adam's thigh slipped across the backs of Chris' just below his beautifully rounded ass.

"And I promise that I will always deliver, Chris." A slow grinding of his hips pushed his hard length against the swell of one buttock as the words caressed the shell of an ear half-hidden by blond silk.

"I'd actually say I'm more of a sadist..." One fluid move and Adam had the full length of his body pressed against Chris' back; lips at his nape, hands tight at his waist, and his cock settled firmly against the cleft of Chris' ass.

"See... I want to torture you... with pleasure," he said, his voice smooth as silk as he thrust his hips in a slow grind, his hard shaft teasing between the halves of Chris' tanned backside.

"Then when you can't stand any more, I'll slip inside you... ride you slow and easy until you're begging for more..." Sliding a bit lower along the powerful body beneath him, Adam placed a kiss in the middle of Chris' spine.

"Then I'm going to wrap my hand around your hard cock, stroke you until you scream and come all over." A bit lower, a kiss against the base of Chris' spine, his lips melting into a smile as he dropped even further and pressed a kiss against each tanned mound.

"How's that sound to you, sweetheart?" Hovering over Chris, his knees on each side of Chris' legs, he put his hands at Chris' waist, more than ready to issue a few commands of his own. "If that sounds good, then up on your knees, Chris... hands on the headboard and don't move them, no matter what."

****

Realising he was nearly holding his breath, Shawn forced himself to breathe as he watched Hunter pause in thought. He knew that Hunt was deciding what to tell him, how much to tell him... and he knew that this time, whatever Hunter said, he would accept. There was no possibility that he could survive another encounter like this one, no way that he could escape with enough of himself intact to go on.

When he felt Hunter's fingers brush against his cheek, he shivered. Just that brief contact of skin-on-skin could affect him so much... what would more be like? Another shiver, and then he pushed the thoughts away. They weren't appropriate for the situation or the time, and whichever way this ended up, he'd have time enough later to dwell on them.

 _"...Just...nine years ago I could've been good enough..."_

What? Cocking his head, Shawn frowned slightly at Hunter, becoming more and more aware of the position they were actually in and trying very hard not to be. Following Hunt's logic forced his mind out of its wanderings, and he shook his head, but waited for Hunt to finish. If Hunter thought that he wasn't good enough for Shawn because of the politicking, the manipulating, the deals... then he obviously didn't know nearly as much as he thought he did about Shawn himself.

Marty leapt screaming into Shawn's mind and he winced before he could stop himself. They'd been lovers, and Shawn had been convinced he was in love with the brunet... and then Vince had offered him a chance as a singles wrestler. He'd accepted without a second's hesitation, only thinking after the deal was made what that meant for his long-time partner. Marty hadn't taken it well, had thought that Shawn was stabbing him in the back in order to further his own career... and wasn't he doing exactly that? Their relationship had ended long before the infamous kick arrived, but that had been the end of their friendship, as well.

Obviously Hunter wasn't aware of a lot of things about him, or he wouldn't be using this line of reasoning on him. Hell, he probably wouldn't have lied in the first place! Shawn was very far from the clean, blameless person that Hunt apparently thought he was.

 _"What I can do is tell you...yes Shawn Michaels, I love you madly."_

The sudden emotional surge at those words forced him to shut his eyes as adrenaline rushed through his body, his fingers tightening their hold on the other man.

 _"But the_ right _man for you is in that bathroom, not sitting here with a hangover and a bad case of emotional baggage."_

Suddenly not quite breathing steadily as Hunter released him, Shawn stared at him for a long moment, not believing what he'd just heard.

"The right man...?" he asked numbly. Hunter couldn't have just said that. No way. He _knew_ better than that... knew Shawn's past. "Emotional baggage?" A hoarse chuckle slipped out of his mouth as he shifted, straddling Hunter's thighs and leaning forward a little, putting a hand on Hunt's shoulder for support.

"Hunter... do you have any idea who you're talking to?" He paused, shaking his head. How long had they been friends, but been so able to misunderstand each other so completely? "I almost _invented_ the game of backstage politicking, using the fact that Vince liked me... _really_ liked me... to my advantage." He emphasised that, not quite sure if Hunter had ever realised just how far down the Heartbreak Kid had gone to reach the top. "Marty loved me, Hunt. And I threw that in his face. That kick didn't just end a tag team... it ended a friendship, and a relationship that I'd been in for more than four years. And for what? To get me a shot at a singles belt, which I never would've gotten otherwise."

Drawing a deep breath, his mouth twisted at the memories. Letting his head fall forward, his hair obscuring his eyes, as he paused again, trying to gather his thoughts.

"Hunt, I've done more things than you could ever imagine. I'm not proud of that. I wish I could forget them. But I can't, and I can't change any of it." Raising his head again, he looked into the amber eyes, hoping that Hunter would understand what he was saying. "All I can do is accept the fact that I _did_ do those things, but that  _I've_ changed and try move on with my life. I've hurt people... I've hurt people that I loved. For what? For a title reign. For making my mark on the business. For being the Icon, the Showstoppa, the Main Event..." He shook his head again. "And what has it gotten me? A history of friendships gone and relationships ended badly and locker room stories that aren't even close to how bad the truth is... and a lonely room to go back to every night."

Leaning closer, he brushed the damp hair out of Hunter's face as he continued, his voice dropping. "One of the very few good things to come out of my career was the Clique... and you. I've loved you almost since the day I met you, and if I'd had the balls to tell you that then... well, we'd both be better men than we are now." Clearing his throat, he hoped his voice would allow him to finish this. "But I didn't. And you didn't. And we didn't... and now we're here. All we can do is live with what we've done, and maybe try to make up for it if we can. But there's no reason we have to do it alone."

Running his fingers down Hunter's cheek, he smiled a little. "I know that what you said about your marriage to Stephanie is true. I'd imagine the real reason for the wedding was convenience... you'd get more pull in the company and she'd have the best cover story she could get." Pausing only long enough to see Hunter's reaction, he shrugged a little. "But if that's true... then you've been by yourself since your wedding day. And I've been by myself... well, for longer than I like to think about. I'd like to not be alone anymore, Hunter."

Casting a look over Hunter's shoulder at the closed bathroom door, Shawn's smile faded as he realised that if he got his way, all he'd be doing was making things more complicated than they already were. But... if he got his way... then maybe there could be a happy ending after all.

"You keep telling me that Dave's the guy for me... and I'm not really inclined to argue. I know he feels something for me that's more than just a crush. Hell, he feels something for _you_ that's more than just a crush, that's pretty obvious. He can't keep his eyes off either of us... and it wasn't just _my_  name he was moaning in his sleep last night. Maybe we're all right... maybe the answer isn't just one plus one. But..."

Holding up his other hand to cut off any response from Hunter, "I _know_ that you and I... we need to try, at least. If we've managed to feel this way for this long through all the shit we've gone through... if last night and this morning haven't made us hate each other... then I think we've earned a right to try to make this work."

Leaning his head against Hunter's shoulder, he said quietly, "I love you, Hunter. And Dave... well. I think I could love him, too. Please, Hunt. Please... don't tell me no."

****

As Scott tilted his head back, Kevin found his eyes glued to his lover's dark ones, looking so intensely at him. He could see the love there, and the relief... and the joy. How long had Scott wanted this from him, simply wanted him to share everything? How long had he been denying his lover that right?

 _"It doesn't make you weak if you need me to hold you sometimes, to ease the pain."_

Eyes widening slightly, Kev knew that Scotty wasn't just referring to this particular moment; his lover wanted, no... _needed_ to be able to support him _whenever_ it was needed. And Kevin couldn't deny that the thought of Scott being the strong one, the one to lean on, was an attractive one. It was something he needed, too.

The unexpected light feeling that swept through him at that thought surprised him. But maybe it was just one more step that he'd needed to take, to be able to admit that he couldn't be strong by himself all the time... he needed Scott. Needed him like he needed air... he couldn't live without him.

The brush of Scotty's lips against his, the teasing touches of his fingers on his body, sent shudders through Kevin. His ass was throbbing hotly now, almost pulsing against the rough denim encasing it, and the light touches from his lover seemed somehow to mingle with that, sending little warm shocks through him. Nothing erotic, exactly... his body wasn't about ready for that just yet. But... pleasant. Soothing. Pleasurable.

His entire body jerked as Scott tugged on his jeans, the denim rubbing briefly but harshly against his sore skin, and a loud broken gasping moan escaped him before he could even try to bite it back, the pain flaring up again. _Why_ had Scotty...? He blinked away the tears that sprang to his eyes as Scott looked right at him. The sound of a zipper sliding down made him want to sigh in relief, but the sharp pain had become actively throbbing pain, and relief was beyond him at the moment.

 _"I've got just the thing to make you feel better, lover."_

He knew his eyes were wide, but no way could Scott possibly mean what that sounded like. Kevin knew that he wasn't capable of anything more, and he sincerely doubted that Scott was either, so what...? Pulling in a deep breath, he nodded at Scott's question. Chafing wasn't even close to the feeling at this point, not after that yank. Only as he felt Scotty scooting down the bed did he realise that he was breathing in little sobbing pants, not able to even think about hiding his reactions... and not wanting to. Knowing that he didn't have to hide them, knowing that Scott _wanted_ to see them... that made him feel freer than he ever had before.

Turning automatically at Scott's urging, he lifted his hips to help his lover get the jeans off... managing to gasp only a few times as the denim brushed against still-painful marks, flinching unthinkingly at the sensation. When he felt the bed rise as Scott got up, he whimpered softly, feeling... exposed. Almost scared. Why had Scott left him? He _knew_ Scott was coming right back---he had to be---but that didn't help the panic that was trying to claw its way out of his throat.

The sudden weight on his thighs sent a wave of relief crashing through him even as he tensed at the gentle touch to his abused flesh. Hissing as Scott rubbed the cream across the throbbing areas, the occasional whimper escaping him as particularly sensitive spots were touched, he nearly missed what Scott was saying.

 _"...or we could skip off to do it in the lavatory after we take off..."_

He couldn't stop the low groan at that thought, the image of him, bent over, half-naked, with Scott clothed behind him, doing something like this in such a public place... If his body were up to it at that moment, he would've begged Scott to fuck him right then and there. He could feel renewed heat on his cheeks at the thought.

 _"You're beautiful when you blush, babe."_

He was? Wait... Scott thought he was _beautiful_? The thought surprised him. He wasn't beautiful... good-looking, sure, but it was Scotty who was beautiful. Dark eyes he could fall into, lips that moved so expressively... god help him. He'd never told Scott that, had he? Because it wasn't a manly enough thought, no doubt. What guy ever dwelt so much on their lover's attributes, after all? He raised his head, turning to look at Scott as much as he could, given their positions. He shrugged off the apology for the moment; Scott's tactics had worked, and he was grateful for the end result. He certainly wasn't going to hold the methods against his lover if that was what it had taken.

Shivering a little at the soft kiss, wishing again that he were ten years younger, he reached down with one hand, snagging Scott's fingers a bit awkwardly to try to pull him up beside him. When Scott laid next to him again, head propped on one hand with a curious expression on his face, no doubt wondering at the colour on his cheeks. Reaching out, he ran his hand down Scott's face, slowly trailing his fingers over those loved features.

"Shirt off in a minute," he said before pausing. He wasn't quite sure how to say it, so he figured he'd just blurt it out and see what happened. He cleared his throat, feeling awkward as he said, "Scotty... I'm not... I'm not beautiful. But you are. You always have been. I never told you that before... I'm sorry."

Leaning forward to press a kiss against his lover's lips, he levered himself upward enough to pull his t-shirt off, dropping it on the floor. Somehow, being naked while Scott was fully clothed was... enticing. Shaking off the odd feelings, he looked at Scott and raised an eyebrow, knowing that his lover would need some reassurance of his own, since he'd actually apologised.

"The restaurant... yeah, that bothered me. But it was worth it. It's okay." Smiling at him, he said a little hesitantly, "So... is the offer to do my back still good?"

****

Each movement of Adam's body, each word honeyed with sex and want, were enough, in and of themselves to turn Chris into a moaning puddle right then and there. CJ was seriously beginning to believe the guy could bring him off just by whispering in his ear. Suggesting he be tortured with pleasure then fucked to within an inch of his life was number four on Chris' Adam Fantasy List.

Adam's hot kisses on his naked skin created a network of shivery spots that all seemed to pulse in time with his straining cock and with the smooth vocal promises scattered across his back. As Adam's leg brushed his thighs, Chris released a small moan of pent up desire, as the slick length pressed into his buttock he jumped slightly then smothered an embarrassed laugh into his pillow.

With his face buried he couldn't see Adam or what he was doing... only hear him and feel him. Reminded of his feelings in the arena car park, god was it only last night? CJ smiled. Oh yes, Adam talking dirty to him while he couldn't see his lover was another new kink Chris was adding to his repertoire. Along with the shower and the bossiness and the...

 _ride you slow and easy until you're begging_

Was _that_ a kink? If it was he had it. God yes. The pressure of Adam's cock between the globes of his ass pushed CJ's hips further into the mattress, his sex trapped and wanting. Bracing his elbows he was ready to push back invitingly, but the movement was aborted as the tempting hardness was gone, replaced by Adam's mouth on the small of his back. Very nice and damned sexy, and Chris had to bite the pillow to keep from _begging_. Slow and sexy was always good in the end... it was just getting past the slow was gonna _kill_ him here.

 _stroke you until you scream_

CJ's imprisoned erection twitched happily at that suggestion. Chris' brain and heart were also in heartfelt agreement, so much so Chris actually forbade his hand, currently under his pillow and probably tearing the filling out of it, to remain in place rather then preempt Adam's touch. His dick wanted Adam's hand and only Adam's would do apparently. The pillow would just have to take it.

Sweet kisses on his ass prompted a bit more mattress humping until Adam's final words filtered into the sex and candy landscape of Chris' mind.

 _If that sounds good, then..._

Quicker than a hiccup, CJ was on his knees, hands braced into the headboard as he'd been ordered. As long as his speedy response hadn't just given Adam an uppercut to the jaw with his ass, Chris was all for taking orders. He'd take anything Adam felt like offering actually, but he'd keep that sluttish confession to himself until they maybe made it to a second date at least. Momentarily unsure whether to look back over his shoulder at the gorgeous man behind him, or drop his head in submission Chris opted for the second. As soon as Adam started touching him again he knew he'd begin to talk and with no pillow to stifle his voice, Adam was going to get another ear full.

Oh well. He'd dare anyone to remember they're manners if _they_ were about to get nailed by Adam Copeland for the second time in as many days.

"Please yes do it," Chris begged as quietly as he could given the circumstances. Adam was touching him... he was... just, "Fuck me please, c'mon Baby please..." if he had to wait much longer he'd explode, "Adam, Adam," his knuckles almost white on the headboard. "Please Baby do me... I want you... please..."

He wouldn't move, he wouldn't move.... oh god.

****

 _then I think we've earned a right to try to make this work._

Shawn couldn't really mean that, could he? But looking deeply into his friend's eyes Hunter concluded that yes, he did. Make what work though? Friends? Shawn was right, if they were going to destroy their friendship it would have happened last night. But it was Shawn that hadn't let that happen, hadn't let Hunter kill his affection for him with rejection. Instead Hunt had been forced to admit and accept what was between them. But making it work as more than friends? As fuck-buddies? Friends with benefits? Lovers? All would once have been a distant, beloved dream to Hunter and now Shawn sat here offering him a dream. Legs tangled in his own crossed ones, eyes still damaged but intent, making his plea with a certainty that absolutely floored Hunter.

Tell him no? Hunter doubted he'd ever say no to Shawn again. Unbelievably, the man didn't even want him to pay for the crap he'd pulled last night. Hunt wouldn't have blamed him if he'd been given the cold shoulder for a while just to punish him. But then again... that wasn't Shawn. For all he'd been the 'master' at dealing with Vince and the WWE, he'd never deliberately hurt anyone... not even Marty. He'd been ambitious, hell no wrestler could claim innocence there, and as far as Hunter was concerned he'd done what he'd had to do to succeed. As for Vince's affection for Shawn, hell that was ancient history as far as Hunter was concerned. At least Shawn hadn't _married_ the guy to get the title. But they could probably play 'who's the biggest sell out' all day. Right now Shawn was proposing 'something', a 'something' that Hunter was still trying to get his head around.

He'd gone from the angstKing of Whiskey to Shawn's possible lover in the space of an hour and even his vaunted cerebral cortex was misfiring.

And Dave? Shawn believed Dave had said Hunter's name in a dream. Wow. That would be.... just... But, despite Shawn's hopeful assertions Hunter had to seriously doubt his dream self was in the big man's good books. More like a grunt of 'hurt him and I'll kill you Hunter' than anything else. Although he still had it in him to hope.

But Shawn thought he could love Dave as well. Love them both? It wasn't a new concept to Hunter's mind at all. He'd had plenty of fantasy material about both men, separately and together to fill a porn website. Loving two men wasn't a stretch, he was almost there anyway, it was just that Dave had been so obviously even less interested than Shawn was, he'd relegated those thoughts to the 'wouldn't it be nice' section of his mind. Now his beautiful friend wanted to try something between the three of them? Well, Hunter would do just about anything right now to hold onto Shawn's high regard. Maybe he could claw his way back into Dave's affections too if he gave it enough energy.

So... was he going to give Shawn anything the man asked of him? In the immortal words of his favorite red neck... oh hell yeah!

Letting a grin come back to his once frowning features Hunter leaned forward and replied to Shawn's agonised question with his own 'first kiss'. A gentle peck, to indicate finally admitted love, affection and potential real happiness. Shawn's mouth was slightly swollen from his tears and looked good enough to ravish, but neither of them were quite there yet. There was a third aching heart in this crazy tangle to soothe.

Dropping a second light kiss onto Shawn's forehead, Hunter squeezed the smaller hands in his reassuringly and smoothly rose to his feet. Taking a deep fortifying breath, he leaned his shoulder against the wall beside the bathroom door and reaching out, knocked politely.

"Dave? You can come out now. Shawn has generously decided not to string me up by the balls." Hunter kept his tone light and easy... not to ridicule what was happening here, never that... just to communicate to Dave it wasn't quite so murderously painful out here anymore. "Whether you still feel like it, I have yet to find out."

****

At first Scott wasn't sure what to think when Kevin reached back for him. He knew that the effects of the cream should kick in shortly. The pain in Kevin's ass should be mutating into a dull ache and then fading almost completely. With any luck at all, Kevin would be able to sit on the plane in almost complete comfort, though sudden movements would most likely aggravate the spots where it was the most sore.

Slipping off of Kevin's thighs and onto the bed beside him, Scott looked at his lover, a silent question in his eyes. He smiled at his love; the color on Kev's cheeks reinforcing the words he'd just spoken. The gentle hand trailing over his face increased his curiosity. Kev was apparently in a very thoughtful place right now if his expression was anything to go by.

 _"...I never told you that before... I'm sorry."_

Kev thought he was beautiful. He was pretty sure there was an answering shade of pink flowing into his own cheeks at the moment. Kevin's actions often conveyed his thoughts, so Scott had known that Kevin appreciated his looks, but he'd never actually expected Kevin to come out and say it. Scott felt his heart swell at the words that were obviously awkward for Kevin to give him. He understood... guys, especially guys in their business didn't toss around the word beautiful when it came to men... it was an acceptable term for women apparently, but there was just something weird about applying it to another man... a stigma of sorts. Kevin had voiced it anyway.

The press of Kevin's lips against his cut off the goofy smile he could feel creeping onto his face. Kevin stripping off his shirt distracted him for a moment. Having Kevin laid out naked before him was always a good thing no matter if he could actually take advantage of it or not... and Kev thought that he wasn't beautiful? Scotty would just have to prove him wrong.

He was glad that Kevin wasn't upset with the methods that he'd used to get them to this point. They were in a good place right now and apparently that was all that mattered to Kevin. Thank goodness. Now he had to figure out how to convince Kev that he was beautiful... in Scott's eyes. Maybe he could make it into a game of sorts... He wondered how long it would take Kevin to figure out what he was doing. Only one way to find out...

"Of course it's still good... and if I were ten years younger I'd add in your front and everything in-between," Scott said, returning his lover's smile with a smirk. Pushing himself up to his knees, he knelt beside Kevin... sitting on his ass for this part of the massage just didn't seem like a very good option. Scott squeezed some of the cream from the tube in his hands and warmed it as he had before. With alternating gentle and firm touches, he rubbed every inch of Kevin's back as he talked quietly.

"You know... you may not have come right out and said it before Kev, but you don't need to apologize. You have told me... with actions even if you didn't say the words. No matter what you think, you _are_ beautiful. I love your eyes... such a pretty green and so damn expressive. I can look into them and all the love you have for me is right there. You tell me more with them than you could ever possibly guess. Beautiful, Kev."

Pressing a soft kiss against a shoulder, Scott continued the massage. Now he'd wait awhile... until later today or maybe tomorrow, then he'd choose something else about Kev that he found beautiful. Eventually he'd touch on every bit of the man, because Scott couldn't think of a single part of Kev that he didn't find beautiful. He'd convince Kevin of it, even if he had to do it part by part.

****

Dave was running a finger over the bruise beneath his eye while trying to decide how Shawn and Hunter were going to react to it. He wasn't stupid... and neither were they. They were going to notice. Shawn would probably blame himself, which Dave was going to try to prevent. Hunter... Hunter would either feel bad about it or decide it was what he'd deserved for letting Shawn beat on him... depending most likely on how their discussion went out there. He was wondering at the chances of sneaking out without either of them seeing him when there was a knock on the door. Jerking at the unexpected noise, he snatched his hand away, bumping against his swollen nose in the process.

 _"...Shawn has generously decided not to string me up by the balls."_

"Ow," he said almost silently, his mouth gaping for a moment. He looked at himself in the mirror and rolled his eyes. Could he be a bigger wimp? Tossing the washcloth towards the hamper, he smiled as it swished in.

 _"Whether you still feel like it, I have yet to find out."_

Taking one last look in the mirror, he decided to try to bluff his way out of the room. Maybe he could get a hold of one of the Divas without anyone being the wiser. Most women carried makeup with them right? He could try calling Victoria or maybe Trish. All he had to do was keep his head down and bolt for the door as soon as possible... yeah, like that was going to work. He sighed as he realised that he hadn't answered Hunter. Walking over to the door he cracked it open, switching off the light before pulling the door the rest of the way open. Maybe it wouldn't look so bad in natural light versus fluorescent. There he went dreaming again.

"I never wanted to do anything like that Hunter," he said in a quiet rumble as he spotted the man leaning against the wall. He lowered his head, hoping it would help hide the marks somewhat. He twitched a bit because he would have preferred to make his apologies while looking Hunter in the eyes, but considering the circumstances...

"I just wanted you to admit the truth to him so he'd stop feeling so torn up. I'm, uh, sorry about not letting you go, but I was just trying to keep either of you from getting hurt." Raising a hand he rubbed the back of his neck to distract himself from the impulse to look Hunter over for bruises. "Besides, Shawn might have a use for them now that he's not threatening them."

He could feel the color flooding his cheeks. Geez. He should really learn to keep his mouth shut since apparently he lost all tact when it came to anything concerning Shawn or Hunter. He feigned looking at his watch, not really bothering to notice what time it was. "Wow. It's getting late. Since you two aren't going to kill each other, I should go pack so I don't miss my flight. Tell Shawn I'll talk to him later. I'll... I'll see you tonight sometime, Hunter," he said, sneaking one last peek from under his lashes at the man standing beside him.

As he turned towards the door, he realised that he didn't know if Hunter had had his ring gear sent back to his room last night or not... since he hadn't been there. If he asked if that's what Hunter had done, then he would know that Dave never made it back to his room last night and he might think that he'd been right about his earlier assumptions. Figuring it best that he just check his room first and then call Hunter if it wasn't there, he started walking towards the door. He'd leave Shawn and Hunter alone to talk about the future and he'd go raid the mini-fridge to drown his dreams in empty calories... not liquor. He did actually have a flight to make after all.


	22. Propositions

Adam almost laughed at Chris' eagerness... he'd known that Chris could move quickly if he wanted to. He let his eyes roam for just a moment over his lover's golden flesh before moving in to press his chest up against Chris' broad muscular back. He let his hands wander aimlessly over the territory that had been pressed flat against the mattress until now. He explored taut nipples, angled ribs, muscular abs, and strong thighs with a quicksilver touch, his aching member pressed tautly between Chris' buttocks.

He could hear Chris' quiet pleading and he was tempted to give in and give him what he was begging for... but not quite yet. There was one thing left that he wanted to do before he laid claim to Chris' body again.

"Easy, sweetheart. Soon... very soon," he said before slipping his tongue agilely down the knots of Chris' spine. "There's just one more thing I want to do before I give you what you want, Chris," he murmured against the top of Chris' tailbone with a grin. "Just going to make sure you're ready for me, sweetheart."

Not giving the blond any more warning, Adam slipped his tongue further south, brushing slowly against the sensitive flesh of Chris' hole before pushing inside. He didn't linger, wiggling his tongue for a moment before withdrawing. He would insist on exploring that particular avenue another time, but this time, he'd wanted just a little taste. Chris was growing more insistent and Adam wasn't going to deny him what he'd promised.

Taking his hard cock in hand, he pressed himself close to Chris' back once again. He breached his lover's entrance slowly, just as promised, moaning quietly against the warm flesh of Chris' back as the head of his cock pushed through the tight ring of muscle. Inch by inch, he pressed forward slowly until he was fully embedded inside the silky warm channel. He gritted his teeth, wanting nothing more than to ride Chris ragged, but that wasn't what he'd promised, was it?

Withdrawing until just the head remained inside his lover's snug sheath, he pushed in with a slow glide, his breath leaving him in gentle puffs across the tanned skin on the back of Chris' neck. He could feel his own descent into his own manic incoherent phase and crossed his fingers that he'd remember the rules of this particular encounter... slow and easy until Chris begged for more and maybe even a tad longer than that.

Hands on Chris' hips, he edged them a bit closer to the headboard so that they were almost in a kneeling position, keeping his pace in check. "Feels so good, sweetheart. Love being inside you." He let his hands wander over the taut muscles of Chris' thighs, drawing closer to the apex with each stroke before finally taking the hard shaft located there in his hand. "Do ya like that, Chris? So hard... so hot against my hand... Want you inside me again soon... loved how you fucked me, sweetheart."

Losing control momentarily, Adam snapped his hips hard, driving himself inside Chris' clinging channel. He bit down on his lip, hoping the pain would put a rein on his eagerness. His breathing was growing heavier, puffing against Chris' neck and ear. "Want to taste you again, Chris. Go down on you until you explode inside my mouth, swallow every drop."

****

Nearly holding his breath, Shawn waited for Hunter's answer. As the moments passed in silence, he tried not to worry, not to be afraid that his most deeply-held dream was crumbling around him. Hunter's arms didn't move from him... that gave him hope. Finally, gathering his courage, he raised his head to look at Hunter's face.

As he was trying to process the smile on that familiar face, Hunt had leaned forward and kissed him. _Kissed_ him. The brief touch sent shivers down his spine, making him want to melt into the arms holding him. Before he could even begin to respond, though, it was over. Another soft touch of those lips on his forehead and then Hunter was standing, the brief squeeze of his hands telling Shawn that all of his fears, all of his worry, had been for nothing.

Hunter loved him.

Letting his eyes drift shut for a moment, he stayed on his knees on the floor, simply savouring the words. He'd never thought he'd actually hear them, had never believed that his best friend could possibly feel that way about him. But he did. The warmth that had stayed with Shawn the night before while he was in Dave's arms returned, relief and joy making him almost giddy.

Hunter _loved_ him.

 _"Shawn has generously decided not to string me up by the balls."_

A snort of laughter escaped him at Hunt's words and he opened his eyes to see the other man leaning next to the bathroom door, trying to look relaxed. It wasn't working too well; whether he'd believed Shawn or not about Dave moaning his name, the tension running through him as he waited for Dave's response was obvious. Trust Hunter's usual eloquence to make itself known now. He might be trying to let Dave know that everything was calm out here, but the phrasing was... interesting. Especially since _Shawn_ hadn't mentioned anything about Hunter's balls... He shook himself off that line of thought quickly. That wasn't what he needed to be dwelling on right now, not with the third in this little triangle about to come out of hiding, undoubtedly convinced that they had fixed things and were preparing to move on and tell him thanks, now run along and find someone else to play with.

Like Shawn would let that happen. He'd meant every word he'd said to Dave the night before and that morning. Hopefully Dave would be open to the possibility of being involved with both of them. He was sure that Hunter was open to the idea, given the man's whining over the last year about being blown off by Dave... not to mention the comment he'd made last night about being attracted to him. Of course, that could lead to all sorts of interesting problems to work out... first times... Rolling his eyes at himself, he stood up as the bathroom door opened. Just because it'd been months... well, maybe longer... since he'd had any didn't mean that he had to obsess over it _now_ of all times.

Watching Dave stand in the doorway, Shawn frowned a little. Why was Dave staring at the floor? That wasn't like the man at all; normally he was all about looking people in the eye... wait. He moved closer, tilting his head as he looked more closely. That was a bruise. Shit. He winced as he got closer, realising that at some point in their little tussle, either he or Hunter had actually hurt the big man. His lips twisted into a slight grimace at the thought, knowing that if he'd just been able to control himself a little better, Dave would never have ended up involved in the fight anyway.

 _"Besides, Shawn might have a use for them now that he's not threatening them."_

Stop. Blink.

What?

The blush covering Dave's face told Shawn that he had indeed heard him correctly. Stifling a laugh, he stopped in front of Dave, biting his lip as he saw the darkening bruise under his eye. One of them must've gotten his nose... probably Hunter, but probably from one of his punches. Speaking of which, he'd have to remember to check Hunter over for bruises, too. He had to force himself from turning and eyeing his friend at that thought, knowing where that would lead if he let it. Poor Dave. He probably thought he'd just made a huge mistake, saying that. He was actually _right_ , although Shawn certainly wasn't about to say that at this point.

 _"Tell Shawn I'll talk to him later."_

As the big man took a step, Shawn reached out and put a hand up against his chest, bringing him to a halt.

"Why not tell me yourself?" He really hadn't _meant_ for that to come out almost as a purr... his voice was still sore and his throat seemed to be doing odd things to his voice. Oh well. "In fact, why leave, Dave? I think we have some things to talk about right now." Casting a look at Hunter for approval and seeing the slight nod, Shawn smiled.

Guiding the reluctant man to the sofa, Shawn sat next to him, motioning Hunter towards the chair. This could be the moment of truth for all three of them, and he realised that he was nervous as hell. If he said something wrong, if he pushed the wrong way... this was all over. He reached over and picked up Dave's hand, holding it in his. He decided that he'd better start off being blunt, or Dave would take any chance he saw to try to run out on them again. Shawn knew that if the big man left him, it would _hurt_... and he didn't want that to happen.

"Dave... I told you this morning that I wanted something to happen between us just as much as you did. I still do." He paused, looking into the dark eyes, trying to communicate his sincerity. "I'm sure that's not what you're expecting to hear, but that's what I'm saying. I'm not saying it out of pity or out of gratitude. Yes, Hunter and I love each other..." He had to stop after saying that, just to roll the words around for a second.

"But... well. I told you last night that the Clique stories were exaggerated. I _didn't_ say that they weren't true." Watching Dave's reactions, he continued slowly, his voice rough, "I'll get to the point. I know you appreciate honesty. It's probably nothing you've ever thought about, but... if you're willing... I would love to make something between the three of us. I know that you have feelings for both of us, and I know that I already feel _something_ for you. I won't lie and claim that it's love, but... it could be. If we try."

Seeing the growing tension on the big man's face, Shawn leaned forward, moving one hand up to Dave's shoulder. "I _know_  you feel something for both of us, Dave, so don't even try to deny it. You said this morning that you didn't want to make love with me 'until we _all_ knew where we stood'. That's a quote. If you were only worried about me and you... you wouldn't have said that. And even if I hadn't heard you moan both mine and Hunter's names while you were dreaming..." He couldn't help but smile a little at the embarrassment on Dave's face. "Besides that, your little comment earlier about being happy to have either of us feel that way about you... I heard that. And given that you were busily encouraging Hunt to be happy that I loved him... well, that doesn't leave a lot of room for misinterpretation."

Sitting back again, not wanting to crowd the man _too_ much, he looked over at Hunter, smiling a little at the look on his face. "I'm not asking you to play second fiddle, Dave. I'm asking you to be another first. Hunt and I have a lot of work to do to try to make this work out, so it won't be easy... but we want you to be part of it. If you want to be."

****

 _"...if I were ten years younger I'd add in your front and everything in-between."_

Kevin laughed, finally feeling almost back to normal. He was still achy, although pleasantly surprised by how quickly the pain was fading, and he knew that he was going to be sticking very close to Scott for the rest of the day; but he felt... almost refreshed. Closer to Scott than he had before, and after all the work they'd put into their relationship this time around, that was saying something.

As Scotty's fingers worked their magic on his back, rubbing away aches and knots he hadn't even known he'd had, he sighed happily, his face pressed into the pillow. Another sigh, and a soft moan... he was purring. Damn. He didn't _purr_... but he did for Scott. He smiled into the pillow at that thought, too relaxed to really care, his mind happily lost in the growing haze of low-level pleasure that he found himself wrapped in.

Scott's low voice caught his attention, though, and he forced himself back to earth enough to listen. He could listen to Scott talk for hours sometimes, especially when he let his accent come out.

 _"You have told me...with actions even if you didn't say the words."_

Smiling a little more, he admitted that it was nice to know for sure that Scott noticed things. They were never things he did on purpose, but little things... like brushing the hair out of Scott's face while he was sleeping, or making sure he had an extra blanket when he had to sleep by himself, or little touches to his shoulder or back when he looked like he needed reassurance... Even thinking about all the things he normally did without realising it made him happy; the fact that Scott noticed them was just the icing on the cake. He did them because he wanted to, because they made him feel good by knowing that they made Scott feel good.

 _"No matter what you think, you _are_ beautiful."_

Knowing that Scott wouldn't be argued with on this point, recognising the tone of voice, Kevin bit his lip. If Scott wanted to believe that he was beautiful, who was he to argue?

 _"You tell me more with them than you could ever possibly guess. Beautiful, Kev."_

Damn. He could feel the heat creeping up his cheeks again. How many times had he thought almost the same thing about Scott? But then, everything was beautiful about Scott. Maybe he didn't have the body he'd had ten years ago, but then, neither did Kevin. His hair was going grey... so was Kevin's. He didn't move quite as quickly or last quite as long... but neither did Kevin.

None of that mattered; Scott still had that voice that he loved to listen to, those dark eyes that he fell into every time he looked at them, the thick hair that he could run his fingers through, that way of knowing exactly how he was feeling and of how to make him feel better when he needed it... Nothing that was quintessentially _Scott_ had changed at all. It had just become clearer once the alcohol was gone.

He wanted to tell Scotty all of that, let him know how much he loved him for everything that he was... and then realised that he didn't need to. Scott already knew... just like he knew how Scott felt about him. That was the point.

Relaxing into the massage, the soft kiss brought a slightly deeper noise out of him. When those wonderful fingers finally stopped moving, he was nearly asleep. He knew they had to finish packing, had to get ready for their flight... but he was so relaxed, so lost in that haze that he just couldn't quite force himself to move.

The bed dipped momentarily as Scott got up, and Kevin could faintly hear him moving around the room, probably doing the packing that Kevin had been too lazy to do the night before. They seemed to take turns almost at doing things like that, using them as points to bicker genially over during long flights and car trips. Kevin's lips curved a little at the thought, and he burrowed a little deeper into the pillow.

He'd get up in just a minute and then he'd help Scott. Just another minute...

****

He'd known it wasn't going to work. Dave froze as soon as he felt Shawn's touch on his chest. He hadn't wanted to just skip out without saying goodbye, but he wasn't sure he could have handled actually facing Shawn and knowing that the happiness that he had to be feeling right now was because of someone else... even if that someone else was Hunter. After the time that they'd shared last night it would sting just a little bit.

 _"In fact, why leave, Dave? I think we have some things to talk about right now."_

He found himself forced to suppress both a sigh and a shudder. The shudder because of the way Shawn's voice sounded... true it was from the crying, but it was still pretty damn sexy all rough like that. The sigh because he had a bad feeling about what Shawn wanted to talk about. He already had it figured out. He didn't need the official kiss-off that he knew was coming. Reluctantly he followed Shawn across the room and took a seat on the sofa. He braced himself for the worst and hoped it would be over quickly as he felt the sofa dip beside him when Shawn took a seat. The fact that Hunter was going to be a witness to the whole thing wasn't exactly making him jump for joy either. Maybe after a polite 'thanks for the help' he could be on his way. Shawn took his hand and Dave looked up in surprise as he started speaking.

 _"Dave... I told you this morning that I wanted something to happen between us just as much as you did. I still do."_

What? His mind ground to a halt almost unable to process Shawn's words. A moment later it was practically shrieking at him. 'But... but... what about Hunter? Shawn loves Hunter. Hunter loves Shawn. Why would he want something to happen with you?' he thought to himself. Luckily his mouth wasn't capable of functioning at the moment, it still being frozen by his brain.

 _"...I didn't say that they weren't true."_

His brain was back to non-functioning again. Rumors... which particular rumors Shawn might be talking about he wasn't sure. And which parts had been exaggerated? It boggled the mind. He'd written most of them off to being completely blown out of proportion. That was the nature of rumors, wasn't it? And the shocks kept coming.

 _"... if you're willing... I would love to make something between the three of us."_

Oh no, no, no. He got it now. He'd fallen asleep in the bathroom and this was another one of his bizarre dreams. It had to be. Or maybe he wasn't in the bathroom at all. Maybe this whole thing was something he'd cooked up in his lonely mind. Shawn was not actually sitting here and suggesting that the three of them form some sort of relationship with Hunter sitting there blithely going along with it. He considered pinching himself, but wasn't going to risk looking that stupid, just in case this _was_ real.

He skipped the part where Shawn mentioned him having feelings for both of them. After all... how could Shawn _know_? He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that he knew exactly how Shawn might know, but he pushed it away. If he had been talking in his sleep, wouldn't Shawn have said something about it this morning?

 _"I won't lie and claim that it's love, but... it could be. If we try."_

It could be... if we try. Shawn could love him? That's when his brain smacked him with the other part of the equation. Hunter was sitting there, but what did he really think about all this? He wasn't objecting, but other than the token comment that Hunter had made in the limo about finding him attractive, which he'd quickly written off to something Hunter had said to throw Shawn off the trail of the truth, Dave couldn't remember Hunter ever showing an interest in him other than friendship.

So what was Shawn proposing exactly here? That he and Hunter share time with Shawn? Would they toss a coin to decide who was sleeping with Shawn and who was sleeping on the couch each night? And what about the feelings that he had for Hunter? Could he keep them hidden well enough that Hunter wouldn't suspect anything? Dave just couldn't see how this could possibly work out. Hunter already loved Shawn... why would Shawn take a risk with that just because he thought he might be able to love him as well. Before he could ask Shawn that very question, Shawn tipped his whole world on its axis.

He wasn't about to try to deny that he had feelings for both of them, but he wasn't about to blurt that out either. He suppressed a groan over his own words coming back to bite him on the ass. He remembered saying it, but he hadn't thought that Shawn would actually see the truth in his statement when he'd included that little word "all". He also had to suppress a blush over Shawn mentioning that they'd actually talked about making love. Hunter was sitting right there for god's sake... what was he going to think about what Shawn had said? Would he be thankful for the proof that they hadn't been together or would he consider Dave an idiot for turning down the opportunity?

 _"...And even if I hadn't heard you moan both mine and Hunter's names while you were dreaming..."_

He wasn't sure if he was going to blush or throw up. Luckily his body settled on the blush... that was much easier on the carpet. Apparently he had been talking in his sleep and Shawn just hadn't seen fit to mention it. To save him the embarrassment? He was praying that he'd sink through the floor at that moment, but apparently no one was answering prayers right now.

 _"... Well, that doesn't leave a lot of room for misinterpretation."_

At least he'd been fully aware of that slip up when he made it, even if it had spilled out without his thinking about it. And of course Shawn had heard what he said, because that just seemed to be Dave's luck over the last 24 hours... him putting his foot in his mouth and Shawn hearing him do it. He still couldn't believe he'd said what he had over by the bathroom about Hunter's... so not going there. Once was bad enough. He'd be fire engine red if he followed that thought to conclusion.

 _"...But we want you to be part of it. If you want to be."_

If he wanted to be? He'd give his left testicle and maybe his right as well if it were actually possible... on second thought, maybe not. If it were possible, then he'd probably want to keep those two items. He tried to think it through logically, but that didn't seem to help. Say that Shawn was capable of loving both of them... that was possible, after all Dave certainly had feelings for both Hunter and Shawn, so why couldn't Shawn? That still didn't explain why Hunter would go along with this. Maybe if he pointed out to Shawn that Hunter didn't have those kinds of feelings for him then Shawn would understand why this couldn't work... maybe.

He reached a hand towards his face to rub at his eyes without thought, jerking away at the last second. The last thing he needed was to repeat his little "ow" from the bathroom earlier. That'd be real smooth. Instead he turned to look at Shawn, because he couldn't focus on Hunter and say what needed to be said. He wasn't sure he could actually say it at all, but he was going to try.

"Look... Shawn, I..." He didn't growl; though he wanted to. Shawn had already outed his feelings and Dave wasn't going to lie about them. Maybe he could skim over them. "I'm not going to deny that I said those things, I can't... but even though I said them... I don't get how this could possibly work out. Even if you think you could feel the same way about me that you do about Hunter... even if I might feel the same way about both of you... it still wouldn't work. Hunter doesn't feel that way about me... so where does that leave him?" Damn. He'd just done it again... hadn't he?

That time he wasn't paying enough attention to stop his hand from covering his face. At least he hadn't squeaked when he said ouch.

****

Hunter almost took a step towards Dave as his sometime friend finally came out of the bathroom. He managed to control the movement in its infancy but couldn't stop his hand lifting to the damaged nose and eyes. Turning the action into a scratch of his shoulder, Hunt was thankful Dave hadn't seen the gesture as his eyes were firmly fixed on the door out of the room.

He couldn't really blame the guy. If Hunter had witnessed just such an emotional and physical brawl and then been smashed in the face, all the while the guy you have the hots for is bullying another to acknowledge their mutual attraction, he'd want to run for the hills as well. Checking his stance to make sure the oh-so casual pose actually kept him between Dave and the door, Hunter's jaw dropped at Dave's risqué suggestion.

Well damn him if the big scary 'animal' Batista wasn't blushing like he'd been sunburnt. Suppressing all rampant speculation as to the spread of the rosy colour below Dave's neckline, Hunter covered his lips with his fingers to mask a chuckle. That the condition of his balls had become a topic of conversation, was something for which he only had himself to blame.

Fortunately Shawn stepped in at that moment, both to stop Dave from leaving and to explain Shawn's beyond amazing suggestion. Although his friend had indicated he sit, Hunter was too nervous to relax while Shawn propositioned Dave. Wow. Now when would Hunt ever imagine he'd be thinking that sentence? Catching sight once more of the small bloodstain on Dave's shirt, Hunt became aware of his own state of undress. The bare feet he could live with, being the only one with his shirt off would definitely contribute to his discomfort. Pulling a pale purple dress shirt from his suit bag, he slipped it over his shoulders, fastening the lower buttons only as a concession to the heat. A heat still palpable, despite his luxury suite's A-grade air-conditioning.

Loosely folding his arms over his chest, it was Hunter's turn to stare at the floor, hair falling forward in a curtain, while Shawn spoke. His own feelings on the subject of... what were they? ... well... _best be honest Hunt_... a threesome... Christ... were mixed to say the least. To have Shawn as a lover would be a dream come true, to add Dave to the mix... well... it was down right unbelievable. Personally Hunter would be over the moon to be in a relationship with both men, and not just because he was so starved of affection he'd take any situation. He loved Shawn, of course. But the best part was, he actually liked him too. They got on so well that it really wasn't a surprise their friendship had lasted this long. Hunt liked Dave too and had been happy to be _his_ friend and traveling companion.

The big question was whether Shawn could talk the other man into joining them. Hunter had his doubts, given Dave's rejection of him in the past. But like Hunter, maybe the bigger man would take Shawn under any conditions he could get him. It wasn't ideal, Hunt loathed the idea of Dave being forced to take both men like they were a matched set, but it was better than losing Dave's presence because he couldn't stand to see Shawn with Hunter.

Just the existence of 'Shawn and Hunter' was enough to make his head spin.

 _about being happy to have either of us feel that way about you_

Hunter's head snapped up at Shawn's words. Had Dave really said that? He'd been so shamed by the disgust dripping off the man's voice that _that_ particular line hadn't registered. But... but Dave didn't... his mind stuttered. He'd made it perfectly clear he'd been only interested in friendship... and a cool one at that. Hunter had tried asking him to dinner and coffee, offering to train together and share limousines. Sure, he'd always had Ric as a buffer so the taller man wouldn't feel uncomfortable, but except for a few small group gatherings, he'd firmly given Hunter the cold shoulder.

 _even if I might feel the same way about both of you_

Now that wasn't cold.

Hunter was really having trouble getting beyond the total lack of cold in Dave's perplexed admission. Apparently Dave was happy to involve himself with both Shawn and Hunter, what made it more fantastic was that he was willing to try it with them _at the same time_. Despite the pleased bubble that was working its way up his spine, a suspicious part of Hunter couldn't let go of Dave's previous behaviour. It just didn't track that one minute the guy would be all ' _you just tossed him away like trash for a little bit of power with the company_ ' and ' _get your head out of your ass_ ' to be wanting Hunter as a lover any time soon.

Given that he'd already spilled his guts to Shawn today, it seemed Dave was next on the list.

Sliding his hands into his pockets to hide their twisting, he took the few small steps to put him beside the two men on the couch. Tilting his head, Hunter looked down at Dave's bowed head through thoughtful eyes. The 'Animal' still hadn't looked at him since he'd left the bathroom and Hunt found that pretty disturbing. If Dave did want him, he wanted to know why the previous brush-off; if he didn't, Hunter needed to know right now for all their sakes.

Feeling a perverse sense of power to be looking _down_ at Dave for a change, Hunter let his confusion show in his voice.

" _I_ don't want _you_ Buddy? Who invited whom out to coffee about a million times before he was told, quite snarkily I might say, that caffeine was going to give him heart disease? Who wanted to catch Dwayne's latest picture last month but was told that someone had gym work to do 'cos you weren't gonna risk anything at Backlash?" This sounded remarkably like about ten conversations he'd had with Shawn recently. Hunter hoped he hadn't sounded quite so much like a whiny bitch. "I think _someone_ rather obviously likes _someone_ like _that_ and _someone_ obviously doesn't like them back."

That had actually come out better than he'd planned. It was probably all the practice. Maybe after this he should ring Vince and call his father in law a complete bastard who didn't have half the brains his daughter did in her little finger.

Maybe not.

****

It had taken him a moment to notice the color in Kevin's cheeks. He'd done it again... and again Scott couldn't take advantage of it. Wasn't that just his luck? It took him a moment to figure out what had most likely caused that reaction. His compliments? Nah, he complimented Kev all the time... but he didn't normally use the word beautiful when he did so... hmmm. Scott suppressed the urge to cackle with glee. Oh this was going to be even more fun than he had imagined. He ran some scenarios through his head as he gently kneaded Kevin's muscles. Maybe he'd drop his next little bomb on the airplane later...

Noticing that Kevin was on the edge of sleep, Scott finished up the last of his ministrations and then moved off the bed. They did need to get their stuff packed and Kevin didn't look like he was going to be moving any time soon without the help of a crane. Technically it was Kevin's turn to pack their things, but Scott just didn't have the heart to force him to do it. Kevin had had a very rough day... emotionally as well as the torture of sitting through breakfast. As he walked around the room gathering their things and putting them into the suitcase, Scott couldn't help but look at Kevin lying sprawled out on the mattress.

He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping, despite the fact that his backside was still a pretty decent shade of pink. Maybe he would have to try to talk Kev into putting some more of the cream on before they actually boarded the plane, otherwise Kev wasn't going to be able to sit still on that plane. After getting their things from the bathroom and stowing them away as well, Scott climbed back onto the bed to lay down next to Kevin. It had only been about thirty minutes since Kevin had fallen asleep, but Kevin was going to have to get up and get dressed so that they could get to the terminal. Scott wasn't about to miss the flight and get both of them in trouble with Vince. Or should that be more trouble in Scott's case?

Leaning close to his lover, Scott pressed a kiss against his cheek and ran a hand slowly through the silky strands of his hair. "Kevin... Kev, you are gonna have to get up babe. We have a flight to catch."

****

 _"I think someone rather obviously likes someone like that and someone obviously doesn't like them back."_

Dave sat on the couch, looking at the floor in stunned silence. Hunter could not possibly be saying what he thought he was saying. Knowing what he knew _now_ put those invitations in a bit of a different light, but at the time he'd been trying to fight his attraction to the guy who was _married_ to the boss' daughter. He felt a flare of anger towards himself for his obvious wrong assumptions and a bit at Hunter because the man had never clarified that his invitations were more than an extension of friendship.

He shot to his feet, bringing himself chest to chest, face to face with the man that he'd been fighting his feelings over for months. Not even thinking about any possible consequences, he threaded his fingers through Hunter's hair and covered his mouth in a kiss that was almost brutal in its intensity. Pulling away, he felt more than a little disgusted with himself for acting like the animal that he portrayed, but there was still that underlying anger that things could have been different. His breath leaving him in harsh pants, he looked Hunter directly in the eye.

"Does that feel like I'm not interested Hunter... does it?" His voice was surprisingly level considering the waffling emotions running through him. "How was I supposed to know Hunter? You are married to the boss' daughter. You never gave one indication that you had an interest in men. As far as I knew you wanted to be _friends_. I couldn't do that Hunter... I couldn't be your friend. You want to know why?"

Despite the fact that he normally preferred to face someone when he spoke to them, he couldn't handle doing so right now. Exposing so much of himself was going to be hard in this situation. He turned away abruptly to face the window that Hunter had been looking out of earlier. He took a deep breath and his voice took on an edge of calm through some miracle.

"I couldn't be your friend Hunter, because then you would have figured it out. I couldn't let myself get that close to you because I wouldn't have wanted to let it end there... I would have wanted to _touch_ and as far as I knew that wasn't a possibility." The sound that burst out of him then might have been a laugh if not for the slightly hysterical edge to it. "Do you have any idea how many _hours_ I've spent up in the nosebleed section of different arenas watching you while you work in the ring? It wasn't because I wanted to learn ring psychology; it wasn't because I wanted to learn a better way to wrestle; and it wasn't because I like high places. I sat up there and watched you because that was a safe place to do it from. I could look at you all I wanted to and you wouldn't have a clue that I was doing it. Half the time I felt like a god damn stalker, but I couldn't stop myself from doing it. You'll have to excuse me if I turned down an invitation for coffee from a _friend_ because I was afraid you'd see right through me."

He took another deep breath, not really believing that he'd just let all of that out. God it felt... liberating. Not having to hide the way he felt anymore. Although he was kind of worried about the way Hunter would react to what he'd just said. The tension was so thick in the air that he felt like he was going to smother. He wanted to say something... anything to relieve it.

"Besides...caffeine isn't good for you anyway."

****

 _"Hunter doesn't feel that way about me...so where does that leave him?"_

Watching Dave flinch away from touching his face made Shawn want to do something. He just didn't know _what_. He was pretty sure that the big man wouldn't appreciate random touches at the moment, obviously being more than a little surprised by his sudden... invitation. Dave had been in the bathroom more than long enough to rummage through stuff and find where Hunter kept his pain meds. (In the side pocket of his small black bag, probably stashed under the counter... of course, with the headache he so obviously had, Hunt had probably used them and left them on the counter already.)

Biting his lip, he considered Dave's words, wondering how in the world they'd all gotten to this point... Were they really _that_ blind and self-centered? Or maybe just that scared of rejection, if they were honest about it. He knew that Dave's concern was misplaced, to say the least, having heard Hunter whine about the big man ignoring him for the last year... but he _had_ kind of assumed how Hunt actually _felt_ about him.

He glanced to the side as movement caught his eye, only then noticing that Hunt had pulled on a shirt. Damn. Aside from the lovely expanse of skin that was now hidden, he'd wanted to see if he'd actually bruised Hunt. A small shudder ran through him at the thought. He'd been so out of control, so lost in the hurt and the anger... he'd _hurt_ Hunter, he knew he had, and that made him feel almost ill. He'd never been pushed so far before, and hopefully he never would be again.

Looking back to Dave as Hunter approached, he hoped he was reading the two of them correctly. Being with Hunter... that would be the culmination of the dream he'd held dearest for the last decade. Dave was newer to him, but... if he hadn't believed that he _could_ love the big man, he wouldn't have told him that. And hopefully, Dave would never feel like second fiddle to either of them.

If this was going to become a reality, it would take a hell of a lot of work from all three of them, and he had no misconceptions that they could just merrily all pile into bed together, have incredibly hot sex, and live happily ever after. As nice as the incredibly hot sex part sounded, it wasn't going to be that easy. He and Hunter had to work on rebuilding their trust, which was damaged, and communication, which had obviously suffered throughout their friendship, albeit for reasons that were moot now. With Dave involved, those issues quadrupled... and they'd most definitely have to make sure that no one felt excluded or favoured. That was going to be the trickiest part, and one that Shawn fully expected to have several discussions---hopefully _not_ arguments---over.

Part of him sat there as he listened to Hunter speak, wondering just how in the hell he could so happily throw himself into his friend's arms, after the heartbreak of the night before. How could he _trust_ him, after that? Well... the trust they'd built with each other over the last nine years was still there, if damaged. And... how could he _not_ throw himself at Hunter? Knowing that Hunt had lied to him, had hurt him so badly, trying to _protect_ him... that put a different light on things, especially since Hunt had been honest with him this morning. The fact that he didn't _need_ that kind of protection was a different matter and one that he could definitely wait a while before bringing up. First, they had to figure out where they were going from here... and with who.

 _"I think_ someone _rather obviously likes_ someone _like_ that _and_ someone _obviously doesn't like them back."_

A quiet laugh escaped him, as much as he tried to hold it back. Hunter's eloquence was simply astounding at times. This wasn't really one of them. However, it seemed to have gotten his point across, and Shawn was deeply gratified to know that he had indeed read his best friend correctly. All of that hurt whining had to have come from _somewhere_ , after all. And it was about damned time that he whined at the object of his hurt, rather than to Shawn. They'd had some conversations in the past few months that had ended because Shawn's ability to suppress the urge to choke the whininess out of Hunter had started to unravel.

Dave's sudden move to his feet took Shawn by surprise and he leaned back, about to try to calm the big man down... and found himself speechless.

The sight of Dave kissing Hunter... not even kissing him, but _plundering_ him... Shawn sucked in a deep breath, not able to tear his eyes away from the sight. That raw passion, the _power_... he moaned softly as his cock twitched, reminding him of the earlier frustration of the morning. Remembering his thoughts when Dave had so casually lifted him to set him on his feet sent another rush of heat through him. If the dominating kiss he'd just witnessed were anything to go by, he might just end up asking Dave that question after all.

 _"Does that feel like I'm not interested Hunter...does it?"_

He forced all of that away for the moment as Dave spun around, obviously distressed. Just because he hadn't been laid in almost a year didn't mean that this was the time to think with his dick. Completely the opposite, in fact. Trying to ignore his reaction to what he'd just witnessed, his hands almost itched with the urge to touch Dave, to try to comfort him...

 _"I sat up there and watched you because that was a safe place to do it from."_

Shawn did laugh at the caffeine comment, then spoke softly.

"You weren't the only one up there for that reason, either, Dave. We have more in common than we knew."

****

Hunter had expected some kind of reaction to his little dare, he just hadn’t expected Dave to stand up and kiss him. And god what a kiss. Hard and demanding, an almost violent slide of mouth on mouth. Hunter was momentarily stunned by the rush of pleasure the kiss evoked. About to respond in kind, to grab Dave’s massive shoulders for support, he was suddenly bereft as Dave pulled away, his words falling on Hunter like glass.

Dave watched him from the back row? No way. But the honesty was unmistakable in the other man’s voice, his confession joining the residue of Shawn and Hunter’s previous explanations. It penetrated Hunter’s brain at last that Dave was actually saying what Shawn had dared him to. Dave liked Hunter, Hunter liked Dave, Shawn liked Hunter and Hunter liked Shawn. That Dave and Shawn had it bad for each other was already established by their dinner date and occupation of the same hotel room. Was he still jealous over that? Not really. It was his own one-brain-cell fault for the stunt he’d pulled last night. Maybe if he’d been honest, all three of them would have enjoyed dinner and the comfort of the same bed? And maybe he and Shawn had needed the time to work themselves into such a state that they could reach this point? Hunter didn’t know, but he was slowly beginning to realize he should thank his lucky stars Shawn’s temper had led them to his door this morning.

Still staring at Dave’s back Hunter started to laugh. It would almost have been giggling, except that he would never do anything so unmanly. Lifting his hands to rub over his tired face, Hunter continued chuckling until it wound down like a clock. Aware the other two might think he’d lost what was left of his mind, he waved a hand vaguely to indicate the three of them.

“I’m amazed we manage to dress ourselves in the morning, given our ability to be complete idiots.” Deciding he’d better come clean about Dave’s misunderstanding. “I’m sorry Dave. I honestly didn’t even think about Steph when I was asking you out. She’s just…” how could he put this “... not a part of my romantic life at all. But I realize how stupid it is to say that about my wife, everyone would naturally think Steph _is_ my sex life. But as I said in the limo, she’s got a girlfriend and has done for the past four years. As you guessed, she married me to please Vince and so he wouldn’t have to worry about any scandal about the Billion Dollar Princess in the press.” Hunt moved over to Dave, standing just behind the man still firmly looking out the balcony window. “I can see why you didn’t think I meant anything romantic and I was being pretty timid about you I admit. You make me nervous if you must know. You’re so damn gorgeous Dave and the killer is, you’re a decent human being with a sense of humour that makes my stomach ache sometimes. I am completely in love with Shawn, have been for nine years,” so good to finally be able to say it, “and I’m wallowing in a huge crush on you Animal, so if you’re kind you’ll take pity on me by giving Shawn’s suggestion some thought. And Shawn’ll back me up on the crush thing when I confess to being a complete pain in the ass for the last three months about you _not_ liking me.”

Looking past Dave’s shoulder, Hunter realized the sun was well and truly up. They’d probably missed breakfast, it was almost 9.00 am and didn’t Dave had a flight at noon? Much as he’d like to jump start this possibility and lure the two men into his bed, his emotions had taken a beating over the last ten hours and he wanted to talk some more with both men before they leapt into anything.

“I know coffee is evil, but I have a hang-over from hell and need something for a headache. Can we get out of this hotel and get some breakfast? My shout?”


	23. Suggestions

Chris was going to gnaw his own arm off if Adam didn't get on with it pretty soon. He was desperate to feel Adam touching him anywhere, anywhere at all. In about a minute CJ would be offering everything he owned, including his car if he had to, in a bribe if Adam would just _fuck him already_! The future owner of his car stopped being all that important about thirty seconds later, when Adam nudged his thighs apart and _licked_ him. Chris bit his lip at the quick swipe of Adam's tongue across his sensitized flesh. Oh god, oh god _that_ was what he wanted.

"More," he moaned. 

The warm, wet contact a prelude to what he hoped would be something even hotter and far more lewd. He looked up at the plain wooden headboard, his knuckles white with the strain of staying still. Adam obviously liked controlling his sexual encounters as much as CJ liked being controlled in them. That was gonna be a huge plus in the Chris and Adam equation. Not every time of course, that would be kinda weird and a bit sad. But being submissive when your lover was all over you couldn't help but make a man feel adored. Chris got off on being loved and offering worship in return. Who wouldn't?

He was still recovering from the lovely shock of Adam's probing tongue, when he received an even better shock as Adam's hard cock pushed inside him. CJ was shuddering and gasping and Adam's hand on his dick was also really nice, and the way the other man was tucked up snugly against his back, nuzzling at his neck and shoulders with low, wonderfully dirty words.

The pressure and fullness of Adam's constantly moving cock was filling the terrible ache that existed within CJ's body. Sweat broke out across his back and hips, the sparks of pleasure flowing from the sweet spot in his channel, up his spine to explode in rainbow lights behind his eyes. When he was nudged forward, Chris complied eagerly, transferring the pressure from his arms to his knees. Almost sitting in his lover's lap, he felt Adam's sex push deeper inside him, the fingers on his cock tightening at their mutual groan of bliss in the change of position.

A fantastic, hard thrust nearly pushed him face first into the headboard. The muscles in Chris' arms bulging with effort as he rocked back onto the fleshy invader. He wasn't going to try and control his reactions, which seemed to be that every bone in his body was going to dissolve and his head was going to explode and he was going to make a whole lot of embarrassing loud begging in a moment.

Chris made a low almost sobbing moan as Adam did it again, and again, and CJ found himself panting, "Come _on_ , harder, for Christ's sake," shamelessly, and scrabbling against the headboard, trying to brace himself better. "Just, _fuck_ me already Babe, please, oh, _god_ ," because apparently that was exactly the kind of encouragement Adam needed and now he was getting _pounded_ and it was fantastic.

Arching his spine so his butt pushed back even tighter into the curve of Adam's hips. After one beautiful teeth-clenching thrust, Chris deliberately tightened his muscles around Adam's cock, holding him momentarily in place. That one exquisite moment, the sounds of their ragged breathing filling the room, the scent of fresh sweat and the musk of sex, was enough to send Chris into orbit.

"Oh yeah, finish me Babe please... please... I have to… I'm there… I'm there..." The words tumbled from CJ's lips as Adam once again grazed his prostate, the grip on his cock drawing his orgasm straight out of him in rapid brilliant bursts.

****

 _"Just, fuck me already Babe, please..."_

Not sure he could hold out much longer himself with the way Chris' muscles were wrapped so tight around him, Adam finally gave in. By the time Chris got out the word 'already', Adam had withdrawn fully. By the time the beautiful blond got to the word 'please', he was thrusting back inside with a vengeance. No longer able to control his actions he plunged wildly into the warm receptive passage wrapped around his throbbing length.

As Chris' spine arced into a beautiful crescent, Adam felt himself slipping closer to the precipice. The thunderous sound of flesh hitting flesh, Chris' smooth curves smacking against his hipbones, echoed loudly in the room. The scent of their arousal hung heavy in the air surrounding them. Satin skin under his fingertips and the silky heat surrounding his hard length sent bolts of pleasure through his nerve endings. His tongue danced across the sheen-covered skin before him, the salty sweet taste of Chris flooding his taste buds. And the lovely breathy cries in that deep sexy voice had him quivering with the need to explode. Yet he forced himself to wait, his hand moving faster over the pulsing length of Chris' shaft, his hips snapping in erratic forceful thrusts.

When Chris' muscles clamped down tight on his cock, he gasped loudly, the sound muted by the words falling from Chris' mouth.

 _"Oh yeah, finish me Babe please...please...I have to..I'm there..I'm there...."_

Adam slammed deep and hard, directly into Chris' prostate and felt the explosion over his hand almost simultaneously. The resulting spasms of the tight muscles clenching around his cock broke the thin hold he had on his own release. With one more deep thrust, his hand clenching tightly on Chris' hip, he tumbled headfirst into his own frenzied orgasm.

"Chris... oh god... so good... so..." he shouted, ending with an unintelligible growl.

He collapsed backwards onto his ass, the hand on Chris' hip and groin pulling Chris back with him into his lap, their bodies still connected. He dropped his head against the base of Chris' neck, his lips trailing over the sweat-slicked spine in feathery kisses as he wrapped his arms tightly around Chris' waist. His lips formed three little words against Chris' bronzed skin... words that he didn't have the courage to give voice to yet.

 _Love you, Chris._

****

Hearing Shawn's quiet admittance of being in the same place for the same reason made him feel a little bit better about his secret forays into the upper decks. He and Shawn had been in pretty much the same boat even if Shawn's feelings for Hunter had spanned a decade. They were rather alike... that was a scary thought. Dave would like to think it wouldn't have taken him ten years to spill his own guts, but it might have been a possibility. Poor Shawn. Dave couldn't imagine how it must have felt to hold his feelings in for that long. At least they were out now. He smiled as he waited for Hunter's reaction to everything he'd just said.

He hadn't quite expected the laughter, at least not to such a degree. Maybe he'd pushed Hunter right over the edge. The man had a hangover to start with, then a fight, and then all these emotional issues came up... men had cracked over less.

 _"I’m amazed we manage to dress ourselves in the morning, given our ability to be complete idiots."_

Dave had to agree with him. They'd all missed signs that the other two were interested. Obviously communication wasn't their strong suit. That would have to change if they even considered going ahead with this idea of Shawn's. As Hunter went into his explanation about Stephanie, Dave could see where Hunter might not give his wife a second thought. How weird was it to think that? Given the situation between them though, Dave could see where it might not be in the front of Hunter's mind to say that his relationship with his wife was basically platonic. That had to suck. He wondered briefly if Hunter had been involved with anyone else since his marriage, but figured if Hunter wanted them to know he would tell them. If he hadn't... damn, that was a long dry spell.

Prying his thoughts away from Hunter's extra-marital activities or lack thereof, Dave listened to the rest of his explanation and felt himself blushing over the compliments Hunter was paying him. He wasn't sure that he was all the things that Hunter said he was, but it was nice to hear them. And it was obvious now that the interest between them all was mutual... but would this thing actually work? He was torn over Hunter's confession of being a pain in the ass the last three months. While it made him happy that Hunter had complained about his lack of interest, Dave knew that it had had to be hard for Shawn to listen to it.

Dave decided in that moment that they really needed to talk about this more before he was willing to commit to it. He was completely interested in having his dreams handed to him on a silver platter like this, but there were so many issues that they would need to talk about before he would be convinced that it might work. Contemplating how to answer Hunter's request to consider Shawn's suggestion, Dave finally noticed the view of the busy city streets. It was getting late in the morning and he knew that at least he and Hunter had a flight to catch to Uniondale.

Ric had told him about the chartered flight last night just before the start of the show. He hadn't mentioned who else might be on that same flight, but it would make sense for it to involve the other Clique members. Dave couldn't imagine Ric chartering a plane just for the three of them, though he supposed Ric had done stranger things. If that was the case, then Dave would just tell Ric that Shawn was joining them. He didn't want to be away from either of these two for long until they had a chance to talk this all out. They did have time for breakfast though and at Hunter's suggestion, Dave's stomach rumbled quietly in anticipation.

Turning to look at the other two, he smiled wryly. "Good thing for me all I had to do was put on my shirt this morning or I might have missed all this," he said, laughing for a moment. "I honestly had no clue that you were remotely interested in me Hunter or I wouldn't have turned down your invitations. I'm not sure if I like the fact that I make you nervous... I'll get back to you on that." Dave grinned as he stuck his hands in his pocket to hide his own nervousness over this situation.

"I like the idea of the three of us together, but I think we need to do some heavy-duty talking before we jump into this. Before we can do that though, I think we'd all better get moving and go have that breakfast you mentioned... we've got a plane to catch." Turning to Shawn, Dave winked. "I think Shawn should put on some shoes first or we'll never find a place to eat and I really need to change my clothes. Why don't you and Hunter go get your stuff together while I change and then I'll meet you two in your room. If that works for you both?"

He didn't honestly want to be separated from the two of them, even for such a short time, but they all needed to get their things packed and ready to go. It made sense to split up if they actually wanted to eat before they had to be at the airport and Hunter definitely sounded like he needed to eat. Dave almost shook his head at himself. He was a big boy... he could go change his clothes on his own...and he'd be back with them before he knew it.

****

Hunter felt the nerves in question ease somewhat as Dave responded positively to both Shawn's proposition and his own suggestion. He still wasn't completely sure this 'thing' would work between them, but at least they were past the swearing and violence part of the relationship. Although given the occupation of the three of them, there would always be a lot of swearing and violence in their future.

Still slightly confused by Dave's words Hunt didn't let it show on his face. Dave had mentioned a flight last night and again just now, but this time he'd tacked a 'we' onto it. As far as Hunter knew, they were supposed to be traveling to Uniondale today and he'd presumed it was by private car. If Dave and Shawn were on the noon flight that meant Hunter wouldn't see them till much later... probably not until they checked in at the hotel in Uniondale. He could invite himself onto the flight of course, but that would mean Ric too and Hunt really didn't know why they were flying in the first place. He made a mental note to ask Dave about it later. Glancing again at his watch, Hunter realized it was much later than he'd originally thought.

"We have a plan, let's get to it. Go Dave, shoosh." Daringly Hunter gave Dave a quick pat on the ass as he walked past the bigger man to find his shoes, "We'll find you in twenty."

His smile at Shawn was more like a grimace as he moved into the bright sunlight shining on them through the window. A quick glance round the room had Hunter firmly setting aside his headache and nerves as he got ready to leave. Hunt knew he was notoriously neat and far too organized, but this once it really paid off. The evidence of his 'party' last night was completely removed in minutes and his clothes and gear packed by the six minute mark. Hunter didn't have time to dismantle his glass castle, but he lifted three of the champagne flutes and carefully stowed them in his case.

Two phone calls, a text message and the quoting of a visa number were also dealt with efficiently. A quick note of apology and a hefty tip for the cleaning staff, left Hunter tying his laces while a porter collected his luggage from near the door. Shawn had remained completely relaxed while the 'Champ' did his thing. He'd probably seen Hunter go into _turbo_ on about a million occasions and that very familiarity was a balm to Hunt's rattled composure.

Hunter paused by the open door. Pulling the key card from the slot, he raised an enquiring eyebrow at his once and always... best friend.

"Shall we?"

****

Chris drew a in a deep long, satisfying breath, expanding his lungs, letting his head tip back onto Adam's bowed shoulder. They were still locked together, their bodies and sweat and heat intermingling in a tangle CJ hoped he'd never escape. Hot, sleek skin was pressed along the length of his back, small sweet kisses adorned his shoulder and neck. Chris had never felt so cared for in his entire life. He'd though of Adam as his lover since that defining moment in the alley behind the club. It was presumptuous and possessive but he didn't care. Adam was his lover now in every sense of the word and he was Adam's, with all that that entailed. To be someone's lover meant you loved them and though he doubted Adam felt that strongly after their first night, Chris was pretty sure _he_ did.

Although it might not be that 'ever after', 'till we're grey' kinda love, it was certainly the 'spend every minute of the day and night together' sort. Pretty comfortable that Adam felt the same about their 'together' status, CJ gently shifted around in Adam's arms until he could rest his side against Adam's chest. Looking deep into soft green eyes, Chris smiled.

"Do you have any idea how good you look right now?" Seeing a small blush he continued, "I'll tell you Baby... so good you make me wish we could try that again, but I think we'd kill ourselves." His husky chuckle filled the room. "I haven't been this horny since I was seventeen! You, you gorgeous thing you, are an aphrodisiac of titanic proportions." It was blatant flattery at it's worst, but he meant every single word.

Heaving another satisfied sigh, he blinked into Adam's happy expression. "Much as I want to make another attempt to break this bed, I doubt even a Sexy Beast like me can manage four times in twelve hours. Although I'd be willing to give it a try," he smiled naughtily. "How about another shower and we go see if Jay and Bunnykins want to share a car to Smackdown?"

Slipping off the bed, Chris pulled Adam to his feet so they could stagger with drunken feet back into the bathroom. Given that them both naked and soapy under hot water had led to one of their recent encounters, Chris kept the water barely warm as he tried to jazz up his wrung-out nerves. Rushing his own shower, CJ briskly soaped and shampooed Adam's skin and hair, before turning off the hot tap completely. He loved the invigoration of a cold rinse... as long as he wasn't planning anything amorous in the forty minutes afterwards.

Chris had been gentlemanly enough to push Adam out of the shower before he did his 'frigidarium' thing, so of course he just had to shake his hair and coat the now dry man with droplets of ice water. Hoping to start a wet hug/tickle fight of some kind, he advanced on the taller man, naked, wet and smiling nastily.

"Give us a cuddle handsome."

****

Watching Hunter stare at Dave, Shawn was starting to get concerned when Hunt started laughing. That didn't help his worry, but even as he started to get to his feet, the wave from his friend set him back down, realising that Hunter was just as entitled to odd reactions right now as he had been earlier. Hearing Hunt bare his feelings to Dave made Shawn feel warm again, but they weren't the words that _really_ caught his attention.

 _"I am completely in love with Shawn, have been for nine years..."_

His breath caught for a minute at hearing those words, said so easily and earnestly. Something inside him rose, crested... He bit his lip, not wanting to interrupt Hunter, and not really wanting to throw that "l" word around in front of Dave too much just yet. As sincere as he was, and as Hunter was, he fully suspected that too much emotion from them toward each other in front of the big man would drive him away, or at the very least make him doubt their intentions.

Stephanie... they'd have to talk to her. Regardless of how involved she and Hunter actually were behind their marriage front, there had to be some sort of love there, and Shawn wasn't about to just jump into a relationship with Hunt without taking her into consideration. She was a friend, and very nearly a little sister, and he was damned if he was going to hurt her. As far as Vince went... well. Considering how the man had been for the last few years, Shawn could care less about his feelings in the matter. All he really needed to know there was whether or not Vince knew that Hunt and Steph's marriage was nothing more than a cover. If he did, that would make things simpler, although they'd still have to figure out how to handle things backstage. If he didn't... that could be a challenge. But he'd worry about that when they got there.

 _"...but I think we need to do some heavy-duty talking before we jump into this."_

Shawn found himself nodding in agreement. They had a lot of things to sort out, and god knew they all seemed to need as much practice as they could get with actually _talking_ to each other. That reminded him... he glanced at Hunter consideringly. Whatever had happened between him and Kevin, neither had ever told him. But if they were going to try to start something new, this would be a perfect time to try to get those two to work out their problem. He'd bring that up a little later, though. Not that he wanted to hide things from Dave, but it was something that the big man really didn't need to worry about right now, on top of everything else.

 _"...we've got a plane to catch."_

Ric _had_ said something about a plane, hadn't he? Shawn hadn't really been paying attention, getting ready for his match, but hadn't Flair said something about... noon? Glancing at the clock, Shawn rolled his eyes. Great. Just enough time to turbo-pack and maybe eat, and catch the flight.

 _"If that works for you both?"_

Nodding, Shawn stood up. He _really_ didn't want to be by himself right now, and as much as he hated letting Dave out of his sight at the moment, it was a good suggestion. Smiling at the big man as he headed for the door, Shawn stayed out of Hunter's way. The man was positively frightening when he went into this mode. Things were cleaned, packed, paid for, and getting carried away within ten minutes, and there was Hunt, looking immaculate other than the fine lines around his eyes, indicative of the horrible headache he had to be feeling, but those were only noticeable if you knew to look.

 _"Shall we?"_

Shawn glanced out the door, seeing that the porters had already gone, and allowed his lips to curve at the question.

"If I answered that question with what I'm thinking, we'd definitely miss our flight," he said lightly, enjoying the chance to tease his best friend again. Leaning forward, he placed a hand on Hunter's shoulder and brushed his lips against Hunt's, forcing himself to break away after the barest touch. Damn. This was going to kill him. He thought ahead for a split-second, considering their schedule... and didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry, realising that the soonest they'd have any real time to themselves would probably be after the show that night.

Shaking his head slightly at himself, he headed down the hall, letting himself into his room, Hunt close on his heels. He didn't move quite as quickly as Hunt did, but he'd had much less to clean. His bags were packed and by the door in minutes, and Shawn found himself sitting on the edge of the bed, watching Hunter pace idly around the room.

****

 _"...Go Dave, shoosh, we'll find you in twenty."_

Dave froze the second Hunter's hand hit his ass. He turned slowly and raised a brow at the man responsible, though said man probably wouldn't have noticed if he'd stripped naked right then and there. Hunter was in "man on a mission" mode and if it wasn't part of his plan of attack, it pretty much didn't exist. Dave shook his head and sent a smile in Shawn's direction as he headed towards the door.

As he stepped into the hall, he took his wallet from his pocket and retrieved the keycard that he'd tucked away in there yesterday afternoon. Was it really such a short time ago? For various reasons it seemed so much longer. Luckily he didn't run into anyone on the way to his room that wanted to stop and chat. Swiping his card through the reader, he walked into the room he'd spent all of five minutes in yesterday. Seemed like such a waste to pay for a room he hadn't even used. Although, the reason for not using the room was definitely worth it, he thought with a smile.

He was trying not to think too hard on what he was getting himself into. If he did then he'd have himself talked out of it in about five minutes. So many complications...but if it worked out, then it would definitely be worth it. Quickly unbuttoning and pulling off his shirt, he tossed it directly in the trash can. His gear bag was sitting right next to his luggage so apparently Hunter had had it delivered here. Dave spent all of ten minutes rearranging his things and changing his clothes. He would have loved to linger in a hot shower because he always seemed to do his best thinking there, weird as it sounded, but there was no way he had time for it. Instead, he changed his slacks and donned a new pale blue shirt from his bag.

After calling down to have the porter come and get his things, he dug through his bag for one last thing before stacking his bags by the door. Walking into the bathroom, he unfolded the sunglasses that he'd taken from his carry-on and put them on. He didn't usually wear them indoors, but if he'd ever had a reason to do so, he had one today. It wasn't extremely comfortable having them sit on his nose, but he'd make do if it prevented questions. He'd wear them until they got on the plane and then from the time they got off the plane until he made it to makeup at the arena tonight. Maybe Ric could even help him come up with a better story for Vince if it was necessary.

After sending his suitcases off with the porter, he made his way down to Shawn's room and knocked on the door. He heard the sound of steps crossing the room and then the door opened to reveal Hunter. Dave smiled and walked through the door, taking the time to smack Hunter firmly on the ass on his way by. "Thanks, sweet thing." Ignoring Hunter's reaction, Dave flopped crosswise on the bed behind Shawn, grinning at him as he passed.

"So are we going to eat soon? I worked up quite an appetite playing referee this morning."

****

 _"Do you have any idea how good you look right now?"_

Adam couldn't help but blush. If Chris kept paying him all these compliments, it was going to go to his head. Not that he wasn't normally happy with how he looked, but after all their activities of the last twelve hours, he had to be a complete mess. Yet the compliments kept coming. If Chris were in love with him, then he could point to the old adage that love is blind, but since that was unlikely this early in their newfound relationship Adam figured it was remnants of afterglow affecting Chris' brain. He smiled, looking into the bright blue eyes of the man on his lap. Regardless of why he was saying it, Adam appreciated the sentiment.

He was pretty sure that trying that again would be next to impossible right now, though if Chris had been serious he would have attempted to give it his best damn shot. They'd have had to carry him out on a stretcher afterwards though. He could imagine trying to explain that one to Vince.

Bunnykins? What in the hell? Had he missed something? Adam shuddered as Chris pulled him off the bed and towards the bathroom. If Jay so much as dared to call Ty by that name while in Adam's presence, Adam would tape his mouth shut...see if he didn't.

Thankfully Chris didn't linger in washing his hair or skin because Adam would most likely have reacted the same way that Chris had last night and it had already been established that another encounter was on the slim to none chance scale. He was semi-curious when Chris shoved him out of the shower and reached for the hot water tap... to turn it off. Adam shivered as he toweled himself off, grateful that Chris had waited until he got out before rinsing in cold. His new lover was apparently nuts, but in a completely endearing way.

After being sprayed with cold droplets from a vigorous head shaking, Adam was reconsidering the endearing part of that thought, though only briefly. He was too busy trying to avoid Chris who was now advancing on him with a wicked smile.

 _"Give us a cuddle handsome."_

He wouldn't... oh yes he would. As cold, wet naked Chris wrapped himself around Adam in a bear hug, Adam barely managed to avoid shrieking. Christ, he was cold as a damn icicle.

"You are in _so_ much trouble, Christopher." Prying himself out of Chris' arms, he bent over and hoisted his pretty, wet, cold bundle of love over his shoulder and carried him into the bedroom, grabbing an extra towel on the way. "Just for that I'm gonna have to spank you."

He had no intention of carrying out his threat... at least not right now. That could lead them right back to the place they were trying to avoid. No time... they had to get a move on, especially if they wanted to stop and eat along the way. Instead, Adam set Chris on his feet and toweled him dry... starting with his hair. Making sure to cover Chris' face a half dozen times and laughing all the while, Adam finally pulled the towel from Chris' hair and started drying the rest of him.

"You know... I just thought of another good reason for keeping you... for once I'll be considered the sane person in a relationship." He tweaked Chris' nose before kissing him quickly, then walked over to his suitcase to pull out some clothes, smiling all the while. "You should call Jay and have him bring your stuff. I'd loan you some of mine, but I'm pretty sure they won't fit and I don't think they'll let you eat in a restaurant naked...though the patrons certainly wouldn't mind."

****

It wasn't often that he got to just sit and _look_ at Hunter, Shawn mused, his eyes never leaving the familiar figure as Hunt wandered around the room. In fact, he'd never really gotten to look at him like this. The closest he'd come was sitting up in those arena seats, watching Hunt from a distance... a flyspeck in a tiny ring. The sheer freedom to simply _look_ was almost shocking. The freedom to do anything else... well. Best not to think about any of that just yet. They didn't have the time to deal with it, and Shawn certainly wasn't about to have Dave walk in and find the two of them naked and...

A strangled noise escaped him as he dropped his head into his hands, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to force his mind away from the images he'd just conjured up. He could feel his body responding to them, and he groaned, shaking his head. He hadn't had this little control over himself for years!

Someone knocked on the door. His head jerked up as he prayed that it was Dave and not, God help him, Kevin and Scott. There was no way he could possibly face them and try to explain the last twelve hours with any coherency while trying to fight back a year's worth of frustrated libido that had been set loose by having the two men he'd lusted after for ages agree to try to work out a relationship with him. Glancing at Hunter, he forced a smile to his face.

"Could you get that? It's probably Dave," he said, trying to sound normal and not like he was almost ready to jump on his best friend, rip his clothes off, and fuck him through the floor. He bit back the whimper at that thought, forcing himself to breathe deeply. He'd started to calm down when Dave walked in.

 _"Thanks, sweet thing."_

Eyes wide, he stared as Dave walked across the room. Had the big man actually just... yes, he had. He hid his smile from Hunter, trying not to stare too much as Dave flopped down beside him.

 _"I worked up quite an appetite playing referee this morning."_

He had to bite his tongue to hold back the immediate retort that sprang to his lips. He was _not_ going to suggest "breakfast in bed", thank you. They really did have to talk things out... but Shawn was suddenly afraid that he wouldn't be terribly coherent for most of them.

"Well... the porter's on his way for my stuff, so as soon as he gets here, we can get out of here. There's a restaurant downstairs, or we can stop somewhere on the way to the airport," he said, standing up. He was _not_ going to act like a seventeen-year-old who couldn't control his hormones.

****

Murmuring softly, Kevin twitched at the feeling of fingers sliding through his hair. He'd been having the loveliest dream, with him and Scott and a fire and a soft rug...

 _"We have a flight to catch."_

Reluctantly, his eyes flickered open, slowly focusing on the dark eyes only a few inches from his. Shifting his head the barest amount necessary, he brushed his lips against Scott's, drawing him into a lingering kiss before drawing back and smiling at him.

"Hey, Bad Guy," he rumbled, his voice still thick with sleep. Raising his head, he spotted the packed bags and shook his head. "Did the packin' again, huh? Just wanna have somethin' to hold over my head, dontcha?" The fond amusement was obvious in his voice, and he reached out, caressing Scott's face before turning over and carefully sitting up. Heaving a sigh, he cast a long-suffering look over his shoulder. "Guess I need to get dressed, then? Do we _have_ to go to Smackdown tonight? Are we even doing anything there?"

Not really expecting an answer, he stood up, pleasantly surprised to realise that the cream his lover had used on him earlier was apparently still working, since the expected pain wasn't present. Soreness, but no actual pain. Hopefully it would last for a while; the thought of having Scott apply more while on the plane was... well, not something he was in any condition to worry about at the moment. Pulling on his jeans made him wince a little; he'd have to remember to pack a pair of slacks in the future... just in case. Getting dressed as quickly as he could, he glanced around the room. Scotty really _had_ done all the packing.

"Did you want to stop anywhere on the way out? If you do, I'll give a call to have someone come get the stuff," he offered. It'd really been his turn to do that, and he felt a little bad that Scott had done it for him. Of course, knowing Scott, he'd felt that Kev had deserved his little nap. Not that that would stop him from giving Kev grief about it, of course.

 _"I think we should stop and check on Shawn before we leave. Just to make sure he's okay. I know Dave stayed with him last night, but..."_

Nodding, Kevin picked up the phone and called the front desk. A glance at the clock told him that they had plenty of time to stop by Shawn's room and still make it to the airport. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if they ended up taking Shawn with them. Unless Dave was still playing guard dog, of course. He grinned at the thought. He was definitely going to have to get to know that man better, if Shawn thought he was worth it. A knock at the door, a tip, and their bags were on their way.

"Ready?" Kev cocked his head at Scott, sliding an arm around his lover's waist when he approached, and held the door open as they walked out. Heading down the hall, he knew that he was still a little off-kilter from the events of the morning, but was feeling much more himself. He and Scott were definitely going to have to be more aware of things in the future... or at least, he was. Scott had seemed plenty aware this morning when he was stumbling around in the dark, not understanding his own reactions. Waiting for the elevator, he glanced around to make sure that there was no one else in sight, then turned and kissed Scott, shrugging a little at the bemused look.

"Wanted to."

The doors slid open with a "ping!" and he walked in, arm still around his lover. He suspected he was going to be clingy for the rest of the day, something he'd have to watch a little bit if he didn't want one of their long-time friends calling him on it. He wasn't ashamed or embarrassed about any part of their relationship, but he also didn't feel that all of it needed to be shared with other people.

Getting out on the next floor, they headed for Shawn's room. Pausing in front of the door, Kevin wondered for a moment just what they'd find inside. Shawn pissed as all hell and ready to tear Hunt apart? Curled up in a ball having a breakdown? Acting perfectly normal? Was Dave still there? Had Shawn and Dave actually had sex the night before? Okay, so maybe that last wasn't really any of his business, but still... if Shawn had been as upset as Kev thought he had been and Dave had taken advantage of that... well. There would be repercussions. Not that he thought that would happen, even knowing Dave as little as he did, but the possibility was always there. And of course, Scott would want him to talk to Hunter at some point during the day... Sighing a little, he raised his hand and knocked.

"Shawn? You in there?"


	24. Interruptions

It wasn't a particularly fascinating vase. Just the sort of thing the hotel decorator had obviously bought by the truckload and placed on the TV cabinet in each room. Hunter realised he'd been staring at it for about a minute while Shawn tidied up his few bags as they waited for Dave. He'd been happily tagging along behind Shawn as they entered the room... then Hunt had spotted the mangled bed and suddenly became very interested in the decor, the view and finally the vase.

Being assaulted by images of his two lust objects writhing and kissing on that very same bed, was not something he was in a frame of mind to deal with. He was still envious of the extra time they'd had together, but then, he and Shawn had seven extra _years_ on Dave, and Dave had been near Hunter non-stop for the past eighteen months, so the two certainly deserved the time to develop their relationship. Hunter just hoped he'd get the chance to watch next time. He stopped fondling the vase in an entirely inappropriate way and wandered carelessly around the room.

He'd have to find out if they wanted to share a suite tonight. Hunter really, really didn't want to be alone and not just because of the chance of sex, oh no. He was pretty sure he could control himself if the other two played fair. It was almost easy these days anyway. The snide remarks he'd heard about Stephanie emasculating him weren't entirely far from the truth, he'd been less interested in sex these past six months than ever before. Maybe because despite some pretty strong efforts on his part, he'd never been able to have that 'thing' you were supposed to have in a relationship. Kev and Scotty had it, he suspected Glen and Sean had it. It was just... there. He'd come close once, but they'd both realised they were together for the wrong reason and it had ended with the feeling that if he couldn't have Shawn, he better settle for the next best thing. Damn... Shawn wasn't the only one who'd broken hearts backstage. Hunter had just been fortunate enough to date people who didn't want to brag any more than he did.

Realising he was once again not looking at Shawn, Hunter winced and smiled slightly at his friend. His headache had returned with a vengeance and the pain-killers he'd taken with his shower didn't seem to have kicked in. Or maybe they had, just his head had a new reason to ache. Hunt's jaw was starting to throb and he felt a slight swelling of his lower lip when he probed gently with his tongue. He was hardly going to call attention to it though... Shawn did not need to know he had actually bruised him slightly. He'd had much worse in the ring, just combined with this first class hang-over he was starting to feel a little sorry for himself. Considering he'd almost broken Dave's nose and given the man two bruised eyes, there was no way in hell he was going to complain about a split lip.

He and Shawn had been silent for a while now and Hunter was starting to feel uncomfortable. Why he had no idea. This was Shawn after all. The man who'd held his hair when he was bringing his guts up in a toilet in Singapore after eating something funky. The guy who'd called him every other day during the rehab for his quad tear and who'd sat up all night while Hunter lapped the room trying to get off the pain meds cold turkey. Not only had he been there through the bad shit, Shawn had stood up for him as best man at his wedding, organised his bachelour party and celebrated all night when he returned to the ring after his knee reconstruction.

Now he was too tongue tied for small talk. Jeeze. Deciding he could give them a less heart wrenching topic than their sex lives he was about to mention Steph's party on Sunday when Dave knocked at the door. Obeying Shawn, he let the bigger man in and nearly swallowed his tongue at the _'sweet thing'_ and the retaliatory smack. He'd almost forgotten this was Dave, his buddy, being all caught up in the Dave As Potential Bedmate situation. And god didn't he look good sprawled out across the bed beside Shawn. A shower, clean shirt and ultra cool sunglasses making his dark gorgeous features look a million dollars. Hunter would almost pay that million to see him without those items and in the shower, but he was probably getting ahead of himself there.

 _a restaurant downstairs, or we can stop somewhere on the way to the airport_

"Let's get going," Hunter suggested. "I wouldn't mind seeing the back of this hotel once and for all, and we could eat in the lim....." he stopped almost mid-word. God. Ray was supposed to drive them today. Hunter knew he never, _never_ wanted to see the inside of that limousine again. Grabbing his cell, Hunt called Ray and told him to forget the limousine and borrow a private car from the hotel. It wouldn't be as comfortable, but the last thing Hunter wanted was to remind his two friends about last night's conversation.

"What's this flight you're on anyway? It's only Uniondale, I though we were driving?" It wasn't like Hunter not to know what was happening with the traveling. He normally _managed_ everyone just by default and to not be included on this flight left him almost put out.

Neither man had the chance to answer as another knock and _"Shawn? You in there?"_  spilled into the room.

He really tried not to, but he couldn't help but freeze from his expensive shoes to the tips of his hair, at Kevin's voice. He was an idiot he knew, he really wanted to see his friends and spend any time he could get with them, but he had such trouble relaxing around them. It was bad enough that they'd take him to task for hurting Shawn like he had, and fair enough too, but last night's nightmares were coming back to him and he flinched at the images they presented. Maybe it was a good idea he traveled by car today anyway. Dave and Shawn could have more of that catch up time and Hunter could get over this 'spike in the head' without worrying about his friends reactions to his recent behaviour.

Although Shawn had had him open the door to Dave, he quickly moved to the counter to pour a glass of water, hoping Shawn would answer Kevin himself.

**** 

Chris was used to being lifted like he weighed nothing, it happened at work all the time. But to get bodily carried out of the bathroom by Adam, who wasn't _that_ much taller for Christ's sake, was an experience he'd just like to sit back and enjoy. Given that Chris never sat back and quietly enjoyed anything, he was still trying to grab handfuls of Adam's warm, luscious ass cheeks with cold hands when he was dumped on the ground and dried off like a wet dog.

Well, given... he _had_ splattered Adam with water, but there was no need to be smothered by a towel for... ohhh. Ahhh. The full body rub was rather nice however. So nice that, if not for the cold rinse earlier, he'd be offering to return the favour with his tongue. Looking at his lover through wet tangles of gold, CJ raised an eyebrow at the enticing naked flesh currently leaning down to find some clothes. So Chris was the crazy one huh? Well that was almost a compliment. If Adam, Lord of Freaking People Out thought CJ was strange then where did that leave them? Lost in their own weirdness apparently... cool.

Well now. He'd been promised a spanking and he planned to hold Adam to that dirty little comment. CJ watched as Adam smoothly dressed, admiring the ripple and play of the long muscles in his back and legs. And as for the Christopher? Well, _everyone_ knew CJ could be as annoying as hell when he wanted to be. It was time to see how much patience Adam actually had before he'd snap and Chris would get the punishment he, oh so hopefully, deserved.

 _You should call Jay and have him bring your stuff_

"Nahh. It's fine." Looping the light blanket from the bed around his naked waist, Chris gathered the excess fabric in one hand and bundled his clothes in the other. "They've got the room next door, I'll be back in a minute," he called over his shoulder as he opened the door and strode calmly down the hallway. Not bothering to check if any other wrestlers or guests were about at 12:30 in the afternoon, Chris stopped in front of his and Jay's room.

Kicking away the trailing blanket, CJ booted the door with his foot three times. "Reso get your hand out of Ty's pants and open this door, I need clothes."

Chris didn't consider that the other couple may have checked out already, or that they mightn't be there at all. Jay and Tyson had been out as late as they had after all, and surely got up to their own gymnastics on their return. Chris blew a kiss at Shelton Benjamin who was staring at him like he'd just flashed him or something. CJ looked down. No, the blanket was still decent.

"Reso!" Another kick.

"Christ! Fuck! Chris!!! You Are Totally Dead In Like..." Jay's angry words complete with capitals, stopped as he gaped at his half-naked friend through the now open door. He was clutching a pillow over his privates and looked decidedly flushed.

Chris granted him a regal smile as he swanned into the room, like the King he was. "Thanks Jay, I'll be out of your hair in a minute."

Ignoring Tyson, who also was hastily donning his pants, CJ dropped his clothes and the blanket and pulled a pair of shorts, jeans and a t-shirt from his bag. He looked over at Jay who was still staring at him in shock.

"Could you close the door Jay?" he gestured at himself, "naked here."

****

Scott reluctantly pulled away from Kevin's sweet warm lips. As much as he'd love to linger here with Kev, they had places to go and people to see. He still shivered at the husky note in Kevin's voice. Scott loved listening to the man when he first woke up. Luckily he would get to keep on doing that for many years to come.

 _"Did the packin' again, huh? Just wanna have somethin' to hold over my head, dontcha?"_

Scott grinned. Kevin knew him way too well. Even though he had been the one to let Kevin sleep, Scott _would_ give him a hard time about having to do all the packing... the teasing was a part of their relationship, always there just like the love they shared. He shook his head, listening to Kevin's grumbling with amusement.

Noticing the slight wince when Kevin slipped on his jeans, Scott wished that he had been able to get something else out for Kevin to wear. Unfortunately all that Kevin had packed this time around were jeans. He'd have to make sure from now on to include a pair of slacks or sweatpants when they did their packing.

 _"Did you want to stop anywhere on the way out?"_

Scott knew that they wouldn't have time to go see Hunter and go check on Shawn before they left for the airport. Kevin's state of mind was something that they had needed to deal with though. As long as things had been this way between Kevin and Hunter, Scott figured another hour or two wasn't going to hurt anything, but he definitely wanted to check on Shawn.

"I think we should stop and check on Shawn before we leave. Just to make sure he's okay. I know Dave stayed with him last night, but..." But he would still feel better if they stopped to make sure that Shawn wasn't falling apart. It didn't happen often, thank goodness, but last night had had the makings of a traumatic event for the man so there was the chance that Shawn wasn't doing so well. Maybe they'd offer him a ride to the airport with them. It had been a long time since he'd had the chance to spoil Shawn with affection. Then again if Dave were there with him, he might not need Scott to do that. If he were the type to pout... aw hell, who was he trying to kid? If that were the case, Scott most likely would pout, but only around Kevin.

 _"Ready?"_

Scott pushed away his thoughts as he approached Kevin. He would deal with them later... when they found out what was going on for certain. He smiled over Kevin's arm wrapping around him. There wasn't anyone around to see it, so if Kevin wanted to be a little more affectionate than usual today, Scott wasn't going to argue. The kiss surprised him, but once again he simply accepted it. He tended to be the same way with Kev after one of their sessions so if that was what Kevin needed then Scott would simply go with the flow. He did wonder though how Kevin would act once they were in front of their friends. It would be interesting to see if he tried to suppress his urges so that none of them would notice.

 _"Shawn? You in there?"_

Scott stood silently waiting for someone to answer the door. Who would answer it? Was Dave still there? Had Shawn checked out already? He wondered too if Shawn had talked to Hunter at all today. That could be a huge mess. If someone didn't answer the door soon...

Just then Scott heard footsteps crossing the room and then the door swung open to reveal Shawn. Scott smiled and walked right on into the room. "Hey Sexy Boy, Kev and I were kind of worried... with your head injury and all so we thought we would stop by and..." His voice trailed off as he noticed the other occupants of the room. Well this was certainly an interesting development. Not only Dave, but Hunter as well? Dave was sprawled on the bed, respectably dressed, but wearing sunglasses. Kind of weird to wear them indoors. Scott shrugged it off for the moment... that Copeland kid did it all the time... although there was something strange he couldn't quite put his finger on. Hunter... Hunter looked like he'd been run over by a truck. Not his clothing, that was immaculate as always, but his face looked kind of pinched. If Hunter was the kind to drink, Scott would suspect a hangover... but Hunter didn't drink.

"We didn't know that you were already in such good hands. Dave... Hunter." Nodding at the two men, Scott approached Hunter. "So... any clue why Ric booked a flight from here to Uniondale instead of driving? That's kind of odd. Especially since he invited us all to tag along." Tossing an arm around Hunter's shoulder, Scott leaned in close to his ear. "You don't look so good Hunter. I hope you are feeling better later though, cause you, Kev, and I are long overdue for a talk. Family... right Hunter?" Scott squeezed his arm tightly around Hunter before letting him go.

****

 _"There's a restaurant downstairs, or we can stop somewhere on the way to the airport."_

 _"I wouldn't mind seeing the back of this hotel once and for all, and we could eat in the lim....."_

Yikes. Dave grimaced as he lay on the bed, he could understand Hunter's reluctance. He didn't particularly want to see the inside of the limo again either. Of course wrinkling his nose as he grimaced was a bad idea, reminding him with a little twitch of discomfort why he was wearing his sunglasses again. He did manage to avoid making any embarrassing noises that time however.

 _"What's this flight you're on anyway? It's only Uniondale, I thought we were driving?"_

Dave lifted his head, too comfortable to actually get up, and was about to explain when the knock came at the door. Oh boy. This should be terribly interesting. Dave noticed the way Hunter froze and wondered what was up with Hunter and Kevin and/or Scott. It wasn't like he would know that they kind of knew what had happened last night, although he might suspect that they did. It was the Clique after all, but if Kevin hadn't called last night... Scott still would have known that something most likely had gone on last night. Oh boy. And how would Kevin and Scott, not to mention Sean and Glen react if they did go forward with this idea they had planned? Other than Hunter and Shawn, Dave didn't really know the members of the group that well... except that they all considered each other like family. Big oh boy.

He still hadn't managed to move an inch when Shawn crossed the room and opened the door. Hunter was hiding over in the corner pretending to drink a glass of water. Then Scott was striding into the room and it was almost obvious that his concern for Shawn wasn't related to his head injury from last night. Dave dropped his head back to the bed suppressing a groan. This had to be one of the weirdest most emotion-fraught days of his entire life and it looked like the roller-coaster ride wasn't over by a long shot. He returned Scott's nod with one of his own. Noticing that Scott had just explained Ric's part in the flight, Dave decided for the moment he was going to keep quiet, though he did wonder about whatever Scott was now whispering in Hunter's ear. Whatever it was, Hunter didn't exactly looked thrilled. This was going to be a long... very, very long day.

****

 _"They've got the room next door, I'll be back in a minute."_

Oh, he wouldn't...oh yes he would. Adam zipped his jeans and turned just in time to see Chris' blanket covered-behind sashaying through the door. He shook his head even as he walked towards the door... like he'd said... insane. He made it to the door in time to see Chris blow a kiss at Shelton Benjamin, who seemed to be a little agog at seeing the near naked man in the hall. Smothering a laugh behind his hand he watched as the door swung open and Jay started yelling.

Chris of course waltzed right into the room, unworried about who might have seen him. Jay looked rather shocked standing in the doorway and Adam smothered another laugh. He approached Shelton who was still standing in the hallway, trying to look like he wasn't craning his neck to see around Jay. Standing right next to the slightly shorter man, Adam leaned on Shelton's shoulder with his elbow and looked through the doorway. Watching Chris drop his blanket and clothes barrier, Adam snickered and turned to the other man.

"Pretty sight, isn't it?" he asked the man who still appeared to be frozen in place. Shelton nodded almost catatonically and Adam pulled his elbow from the man's shoulder before putting his hand against the side of his head and giving him a hefty shove. "Too bad I don't share," he said with a laugh before Chris' voice rang out into the hallway.

 _"...Naked here."_

Snorting quietly, Adam smiled. That was more than obvious. "Jay, shut the door before you scare someone. At least Chris used a blanket... although I suppose a pillow is more appropriately sized for..." Adam laughed loudly as the door was slammed shut in his face. Adam shrugged and sent a last evil grin in Shelton's direction. The man hadn't moved from the spot he'd ended up in after Adam's shove. Wandering back into his own room, Adam left the door cracked for Chris' return and finished getting dressed. He was pretty sure that wasn't the reaction that Chris was expecting him to have, but then he always liked to wait a little while before delivering just desserts... when Chris least expected it... that's when he'd get Adam's reaction.

****

"Glennn! Come on... get up." Glen buried his face in his pillow to hide his amusement at the tugging on his hand. "If you don't get up then we won't have time to go to the store before we have to head to the airport and you know how I get when I don't have something to eat for the flight."

Finally he couldn't hide his laughter any more. Raising his head from the pillow, he gave a hefty jerk on the hand wrapped around his, pulling Sean onto the bed with a loud screech. "You are evil Glen, pure evil. How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough to hear you calling me a giant slug. You know one of these days I might just take all those insults to heart," Glen said with a pout. He thought he pouted pretty well for someone his size. Sean's snort informed him otherwise.

"Yeah, I doubt it. You know I love you too much to actually mean it." Punctuating his words by sticking out his tongue, Sean bounced off the bed and finished getting dressed. "Now come on... get up and get moving. I'm not getting on that plane unless I have something sweet."

Glen rolled his eyes and flopped over onto his back. Hey, that meant he was halfway to getting up and after Sean had kissed him awake at five this morning, it had taken him awhile to fall back to sleep. A very pleasant long while. Yawning big enough to crack his jaw, he smiled at his little bundle of energy. "Like you actually _need_ more sugar, Sean. Fine, fine... I'm getting up. Give me a few to shower and get dressed and then I'll run you down to the mini-mart."

He still wasn't sure why they were flying... they were only going to Uniondale. Sean had informed him that Ric had told him last night to show up at the airport for the noon flight. It should be interesting in any case... a private charter with Ric Flair and the Clique all on one plane. Should be very interesting indeed. He wondered which of them would be tempted to toss Sean out of the plane first if he actually did get his sugar fix. He'd have to stop them of course...as much as Sean liked to think otherwise when he was in the ring, his lover couldn't fly.

****

 _"I wouldn't mind seeing the back of this hotel once and for all, and we could eat in the lim....."_

Thank God Hunt had realised what he was about to say. Shawn had no more desire to sit in that limo and relive last night's conversation than his friend obviously did, no matter how well the end results seemed to be working out. He cast a glance at Dave at the question about the flight; all he knew was that Ric had popped in and said something about flying today. Hopefully Dave knew more than either of them apparently did.

Damn. Staring at Dave, sprawled across the bed that they'd shared the night before, wasn't helping him any. He tore his eyes away from the big man as he shifted uncomfortably. They _really_ needed to not just jump into sex... but lord, did he wish that they could. Of course, considering how wound up he was getting over the mere thought, he probably wouldn't last five minutes once they actually did.

Another knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. He smiled a little sadly as Hunt quickly busied himself, obviously not wanting to get anywhere near the door. Whatever had happened between him and Kevin, they had to get worked out. It was hurting Hunt, and Shawn knew Kev well enough to know that he was probably hurting over it too, no matter how reluctant he'd be to admit it. But then, Kevin never wanted to admit that he could be anything less than perfectly controlled. Shawn suspected that Scott had gotten through that iron will, but had never asked... and although he'd dearly love to witness it, he knew he never would. If Kev was ever going to give up his control like that, it would be only to Scotty.

Blinking a little at the direction his thoughts had taken, he forced his attention back to the present and stood up, walking almost reluctantly across the room. He really wished that Kev and Scott hadn't stopped by right at that particular moment, but there probably wasn't going to be a good time for this. Opening the door, he stepped out of the way as the two walked in.

 _"...so we thought we would stop by and...."_

Then again... watching Scott's face as he saw who else was in the room and listening to the way his voice trailed off almost made the bad timing worthwhile. Shawn managed not to grin, but couldn't quite keep his lips from twitching.

 _"We didn't know that you were already in such good hands."_

Letting the door close, he stopped cold as he watched Scott head directly for Hunter. Shit. Remembering that phone conversation from the night before, he was suddenly afraid that his two friends knew far more than he'd thought... but not nearly enough to head off possible problems. Whatever Scott said to Hunter, Hunt looked much less than thrilled to hear it, and Shawn found himself standing next to Hunt before he'd realised he was moving.

"Hunt...?" The word was quiet, almost breathed into Hunter's ear. Shawn realised he had an arm around Hunt's waist that he couldn't remember putting there, but he wasn't about to complain, given the look on Hunter's face. He glanced over Hunt's shoulder at Dave, still reclining on the bed, but couldn't tell what he was thinking, given the dark glasses the man was wearing. Probably to hide the bruises, Shawn knew, but they were damned inconvenient at moments like this.

Shrugging, he smiled at Dave, then turned his head and brought his free hand up to Hunter's cheek, turning his face a little. Ignoring Scott and Kevin for the time being, he leaned forward and brushed his lips against Hunter's, lingering until he felt a response, and deepened the kiss. He allowed himself to indulge in Hunter's taste, savouring it, and pulled away after a long moment, before it got too serious. The point wasn't to start something, but to try to reassure the man in front of him. The fact that his own body had responded to the kiss didn't surprise him at all, but he ignored it as he looked into those whiskey eyes and said softly enough for only Hunt to hear, "I love you."

After one last caress to Hunter's cheek, Shawn turned and took the few steps necessary to return to the bed, settling down next to Dave again, almost leaning against him, and let one hand fall casually on the big man's shoulder. Finally looking up at the other two men in the room, he smiled and said, "I have no idea why Ric booked a flight, but we were just about to leave to eat breakfast before going to the airport. Thanks for the concern, Scott, but as you can see..." His smile widened for just an instant as he looked from Dave to Hunter before looking back to the dark-haired man in front of him. "I'm fine."

****

 _although I suppose a pillow is more appropriately sized for..._

Chris chuckled as Jay slammed the door in Adam's grinning face. Well, that wasn't the reaction he'd expected from his little 'statement', nevertheless CJ was pretty happy all round. Dragging on his clothes he considered exactly how he felt about Adam's amusement. He hadn't wanted or expected his lover to try and stop him, or thank god, freak out and dress him, like one memorably possessive boyfriend had tried, in ugly pants and three sweaters. But still, absolute hilarity with no hint of bother was a first in Chris' experience. He'd been almost hoping Adam would at least threaten to punish him for giving Shelton an eyeful, but no luck there either. Oh well, his style wasn't being cramped and that was the main thing.

CJ's smile turned momentarily to a frown. He wasn't daring Adam to try and test the guy's reactions was he? That would be pretty low and not the sort of game Chris enjoyed playing in the least. Adam had nothing... _nothing_ to prove to Chris and he should just damn well remember that. CJ should be counting his blessing that Adam had liked him enough to give them a shot together, not push the man to see if he'd dump him. His lover wasn't going to try and change him after one fantastic night, not going to lock him in a box and _fix_ him till he was just right. If anything he hoped Adam would join him in his somewhat eclectic behaviour. Not many could claim the title of  'Most Likely To Be An Evil Mastermind' like Chris, but he was pretty sure Adam would give him a run for his money.

So Adam didn't mind if Chris acted up every now and again. That was good. He could be mature when he needed to be, he _could_ , but why be serious when life was too much fun not to enjoy. And if his erratic, spitfire personality was tempered by Adam's restrained intensity, then maybe the reverse was true too. Hell, he'd rub off on Adam any chance he got.

Tugging his brush from his bag, Chris pulled it roughly through his hair while assessing the mood of the room he'd so baldly strutted into. He'd interrupted something, obviously, but there was more than just thwarted lust tainting the atmosphere between Bunnykins and Jay. The big man was impatiently tapping his keys on the window pane while in a cloud of huffs and sighs, Reso was gathering his things for a shower. The pillow had been replaced by a towel, much to Chris' amusement, and the sandy haired man nearly slammed the door off its hinges as he entered the bathroom.

"Bad timing huh?" Chris asked Bunnykins as he finished with his hair and poked around in his bag for his sunglasses.

A lift of massive shoulders indicated a shrug, "Not really."

Ahhh, well that didn't sound good. If he'd had any inkling that all was not well in the State of Denmark, CJ would have phoned first, before barging in. He could be ultra sensitive to other peoples feeling when it was warranted. Most of the time they were just being idiotic that's all.

"We're getting food, then heading off by one-thirty. You want to join us?" He'd prefer to keep Adam all to himself till the car ride but if Jay and Bunnykins needed a buffer, he'd be there in a second.

"No thanks," the deep chocolate eyes turned finally towards the emphatically closed bathroom door, their expression just this side of exasperated. "We've eaten. See you at the car."

"Cool." Since he probably couldn't do much more than add to the discomfort here, Chris shouldered his gear bag, took the handle of his case and let himself out. Thankfully Adam had left the door open, or Chris would have had to start kicking again.

"Miss me?" CJ asked as he dumped his gear on the pile with Adam's. Moving into the man's personal space he slid his arms around a trim waist, now regretfully covered in clothes. Leaning up on tip toes, he pressed his lips to Adam's and led them both into another wonderful, friendly, loving and almost clothes-rippingly hot kiss.

****

 _cause you, Kev, and I are long overdue for a talk. Family… right Hunter?_

Hunter tried to stifle his involuntary wince at the word 'talk', but he suspected Shawn at least had caught him. The absolute last thing he wanted to do was rehash everything with Kevin and certainly not while Scott and others were there to witness it. He loved his friends, he really did, but he'd had enough of digging into old wounds to last a lifetime. But Scott had thrown Hunter's own words back at him, this was his family. He'd do anything they asked of him... anything. He returned Scott's half hug, taking some comfort from the big warm body so close to his own. Hunter hadn't realised how much he'd missed the casual physical contact they all shared, since he'd been pulling away from the group these last few months. When Scott moved back, Hunter almost followed him, wanting to bury himself in his friend's arms and hide for a moment. But he caught himself before the thought even began, Kevin was just now striding into the room and Hunt didn't want Kev to think he was pawing at Scotty or anything.

Fortunately, Shawn must be telepathic because in a second he was at Hunter's side, arm around his waist a solid bar of contact. Shawn was his anchor right now, for all he'd been the terrible ache in his heart for so long, he'd always looked to Shawn for support in any situation. At his whispered enquiry Hunter shook his head slightly, _not now_. Shawn seemed to understand him, the beautiful man simply turning Hunt's face towards him for a deep, sweet kiss. It was their third and they were getting better every try, his body responding involuntarily to Shawn's slim lean form pressed against him. Hunter wondered when he'd stop counting Shawn's kisses, probably at two hundred if he was lucky enough to be around that long.

At the deep, husky, "I love you," Hunter wanted to snatch Shawn back to him, to hold him close just like he'd wanted with Scott, but he let the smaller man slide away, returning to the bed to relax beside the prone Dave. They looked good together, Shawn and Dave. All that strength and passion, his friends finding their way towards something deeper, better. Hunter was so thankful he'd have a ringside seat.

He shook his head slightly at himself. Since when was he such a needy cuddler? Since he'd realised he could have that if he just asked for it? It was a bit sad really, but he'd get over it. Getting over himself seemed more of an issue if he was judging Shawn's behaviour correctly. Not only was that kiss one of comfort, but the heat his friend had been trying to suppress was starting to get obvious. "You're just _dying_ to get some aren't you Heartbreaker?" Hunter thought. Although he could hardly blame the man, his own sex drive had been on hold for so long, he'd forgotten he had one.

At a terrible attempt at casual Hunter slid his hands into his pockets and raised his brows at Scott and Kevin in enquiry.

"Can anyone tell me why I am the only one not to know about this flight? Maybe Ric is plotting something and you've all just wrecked the secret?" He doubted it very much. If Ric had organised this flight, he'd certainly told Hunter. Most likely at about 6:15 this morning when Hunter had been having real trouble telling his ass from his elbow.

Glancing again at his watch to avoid anyone's eyes he added, "We really need to go if we're going to eat before the flight. Greg'll have the car ready by now, you two lovebirds can have the limo." He indicated Scott and Kevin on his way towards the door.

 _"Running away Hunter?"_

Damn, he wished Vince would just shut up.

****

Dave looked on as Shawn approached Hunter. As soon as their lips met, his brain was sending a certain other part of his body a wake-up call. Not a particularly good time for it, but then who could blame him...Hunter and Shawn kissing was just... damn freaking hot. As the kiss ended he shot a look in Scott and Kev's directions, wondering if they'd understood Shawn's not so subtle hint. He smirked at their expressions. They definitely knew something was up, if not exactly what it was. The mattress sinking under Shawn's weight gave him enough warning so that he didn't jump at the hand on his shoulder. And the expressions didn't get any less amusing...

 _"I'm fine."_

Shawn was fine... or at least much better than he had been last night. Hopefully things would be getting even better as the day progressed if they ever got a chance to sit down and talk. Somehow the flight didn't seem like it was going to be fraught with opportunities if they were all going to be on it. Dave watched with not a tiny bit of confusion as Hunter tried to rush them from the room. What in the world had Scott said to Hunter?

It couldn't have been about what happened last night; Scott would have waited to get the details of what had happened, especially after finding the three of them together. It had to be something else. Whatever it was, he wasn't about to let Hunter slink out of the room like a scalded dog. Think quick, Dave.

Dave almost laughed when he came up with an answer. It'd give him a chance to show Hunter a bit of support and at the same time it would give Hunter an opportunity to decide how much of this rather odd situation he was ready to reveal.

"Hey, Hunter, be a pal and give me a hand up would ya? I've still got a twinge in my back from that last bump that I took." It was a little bit sneaky referring to the fall he'd taken this morning when they had both landed on top of him and he wasn't really feeling anything from it other than the lingering ache at the bridge of his nose. It would however give him an excuse to toss his arm around Hunter's shoulder for awhile. Scott and Kevin wouldn't be any wiser since he had been in the ring last night where Shawn had hit him with a chair. While he waited to see what Hunter was going to do, Dave laid his cheek against Shawn's hand, which was still lingering on his shoulder. Hopefully Shawn would take the hint and not freak out thinking that he'd been hurt earlier.


	25. Reassurances

Following his lover inside, Kevin heard Scott's voice trail off before he saw what had caused it to do so.

 _"We didn't know that you were already in such good hands. Dave... Hunter."_

He couldn't help the raised eyebrows; of all the possibilities he'd considered, this one had never crossed his mind. To walk in and find Shawn, looking actually pretty happy, in the same room as Dave... _and_ Hunter... Well.  Looking at each of the three in turn, he could see a sparkle in Shawn's eyes that he hadn't seen there in years. Had Scott misunderstood Dave last night? Not likely. More probably, there had been some sort of confrontation this morning.

Forcing himself to hide the smile at that thought, he was a little sad that he'd missed it, since Shawn in full fury was quite the sight to see, and Kevin didn't doubt that that's exactly what it had been. Dave... the big man looked awfully comfy, sprawled out over Shawn's bed... Shawn's very rumpled, very _used_ -looking bed. His eyebrows drew back down into a slight frown as he looked consideringly at the man. He didn't think Dave was the type to take advantage of Shawn when he was as upset as he must've been last night, but...

His thoughts were interrupted as Shawn kissed Hunter. He knew he was staring, but... damn. That was just... hot as hell. And... since when were those two on _kissing_ terms? Although that at least put paid to his dark suspicions about Dave's behavior. If the big man _had_ seduced Shawn the night before, no way in hell would Shawn practically be exuding waves of lust just from a kiss. Even a kiss like that one.

Shaking himself a little, he nudged Scott with his elbow. His lover's mouth was wide open in shock, and he suspected that his own reaction hadn't been much better. Following Shawn with his eyes, he somehow wasn't surprised at the Heartbreaker's apparent intimacy with Dave. He _was_ surprised that Hunter didn't look upset... or that Dave hadn't looked upset at that kiss. Wait a minute...

 _"...but as you can see... I'm fine."_

His eyes narrowed a little. That hadn't been in the least bit subtle, even for Shawn, and if he was implying what Kevin _thought_ he was...

Before his suspicions could congeal, Hunter was talking.

 _"Maybe Ric is plotting something and you've all just wrecked the secret?"_

Looking more closely at Hunt, Kevin snorted. Or maybe you're just too hung over to think clearly, huh, Hunt? The signs were absolutely unmistakable to him, regardless of the fact that Hunt "didn't drink". Kev knew better than that, even if most people didn't. The drunken phone call he'd gotten in the middle of the night after Shawn's infamous kiss in the middle of the ring had been pretty enlightening, although he'd made the mistake of passing most of Hunt's babble that night off as nothing more than drunken exaggerations. Apparently he'd been as wrong about that as he possibly could have been.

Watching Hunt pull away from them, start to try to practically run out of the room... that hurt. For the first time, Kevin realised just how much he'd actually missed Hunter, how much that growing distance had hurt. And seeing that Hunt was almost _afraid_ of them... that just twisted the knife.

 _"I've still got a twinge in my back from that last bump that I took."_

What? Yeah, the chair shots last night, but Dave hadn't been having any problems then... oh. Kev's eyes followed Hunter as he stopped, looking almost trapped for a moment, then turned toward the man lying on the bed. Hmmmmm. If Dave was trying to keep Hunt from leaving... He looked at Scott, wondering if his lover was reading the same signs he was. It wouldn't be the first time something like this had happened, but with these three...

"Ric thought we might appreciate a chance to visit with each other, is what he told us," Kevin offered, trying to keep his voice from revealing any of his thoughts. If the three of them were on their way to starting something, it would be up to them to tell the rest of them. As much as Kev would've loved to make some crass remark and embarrass all of them, he knew better. What he was seeing, whatever it was, was obviously still brand new and fragile, and he wasn't about to be the one responsible for breaking it.

In fact... on that note, maybe he should offer them a graceful way out. He knew that Scott wanted him to talk to Hunter, but... not now. Making his decision, he put an arm around Scott's waist again and started backing for the door.

"We've already eaten, so why don't we just meet you at the airport? I'm sure you three could use some more time together, anyway." Oops. So much for his attempt at subtlety. Maybe they wouldn't notice... and maybe pigs would fly. He was definitely going to hear about _that_ one from Scott.

****

 _"Miss me?"_

Chris didn't really give him a chance to answer that question before Adam found himself with two armfuls of attentive blond. Laying his hands along Chris' neck, Adam immersed himself in the wonder that was Chris. Soft supple lips, a dangerously talented tongue, and his sweet taste... all together formed the joy of Chris' mouth. As if that weren't enough incentive to linger at this particular activity, there was the beautiful blue depths of Chris' eyes, his silky golden hair, the light rasp of stubble along his jaw... Adam cut himself off at that point. If he kept going this way they'd never end up leaving the room, let alone the hotel in time to make it to Uniondale for the show.

Breaking the kiss with a blissful sigh, Adam smiled at the man in his arms. "Did I miss you? Nope. I saw all of you, the same as Shelton did," he said with a wink. "You know... it's really too bad of you to tease the poor guy with something he can't have. So I'm going to give you the rest of the day to think about what a bad boy you've been and then when we get back to the hotel tonight... I'll let you decide what your punishment should be." Grinning wickedly at his lover, Adam pressed a quick kiss to his lips, then pulled away to pick up his bags.

"C'mon sweetheart, let's go get some breakfast and blow this Popsicle stand. Jay and Ty joining us for eats?" As he stepped into the hall, Adam could hear raised voices from the room next door, though he couldn't make out what it was they were saying. "That doesn't sound good. I'm going to take that as a no?" he said looking over his shoulder at Chris for possible answers.

****

Scott relished the return of his half-hug by Hunter. It seemed that Hunter had been pulling away from those gestures more often. Of course it was probably partially due to the things that Scott wanted them to talk about and the other part was probably due to Hunter not wanting to upset Kevin. That was the reason Scott felt this had gone on way too long already.

As he took his place by Kevin again, he turned and stopped right where he was, frozen by the sight in front of him. Shawn was _kissing_ Hunter. When the hell had _that_ happened? Scott knew his mouth was hanging open, but he just couldn't seem to close it. Not only was that really damn hot, but completely unexpected after Dave's phone call last night. Of course finding them all in the same room had been unexpected in the first place... and Dave certainly didn't look at all upset that the kiss was taking place.

The nudge from Kevin finally broke through his racing thoughts and Scott snapped his mouth shut, turning to scowl at Kevin. All three of the men looked comfortable with all the touching, kissing, etc. that was going on between the three of them. Scott was a little shocked. He'd known about Shawn and Hunter's feelings for each other. He'd been given a hint of Dave's feelings for Shawn... and Shawn's interest in Dave. How the hell had he missed this thing between Dave and Hunter? Because there was something. Dave hadn't been showing any real effects from the chair shots last night, so unless there had been some sort of confrontation this morning... what the hell was he thinking? Of course there had been something... knowing Shawn, something rather explosive.

Now that he looked at Dave from that point of view... the glasses? Effect or necessity? He did look a little puffy around the nose. Scott blinked. This day was just getting weirder and weirder. He was thankful however that Dave had stopped Hunter from fleeing the room. This was getting downright ridiculous. Kevin's arm falling around his waist distracted him for just a moment.

 _"I'm sure you three could use some more time together, anyway."_

Grinding to a halt, Scott elbowed Kevin in the ribs... hard enough for him to take notice, but not hard enough to actually hurt his lover. Looking up at Kev, he rolled his eyes. "Subtle as a chair-shot to the head there, babe."

Pulling away from the big man, Scott approached Hunter and smiled a little sadly. Reaching up with one hand, he tucked a lock of behind Hunter's ear. "That right there Hunter... that's the reason we have to have that talk. The fact that you can't be around us for five minutes without trying to run out the door... that hurts. It hurts all of us. If we want back what we used to be, we have to go back to go forward. I know you're worried about this, but you don't have to be. We miss you, Hunter."

Turning back to Kevin, Scott grabbed his hand and led him towards the door. "C'mon Kev. They need to go eat or they'll be late for the flight." Turning back to look at the three men still in the room, Scott smiled. "We'll see you guys at the airport. Don't do anything that we wouldn't do," he said with a wink as he pulled Kevin from the room.

****

 _"I've still got a twinge in my back from that last bump that I took."_

Hunter faltered only for a moment before executing a smooth u-turn back towards the bed. That little ‘twinge’ was more than likely another nasty bruise on Dave’s back from having five hundred pounds of Hunter and Shawn fall on him last night. Although he was beginning to have doubts about that as the ‘wounded’ man leaned into Shawn’s palm like a cat being tickled under its chin. Yep, looked like he was in agony there. Hunter said so as he grabbed a wrist and hefted the big man to his feet none too gently.

“Sure Dave, I can see you're in agony lying down like that,” he smirked playfully at Shawn while reaching up to dust and smooth out any wrinkles in Dave’s shirt. The small frisson of pleasure he felt lightly caressing the cotton-clad chest was best suited to another time entirely. As he turned back towards the door, Hunter was suddenly weighed down by half of Dave’s not inconsiderable weight through the solid arm slung across his shoulder. Reacting without thought, Hunt wrapped his own arm around Dave’s waist and adjusted his stance to compensate for his new burden. Maybe Dave was more hurt than he appeared? Tilting his head away and slightly to the side, Hunter lifted his free hand and tugged the dark glasses gently down Dave’s nose.

“You okay?” he asked quietly, very aware of the other men in the room.

Dave’s whispered answer was lost in Kevin’s voice as he replied to Hunter’s crack about the flight. Seeing Scott and Kevin moving to the door, Hunter felt it would be a damn good idea to wait till the airport before talking with his old friends. Kevin’s looming presence was like a magnet, both attracting and repelling Hunter in equal measure. For years Kev had been Hunter’s rock, his close and much loved friend, a man who, like Shawn, had never cared or judged Hunt’s decisions, whether professional or personal. He could remember countless credit card breaking phone calls at all hours between the two of them, mostly from Hunter he admitted to himself. If he couldn’t tell Shawn, he told Kevin… just about everything. Hunt had tried to get things to go both ways, but Kevin was such a private man, so controlled that Hunter had often reverted to simply chatting about work to try and give the man breathing room when he was going through ‘a rough patch’ with Scotty. Then somehow because of Vince, he’d broken it and Hunt couldn’t for the life of him work out how to fix things.

 _can't be around us for five minutes without trying to run out the door...that hurts_

Oh. So Hunter hadn't been as subtle as he thought he'd been. Despite his reluctance maybe Scotty was right, maybe they did need to talk about the past to try and find out if they could return their friendship to its former glory. Ten years was worth at least a shot; actually it deserved plenty of shots and maybe now with Shawn and Dave as support, he could risk it.

But when? Now? When he and Shawn had been stripped emotionally bare by last night and this morning’s revelations? When his head was pounding and his stomach rebelling at even the thought of food, let alone an air flight, a workout and then Smackdown? He didn’t even need to be there tonight for heaven’s sake! He was doing a promo about Shawn and that was about it, but Vince liked all his Raw talent at Smackdown tapings for meetings, lectures and any pre-recordings that they needed to do.

On the plane, Hunter promised himself, when he’d snuck a coffee past Dave and no-one had to rush off suddenly, Scotty could have his ‘talk’. He didn’t mind if Dave heard what had happened, didn’t mind if Shawn did either. They’d both seen him at his worst this very morning and guess fucking what? They were still here, still wanting him despite what he’d done.

It was only an internal metaphor, but Hunter acknowledged it none the less. He shouldered as much as he could of Dave’s bulk and really smiled at Scott and Kevin for the first time in ages.

“Thanks Kev, we might use that time wisely. But then…” He winked at Dave, his face so close to Hunt’s own, “… we might not. We’ll see you at the airport anyway. It’s only fifteen minutes by car; we can’t get up to too much trouble in that time."

****

Happily following Adam out of the room, Chris speculated on his possible punishment later that night. So Adam _had_ been aware of his little envelope pushing? Good. CJ didn't like to think he could walk all over Adam and get away with it blind. He'd had that kind of power over someone before and Chris had found he loathed it. Being punished in a hilarious, loving way was going to be so much fun. Adam could very well be the best thing that ever happened to him, a partner, a lover, a friend and an equal all rolled into one. Could he really be that lucky?

 _That doesn't sound good. I'm going to take that as a no?_

Chris winced and nodded at the look Adam threw over his shoulder. "I don't think my interruption had anything to do with _that_." CJ pointed a finger at the room in question before stealing one of his bags from Adam and tapping the 'down' button on the elevator. Leaning against the opposite wall, he eyed his lover speculatively over their gear.

"Dibs on Bunnykins, if it all goes pear-shaped."

Leaving their gear at the porter's station, Chris opened the restaurant door gallantly for Adam and offered him a plate while they stood at the buffet table. He'd have to decide if he wanted a banana or not... there was teasing and there was _teasing_.

****

 _"Dibs on Bunnykins, if it all goes pear-shaped."_

Adam raised a brow as he looked at Chris. He knew that Chris hadn't meant that how it sounded. Shuddering at the god-awful nickname that Chris seemed to have settled on for Ty, he smirked. Of course he'd end up having to deal with Jay if things got bad. He sincerely hoped that wouldn't be the case. Things were going pretty well with Chris at the moment and the last thing he wanted was to be squirreled away with Jay trying to rescue Jay and Ty's relationship. Okay, so he felt kind of bad thinking that way, but if he a dollar for every time that he'd been pulled in to referee during one of Jay's relationships over some nit-picky little thing that had upset Jay he could probably buy the whole fed. This unfortunately sounded a little more serious. He sincerely hoped not.

Tearing himself away from his depressing train of thought, Adam smiled at Chris when he opened the door for him. Would this be considered their second date? Or was it technically their first? That hadn't actually been on a date last night after all... Deciding that it didn't really matter, he filled his plate from the buffet. For some reason he was ravenous. Well... duh. Hot, rowdy sex would do that to ya. If last night and this morning were any indication, he needed to keep up his strength as well.

As they sat down at a table to eat, Adam couldn't help but keep looking at Chris. Saying that this was one of the last places he'd expected to be this morning when he'd gone to the arena yesterday was a huge understatement. He found that he was completely happy for the first time in a long, long time. That almost made him wonder how long it was going to last... not that he was normally pessimistic, but good luck had been in short supply for the last couple of years.

Taking a bite of the spice cake that he'd picked up from the buffet, Adam swallowed the delicious cake, then slowly licked his lips, cleaning them of the white frosting. Looking at Chris with a wicked twinkle in his eye, he smiled and lowered his voice so only Chris would hear him. "You know, this cake kind of reminds me of you... sweet on the outside, spicy on the inside." Taking another bite, he savored the taste in his mouth before once again licking his lips. "You want a taste?" he asked, his voice low and seductive. He knew he shouldn't be teasing Chris, but it seemed to work for them... this playful new relationship that they had. After pausing just long enough to give Chris time to wonder exactly how he was supposed to get that taste, Adam lifted a forkful of the cake to his lips.

****

Shawn's smile faded as he watched Hunter turn away and try to hide from them. He knew that it wasn't aimed at himself or at Dave, but it still hurt to watch his best friend distance himself from the other two in the room. Before he could try to do anything about it---like smack Scott, maybe, for bringing up whatever the hell he'd said at such a bad time---Dave was speaking.

 _"I've still got a twinge in my back from that last bump that I took."_

What? But Dave had been fine last night... although he never _had_ answered Shawn's question about the chair shots, come to think of it. Frowning, he was about to ask Dave if he needed anything when the man laid his face against Shawn's hand in an unmistakable gesture. Blinking, he could see the hint of a smile on Dave's lips. Glancing across the room at Hunter, watching him pause while looking almost agonised for an instant of indecision, the light dawned.

Shifting, he trailed his fingertips across Dave's cheek, smiling down at him. At least one of them was thinking on his feet. If Hunt had made it out the door, Shawn was afraid that they wouldn't have seen him again. Whatever was up between Hunter and Kevin was obviously affecting Hunt much more than he'd realised. Whatever it was, Shawn wasn't about to let Scotty corner Hunt at such a vulnerable moment, let alone corner him by himself. What affected Hunter affected him, even if he was just now realising how much.

 _"Sure Dave, I can see you're in agony lying down like that."_

Well, that smirk was a good sign anyway. He leaned back a little and smiled lazily up at Hunter, not missing the man's reaction to touching Dave. Watching them together was going to keep him smiling, he suspected. It was such an attractive sight, the two of them with arms around each other. God, what he wouldn't do to be able to lock the door and throw them down on the bed... no. No. He wasn't going to go there. This was _definitely_ not the time.

 _"I'm sure you three could use some more time together, anyway."_

He couldn't help but grin. Kev was trying so hard to be tactful, the expression on his face telling Shawn that his little "hint" had indeed gotten through to the other two. Of course, it being Kevin, his idea of "tactful" was... well... not. But the other two were making "leaving" motions, which suited him perfectly at the moment. He very much wanted to find out what exactly was up between Hunter and Kevin, and although he suspected that he'd have to drag it out of the two of them, right now he just wanted to make sure that the three of them were still okay. The proposal he'd put forth was incredibly fragile right now, and probably would be for the immediate future; he wasn't about to sit back and watch it crack for _any_ reason.

 _"If we want back what we used to be, we have to go back to go forward."_

Well, that settled that. Scott wanted to deal with whatever the problem was, which Shawn was all for, but he wasn't so sure that he was going to agree with whatever Scott had planned. He'd disagreed with the Bad Guy before, but this time was going to be a little different... this time he wanted to protect the man he loved from being hurt even more. Their friends certainly weren't planning on hurting anyone, but their timing was going to make it inevitable if they pushed too hard right now. And this time... Shawn's breath caught at the realisation. This time, he had something to protect. Something he'd always wanted. Something like what was between Kevin and Scott.

 _"Don't do anything that we wouldn't do."_

Shawn nearly missed Scott's words as the two left, laughing as hard as he was. Talk about an open invitation for trouble...

At least he knew that the Outsiders were going to support the decision they'd so tentatively made. He shouldn't have been surprised, but then, he hadn't really even thought about anyone else since this morning, so their appearance had been unexpected. Shrugging off his worries for the moment, he rose from the bed and walked across the room, stopping in front of his two... friends? lovers-to-be? partners? No matter. Looking consideringly at them for a moment, enjoying the sight, he smiled a little.

Shaking his head at Dave, he said, "That was a good save, but it worried me for a minute. Just what exactly did we _do_ to you this morning, anyway?" Reaching out before the big man could move away, he snatched the sunglasses away from Dave's face, trying to be as gentle as possible but probably failing, from the wince he received. He sucked in a breath as he gently traced the air over the bruised eyes, feeling incredibly guilty. Both were bruised, although one worse than the other, and Dave's nose was a little swollen. "Dave... god. It's not broken, at least. But... I'm so sorry. If I just hadn't lost my temper..." He'd been so caught up in worrying about Hunter that he hadn't even noticed Dave was hurt. What did that say? How were they supposed to make this work if he couldn't even notice the obvious?

Caught up in his rapidly darkening thoughts, the arm wrapping around his waist was a surprise. He tensed at the initial touch but relaxed almost immediately, letting Dave pull him close. Leaning his head against Dave's chest, letting himself accept the comfort, he could feel some of his tension draining away. He was so used to relying only on himself, knowing that he couldn't afford to let anyone get close to him, that being able to turn to Hunter and Dave was going to take some getting used to now. Somehow, Shawn suspected that the two of them weren't going to give him a choice about that... and he wasn't about to complain.

****

Ouch. Dammit, that _hurt_.

Rubbing his side, Kevin narrowed his eyes at his lover at Scott pulled away to talk to Hunter again. It hadn't been _that_ bad of a slip-up, had it? He'd _meant_ well...  The grin on Shawn's face was a pretty big clue that everyone had indeed caught it. Although he could at least take comfort in knowing from that selfsame grin that he'd been right about what was going on. Dying as he was now to know what the hell had happened after that phone call, he was increasingly aware of the tension in the room and wanted to get the two of them out of there ASAP.

 _"We miss you, Hunter."_

God, did he. He found himself nodding at those words, feeling the hole inside where Hunt had always been before. He _missed_ the man, missed those damned middle-of-the-night phone calls, missed the babbling when Hunter knew that Kev was upset over something but just couldn't bring himself to spit it out... God. He really _was_ overly controlled, wasn't he? When one of his best friends, his only real confidante besides Scott, had silently but so obviously offered again and again to help him through the rough spots and he hadn't been able to reach out to let him do that...

Scott's hand slipping back into his brought him out of his thoughts. Shaking himself a little, he resolved to make things right with Hunter no matter what... and to allow himself to accept that helping hand when he had to. Knowing what it was like to be distant from the man now, he wasn't about to push him away again.

 _"...we can’t get up to too much trouble in that time."_

Kevin forbore to respond, although he snorted as he closed the door behind them, Shawn's laughter following them out into the hall. Those two could get up to trouble faster than anyone else he'd ever known, including Kid---and that was saying something.

"Well... that was interesting," he said dryly as he followed Scott down the hall, not releasing his hand.

Maybe they'd worried too much... or maybe not. The brief glimpse of Dave's face he'd had had shown some impressive bruising, which meant that _something_ had gone down that morning. At least the apparent trauma of the night before had resulted in something that looked like it would make all three of them happy. Hopefully. He laughed a little to himself. He was definitely going to have to get to know Dave better now... couldn't be a stranger to your own family, after all.

****

The fingertips trailing over his cheek reassured him that Shawn wasn't about to freak out over his 'supposed' injuries. Good. Now Hunter...

 _"Sure Dave, I can see you're in agony lying down like that."_

Dave smiled at the sharp tug from Hunter pulling him to his feet. Looked like he hadn't fooled Hunter either. That was okay though, because Hunter wasn't going anywhere. The hands on his chest almost distracted him long enough for Hunter to get away, but not quite. Tossing an arm around Hunter's shoulders kept him from getting too far. Hunter's arm wrapping around him in turn was a revelation. It was comfortable, but at the same time not. It definitely headed his brain in directions that it shouldn't be headed at the moment.

When Hunter tilted his head and looked at him, pulling his glasses down his nose, he almost winced. Ow. Silent that time, Dave. Very good. Maybe he'd overplayed his hand just a bit because Hunter was looking worried again.

 _"You okay?"_

He was pretty sure Hunter missed his return whisper of "Just fine" due to Kevin chiming in to answer Hunter's earlier question.

 _"I'm sure you three could use some more time together, anyway."_

Dave had figured that Scott and Kevin had at least a hint of what was going on with them, but he hadn't expected them to acknowledge it... not yet anyway. Looking to the other two to take his own cue of how to react seemed like a good thing. Shawn was grinning like crazy, so he must consider their knowing a good thing. He couldn't quite tell for sure what Hunter was thinking though. Then it became a non-issue when Scott approached Hunter.

He hid a smile over the way Scott tucked Hunter's hair behind his ear. The whole group were so openly affectionate with each other... it was something that Dave would have to get used to, or at least remember that he wasn't supposed to growl when one of the others touched Shawn or Hunter so casually. He almost growled at Scott anyway. Obviously there was something in the past that had opened a chasm between Hunter and Kevin... Scott was obviously somehow involved. Was right now the time to bring it up? Dave couldn't really say without knowing the circumstances, but he wasn’t about to ask. If Hunter wanted him to know, then he'd tell him. He pulled Hunter a little closer in a bid to offer at least a little support, inadvertently shifting more weight onto his shoulder, but he wasn't going to let him go. Noticing that Hunter actually smiled at Kevin and Scott, he felt a little better about the whole situation. Maybe he was worrying too much?

 _"Don't do anything that we wouldn't do."_

Somehow Dave figured there wasn't a whole lot included in that list. Shawn's laughter pretty much confirmed it. Hunter's wink helped broaden his smile. He could think of an awful lot of trouble that they could get up to in fifteen minutes if given the chance. Although they weren't really ready for anything heavy duty he suspected. They still had a lot to talk about. Even though Scott and Kevin were gone, he left his arm around Hunter's shoulder most likely just because he _could_. He was still trying to wrap his mind around that. He could actually touch now if he wanted to... and how long had he wanted to? Seemed like forever.

Dave watched as Shawn got off the bed and approached the two of them. Shawn looked happy, at least for the moment, about how things had turned out with Scott and Kevin's unexpected visit. It sounded like the plane trip was going to be full of all kinds of interesting adventures. Of course with Ric on board that had already pretty much been guaranteed.

 _"That was a good save, but it worried me for a minute. Just what exactly did we do to you this morning, anyway?"_

Whoops. He hadn't wanted to worry Shawn at all. Dave also hadn't wanted Shawn to get a good look at his face just yet either. He hadn't had a chance to look again himself and he knew more than likely that the marks had darkened now. Hopefully it wasn't too bad. As Shawn pulled his glasses off, he could help but wince a little. First Hunter and now Shawn, he should have just taken them off himself. He almost laughed but the look on Shawn's face forestalled the impulse.

 _"Dave... god. It's not broken, at least. But... I'm so sorry. If I just hadn't lost my temper..."_

No, no, no. That just wasn't going to happen. Shawn was not going to take the blame for something that had purely been an accident. Dave quickly wrapped his free arm around Shawn and pulled him close. He wanted to run a hand through Shawn's hair, comfort him, but he didn't want to let Hunter go either... so he compromised and pulled Hunter closer to Shawn, hoping that Hunter would take the hint.

"Shawn, it wasn't your fault, sweetheart. It was a freak accident. You can't blame yourself because Hunter's head is as hard as a rock," he said, winking at Hunter over the top of Shawn's head to show he was only joking. "This could just as easily have happened in the ring. I'll visit makeup before the show. Not a big deal. It doesn't even hurt now." Obviously he wasn't good at fibbing, even if it was for a good cause, at least judging by the way that Shawn was looking at him now.

"Okay, so maybe it hurts a little tiny bit, but I know what would make it feel a lot better," Dave said with a grin even as he was leaning closer to Shawn. Pressing his lips against Shawn's, he spent a moment or two trying to convince Shawn that he really was okay. Well that and he got caught up in the softness of Shawn's lips and his sweet taste. The fact that Hunter was right there beside them just made it seem even better. Finally lifting his head, he turned his eyes to Hunter, a sparkle of amusement visible in the depths of his own. "So... you going to kiss it better too, oh hard-headed one?"

**** 

 _"Well... that was interesting."_

Scott turned and looked at Kevin like he'd grown another head. "Interesting? Sometimes I worry about you, Kev," he said with a smirk, tightening his grip on Kevin's hand briefly. "The last twenty-four hours have been just plain bizarre. So last night...Dave _sleeps_ in Shawn's bed... he obviously didn't 'wake him up' last night, not with the way Shawn was humming with all that repressed sexual tension. Hunter really tied one on. This morning Shawn and Dave go to see Hunter and they obviously had a fight of some kind by the look of poor Dave's face. I wonder which one of them popped him?" Scott mused as he leaned against the wall by the elevator.

Walking into the open doors, his hand still tightly twined with Kevin's, Scott smiled up at his lover upon finding that they were all alone in the tiny space. "Somewhere along the way, Hunter caved in and stopped being such an ass... most likely because he has one bitch of a headache and just couldn't stand Shawn's screaming anymore. I cannot believe I missed that thing with Dave and Hunter. I'm betting that it was Shawn's idea for the three of them to try to be together... he's the one with experience in that arena. I really hope they can make it work. Wow."

Leaning into Kevin's side, Scott smiled affectionately up at him. "Now that I'm done babbling worse than Kid, how are you doing? Figures that we'll have the limo all to ourselves today and not be in any kind of condition to enjoy it. Of course that would give us a chance to put more cream on your... sore spots, unless you'd rather wait until we get to the airport?"

He knew he was being downright incorrigible, but Kevin just brought it out in him. That and the fact that he was really happy that his little boo-boo from last night hadn't had worse repercussions. It seemed that the three men had come to an agreement of some sort, at least they had if Scott were reading things right. He wasn't even going to let himself speculate on how hot the three of them looked together, although if it came to fruition he probably would at some point. That's just the way he was... appreciative of the beautiful things in life. Right now he was going to concentrate on the beautiful one standing beside him. He was excited about seeing how Kevin reacted to the little surprise he planned for him later and he was also a little worried about the talk that they were going to have with Hunter.

He wouldn't dwell on that for the moment though. Best to wait until the situation was at hand and then figure out the best way to approach that topic. Hopefully they could get past all the hurt and anger and get back the close friendship they'd had with Hunter. Scott had been honest... they both missed him. He had a feeling that Kevin missed Hunter most of all. They had been so close before that it had to have left a gap in Kevin's life. Scott was going to help him fix that because it was something Kevin needed and Scott would always try his best to give Kevin whatever it was he might need.


	26. Arrivals

Hunter shook his head ruefully at the backs of Scott and Kevin. He may have been out of the loop for a while, but he could still read Kev pretty well. Whatever exactly it was Scotty wanted to talk about, and Hunter could easily guess, the big man was reluctant to say the least. Hunt would rather not have Kevin pushed into making amends by his lover if he didn't want to, but Kevin had never held a grudge, against Hunter or anyone else, it was simply their discomfort with talking that was the problem. And Scotty seemed to provide the solution to that. Whether they liked it or not, he and Kevin would just have to  _get over it_.

Now that... well _now_ , wasn't going to be the time and place for this 'talk', Hunter would at least have a chance to catch his emotional breath. If they were going to talk about Vince and Scotty, then Hunter would need to decide his own feeling on the situation. On further consideration, Hunter would prefer it if they didn't have too many witnesses to this, if they were to go over old dirt, then perhaps it would be easier without an audience. Although Hunter wanted Shawn and Dave there for support, he hoped Ric, Sean and Glen might be convinced to give them some privacy. But then, what was three more when skeletons were yanked from closets in public?

Hunter relaxed further into Dave's embrace as Shawn was tugged into their three-fold hug. This much bodily contact was starting to give Hunter's long-dormant libido some ideas, some very definite ideas regarding beds, tongues and lots of naked. Dave leaning forward to kiss Shawn was enough to translate those ideas directly to other parts of his body. What a sight it was too. The sculpted beauty of Shawn's face, eyes shut with pleasure, contrasting Dave's gorgeously bronzed skin and midnight hair. Hunter doubted he could've chosen more attractive lovers if he'd tried.

His choices in previous years perhaps reflecting his own opinion of himself rather that the merits of his lovers. With only one notable exception, Hunter had eased any loneliness by simply accepting offers from any interested parties. He'd never mustered the energy to pursue anyone with enthusiasm, anyone but Shawn had seemed _less_ somehow. A rather unfair attitude he had to admit, perhaps more an indictment of Hunter's own shortcomings, than his boyfriend's.

 _So...you going to kiss it better too, oh hard-headed one?_

Hunter's thoughts were snapped back from his wanderings once again by Dave's words. Hard-headed was he? Well maybe metaphorically rather than physically, although Hunt's head butts were nothing to be sneezed at, certainly not through Dave's slightly swollen nose at any rate. Giving Shawn's lower back a quick pat, Hunter lifted his hand to the back of his head, rubbing thoughtfully at the sore spot caused by the impact with Dave's face.

"Well..." His words hanging softly between the three men, "... since you asked me nicely." Hunt leaned up and very gently kissed the skin between Dave's wicked slanting brows. A second and third kiss on each temple completed Hunter's medical skills.

Pulling away, but so not to cause alarm, Hunter reached once again for the door, opening it. "Now... coffee... please?" he begged, backing out into the hallway.

****

 _"...I know what would make it feel a lot better."_

Shawn leaned into the kiss, a quiet noise escaping him as their lips met. Willingly parting his lips to allow Dave entrance, he relished the slightly spicy taste of his mouth, a hand sliding up to wrap around Dave's neck. Shivering a little as the cool metal of the bar in Dave's tongue contrasted with the heat of his flesh, he wondered suddenly what it would feel like to have that bit of metal sliding against other parts of his body. His groan was muffled by Dave's mouth, but as the big man pulled away, Shawn sighed and buried his face against Dave's shoulder.

Smiling a little at the exchange between the other two, glad to see Hunter's sense of humour reappearing, he wondered how in the hell he was going to survive this. It'd been almost a year since he'd been with anyone, and just waking up in bed with Dave this morning had pushed nearly every button he'd been ignoring for that time. With the three of them... Hunter was obviously still a little reluctant to be too "hands-on", and Dave wanted to talk before they did anything else... Shawn fully agreed that they needed to have a serious discussion about this little idea of his; he was more aware than anyone of the potential problems that could---and probably would---arise. He hadn't been with Scott and Kev for terribly long, less than a year, but it had been a helluva ride. In more ways than one...

 _"Now... coffee... please?"_

Pulling away from Dave with another groan, he rubbed a hand across his eyes, wishing that he had better control over himself. The current round of touching and teasing was a good thing, as they all got used to each other, but his control was rapidly fraying, and he really didn't want to put on a show for their friends. Close as family, maybe, but he wasn't about to have their first time together put on display. The thought of Sean doing commentary on their sexual skills was enough to put a damper on his libido for the moment, but he knew that it was going to be an ongoing battle. The fact that he'd fantasised about Hunter for nearly a decade... and about Dave for the last year, to be honest... well, that wasn't going to help at all.

Taking a deep breath, he followed Hunter out the door. The porter must've come by while Kev and Scott were there... in fact, he could see the man down the hall now. One less thing to worry about, at least. Yawning slightly, he realised that he could use some coffee, too, now that the emotional and adrenaline highs were wearing off. He held the door open for Dave, then walked down the hall beside him, itching to hold his hand or something, but afraid to push his luck too much. Maybe food and some caffeine would help settle him... he hoped.

**** 

Dave blinked as Hunter pulled away. That hadn't been quite what he'd expected, but at least it showed that Hunter seemed to be in a better mood. His lips twitched into a smirk as he watched Hunter backing towards the door.

 _"Now...coffee...please?"_

Dave forced himself not to make a gagging noise at that particular time, he'd wait until Hunter was actually drinking the stuff to pick on him again. As Shawn pulled away from him, Dave mourned the loss of contact. What did he think? He couldn't walk down the hallway with Shawn wrapped around him. Not only would it be a bad idea from the company standpoint, but he was pretty sure he wouldn't last to the end of the hall before he'd be picking Shawn up and turning around to head back to the room they'd just left. Somehow he'd have to put a rein on his base impulses around both Shawn and Hunter... at least for the near future. There was no way that he planned to display their newfound closeness to that degree in front of the others on the plane and they still needed to have a long talk. That probably wouldn't be happening before they made it to the arena... if that soon.

The ride down in the elevator was a little tense. It wasn't an extremely large space for three guys of their size to start with and the company of the porter with them meant they needed to keep at least a bit of distance between them. Dave stuck his hands in his pockets to help him resist the urge to reach out and touch either man, even if it was only to hold a hand or something. He blushed slightly as his stomach rumbled, the sound much louder in the enclosed space than it would have been otherwise.

Once they reached the bottom floor, they stopped in at the restaurant and got something to go. They didn't have the time for a leisurely sit-down meal if they were going to be to the airport on time. As they settled into the car, Dave shuddered at their assorted 'breakfasts'. Good thing he usually managed to get up on time so he could avoid this kind of thing too often. He picked at his cinnamon roll and sipped his orange juice as they pulled away from the hotel. As hungry as he'd been, the restaurant hadn't offered too many portable items at this particular point of the day.

Looking at the cups of coffee in the other two men's hands, Dave couldn't help but pick after their little coffee discussion this morning. "I don't know how you can drink that stuff," he said with a grimace. "Hey, Hunter? Shouldn't you be whipping out one of those energy drinks you promoted instead of drinking that crap?" He knew he shouldn't be grinning as much as he was, but it was kind of funny if you thought about it.

****

Fortunately the ride was over fairly quickly, Hunt could hear Dave and Shawn talking quietly in the back seat. Listening with half an ear, he let his sleepy mind drift into speculation of the relationship. Unlike Shawn, Hunter was strictly a one man guy... up until now. The mechanics of their relationship didn't concern Hunter at all, he'd never been jealous of Shawn's lovers before, he wouldn't be jealous of Dave now. It would be the 'couple time' that caused problems, if there were any, from Hunt's perspective. He'd got out of the habit of being with someone for the last few years and was almost totally self-sufficient regarding his emotional situation. Maybe too self-reliant. Hunter's reaction to Shawn's confession last night and over-reaction this morning seemed so out of character for him, that having some 'issues' was kind of an understatement. Talking was obviously a good idea.

The feel of hot, black coffee slightly scalding his tongue took all the knots he didn't know he had out of Hunter's spine. Relaxing back in the comfortable passenger seat of the Grand's complimentary car, Hunter pulled his sunglasses down as they pulled out of the underground car park. It was still a ruthlessly hot day, but at least he could demand air-conditioning and not sound too much like a spoiled rich boy. Even without the hangover, Hunt wasn't at his best in temperatures like this. Joanie had often nagged him that he didn't drink enough water and that was why hot weather gave him headaches. It had been her insistence on the subject that had led to the whole 'spitting water at the audience' gimmick. That fact that it had lasted five years paid testament to Joanie's idea, even with the irony of _spitting out_ the water rather than _swallowing_ it.

Given that he'd eaten less than nothing last night and this morning, his choice of breakfast left a lot to be desired. Fruit, coffee and sweet buns were about the worst combination to have right now, although the sugar kick would at least keep him _compos mentus_ for the flight. They'd have to eat properly in Uniondale before the show, or three of Vince's headline tough men would be fainting all over the place from lack of protein.

 _one of those energy drinks you promoted instead of drinking that crap?_

Looking back over his shoulder at the men in the back seat, Hunter gave them a toothy grin.

"Too much sugar... and they don't pay me any more." The pounding in his head had softened to a dull roar, with the direct infusion of caffeine. Sitting back, Hunter shut his eyes against the strong glare of sunlight and made the vow all hung-over men make the morning after. "I am never going to drink again... I swear."

****

 _You want a taste?_

Oh really? So Adam was going to lick the frosting off his lips in just _that_ way huh? Suggest Chris could eat some of the cake off his fingers and then wave some of the sweet stuff right under Chris' nose instead huh? Looks like the banana was a necessary weapon in this battle after all.

First though... CJ smiled sweetly, like he didn't get Adam's innuendo, and leaned forward to delicately lick the cake off the fork. He closed his eyes to savour the taste of spice and sugar, slowly chewing before swiping his tongue across his lips to catch a random crumb.

Chris looked at his lover through his lashes, "Nice... thanks. So spicy huh? I would have thought more along the lines of soft and mushy rather than hot and spicy." Grinning to show his liking of the game, Chris tore a chunk from the herb bread he'd taken and dipped it into the oil and salt on the table. "Much as I would love to be welded to your side today Babe, you have a appearance in Uniondale right? I'm free so..." Chris drew the puppy dog look from his arsenal of expressions, "can I come?" If Adam wanted to make something of that CJ would be on that banana like nobody's business.

He was free until the taping tonight at the arena and apart from the drive there, was only committed to some time at the gym. He _could_ go there while Adam made nice with the fans, but he'd much rather hover behind the scenes at Adam's appearance and join in all the boys and girls watching the eye candy that was his boyfriend.

As long as that wasn't too clingy or anything.

****

Relaxing into the seat, Shawn sipped at his coffee in between chatting quietly with Dave. Keeping it work-related, they'd managed to exhaust their immediate conversational topics within minutes, falling into a not-uncomfortable silence. The look Dave had given him when he'd joined Hunter in front of the coffee pot told him that he could expect to be needled over his choice of beverage, but he'd been addicted to coffee for far longer than he'd known Dave---or Hunter, for that matter---and it wasn't about to change now. At least sitting in the car meant that he could press a knee against Dave's without being conspicuous about it, and although the touch was almost like teasing himself, it was relaxing at the same time. Having to keep his hands to himself in public and around others was going to be a huge test of his self-control.

His gaze settling on Hunter, he wondered how his friend was going to deal with this. He wasn't even sure if Hunter had been with other men, now that he thought about it, although it was probably a safe assumption that he had _some_ experience in the arena, given his reactions to him and Dave this morning. That was something else they'd have to talk about, although definitely not in public. While most of his exploits might almost be legendary, he wasn't about to sit and discuss their sexual histories in front of other people, not even the rest of the Clique. No, make that _especially_ not in front of the rest of the Clique. Aside from Kid's big mouth, having that particular discussion in front of two people he'd been involved with off and on for over ten years would be more than a little awkward.

Taking a bite of his cinnamon roll, he considered the time element and decided that he was going to ask that they stop for lunch before heading to the arena. If he didn't get some real food at some point, he was going to be grouchy as hell as well as strung out on caffeine, since the less he ate, the more coffee he had to keep him going. Not the best combination in the world, especially today.

 _"I don't know how you can drink that stuff."_

Shawn laughed, taking another drink. It was a good thing that Dave was obviously teasing; if the big man were going to spend any real length of time around the Clique---and Shawn certainly hoped that he was!---then he was going to have to put up with their common addiction.

 _"I am never going to drink again...I swear."_

Biting his tongue, Shawn forced himself to smile a little. Hunter didn't drink at all, as far as he knew... but obviously there were a lot of things he didn't know about his best friend. What had driven him to drink last night had been discussed briefly this morning, but Shawn made a mental note to put the topic on their list of things to talk about. If Hunt had done this before, he wanted to know why... although he suspected he might already know, given the things that Hunter had let slip earlier when Shawn pushed him. How someone like Hunter could have that big of an insecurity problem, Shawn would never understand. At least his doubts came from experience. His mouth twisted slightly at that thought and he shoved away thoughts of his previous relationships. This was definitely not the time or place to be dwelling on that topic, and he had no reason to, now.

Arriving at the airport after a mercifully short ride, Shawn polished off his roll as he got out, tossing his garbage in the nearest trash can. When he turned back to the car, their luggage had already been stacked on a cart, and he followed the other two inside. The initial check-in line was short and within minutes they'd gotten through security. Midday in the middle of the week didn't seem to be a terribly busy time for this airport.

Walking up to the lounge, Shawn couldn't stand it any more and draped what he hoped looked like a casual arm around Hunter's shoulders. A quiet sigh escaped him as the nervous emotional twitch he'd been feeling for the last half-hour calmed and went away. He cast a look at Dave, smiling, and hoped that the big man was ready for what they were about to encounter, because he could see a familiar group of people standing in front of the windows ahead of them.

****  
   
Glen slowly followed Sean through the doors of the mini-mart. He had a feeling that this was going to go somewhere along the lines of every other time they stopped at one and wasn't surprised to see Sean grab one of the baskets just inside the door. Heaving a sigh, he wandered back to the cooler section to grab a bottle of water. Walking slowly back the way he came, he stopped at the aisle where he knew he'd find his bouncy energetic lover.

"Sean, you are _not_ getting all of that stuff," he said, poking his finger into the depths of Sean's already half-full basket.

"But Glen...." Sean's whine wasn't going to sway him in the least. He'd learned that he had to put his foot down rather firmly on occasions such as this or everyone on the plane would give him dirty looks.

"No, Sean. If you eat all that stuff, not only will you be bouncing off the walls for the whole flight, but your _family_ will be ready to toss you off the plane. No way." How in the world Sean stayed so thin when he ate this kind of stuff was a mystery to Glen. Picking up several packages of candy from the basket, he started looking for the spots they had originally come from.

Sean gave an exaggerated sigh and grabbed a package from Glen's hand. "M & Ms---melts in your mouth, not in your hand. I guess I've got you if I want something that melts in my mouth," the shorter man said with a grin as he put them back on the shelf.

 

Glen raised a brow and shook his head. Sean was simply incorrigible. He handed another package to his lover and waited for the inevitable comment.

"Taste the rainbow! I suppose you fulfill my daily fruit requirement." Another grin and a wink.

"Sean," he growled. "Not funny." His smile said otherwise.

Holding up two candy bars, Sean laughed. "Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t?"

Even as Sean opened his mouth to add something to it, Glen placed his hand over Sean's mouth. "Don't say it." Pointing at the shelves he laughed as Sean grumbled and put the candy back in its spot.

Glen grabbed several more items from the basket and steered Sean into the next aisle. He handed Sean another package and waited patiently.

"It's a creamy lickin' chocolate sensation...O R E O." Glen snorted as he noticed the direction Sean was looking in.

"Where's the cream filling?" Sean was having a blast. He wondered if Glen realized that he did this on purpose?

"Sean, put the Twinkies back." Glen felt a blush steal across his face as he noticed a teenage girl watching them in fascination. "We need to get going or we're going to be late."

"Okay, okay. I'm getting the rest though and I need a can of pop." Glen shook his head as Sean bounced back to the coolers and up the next aisle.

Meeting him at the register, he watched as Sean placed his items on the counter. His lover had managed to snag several more items on his way to the counter and Glen just rolled his eyes and dug out his wallet. At least they'd had Sean's ice cream so they wouldn’t have to stop somewhere else along the way. He almost choked as Sean turned to the woman at the counter waving one item at her with a smile.

"So how many licks does it take to get to the center of...."

Grabbing the bag from the laughing woman, Glen wrapped his other hand around Sean's arm and dragged the giggling brunet from the store. He smiled as they climbed into their rental car and headed towards the airport. One thing he could say about life with Sean... it was never boring.

****

 _"...unless you'd rather wait until we get to the airport?"_

Oh, no. No way in hell was Scott going to do something like _that_ in a public restroom... or for that matter, in front of the rest of the guys. Not that the action would bother him all that much, but having that kind of intimacy and then not being able to follow up on it...

He smiled a little, but knew that to be honest with himself, revealing that much in front of everyone _would_ bother him. His control was almost legendary, and having their family know that Scott could break it... or that he _loved_ it when Scott did... well. As bad as it made him feel for thinking it, he _didn't_ want that to be public. At least not right now. It was still too new for him to be comfortable with others knowing. That might change in the future, but for now, there would definitely be no public displays of the physical signs of that loss.

Not, he resolved immediately, that that discomfort was going to keep him from being just as affectionate with Scott in public as he wanted to be, regardless of the cause. He wasn't about to hurt his lover by pulling away from him, especially after the care Scott had shown him this morning.

"I think, given the options, that the limo might be best," he admitted. He wasn't quite sure how to express the complexity of his feelings to Scott, but suspected that he didn't have to. "I don't... I don't think I really want to put on a show for the guys. Not like that, anyway." Wrapping his free arm around Scott's shoulders, he held him until the elevator stopped, hoping that he'd made sense.

Fifteen minutes later, as he was moaning quietly under Scott's gentle touch in the back of the limo, he really wished that they were in a position to take advantage of their position... so to speak.

Leaning against Scott after he was done, Kevin let himself relax into his lover, feeling an indescribable comfort in knowing that he didn't have to maintain that control all the time, in knowing that Scotty would be there for him whenever he needed him. Grimacing slightly at himself, he wondered when he'd gotten so sappy. A soft touch on his shoulder when the limo stopped reminded him, and he pressed a kiss to Scott's temple before climbing out of the limo, waiting next to it until Scott joined him.

Pleasantly surprised at the relative speed with which they moved through the check-in and security lines, they were strolling back towards the lounge when Ric spotted them.

"Hey, guys! Nice to see you made it," the platinum blond grinned at them. One eyebrow lifted momentarily at the sight of Kev's arm slung around Scott's shoulders, Scott's arm around his waist almost hidden by the jacket Kev was wearing. Kevin ignored the unspoken query by conveniently not seeing it and smiled back at Flair.

"Good to see you, Naitch. A chartered flight seems a little much, but I have to admit that it'll be nice to get there in comfort." He stopped short of adding that he wasn't sure if he could've taken a three-hour drive that afternoon, almost visibly biting his tongue. Glancing around, he said, "So, we're the first ones here? Well, Hunt, Shawn, and Dave should be here shortly. We ran into them on our way out of the hotel, and they were going to stop and grab something to eat on their way here."

****

Adam was a little disappointed that Chris wasn't going to take the carefully laid bait, but consoled himself with a lingering look at his lover's sweet smile. Then Chris of the Magic Tongue revealed that most powerful weapon as he licked the cake off the fork. He showed great skill in managing to retrieve the tasty treat without once being impeded by the pointy tines. Then the Magic Tongue disappeared as Chris slowly savored his spoils, except for a brief flash to capture a stray crumb or two.

Adam cleared his throat as he shifted in his seat. Seemed that he had been caught in his own trap. As he looked into mischievous blue eyes framed by golden lashes, he realized that Chris had understood his intentions all along.

 _"I would have thought more along the lines of soft and mushy...."_

Adam restrained a snort of laughter. After that he was too busy lingering in the warmth he felt at Chris' request. He had a hard enough time sitting through his own appearances sometimes without losing his mind, yet Chris was willing to suffer through one... without appearing even... just to spend more time with him. How cool was that?

"I can't think of a single part of you that I'd describe as mushy, and only one or two that I'd describe as soft, sweetheart," Adam said with a smile, his eyes fixed on Chris' lips.

"As far as I know my next appearance is in Columbus, unless you know something I don't?" Taking another bite of the cake, he felt a warmth blossom in him that Chris would actually want to tag along to his signing. "But you can _come_ with me, whenever you want to. Tonight all I have is a few promos to cut with Mr. Roboto, then I'm free for the foreseeable future," Adam said with a grin.

"Oh wait, I suppose I should find Glen and practice taking a few choke slams," he said with a snort. "I can't believe we're losing to La Resistance even through disqualification. I'm hoping Vince will be hit by inspiration and change the match. If not then maybe Glen will take pity on me and knock me out so I don't actually have to witness it."

****

 _"I don't... I don't think I really want to put on a show for the guys. Not like that, anyway."_

Scott had kind of guessed that that might be Kevin's response. He didn't blame him in the least and understood exactly where Kevin was coming from. It didn't bother him that Kevin wasn't comfortable sharing that aspect of their relationship with the guys. As far as he was aware, Shawn was the only one that knew that Scott enjoyed that kind of interaction with Kevin and he only knew because he'd been involved in it during the time he'd been with them. Well except for Page and Scott hadn't had to see the man in years, though it wouldn't have mattered if he had. Page had helped him come to terms with certain aspects of the game and Scott was grateful to him for doing so. That didn't mean he was going to advertise that aspect of their relationship in front of the rest of the guys.

During the car ride, Scott pulled the tube of cream from where he'd stashed it in his carry-on bag. At least he didn't have to worry about convincing Kevin to drop his pants since the windows were tinted. He spent as long as he dared massaging the cream into Kevin's tender skin. Too bad they were limited for time, because the noises Kevin made while he was applying the cream had Scott wishing they could do a little more than just the massage. He shouldn't have been all that surprised. Just seeing Kevin's bare ass was enough to make him want more.

Luckily the driver gave them enough warning that they were approaching the airport for Kevin to slip back into his pants. Scott relished the way Kevin leaned into him until they reached their destination. Five minutes later and he laid a gentle hand on Kevin's shoulder as the limo drew to a stop. The gentle kiss against his temple had him grinning like an idiot. He was getting way too easy to please... but then again it was Kevin so the simple gesture was all it took.

The check-in was relatively painless for a change and Scott was grateful for it. Smiling at Ric as they approached the blond man, Scott let his arm linger around Kevin's waist. If Kevin wasn't moving his arm then neither was Scott, to hell with any consequences. Still he noticed the momentary surprise on Ric's face and chose to ignore it.

Looking around as Kevin spoke to Flair, Scott spotted another pair that belonged with their little group. Smiling at the way Sean was almost skipping down the aisle with Glen a short ways behind him, Scott lifted his free hand in a wave of hello. Should be a fun flight. It looked like Kid was already loaded with sugar this morning and he'd bet that Sean had some more tucked away in that bag that Glen was toting.

"Ric, dude, this is so cool. Thanks for the invite man. You probably saved me a speeding ticket since it was my turn to drive today." Scott hid a smile by burying his face against Kevin's chest. Typical Sean.

Turning back to the two newest arrivals, Scott smiled and nodded at Glen. How the big man put up with that much bounce all the time, Scott had no clue. He loved Sean to death, but sometimes all that energy was just a bit much to deal with. "Sean, Glen... you look like you had a very good night." Of course that was more than obvious by the huge bruise on Sean's neck. Makeup was going to love him tonight.

Just then, Scott spotted the last of their group's arrival over Sean's shoulder. Hopefully they could get this flight under way soon.


	27. Games

Dave returned Shawn's smile as they approached the lounge. Then he turned to look and noticed the group standing there. He froze for a second before forcing his feet to start moving again, his smile locked firmly in place. Inside he was being swamped by a complete feeling of panic. They hadn't really talked about anything yet and Dave wasn't sure how he was supposed to act around Hunter and Shawn's "family". Scott and Kevin probably had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but as far as he knew, no one else did. Neither Shawn nor Hunter had seemed worried about leaking the news of their tentative arrangement, but that didn't mean that they were going to advertise it either.

Touching? No touching? He really wished they had had a chance to have their little talk _before_ this plane ride. What if Hunter wanted to talk to Stephanie before this leaked any further? Hell... what if he changed his mind completely? This had been Shawn's idea after all and though Hunter had urged him to think about it, that didn't mean that he was necessarily gung-ho on the idea himself. What if... what if... what if. Dave could probably come up with a million of them, but that was just going to drive him nuts.

But there were so many variables to this thing that Dave couldn't help but think about them. His smile faltered momentarily as they approached the group before he managed to get himself in hand. How close should he allow himself to get to the rest of this bunch until he knew for sure if this was going to come to fruition? He'd just have to play it by ear during this trip and hope that they had their little discussion before it became a real issue.

After exchanging greetings with the others, he wandered over to the window and watched as a jumbo jet took off. He could hear Sean's excited chatter in the background. Crossing mental fingers, Dave hoped that they wouldn't be waiting here long before the flight boarded.

****

At least the airport was quiet, being noon on a Tuesday wasn't exactly rush hour and given the short notice of the charter they weren't approached by any fans either. Hunter didn't really mind signing autographs or having photo's taken, he had his fair share of fans despite his not-so-winning character in the WWE, but he'd have to take his sunglasses off if he didn't want to appear like a dick, and having a photo of a hung over Triple H on some kid's wall was not something he'd be proud of.

His headache had almost completely retreated because of the cocktail of coffee and painkillers, allowing Hunter the ability to smile at the check-in clerk and actually mean it. Instinctively Hunt lead the way towards the boarding lounge, Dave could easily have outpaced him but the big man had slowed fractionally at the sight of the rest of the Clique and Ric waiting for them. Hunter knew from past experience how intimidating they could be when all massed together and no matter how each member might try to argue differently, most other wrestlers were wary of them.

Dave might have been a member of the baby stable known as Evolution, but he'd been a professional for a much shorter time than he and Shawn. Hunter knew their 'understanding' was very delicate, his own feelings varied between 'best idea _ever_ ' to 'it'll never work they'll hate me' in the space of five minutes, so he could sympathise with Dave's reaction to the baggage that was the Clique. Hunt knew Shawn was protective of their 'Animal', but Hunter had been watching out for Dave for nearly three years now and he wanted to protect the guy just as much as Shawn did.

Knowing that the others would raise their eyebrows, Hunter draped an arm across Dave's back, hand gripping his shoulder. The gesture was to indicate both their physical proximity and to reassure Dave that Hunter and Shawn would run interference between him and the Clique if needed. He and Shawn always invaded each other's personal space, so no-one would see anything new in that.

"Gentlemen," Hunter smiled casually at his friends. Sean was eating something sweet as usual, while Glen looked on indulgently, Scott and Kevin had a strange little vibe going on, but given the level of most of their 'vibes', it was hardly anything to be concerned about. "Are we ready Ric?" the blond looked up from his perusal of the stewardesses and nodded. "Then let's get this show in the air."

Their plane was almost set out like a private jet, rows of regular seats in the front, with a small cleared area in the back, fitted with padded couches and a table. One stewardess and the pilot completed the picture. Vowing off more coffee, Hunter asked Melanie for a juice instead and commandeered one of the couches for Dave and Shawn. It was a given that Glen and Kevin got couches or they would end up pretzels from even the extra-comfortable regular seats, and Sean practically climbed into Glen's lap the moment the man sat down anyway. Hunter waved Ric to the last couch and shrugged at Scotty, his friend could either plaster himself to Kevin, not such a hardship, or do laps like Hunter normally did. Even hung over, he just couldn't relax while flying and more often than not bugged the pilot or his companions rather than sleep.

Sipping his juice Hunter temporarily obeyed the 'remain seated' sign as they took off, but once in the air, he began to stroll up the aisle, keeping one ear on the conversation in the back.

****

CJ's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Columbus? But Jay said... ahhhh right. Jay has been doing that 'talking while not thinking' thing he does. So, if no appearance then can I buy you dinner?" He did the eyelash thing again.

It seemed a little strange to be asking Adam out after their activities last night, but even in reverse order Chris wanted to try and get most of this right. From what Adam had said, he had not been in an actual relationship for nearly a year, so as far as CJ was concerned, his gorgeous lover was due some wining and dining. Maybe they should try something classier than the smoke and booze clubs they often frequented, CJ wasn't that familiar with Uniondale but he bet he could ask a local about the best places to eat.

Finishing his weird combination of bread, tempura-fried vegetables and cold meat, Chris sipped at his ice water while watching Adam. The reality of what they were doing was finally beginning to sink in. He could count on one hand, and have change left over, the number of people he'd shared this kind of 'whatever' with. Those relationships, and wasn't _that_ a generous term, had all been such phenomenally bad ideas from the start, that even in the fun and sex stage, Chris' heart hadn't been in it.

The good thing was, right now at least, Chris couldn't think of a reason this might not work. Sure Adam could go batshit over someone else and dump him, but given the guy had been immolating himself with self-hate over his last break up, he doubted Adam was the love 'em and leave 'em type. That left the small chance of CJ's eye wandering and with Adam in his bed and his life, he knew that chance was now less than zero.

So that meant... jesusgodalmighty, he was actually dating someone!

Someone he liked even.

This was going to be very weird.

While Vince hated with a passion any public suggestion of relationships amongst his 'talent', the man happily turned a blind eye to anything that wasn't pushed directly under his nose. Aside from the Clique's notorious behaviour, if Vince had come down on them, the lack of constant bed hopping done by half the crew would cause a strike within weeks. CJ had tried to avoid flaunting his previous partners at work, mostly to hide from the fishbowl mentality of the locker room, rather than any shame about his lovers.

To quote the man Chris once described as having 'an exceptionally small penis' in front of millions of people, there was no chance in hell he wanted to hide Adam. If it hadn't been completely ridiculous, he'd carry a sign that said 'JUST GOT LAID BY COPELAND' into the ring tonight to make himself clear. Although given that they'd officially gone public with Jay and Shelton this morning, CJ grinned at that thought-lacking decision, he doubted he'd need a sign. By the time they reached Uniondale everyone would know.

Oh. Chris blinked.

Everyone.

Oh well. Let the shit fall where it may.

Seeing Adam was finished with his own improvised lunch, Chris slid the heels of his chair back and shifted his weight forward onto the balls of his feet. He offered seriously, "Babe? Now that you've finished molesting that cake in front of me... race you to the car!"

With a screech of chair on tile floor, CJ bolted from the table towards the door. Skidding past Austin as the bald man stomped moodily into the restaurant, _somebody_ obviously hadn't got some last night, Chris hoped like hell, the porter had taken the bags to their car.

Or he'd feel pretty stupid walking back to reception to get them.

****

Watching Dave pause at the sight of the group waiting for them, Shawn could've smacked himself. They hadn't had a chance to talk about anything yet, and Dave had to be wondering how to deal with the rest of the Clique. Shawn wondered a bit himself, then shrugged and decided firmly that he didn't care. He wasn't going to play "hands-off" in front of his family when he didn't have to, regardless of the consequences. He might be pretty wound up at the moment, but the time they'd spent getting here had been stressful to him because he _couldn't_ touch either Dave or Hunter, and that was worse for him than trying to ignore the way he reacted when he _did_ touch them.

He knew that Scott and Kevin would wait for them to reveal what was going on before saying anything, but he wasn't positive how Hunter wanted to handle things. The man couldn't sit still on a plane to save his life, and since it was a charter, space would be limited, so they obviously weren't going to have much conversational opportunity there. Well, he was going to make sure that Dave didn't get too freaked out about the situation, and if Hunter wanted to help, that would work. If not, he wasn't going to worry about it. Too much demonstration in front of the others would probably make Dave even more nervous... it was going to be a fine line to walk until the big man felt comfortable around them.

The smile that came to his face when he saw Kevin and Scott with their arms around each other slipped away when he saw Dave head for the window, distancing himself from everyone. He glanced at Hunter and let his arm fall away from Hunt's shoulders as his friend headed for Dave. Watching Hunt oh-so-casually sling his arm around Dave brought the smile back; Hunter seemed to be okay with Shawn's idea, but he'd been a little distant from Dave so far. The message that was being sent was pretty clear, though, and it was nice to know that Hunter had been thinking along the same lines.

 _"Then let's get this show in the air."_

Walking down to the plane, Shawn followed behind Kevin and Scott, watching them almost absently while he thought about the two men heading up the line. Something about the pair in front of him caught his attention, and he cocked his head as he watched Kevin climb somewhat awkwardly up the steps, Scott hovering protectively behind him.

Hmmm. He was probably the only person who actually knew for certain the types of games the two played occasionally, having been part of them off and on. If he were reading things correctly, they'd indulged in some of those last night... only it obviously hadn't been Scotty on the receiving end. That was different. Too bad he'd missed that... he'd always wondered what Kev would be like if he finally gave up his precious self-control. That must've been a pretty sight.

Shaking his head a little, his lips curved as he boarded the plane. His days of playing with the Outsiders were probably over, and why spend time wondering about their little games when he had games of his own to look forward to? He'd have to figure out a good way to ask the other two if they were interested in that particular type of game... but not now. Definitely not now. After they'd been together, in every sense of the word, then he'd worry about that.

Stowing his carry-on bag under the couch, Shawn stopped Hunter in his mad organisational rush long enough to brush his fingers against Hunt's cheek, smiling a little. The touch wasn't obvious, and it wasn't different enough from their usual behavior to really catch anyone's eye. Since he wasn't sure how Hunter wanted to play things in front of everyone, he'd leave it to his friend to make the first obvious move. However, he wasn't about to shy away from Dave. And if they started sending mixed signals to the rest of the occupants of the plane... oh well.

Settling next to Dave on the couch that Hunter had waved them to, he frowned a little in concern. Dave was stiff, trying not to look right at anyone. If he didn't relax, Ric at the very least was going to notice that something was wrong. Hopefully Dave hadn't misinterpreted Hunter's sitting elsewhere; he'd flown often enough with him that he should be aware that Hunt had real issues sitting still while flying.

Leaning against him, Shawn wrapped an arm around his waist. He reached up with his free hand to catch Dave's chin, pulling him around to look at him.

"Hey. Relax." A gentle stroke of his fingers across Dave's cheek. He was getting fond of that particular gesture; it could speak volumes without being too noticeable... although that might be part of the problem here. He'd have to figure out just how far he could take things: He wanted to reassure Dave about them, and make him realise that this group of people wasn't about to judge them, without taking things far enough that he made the man uncomfortable.

The plane started moving, and Shawn leaned his forehead against Dave's shoulder, letting his hand drop to the man's thigh. It was stupid, but no matter how often he flew, he'd never learned to enjoy it, especially the takeoffs. Swallowing, he closed his eyes, his fingers clenching unconsciously. The unexpected feeling of arms closing around him made him open his eyes again, and he relaxed as he met Dave's eyes. Reacting to the concern he saw there, he leaned up without thinking about it and kissed him, a simple brush of lips against lips.

"I'm sorry. I've never liked flying all that much," he said softly. "But I think I could get used to this."

****

Sean was thrilled they were flying a charter rather than commercial. As soon as they had boarded the plane he followed Glen to one of the couches and climbed up in his lover's lap. The only ones that wouldn't be familiar with this particular scene might be Ric and Dave, but Sean couldn't see either of them actually caring about Sean's choice of seat.

Sean did manage to keep one eye on Shawn during takeoff. He knew Shawn had issues with flying so he would have volunteered to hold his hand or something if it would help, but apparently it wasn't necessary. He could feel his eyes bugging out as he took in the close proximity of Dave and Shawn. When the hell had _that_ happened? Glen's gentle squeeze made him aware of the fact that he was staring and he quickly turned around to face his lover. No need to make Dave feel uncomfortable. Sean actually liked the big soft-spoken man that portrayed the WWE's 'Animal'.

Once the actual take-off was accomplished, Sean decided it was time to eat his ice cream before it melted. He climbed off Glen's lap and dug through the bag that Glen had carried on board. Grabbing the pint of butter pecan, Glen had nixed the half-gallon, and a plastic spoon, Sean wiggled his eyebrows at his lover and bounced towards the seats up front. He could see Glen's reaction in his mind... a shake of the head, a quiet sigh, and then he'd stand up and follow Sean to the other seats despite how uncomfortable it might be to squeeze into them.

Glen reacted exactly as Sean thought he would, following his bouncy lover to the seats up front. Grabbing a blanket from an overhead compartment, he dropped down into one of the seats and smiled as Sean climbed into his lap. How Sean could get cold just by eating ice cream in July during a heat wave was a mystery to the big man, but he knew Sean would complain about it just the same. He wrapped the blanket around them as Sean popped the lid off the container and tossed it to the seat beside them. The little sigh of happiness from Sean as he took the first bite made it all worth it, of course.

Sean offered him the next bite and he took it, letting the cold treat melt on his tongue before chewing the pecans. After his lover had taken another bite or two, he'd expected Sean to offer him another bite, but he didn't. Glen raised a brow at the curly-haired man.

"Greedy today are we Sean?" He teased as he hugged the lithe body closer to himself.

"Nah. I'm just keeping my nuts out of your mouth." Glen snorted with laughter over Sean's obvious joke.

Sean turned around and straddled Glen's lap, offering another bite of the ice cream before setting the container off to the side. Raising a brow at his lover over the uncharacteristic action, Glen wondered what Sean had on his mind. "What are you up to now Sean?"

Distracted momentarily by cool lips covering his own, Glen allowed his mind to focus on the teasing tongue that slipped into his mouth. With a groan he savored the taste of Sean merged with the sweet lingering flavor of the ice cream. After a moment or two of teasing kisses, Glen almost missed Sean's reply.

"Since I shared my nuts with you, I think it's only fair of you to share yours with me," he said with a wicked grin. Oh good lord. He didn't have a chance to grab Sean before the shorter man slipped underneath the blanket between his legs and onto the floor.

"Sean!" Glen hissed quietly as he could. "Not on the pl...." His words were cut off abruptly by the feeling of Sean unzipping his jeans and slipping a slightly chilled hand inside to touch his warm flesh. He shuddered slightly from the cool touch and bit his lip, tossing a look back over his shoulder between the seats to determine the location of the others. It seemed Sean didn't particularly care where the rest of the people on board were at because Glen could feel Sean's now warm tongue making a foray over his lower stomach.

Dark curls made a momentary appearance as Sean poked his head out from underneath the blanket long enough to raise one finger to his lips in a shushing motion before ducking back under the cloth. Yeah, right. He was supposed to be quiet? Despite his reservations, knowing that there was the possibility of discovery by one of the others sent a sharp thrill through him. He'd always sensed that he had an exhibitionist streak, but even this was extreme for the two of them. Apparently Sean was becoming more adventurous.

That thought was proven true as Sean's tongue snaked down along the base of his now hard shaft and down under the edge of the denim to tickle over his balls. He moaned loudly before biting down on his lip to help stifle his urge to be loud. He whimpered slightly as Sean's hands tugged on the top of his jeans and he lifted his hips to allow the other man to pull them down slightly.

"Sean," he gasped as his lover's heated mouth surrounded the tip of his cock before slipping further down his shaft. Glen slid one hand under the blanket to tangle in Sean's hair, now completely oblivious to who might be paying attention to them.

****  
   
The hand landing on his shoulder came as a surprise even though he'd sensed Hunter drawing near. The only thing that kept him from jumping was the fact that Hunter had done the same thing from time to time on the show during an exit up the ramp. He knew whose hand it was without even looking, but he did look, flashing a grateful smile at his... what? Friend? Companion? They weren't at a stage where he could call him a lover. That just brought more questions to mind, but for the moment Dave pushed them aside and accepted the comfort for what it was. He must have been more obvious than he'd thought.

Dave kept his hands in his pockets as they boarded in order to keep himself from fidgeting. The last time he'd been this nervous was when he'd taken Mary Beth to the senior prom. Of course that had been partially because _she_ wasn't his first choice for a date. They'd gone as friends only, but that hadn't helped settle his nerves over looking like a klutz. He sank down onto the couch that Hunter indicated and tried to blend into the piece of furniture. Maybe if he kept quiet he'd be less likely to draw attention, then again with this group that might draw more attention than if he stood up and yelled "fire" mid-flight.

He knew Hunter wouldn't be sitting anywhere except for during take-off, the man just couldn't sit still on a plane. Shawn sitting beside him drew a brief glance, before he returned his attention to the swirly pattern of the carpet. Then Shawn's arm was wrapped around him and he was forced by a gentle hand to look at the blond man sitting beside him.

 _"Hey. Relax."_

Easier said than done, Shawn. The gentle touch against his face had him expelling the breath he'd had held in his lungs. Yeah. He really did need to relax or someone would notice... most likely Ric. As the plane started to taxi down the runway, Shawn leaned his head against Dave's shoulder and a strong hand landed on his thigh. Dave almost jumped then as well until he got a good look at Shawn. Eyes closed, hard swallow, the hand gripping like iron on his thigh... He'd almost forgotten how much Shawn hated taking off. He'd seen the reaction once or twice on other flights usually from the other side of Hunter.

Without even thinking, he wrapped his arms around Shawn, his only concern at that moment to offer a bit of comfort in return. Shawn seemed to relax within his arms and he watched the momentary fear fade from Shawn's eyes. The fleeting kiss surprised him and he could feel himself blushing even though the contact had been brief. He still couldn't get up the nerve to look to see if anyone else had noticed.

 _"But I think I could get used to this."_

Dave thought that maybe he could as well as soon as he was sure that this could become a regular thing. If he knew that this was actually going to be a relationship... the three of them... then he'd have no problem with touching either Hunter or Shawn in front of others. His problem hinged on the possibility that after their little talk it might not _be_ the three of them together. If he weren't completely sure that it was what Hunter and Shawn both wanted, he'd bow out regardless of how much he wanted this. He didn't want to look like a fool if it ended up being just Hunter and Shawn in the end. There was no way he could stand receiving pitying looks from the rest of this little group if he ended up on his own. At the same time he didn't want to push Shawn or Hunter away and give them the wrong idea. He did want this.

His eyes momentarily landed on Hunter moving down the aisle and he decided the best thing to do was just try to make it through the flight the best he could. He needed something to do to keep his nerves settled. Recalling the fact that he hadn't had a chance to brush Shawn's hair out for him this morning, he thought that might do the trick. The others might assume that it was simply a way to calm Shawn down during the flight, but regardless he was going to try not to worry about whatever they might think.

 _"Nah. I'm just keeping my nuts out of your mouth."_

What the hell? That had been Sean's voice from towards the front of the plane so obviously the two had moved. Dave didn't want to know what that was all about. He wasn't going to look. Even as Glen's booming laugh echoed through the plane, Dave could feel a blush creeping into his cheeks. He wasn't going to listen either except that wasn't really possible in this small of a plane and after a few minutes there were some rather obvious noises coming from up front.

He needed that distraction and he needed it now. "Do you have your brush in your bag Shawn?" With any luck, Shawn would understand what he was referring to without a lengthy explanation. Dave wasn't sure he was capable of speaking too clearly at the moment. And he'd been worried about a hug or a kiss?

****

 _"...Race you to the car!"_

Adam blinked as the chair screeched against the tile and then grinned as he jumped from his own chair to chase Chris through the door. He almost laughed at the disgruntled look on Austin's face, but decided he liked breathing too much to chance it. Following Chris at a mad dash through the lobby and out the door into the parking lot, Adam finally caught up to Chris about fifty feet from the car. Wrapping his arms around Chris' waist from behind he lifted the blond off his feet in a bear hug before gently setting him back down.

"Gotcha," he said quietly against Chris' ear, using the cover of his hair to gently nip at the earlobe. Unfortunately since they were out in 'public' he had no choice but to let Chris go, but he did so very reluctantly. As they started walking towards the car again he turned his maniacal grin on his lover and wiggled his brows. "I would have much rather molested you instead of the cake, but we _were_ in a restaurant."

He stopped when they were still about twenty feet from the car, laying a gentle hand on Chris' arm to stop him as well. Nodding towards the care, he indicated the current occupants of said car. "That doesn't look good." Ty was in the driver's seat, his elbow out the window like he was considering climbing through it to make a quick escape. Jay was sitting with his head bowed, obviously pouting. Just great. Three or so hours in a car with these two would be just lovely. Opening the back door, he climbed into the back seat with Chris right behind him.

Meeting Ty's sad eyes in the mirror, he wasn't sure whether broaching the subject of the obvious tension would be a good or bad thing, so he decided to wait for now.

"They bring the bags out?" He figured that was safe conversation as he turned sideways and opened his arms offering his services as a personal cushion to Chris.

****

Settling into the couch with a smile on his face at Hunter's "managing", Kevin held out an arm for Scott to snuggle into without even thinking about it. He was far too busy watching Hunter, Shawn, and Dave without being too obvious about it. The body language between the three had been interesting in the lounge, and he was wondering just how things were working out there. Hunt hadn't hesitated to go after Dave when Batista tried to distance himself from everyone, and Shawn certainly wasn't being shy about touching the man. Trying not to think too much about the three men together, he chuckled quietly when he caught the surprised look on Sean's face.

"I think Batista's going to get a shock on this flight," he said softly into Scotty's hair, taking the chance to press another kiss against Scott's forehead.

Leaning back, he made himself comfortable for the takeoff, keeping an eye on Shawn, more than familiar with the man's unease during flights. He'd had the blond on his lap during more than one takeoff in the past. Damn, he missed those days sometimes.

Snorting a little at the blush on Dave's face, between the kiss from Shawn and the sounds coming from up front, Kevin was debating whether or not to try to calm the man down by starting a conversation when he asked for Shawn's brush. _That_ sent an eyebrow up. Shawn was an amazingly sensual man, and he'd heard all about the hair brushing-as-foreplay that he and Mark had indulged in... Hiding his laughter by resting his face against Scott's neck, he wondered if anyone had told Dave about that.

****

 _"Do you have your brush in your bag Shawn?"_

Jerking his attention away from the front of plane and the interesting noises that Glen was making, it took Shawn a minute to process Dave's request. A brush...? Oh. _Oh_. Biting his lip slightly, he wondered if he should mention to Dave the side effects that brushing his hair was likely to have... and promptly decided against it. Torture it might end up being, but it would be wonderful torture, and he highly suspected that it would be as close as he'd come for quite some time to what he actually wanted.

"I do. Let me grab it for you." Reluctantly pulling away from the other man long enough to lean over and snag his carry on bag, he unzipped it and searched for a minute, finally pulling out the brush and sitting back up. He handed the brush to Dave, then paused.

"Um. I'll... need to... move, Dave. Or it won't work too well," he said, not looking at the others, especially Kevin and Scott. "You'll want to put a leg up here, around me..." He couldn't quite meet Dave's eyes, either. Dammit. This could be great fun, but the lack of a resolution was going to kill him, it really was.

Turning so that he was sitting sideways on the couch, he leaned forward slightly and tipped his head back to allow Dave easier access to his hair. The weight of one hand on his shoulder as the brush slowly stroked through his hair was comforting, and the tingling in his scalp was... not comforting.

He twitched slightly, trying to keep quiet, but finally allowed a soft purr to escape him at a slightly more forceful pass. He _loved_ this, loved having his hair brushed or played with... a little too much. His eyes drifted shut and he reached back, gripping Dave's thighs for support, not caring in the least if his reaction to the wonderful sensations running through him was obvious to everyone around him.

If they were just more secure in this new relationship, he'd likely turn around and ravish the big man right there in front of everyone. That thought didn't help much, and as he sat there, the thinly-veiled arousal that he'd had to keep pushing away since waking up that morning resurfaced, sending heat boiling up through his veins. He couldn't help but push himself back, settling himself firmly against Dave with a moan.

****

Chris was fairly sure he would win, he'd had a head start and could dodge and swerve around objects like... well... like a professional. He had a plan, one that he'd come up with in the last three seconds sure, but it was still a plan. CJ would win this little race and hold Adam to a penalty for being the loser. Something like a full body massage on request or another strip tease? Maybe not the second as Adam hadn't been into it, but the first idea could definitely go places.

Only fifty feet from victory, Chris realised that he and Adam shared a lot more than just a fascination for icing, Adam was a professional dodger too. Lifted from his feet, Chris let out a peel of laughter at being caught so easily. Damn! He'd really wanted that penalty too. He'd just have to try again later. And right there with ya buddy on the molestation of a certain Canadian of 'average' height rather than cakes in the future. No reason why sponges should be getting all the attention.

 _They bring the bags out?_

Oh god CJ hoped so.

Bunnykins grunted what could only be described as a 'yuhn' and started the engine. Chris hoped that translated into "yes we have your gear and are ready to go, please fasten your seatbelts", because going back into the lobby instead of crawling right into Adam's arms would have sucked like mad thing.

Drawing his seatbelt out until it was fully extended, Chris wiggled and shifted his hips around in the seat. Pulling off his boots, he left one foot in the space behind Jay's seat and lifted the other onto the armrest of the opposite door. Snuggling back into Adam's hard warm chest, CJ let his head fall comfortably onto Adam's shoulder, lifting a hand to finger at the chain around his lover's neck.

"I'd say us cuddling in the back seat of various cars is going to be a permanent fixture of this relationship Babe. Last night," a soft grin and cool breath blown carefully onto Adam's Adam's apple, hah. "Today and tomorrow... am I right or are we flying somewhere? I haven't even looked at our schedule recently."

He'd been somewhat distracted by... all sorts of things. Chris should have checked last night or this morning but the distractions had been so much more fun. Flying, driving whatever, as long as he could claim a seat beside Adam, He really didn't care.

"So," CJ said, keeping his voice low despite the murmur of the radio as Jay fiddled to find a good station. "I'm feeling all sorts of excited about you and me, I have to tell you. Particularly the 'you and me' that we were last night as opposed to the 'you and me' of last week. I don't have a terrifying sense of dread like I usually do, which isn't much of a compliment I grant you, but has to be considered on the plus side of maybe making this work. Most often I start thinking 'this is a really, really bad idea' about ten minutes into the first conversation, so you still speaking to me after all this time is refreshing." Not exactly big on the positive there Chris. Errr. "I like you Copeland and I really like having sex with you, so if we're on the same page then I can just shut up and let you sleep for the drive. You seem pretty calm about this 'us' that's happening so... I'm not and you don't seem to be, but... are you freaking out about this at all?"

Chris wasn't sure where all that had come from, but keeping things to himself wasn't one of his stronger characteristics. He wondered how long it would be before Adam tried to strangle him.


	28. Discussions

Hunter finished his juice and tossed the cup in the bin at the front of the seats. Shaking his head at the not very well stifled moans coming from the area of the plane now designated as Sean and Glen's, Hunter began a return trip up the aisle.

Seeing Dave slide the brush through Shawn's hair and the reaction it caused in his friend, was almost enough to have him sit down beside them... or take a photo, one or the other. Dave would have no idea about Shawn's love of hair brushing, and his rather gorgeous physical response to it. It seemed his blond Boy Toy was enjoying himself though, so Hunter wouldn't want to interrupt. He kept thinking they needed to talk about their 'relationship', but they all seemed to be putting it off until they were alone. It could be many hours before that happened and now really was as good a time as any.

The rest of the plane's occupants wouldn't mind if they went all deep and meaningful, the cabin's unusual quiet demonstrated everyone's capacity for being 'lost in thought' today. Or lost in porn in Sean and Glen's case. At least the horny bastards had picked an area that wasn't the floor of the aisle this time. Hunter hated stepping over them... he was sure he'd kick something delicate if he wasn't careful.

But he couldn't open up with Shawn and Dave until he'd settled something else. It was as if that talk would be tainted by the other issue pressing on his mind like a lead weight. So instead of joining his too good for words main men, Hunter turned his attention to Kevin and Scott, sitting so cozy together. It was a relief to see them finally at ease again, although really, their love for each other had never been a problem. Hunt hated the idea of spoiling that peace with their talk... but unless he wanted to drag this out indefinitely, he'd have to stop running from the issue and deal with it. Scotty had wanted to talk, so Scotty must know some of what was going on. With Shawn and Dave close enough to listen, but not directly involved, maybe now was the time to broach the subject.

Or he could just wait till they landed.

 _Still runn..._

Shut the fuck up! He told Vince soundly in his head. I'm fucking going alright!

Stopping at the edge of the lounge area, Hunter rested his elbows on the back of the final seats and contemplated what he'd say. Somehow, "so you don't hate me anymore" seemed kind of bitchy considering that except for that one night, Kevin had never spoken a harsh word to him that he didn't fully deserve. Still, Hunt did feel almost 'tetchy' and it wasn't just the whiskey pain talking anymore. Sucking in breath, Hunter let himself feel what he'd been pushing aside since his dreams last night. He felt so terribly guilty for letting Scotty down like he had all those months ago. What was the point of having pull in the company if you couldn't use it to help your friends? Had he held Kevin down while Vince destroyed Scott? God, he didn't know. Just didn't know.

Maybe he should find out.

Releasing that breath on one big rush, Hunter straightened his spine and move to sit in Sean and Glen's vacated seat with as much grace as his muscular body would allow him. Holding his hair back with his sunglasses, he grabbed a bottle of water from the table that he didn't want and focused his eyes intently on flicking a fingernail at the label.

"Scotty, you wanted to talk about something?" Shooting a look at Kevin to see if there was the same reluctance in that wonderful face that Hunt felt. "I'm not into digging up old dirt but," okay, unlike last night he'd go with honesty then, "if you want to talk about what happened with you and Vince, I can handle it."

Hunt just hoped they actually wanted to talk about the same thing.

****

Figuring out where to sit was a pretty easy decision. As soon as Kevin held his arm out, Scott was on the couch and plastered up against his side. Watching the rest of their little group was turning out to be particularly interesting. Sean and Glen were... well being Sean and Glen, cuddly as usual. Hunter was in his normal pre-flight manic phase, settling everyone where they needed to be and avoiding sitting down. Dave was nervous as hell if his posture was anything to go by. Scott knew they were a little much to get used to and he planned to help Dave adjust in any way he could. Shawn was all over touching the man and Scott wasn't sure if that was helping the situation or making it worse. Still if they were serious about this, it was something Dave would have to get used to. Shawn wasn't shy about much, especially when he was around family.

 _"I think Batista's going to get a shock on this flight."_

Scott muffled a snort of laughter with his hand. Understatement again Kev? Then again, the man already looked to be in shock and this flight had just started. Scott kept a careful eye on Shawn during the takeoff, but decided that Dave seemed to have everything in hand there... literally. He snickered quietly against Kev's chest at the blush stealing over the big man's face. Cute... not as cute as when Kev did it and it didn't provoke the same reaction in Scott, but cute all the same.

Of course with Glen's moaning and groaning in the background, Scott wasn't all that surprised that Dave seemed a bit flustered. It was starting to get to Scott as well, but only because he'd been set on hum since Kev blushed at breakfast. He was actually considering jumping in Kev's lap for a bit of snuggling when Dave asked Shawn about the brush. The poor man didn't seem to have a clue what he was letting himself in for and it didn't look as if Shawn was going to give him a heads up either. This could be fun. He felt the vibrations of Kevin's laughter against his throat and knew that Kevin was probably having the same thoughts that he was.

Listening to Shawn purr and surreptitiously watching his reactions to the hair brushing had Scott all ready to jump in Kevin's lap... for a little bit more than cuddling even though he knew it probably wouldn't go past some heavy petting at this point. Maybe it would actually help Dave adjust quicker to their crazy bunch if they acted normal... well normal for them anyway. Before Scott could shift himself into Kevin's lap, Hunter sat down beside Kevin.

Hunter was sitting? Now there was something unusual. Scott raised a brow as he noticed how tense Hunter seemed to be. Apparently it was time for their little talk. The memories wouldn’t be fun for any of them he suspected, but there was no way for Kevin and Hunter to get back the closeness they'd once shared unless they cleared up the past.

 _"Scotty, you wanted to talk about something?"_

Reaching across Kevin, Scott grabbed Hunter's hand and entwined it with his own before lying them on Kevin's thigh. So sue him, Scott liked physical contact. Hunter would just have to deal with it. He felt the slight stiffening in Hunter's hand, but it only lasted a moment. Shooting a brief smile at Kevin, Scott turned his attention to Hunter.

"It's not so much about what happened with Vince. Whatever happened then I deserved. I was the one that soaked myself in that poison and Vince didn't really have a choice. I couldn't have worked like that, Hunt. We all know that, no matter how we'd like to argue it. I could have hurt someone." Scott had already faced up to his part in his firing during his counseling. Even if Kevin and Hunter thought otherwise, Vince had really had no choice but to make the decision that he had.

"Actually I did hurt someone. I hurt Kevin and Kevin lashed out at you. Kevin told me, Hunt. About what happened after I got fired. He told me everything and we both owe you a huge apology." Scott turned to look at Kevin hoping that he would take the opportunity to make amends. If not, then Scott was fully prepared to try to do so for him.

****

 _"Um. I'll... need to... move, Dave. Or it won't work too well."_

Dave hadn't really given much thought to this whole hair-brushing thing. It wasn't like he had any to brush for god's sake. So he hadn't realized that there was a necessity for close contact. All he had really been concerned with was helping Shawn relax. As he shifted into the position Shawn had directed Dave realized that Shawn might very well end up relaxed at the end of this little exercise, but he was most likely going to be at the other end of the spectrum. At least it would keep his attention off of what was going on up front. Yeah, right. Glen was definitely not doing as good a job of keeping quiet as he had been to start with. Whatever Sean was doing up there apparently it rated as "so fucking good."

As Shawn turned sideways, he focused his attention on the arch of Shawn's neck, slender and graceful. He swallowed harshly as he laid one hand on Shawn's shoulder and used the other to wield the brush. Okay, so maybe this could be soothing after all. After a few tentative strokes where he worried about brushing too hard, he put a little more force behind them.

He hadn't expected purring... if a sound that sensual could actually be described by such a simple term. Obviously 'relaxed' was not going to be the end result for Shawn either. The sound skittered along his skin like a stone over water, leaving behind little sparks of pleasure in an unseen trail. When Shawn reached back and placed his hands on Dave's thighs, it took every ounce of willpower that Dave had not to jump from the couch like he'd been burned. He couldn't stop the slight twitching of his thigh muscles, however. Torture. Complete and utter torture and he'd instigated it himself. Dave smirked as he continued to run the brush through the golden locks and he wondered briefly if Shawn had been previously aware of how he would react to having his hair brushed.

The smirk was short-lived, as was any thinking he might have been doing. Shawn scooting back against him caused an immediate reaction. His head dropped forward onto Shawn's shoulder as he bit his lip on a moan, but he couldn't quite stop the half-growl, half-whine of Shawn's name from slipping through. His hand shook slightly and the brush slipped from his fingers, landing on the carpet next to the couch. Almost immediately he could feel the heat flooding his cheeks and he wasn't about to look to see if anyone had noticed his reaction.

****

Kevin couldn't help it. He tensed as Hunter sat next to them, an uncharacteristic nervousness practically radiating off of him. God, he _really_ didn't want to have this conversation, especially not here... but it looked like the choice had just been taken out of his hands. Kudos for Hunt for having the balls to do it, at least, he supposed. Not to mention that no one else in the area was paying the least bit of attention to them... even Ric seemed to have fallen asleep. Managing not to jump when Scott laid his and Hunter's entwined hands on his thigh, he tightened his grasp on Scott.

 _"I hurt Kevin and Kevin lashed out at you."_

A wince. Yeah. He barely remembered that night, actually... thank God. Whatever he'd said had been incredibly nasty, very pointed... and all of it directed by misplaced anger and pain. He dropped his eyes to the joined hands resting on his leg before slitting a sidelong glance at Hunter. His one-time confidante was looking at the floor, his grasp so tight on the water bottle that Kev was mildly surprised it hadn't cracked, and his entire posture spoke of long-held hurt... and fear. The fear was what caught him by surprise. He'd been afraid to talk to Hunt, lost behind his own pain, but he'd never expected that sort of thing from their golden boy. Hunt was normally one for dealing with things head-on... but he was afraid of this? Afraid to talk to them?

Scott's eyes on him were almost like a physical touch, but he just couldn't form words for a minute. The realisation of how much hurt he'd caused was almost shattering, even as he relaxed, knowing that this was going to be a good thing, something that they needed. Something that they _both_ needed.

Squeezing Scott again before leaning toward Hunt, pulling his arm away from his lover, Kevin put a hand carefully on Hunter's shoulder.

"Hunt... Nothing I can say will make up for what I did. But... I'm sorry. I'm sorrier than you'll ever know." Pausing, he swallowed past a suddenly dry throat as he met tense amber eyes. "I know you didn't have anything to do with Scott getting fired. I know you tried to stop it. I... I know you'd do anything to help us out. That's how you are." Another pause. "I don't remember most of the things I said to you. I do... I do remember telling you that I didn't know you anymore."

Putting his hand over Scott's, glancing back at his lover as he spoke, Kevin said quietly, "I didn't mean that, Hunt. It wasn't _you_ who I didn't know anymore... it was Scott." He knew his sorrow for that admission showed in his eyes. "And myself. Without Scott, I had no focus, no one needed me... I was lost. And I was so angry that night..." He shook his head. "I'm so sorry that I lashed out at you, Hunter. I don't have an excuse for it; I was hurting, but I knew even then that you wouldn't have done something like that... you couldn't."

Sliding his hand back along Hunter's shoulder, he tried to smile but knew he'd probably failed miserably. "I'm sorry, Hunt. If you can forgive me... I've missed you. I..." Word failed him for an instant before he forced himself to finish, his voice betraying his emotions. "I love you, y'know. Family... right?"

****

Wrapping his arms low around Chris' waist, Adam settled in for the long ride ahead. Chris' choice of words definitely put a smile on his face. He should have been panicking what with Chris tossing around words like 'boyfriend', 'permanent fixture', and 'relationship'. Instead he felt surprisingly calm about it all. He was usually allergic to riding in the back seat because of the lack of leg room and a slight case of motion sickness that seemed to appear when he wasn't the one driving, but it seemed that cuddling up to Chris was proving to be a cure for the second and a good incentive to forget about the first.

As far as traveling, then would have to talk about that at some point. After tonight Adam was clear of obligations until early Sunday morning. He'd planned to stay at the hotel tonight and fly home to Florida on Wednesday afternoon. If Chris had had the same plans, then maybe they could head back to Florida together... maybe even to the same house. He was debating how to phrase an invitation when Chris' quiet voice broke through his mental discussion with himself.

Adam buried his smile in the back of Chris' hair. Chris always seemed to have a point, it just took him a little longer than the average person to get there. Considering how fond he was of hearing Chris' voice, that was just fine with him.

Excited? Good word to describe how he was feeling as well. You and me? There was another phrase to add to his little word list. Not inspiring a terrifying sense of dread? That was a good thing, wasn't it? He couldn't imagine ever not wanting to talk to the man cuddled up in his arms unless of course his mouth was busy doing 'other things' in relation to said man.

Really glad he likes me because I'm pretty damn sure I'm already head over heels for him. Really glad he likes the sex too because bad sex pretty much kills any chance of a relationship working out. Yay me! He'd better not suck; he'd had plenty of damn practice. Whoops. Forgot he was supposed to be forgiving himself for that. They were definitely on the same page, but he didn't want Chris to shut up because he loved listening to his voice. Was he officially pathetic yet?

Calm? Yep calm, that was him. Except for that whole niggling bit of nervousness because he was pretty sure that Chris was his "It", but that was a normal reaction to that kind of realization, wasn't it? Scared to death that he could mess this up? Yep. Was he going to blurt all of that out? Big, big nope! At least not directly, but he could give Chris a heads up on how seriously he was taking this new thing between them.

"Calm, cool, 'never let them know what you're thinking' Adam Copeland freaking out? No, but just between you and me I'm going to break another one of my rules and admit to being maybe just a little bit... nervous. Not because of you, but because this is the first time I've ever really gone into something with the idea that I won't want out of it at some point in time." Raising one hand from Chris' waist, Adam slowly let it slide through Chris' hair as he thought of how to say what he wanted to without going into too much detail.

"I don't think I've even had anything I would call a relationship up to this point. There was Mark during the Ministry days, but he was still trying to get over someone and I wasn't ready for anything remotely serious. It wasn't as meaningless as what I had with Terry because we did actually care about each other. But we said from the start that if we found anyone else we were interested in all we had to do was say so... no harm, no foul, still friends. We were close, but I never let myself think of him as someone I could have a future with. Then came the inevitable day... the day after we returned from Australia." Adam let that sink in for just a moment. He wasn't sure if Chris would remember or not, but he certainly did.

"I told Mark that there was someone I was interested in... smart, funny, beautiful. He wished me well and we parted ways, but I couldn't just make the jump from his bed to asking someone else out the next day so I decided to wait a few weeks. I think you heard the rest of this story last night. This chance with you is something I've wanted for a long time, but never thought I'd get to have."

"What I'm trying to say and not saying very well is that I'm not looking for another person to just pass the time with Chris. I want to take this... us... seriously. I want something that's not based solely on sexual gratification. I'm already looking at us as more than that so I'm not planning on doing any freaking out of any kind. So do you want to reconsider that whole freaking out thing or are we still good?"

****

Shawn shuddered as Dave growled his name, exhaling against his neck. He knew he shouldn't be doing this, they hadn't had their talk yet, they had to be responsible, they needed to know each other's boundaries... But he was practically on fire, burning up from nearly a year's worth of frustration, almost every one of his buttons having been jammed firmly down over the last twelve hours, and he was so hard that it almost hurt, trapped in tight jeans as he was.

The quiet thump of the brush hitting the carpet followed by Dave's hand landing on his thigh made him realise that the hair brushing was over. He couldn't stop himself. Leaning back against Dave and turning his head, he captured the man's lips in a quick, hard kiss, little sparks of arousal skipping down his spine. His breath came in short, sharp pants, and he bit his lip against another moan as his movement caused Dave's hand to brush against his aching shaft, his hips jerking instinctively in response to the touch. 

With a sudden motion, he turned, kneeling between Dave's legs as he looked at him, his eyes slowly traveling over the big man's form. His lips curved a little as he saw Dave's own reactions to him; it was almost intoxicating, knowing that he could affect the man like this. The pink tinge on Dave's face reminded him of where they were, but he could care less. With the possible exception of Ric, every person there had seen him in revealing situations before. He knew that Dave was going to be uncomfortable with doing much, but at the same time, his body was almost screaming for relief. For contact. For _touch_.

Not able to fight that overwhelming demand, Shawn leaned forward, straddling Dave's extended leg and putting one hand on Dave's shoulder before twining the other one around his neck, letting himself drape against Dave as he looked into those smoky dark eyes for a long moment. Then his lips were on Dave's, his tongue flicking against the soft skin until they parted, and he was practically devouring the man, drinking in that slightly spicy taste. Only when he was forced to take another breath did he break away, panting, his heart racing. He whimpered as his hard length pressed against Dave's hip, feeling as though he were burning from the inside out. Turning his head slightly, he dragged his tongue over the dusky skin of Dave's throat, biting firmly before sucking the flesh into his mouth to soothe it, learning Dave's taste.

Listening to the quiet noises escaping Dave only further enflamed him, and he didn't _care_ if they were in front of god and everyone. He knew he should stop... but he couldn't. Even seeing Hunter out of the corner of his eye only made it that much worse, a fresh wave of desire nearly swamping him at the thought of having the both of them.

"God, Dave... want you so much," he breathed huskily into Dave's ear.

****

Hunter knew he was too tense for this, the water bottle would have imprints from his white knuckled fingers at this rate. He'd frozen for a second when Scotty had grabbed his hand, the friendly, intimate touch so familiar and sadly so unexpected. When had he become used to not touching people? It wasn't just the night of Scott's firing, it had started long before that. It had started when Hunter's last real relationship had ended many months earlier. He'd felt so cold, so cut off from the Clique for some reason, even though they'd all come to work together again at long last. Kevin's words had simply caused him to draw deeper into himself, emotionally and physically. Not in a depressed, woe is me way, that wasn't the Game's style. More like a shallow, general 'I'm fine' sort of feeling. No real pain about old inner wounds or tired heartache, just a nice, happy, no problems daze. The trade off was no pain but no real passion either, about anything, except work.

Even marrying Stephanie for all the wrong reasons and actually making it work, didn't rouse much excitement in Hunter, just the mild satisfaction of a job well done. Like a light coating of insulation, he'd been at arms' length from his life for many months now. Till his beloved, beautiful Shawn, with Dave along for the ride, had torn away all that fairy floss and exposed the passionate, angry, hurt and loving Hunter that he'd almost forgotten how to be.

The problem with old wounds was that they tended to fester until treated.

But this treatment... this hurt almost more than the wound. Kevin's voice was so pained, like he was mourning a lost life, rather than apologising for a stupid fight that should never have happened. It wouldn't be this bad if Hunt had just come out of his self-imposed numbness and tore Kevin a new one over the issue. But he'd stalked off, all regal disdain doing a poor job of masking his hurt, rather than dealing with it then and there. Sure Kevin hadn't been in the mood to listen, but Hunter could have made him if he'd really tried.

 _sorrier than you'll ever know...so sorry that I lashed out at you...you wouldn't have done something like that..._

As each sentence left Kevin's lips, Hunter felt a little bit of the tight ball of offense break away and die. The words were like chips into a block of ice, slowly creating a crack to reveal the chilled heart within. Every time Kevin spoke, Hunter wanted to stop the words, to stop the terrible regret in that comforting voice from spilling out and drowning him.

 _I love you, y'know_

"Hell," Hunter muttered, trying to wipe his eyes with the back of the hand still holding the bottle. Dropping it gently to the floor, Hunt rubbed his eyebrow before looking up to again meet Kevin's affectionate, pained eyes.

"I didn't Kev, " he reassured his friend, before looking dead into Scott's dear face. "I swear I didn't do it Scotty. Vince wouldn't even listen to me... bastard." Damn, he really shouldn't talk about his father in law like that. But it wasn't as if they didn't know what their boss was made of.

"It goes..." a cough to clear his suddenly raspy throat, "... goes without saying that you're forgiven Kev. I know it looked bad and you were far too messed up over Scotty to be thinking straight." Tightening his hands on Scott and Kevin's he gently lifted their entwined fingers and kissed each hand once. "My turn."

Forgiveness was a given, in fact it had been done long ago. The acknowledgement of Hunter's innocence was what he'd needed to uncoil the nasty discomfort in his chest.

"Your reaction was understandable Big Man, mine... not so much." God this was hard. He gave even more credit to Kevin for going first. "I almost quit over it you know," they probably didn't, no-one but Hunt and Vince knew and Vince would _never_ mention his almost blasphemous defiance. "But I didn't have the guts to do it. I know now, " he held up a hand to forestall the objections he could see in their eyes, "that it wouldn't have helped. But at the time all I could see was Vince taking the last thing Scotty had to keep him sane. When I backed down I felt like shit, like I'd let you down by not going to the wall for you Scotty. What Kev said..." he was glad the Big Man didn't remember because Hunter did, every word, "... was just proof that I hadn't been the friend I should have been. So I took my bat and ball and ran."

Each word now melted all the tension Hunter hadn't realised he'd been carrying. "Don't take all the kudos for this one Big Man, I could have argued with you and proved to you I wouldn't hurt Scotty deliberately. Much better idea, I could have waited a couple of days for you too cool down, SOP after a Nash rage I believe, and come to you to thrash it out. Instead I sulked for a while in righteous anger and then went chicken-shit whenever we crossed paths."

Moving closer to the glowing warmth that was his two friends, Hunter moved his free hand behind Kevin's back half-embracing the man who held his shoulder.

"What I mean is, if it had been anyone but you and me, Kev, this would have been cleared up months ago. So I'll forgive you for being a prick when you'd had your heart ripped out, if you'll forgive me for being a prick with too much pride for his own good."

Shutting his eyes, Hunter rested his weary head on Kevin's broad shoulder and cuddled Scotty's hand to his chest.

"I love you both... so much. You _are_ my family you know?" This was so much better than watching his step around them all the time. "So if we're friends again... we better stay friends this time?"

****

Watching Hunt's mask melt away was almost painful. Kevin's fingers itched with the desire to wipe away the moisture that was gathering in Hunter's eyes, but the man beat him to it.

 _"...Goes without saying that you're forgiven Kev."_

 _No, it doesn't. If it did... we wouldn't have needed this, Hunter_. But Kevin remained silent, letting Hunt say what he needed to say, only realising as he listened just how much he'd been hurting at their distance. He'd walked away from one of his best friends over hurt pride, and had refused to let himself see the damage he'd done.

 _"So I'll forgive you for being a prick when you'd had your heart ripped out, if you'll forgive me for being a prick with too much pride for his own good."_

Done! Sliding his hand further back along Hunter's shoulders, Kev returned the half-hug, a contented sigh escaping him without his realising it. He'd _missed_ this. It was as though a huge weight had been lifted from his heart, a shadow that he'd never really noticed no longer clouding his vision.

 _"So if we're friends again... we  better stay friends this time?"_

"You better believe it, Hunt. You're stuck with me," Kevin said, smiling but completely sincere. He could see Scott's smile from the corner of his eye, but any further response was driven from his mind as a moan sounded from nearby. His head jerked toward the source of the sound... and his eyes widened in disbelief even as he felt the warm shiver of arousal run down his spine. Shawn was draped across Dave... lord. That was incredibly fucking hot.

Watching the two of them stand up, Kevin wasn't too surprised when Dave pulled Hunt away and let him go easily. He couldn't help but follow them with his eyes as they headed for the seats, Hunter settling into one, just the top of his head visible. Then Dave was kissing Shawn again and...and what? And Shawn was sitting... on Hunter's lap? No sign of Dave... The loud broken groan from Shawn answered that question. Too bad he couldn't see anything from here, because that must be a damned pretty sight.

Forcing himself to turn away, he met Scott's gaze and saw his own surprise and arousal reflected in the dark eyes. He wasn't too sure if he was up to doing anything yet, really, but he was sure as hell willing to try if Scotty wanted him to. The noises from up front were certainly helping inspire him.

"Damn." His voice was hoarse. "Kinda surprised at the quickness... but then, it is Shawn." He couldn't help the amusement; Shawn's wild days were behind him, but he'd never been known for his self-restraint. Sliding his free hand up Scott's shoulder, Kev pulled his lover onto his lap, casting a sidelong look at Ric as he did. The older man wasn't going to be offended by anything _any_ of them did, Kev knew. And the sly old fox was giving the best impression of being dead to the world that he'd ever seen; maybe he really was asleep.

Returning his attention to the man in front of him, he bit his lip as the change in position put pressure on his sore spots. Not that it was a painful feeling... rather the opposite. God; all this stimulation around him, and him just worn out. But if Scott wanted something from him... well, then, he'd enjoy giving it. Letting that heat fill his eyes, he pushed the dark curls away from Scott's neck and leaned forward to nibble at the sensitive skin there as he let one hand slide slowly down Scott's chest, stopping at the waistband of his jeans.

"How ya doin', Bad Guy?" he asked in a husky whisper into Scott's ear. Giving into the temptation, he slowly traced the whorls with his tongue, enjoying the tremble he felt run through his lover in response.

****

The gentle squeeze before Kevin pulled away gave him the strength to listen to what was coming. It wasn't going to be easy for either man to admit that they'd mishandled things, but this needed to be done... painful as it may be. Scott bowed his head as Kevin began his apology. He hurt for both men... the rift that had opened between them had been a consequence of his own actions, but he couldn't dwell on that. It was in the past and no matter how he wished differently the past couldn't be changed. He'd done the best thing that he could do now and that was give them an opportunity to clear away the bad feelings and find their way back to their friendship. The gentle touch of Kevin's hand on his brought his head up, his eyes locking on his lover's as he continued speaking.

 _"...I was lost. And I was so angry that night..."_

Scott shivered slightly. He had a few very vague memories of that night... almost all of them centered around the explosive anger that Kevin had unleashed. The room had been in shambles by the time the big man had finished venting his anger. That he had actually scared the hell out of Scott at more than one point was saying something... in fact it was the only time he could ever recall having felt that emotion in Kevin's presence despite the number of times he'd seen Kevin unleash his awesome temper. Scott had wondered why Hunter hadn't tried to argue with Kevin, but thinking back on it now he realized that Kevin wouldn't have listened, even if Hunter had tried, not with the state he'd been in.

Pushing away the memories, Scott's tension eased just a bit when he noticed that Kevin was touching Hunter and Hunter was actually letting him. It had been a hard thing to see Hunter flinch away from Kevin's touch, but that had been only since the incident. Scott realized that Hunter had actually started shying away from touching any of them before that... not so noticeably, but he had. That shouldn't have happened... they should have noticed it when it started, but they hadn't. They'd actually failed Hunter long before this one night had become an issue. Scott was going to make sure that that never happened again... no more slacking off when it came to their family. These men were too much a part of their lives to miss such important things.

The tears in Hunter's eyes tore at his heart. So much pain, so much misery... he was glad he'd forced the issue with Kevin or who knows how much longer this might have gone on. He'd known without Hunter having to say it that he hadn't had anything to do with Vince's decision. Even if he had, Scott wouldn't have held it against him. That decision had been necessary... that's all there was to it. Scott felt his eyes widen when Hunter mentioned having tried to quit. He never would have expected something like that of Hunter or any of them, even Kevin and it wouldn't have helped if he _had_ quit. He would have told Hunter so, but apparently Hunter had already figured that out for himself. The job hadn't kept him sane or he wouldn't have sunk to the depths that he had. He may not have considered the pills before that last night, but he'd immersed himself in so much alcohol some nights that it was surprising he hadn't drank himself comatose. Hunter quitting because of him would have been a huge injustice.

 _"What I mean is, if it had been anyone but you and me, Kev, this would have been cleared up months ago."_

Scott barely refrained from shouting "Amen!" If there were any combination of stubbornness worse than Hunter and Shawn it would have to be Hunter and Kevin. The disagreements between the two of them had had Scott shaking his head more than once, but at the same time, they had still been the best of friends. Now hopefully they would have that back. Just then Scott vaguely heard a loud shout from the front of the plane. Christ, Glen almost had to rival Shawn for loudest vocals during sex. He fought not to laugh, but damn... how distracting was that? Obviously it only applied to him since no one else seemed to have noticed it. Still he could imagine what had caused it... no, no, no. Not the time.

 _"I love you both... so much. You are my family you know?"_

Scott felt the exact same way about Hunter and as Kevin turned his head, Scott raised their twined hands and gently stroked them against Hunter's cheek, mouthing his own "Love you too, Hunt" in return. Then he turned to see what had captured Kevin's eye and almost fell off the couch. Holy shit! He managed to avoid the mouth-hanging-open syndrome for the second time that day... just barely. Looks like things were heating up rather quickly between at least two of the members of the group of three. Of course it had been almost a given as soon as Dave had started brushing Shawn's hair. He'd have said "poor Dave", but it was hardly a bad thing having Shawn draped all over him. Scott's eyes flicked back to Hunter and he realized that Hunter wasn't even truly aware of what had been going on during their little talk. Feeling a presence next to them all of a sudden, Scott knew that that wouldn't be the case much longer. Hunt was in for a helluva surprise.

Smirking as he watched the three of them walk away, he continued watching until Dave suddenly disappeared from view. He wouldn't even let himself imagine the picture the three of them made together. It would just drive him insane with curiosity and then he'd _have_ to go look... that most likely would not be appreciated at this point. Oh to be a fly on the wall.

For now, he'd just focus his attention on Kevin and try to ignore the sounds filtering from the front of the plane. They wouldn't be joining in on the antics on the plane, desire versus ability and all that, but that didn't mean he couldn't light a small fire and keep fanning it slowly until sometime later this evening. By then both of them should be ready, willing, and able.

At Kevin's prompting, Scott slid into his lap. This was going to be even easier with his lover's full cooperation. Kevin turned back from his perusal of Ric, his eyes wide and filled with heat. Succumbing to the pleasure of Kevin's teeth scraping lightly against his neck and the slow gentle hand moving over his chest, Scott placed his hands on Kevin's shoulders, gripping them tightly. Wasn't he supposed to be the one slowly seducing Kevin?

 _"How ya doin', Bad Guy?"_

The gravelly words breathed against his ear had as much effect as the teasing touch of Kevin's tongue against his ear. Scott shivered slightly in Kevin's arms. Kevin... only Kevin could do so little, yet have such a profound effect on him.

Sliding his hands into his lover's honeyed mane, Scott gently rubbed his fingers against Kevin's scalp before drawing his head back. "I'm in my favorite place... that'd be your lap, with my favorite person... that would be, um, you... so I'd have to say I'm doin' pretty damn good right about now," Scott said with a smile. Leaning forward, he covered Kevin's mouth with his own, his tongue slowly teasing the depths before pulling away. Looking intently into Kevin's eyes, he continued running his fingers gently through his lover's hair. "Every time I think I couldn't love you more than I do, you go and prove me wrong. It's so good to see you and Hunter on the same page again, but for now I have something else on my mind."

Scott had considered retrieving the brush that still lay on the carpet, but liked the feeling of the silky strands sliding through his fingers too much to give it up. Kevin might not have as strong a reaction as Shawn did to hair-play, but it was certainly one of his favorite forms of foreplay. Scott loved it just as much and it would also give him a platform for furthering his own goal of getting Kev to see himself as beautiful, just like Scott did.

"Do you have any idea how much I love your hair, babe? I love running my fingers through it, hearing the little moans you can't hold back. It makes me shiver when I tug on it and you growl all low and sexy." Punctuating his words with a gentle tug, Scott did shiver in response to Kevin's growl. Continuing his gentle petting, Scott leaned closer to Kevin's ear, letting his breath as well as his words wash over the sensitive spot. "I love the way it feels tickling over my skin when you kiss your way down my body. The way it brushes against my thighs while you have your mouth wrapped around my cock... drives me crazy."

Catching a long lock between his fingers, Scott raised it to his face, closing his eyes as he brushed the ends against his cheek. "I love how it smells when you're fresh out of the shower and I love the way it curtains us from prying eyes when you kiss me." Opening his eyes once more, Scott was ready to make a confession. Something he had never told another living soul and something that he would never tell anyone but Kevin. Keeping his eyes locked on Kevin's face, Scott spoke, landing the final blow in his campaign. "When I heard that you cut it... I pouted for an entire week. Be glad that you missed that. I couldn't imagine you without it. It's a part of you... a _beautiful_ part of you."

****

Shawn's kiss didn't really surprise him. It was more than obvious how wound up Shawn was even if he hadn't gotten a clue when his hand accidentally brushed the hardness hidden under the tight-fitting denim. The sharp jerk of Shawn's hips searching out a firmer touch only fueled the fire of Dave's own reactions. He was as desperate to touch as Shawn was to be touched. That didn't stop a bit of leftover shyness from making itself known. Dave had never been much for public displays, though he had a feeling that at least in front of Shawn and Hunter's family that might change. Obviously it wasn't an unheard of situation amongst them. That didn't mean he was ready to toss away all of his inhibitions right away though.

He could feel Shawn's eyes wandering over his body, having the same effect as if the man had touched him. He wasn't at all embarrassed about his reaction to Shawn, but maybe just a bit that there would be witnesses to it. Damn shyness again. Then Shawn was sprawled all over him and Dave pretty much ceased to think of anything at all except for Shawn. The warm gentle touch of his hand soaked through the linen of Dave's shirt, matched by a similar touch at the back of his neck, heated skin against heated skin. Soft sensuous lips pressed against his, Shawn's tongue gently seeking entrance. Dave couldn't resist the inquiry, as powerless as he had been each time before. He didn't _want_ to resist. The sweetness he experienced then had nothing to do with Shawn's breakfast; it was all simply Shawn.

As Shawn pulled away, his hot breath mingling with Dave's in harsh pants, Dave felt the unmistakable pressure of Shawn's hard length against his hip. Then Shawn's mouth was at his neck. A long swipe of Shawn's hot wet tongue drew a quiet ragged moan from him, followed by a sharp whimper as he felt the sensation of teeth biting his sensitive flesh. At that moment he wasn't really thinking about the fact that any number of people could be watching them, he wasn't thinking about the long talk they were supposed to have, and he was perilously close to forgetting his own damn name until it fell so sweetly from Shawn's lips.

 _"God, Dave... want you so much."_

For a split second he couldn't think of a single reason why Shawn shouldn't have exactly what he wanted. Then that damned logical part of his brain decided to make an appearance reminding him that there was so much unsettled between the three of them. And that brought up another point... the _three_ of them. As far as Dave was concerned their first time together should be all of them together... in some way that he hadn't had a real chance to let himself think about yet... and it definitely shouldn't be on a plane. At the same time, he knew that Shawn was close to his limits... Dave had already pulled away from him twice in less than 24 hours when things had become heated and he wasn't prepared to do it again. He didn't _want_ to. Luckily his mind happened to supply a viable solution... if Hunter was willing to go along with it.

Somehow managing to get both Shawn and himself to their feet without killing or maiming each other's vital parts, Dave grabbed hold of Shawn's hand before turning and extending a hand to Hunter, an unspoken request in his eyes. A request that Hunter seemed incapable of comprehending at the moment. Obviously he and Shawn had missed 'the talk' with Kevin and Scott while they were wrapped up in each other. Luckily Hunter seemed content if not a bit dazed cuddled up against Kevin and holding Scott's hand.

Biting down on the instinctive growl trying to worm it's way from his throat, Dave laid his hand over Hunter's to get his attention. He would have to find a way to deal with his possessiveness over Shawn and Hunter, at least around the other members of the Clique. They were all touchy-feely to some extent and he'd just have to learn to accept that. "Hunter? Could we borrow you for a few minutes if you're all done here?" Thankfully, Hunter took his hand and got to his feet, a hint of understanding finally dawning in his hazel eyes.

Dave led both Shawn and Hunter down the aisle between the seats being sure to pick a spot at the opposite end from Sean and Glen. He steered Hunter to a seat, running a gentle hand over his face. "Sit, please," he requested quietly and waited for him to settle himself before turning and placing his hands on Shawn's hips. Gently he maneuvered Shawn with his back to Hunter before bending and claiming his mouth in a sweet exploration, taking the time to unfasten Shawn's jeans. Hunter had apparently caught on to at least part of his plan because he felt another set of hands at Shawn's waist, helping to peel the reluctant denim away from his hips. As soon as the jeans were down around Shawn's ankles, with Hunter's help, Dave slowly leaned forward lowering Shawn into Hunter's lap and breaking the kiss.

Letting his eyes lock on the sight of them together, Shawn half exposed with Hunter holding him, Dave slowly licked his lips and then dropped to his knees. Laying his hands on Shawn's knees, he stroked them slowly up the length of Shawn's thighs stopping just before he reached the apex. He let his eyes linger for a moment on the hard swollen length of Shawn's cock, licking his lips once more before bending to place a kiss against the fingers lingering on the swell of a tanned hip. A meandering trip with his tongue from hip to the top of a thigh gave him a brief moment to calm the butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

He'd never done this kind of thing with someone watching him before... well besides the receiving party. He was about to go down on _Shawn_... go down on Shawn, wasn't that a lovely thought? Not only was he going to do so, but he was going to do it with _Hunter_ watching him. So yeah he was a little bit nervous, but if they were actually going to go through with this relationship, then he'd have to get used to someone watching him do a whole lot more than performing oral sex... at least he _hoped_ so.

Firming his resolve, he lifted his head briefly to look at the two men again... the two men he was willing to do anything for. Anything... Smiling, he ducked his head and ran his tongue over Shawn's heated length, base to tip. Teasing the tip of his tongue along the slit, gathering the sticky fluid there, he reveled in his first taste of Shawn's arousal. Sliding one hand from Shawn's thigh to the base of his shaft, Dave wrapped his fingers around the hot silky flesh. Shifting his other hand he ran the back of his fingers along the bottom of Shawn's balls as he teasingly rubbed the cool metal bar in his tongue around the head of Shawn's cock. Lifting his eyes for a moment, he watched Hunter's hands roaming gently over Shawn's upper body. Fuck that was hot.

He could faintly hear the dulcet tones of Hunter's murmurs hidden within the moaning and whining from Shawn. The mixture of sweet sounds coming from above told him what he already knew... there wouldn't be extended time for teasing, at least this time around. Wrapping his lips around the tip, Dave slowly lowered his mouth down the length of Shawn's shaft, pausing at the halfway point before sinking further, the head finally pushing at the back of his throat. With a muffled hum of appreciation at the feeling of the hard flesh encased in his mouth, he lifted his head, sucking hard while rubbing the flat of his tongue along the front of Shawn's silky shaft.


	29. Moments

One hand clenched on the armrest of his seat, the other tangled tightly in Sean's midnight curls hidden beneath the blanket, Glen tossed his head back against the seat, his eyes clenched tightly and his mouth slack. His hips thrust restlessly upwards against the hands pinning him to the seat, but never hard enough to break the hold. Sean had been driving him absolutely crazy, his tongue and hot wet mouth like weapons in an act of torturous pleasure.

He growled loudly as Sean once again slowed his bobbing rhythm to a snail's pace. He could picture Sean smiling around his hard glistening length, happy that he was pushing his lover to such a reaction. "God, Sean, please..." He'd ceased trying to stifle his loud reactions some time ago. Sean had told him on more than one occasion that he loved hearing Glen's voice booming across the room in response to something that he had done. And with the extent that Sean had been teasing him he was no longer worried about who might hear what. His thoughts were limited to the sensation of Sean's talented mouth sucking fiercely on his aching length.

Sean was enjoying his little jaunt into exhibitionism, regardless of whether or not anyone could actually see them. Even if they were hidden from view, the sensual moans and pleas Glen was blessing him with would be enough to give everyone a clear picture of what he was doing. Despite the need for completion clearly audible in Glen's voice, his lover would never consider doing anything that would hurt him. Firmly placed hands at Glen's hips were tested, but never with enough strength to actually force his rhythm to a faster pace.

"Sean, please baby... more... please."

Deciding that perhaps he had tormented his poor lover enough... at least for now, Sean finally gave in and fell on Glen's cock like a ravenous animal. Sucking, licking, gently scraping with his teeth... he employed every trick he knew to bring his lover to the point of exploding. Feeling the pulsation of the rigid cock against his tongue, Sean swallowed Glen's length into his throat just as his lover's hot seed escaped in strong spurts. Glen's roar of release, vaguely resembling his name, echoed off the nearby wall of the plane.

Glen shuddered as Sean let his cock slip slowly from his mouth, his tongue bathing off any remaining evidence of Glen's release. Sean slid from beneath the blanket and into his lap, smiling like a Cheshire cat. Glen kissed him lingeringly before gifting him with an exhausted smile.

Sean reached for the half-empty container of ice cream and slipped from Glen's lap into the seat beside him as they heard approaching footsteps. Glen quickly zipped his pants and settled the blanket over their laps just before the trio of Shawn, Hunter, and Dave reached their row. Sean watched them curiously, his mouth dropping open when Dave leaned in to kiss Shawn.

Glen reached over and gently closed Sean's mouth with a hand under his chin, a quiet chuckle escaping him. Sean's eyes were still glued to the two men and grew wider when Dave settled Shawn in Hunter's lap. Once Dave disappeared from view and all Sean could see was the top of Hunter's head over the top of the seat, Sean stood up and had one foot on the chair when Glen reached over and pulled him down into his lap.

"No, Sean."

"But... did you _see_ that?"

"Yes, I did Sean."

"How come no one ever _tells_ me about this stuff? I just wanna..."

"No."

"You're no fun at all."

"That's not what you said last night."

Sean snorted then proceeded to pout. Glen dropped a gentle kiss on his lips and smiled. "I think instead of worrying about what they are doing up there, you should worry about how I'm going to pay you back for this little adventure when we get back to the hotel tonight."

Sean's eyes widened once again. Pay back?

****

It felt like he was hollow inside, like there was suddenly a clean space where something unpleasant had once lived. Hunter let the tension roll out of his shoulders as Kevin returned his half-embrace. If he hadn't been holding Scott's hand, Hunt was certain his fingers would have a slight tremor. It was almost like being in shock after a near-miss car accident or bad bump in the ring, his insides felt as if they'd been clenched in fear and worry. It was ridiculous, some small part of Hunter's mind, the last coherent part in fact, that he should have put so much weight, so much of himself into that one foolish exchange of words. He had invested the sum of his friendship with Kevin into that fight, it had defined their relationship for long enough as it was. Hunter should never have let it have the power to wreck him like this.

At least it was over now and god did he feel good. Just good. A strange bubble of laughter wanted to rise from his gut in relief. Like a doctor's visit you know is going to be painful but in the end is easy as pie because you build it up in your mind to be so much worse than it was. Thank heaven the two of them had Scott in their lives or this might have festered between them until it was unredeemable.

Giving Kevin's shoulders one last squeeze Hunter sat up slightly and took another deep cleansing breath. If he was one damn lucky guy, then maybe this day, which had started out as a literal nightmare, could be one of the best he'd had in very long time. With things right with Kevin again, Hunter could turn his attention to the other massive emotional upheaval of the day, his part in a potentially fantastic threesome.

If Kevin and Scotty's reactions hadn't clued him in, that perfect little sound surely would have. He'd never had the pleasure, or the desire to be honest, to witness Shawn while his friend was making love... or being fucked by another man. He'd internally celebrated when Shawn had confided in him his loving relationship with Scott and Kevin. The evil kernel of envy he'd felt at being outside that gorgeous tangle had been minor beside the happiness he'd seen in Shawn's eyes. But even when they'd been publicly physical around Hunter, he'd taken the opportunity to make himself scarce. Pleading the excuse of offering them some privacy rather than the truth of his own lust ridden panic, Hunter had made light of their fondling and love-making as if it didn't bother him in the slightest.

He'd often wondered if they speculated on his own sexual interests, within or outside the Clique. Apart from one embarrassing, and thankfully unremembered, embrace with a drunken Scott when Hunter was steering him home one night, he'd never been with another member of the Clique physically. Sean was his little brother and despite the horny little bastard's open invitation, Hunter had never wanted to complicate Sean's straightforward affection with something that would mean more than it might and less than it should. Shawn... well, he'd always seen him as out of bounds, while Kevin and Scotty were so enmeshed in each other that Hunter would have felt he'd crashed a party by joining in. He also had enough ego to admit that he'd want to be as vital in both their eyes as they were to each other... and that just couldn't happen.  No matter how much they may love him, it would never have rivaled what they felt for each other.

So hearing that little moan in the deliciously deep voice of his Texan Darling was a unique enough experience to pull Hunter's head out of the dazed 'just goodness' he'd been indulging in within Kevin's arms. The hairs on the back of his neck tingling, Hunter looked up to see Dave and Shawn standing before him, looking not unlike the leads in a porn film he'd once accidentally watched. It was the moment right before the cheesy music started and the clothes came off. The participants had established their flimsy reasons for being in the same room, had kissed and fondled for the requisite three minutes and now, with due attention to their complete lack of plot, were ready to get it on.

 _Hunter? Could we borrow you for a few minutes if you're all done here?_

It was a good thing that Dave actually meant every word, because a line like that in a porn film would have had Hunter rolling with laughter normally. Such an innocent question, so deliberately filled with innuendo you could practically see Dave's desire. A desire mirrored by the incredibly hot look in Shawn's dusky blue eyes, lips wet from kisses and his own tongue, a light flush staining sharp cheekbones. His own limbs like lead, it took Hunter a moment to nod  in understanding and rise to his feet, his hands warmed by Scott and Kevin's, now captured by Dave and Shawn. He was a damn lucky man, no question, to have such people in his life as these.

Obeying Dave's directions like an automaton, Hunter shuddered at the sensation of Dave's fingers against his cheek and roamed his eyes hungrily over his partners' forms. So very different, like light and shade, although Shawn's skin was a deeper tanned brown than Hunter's own, the fair colour still contrasted beautifully with Dave's bronze skin and midnight hair.

As Dave placed Shawn before Hunter, he resisted the urge to lean forward and bite Shawn's cute ass through the denim. It would be a turn on, but would most likely make Shawn jump and he didn't want to wreck Dave's plan. Seeing the man's hands working at the front of Shawn's jeans, Hunter slipped his hands around to help in the process, caressing the sweet smooth skin of Shawn's abdomen. A lap full of Shawn Michaels was top on Hunter's Christmas list, a squirming half naked Shawn, just about blew Hunter's mind. Keeping the other blond secure in his arms, Hunter leaned his chin on Shawn's shoulder, both to watch the beauty unfolding between Shawn's legs and to brush his lips against a lovely ear as he played his part in Dave's show.

"Shawn Darling, god you look so beautiful like that. All trapped in my arms, like a prisoner, like a gift for him...for Dave. Look at him Baby, open your eyes and look at him down there. Does that feel as good as it looks? Hot wet lips on your cock, sucking you and licking like a favorite treat..." He kept his voice even and soft, all the while Hunter's hands roamed, across a painfully hard nipple, teasingly tickling Shawn's ribcage, drawing small circles on his hipbone. "... God that's hot, how he wants you Shawn Love, how we both want you so badly. Feel that my Love?" A small jerk of his hips, briefly lifting his passenger deeper into Dave's hot mouth. Shawn's naked ass moving rhythmically against his own fabric covered groin had brought Hunter's sex to pleased attention and now Shawn could feel it, without a doubt. "That's what you do to me Darling, just by being you, feeling you moving, smelling your skin, tasting you." A kiss to the small patch of skin behind Shawn's ear, then a quick swipe of his tongue. "You are so hot together, I could watch you all day..." A small startled jump from the man in his lap. "What was that Darling? Dave's tongue ring? Did it feel as good as it looked? Made you shiver all over. So fucking hot Baby, you make me so hot..." Tightening his hold, Hunter could feel Shawn's body tense, his climax not far off. "What he's doing Baby... going down on you like that..." Hunter tried to time his words with Dave's final movements, "... will you do that to me Shawn... Please?" He allowed his tone to be on just that right side of begging.

****

Shawn bit his lip when Dave remained silent, afraid that the fire burning up his veins had made him push too much, too far. When Dave stood up, a soft worried noise escaped him, and then Dave was reaching out, helping him up, and the simple touch of hand to hand sent a shudder through him. He hadn't been this turned on in longer than he could remember, and when Dave turned to reach out to Hunter... 

Meeting those much-loved whiskey eyes, Shawn sucked in a deep breath. Whatever they'd missed had obviously been emotional... but good. The Hunter looking back at him was one he hadn't seen for a long, long time... and that whiskey was heating up as he watched. As they followed Dave up the aisle, Shawn reached out, running his hand down Hunter's arm before taking his free hand. Whatever Dave had planned, it would obviously involve all three of them. Shawn took another deep breath as he wondered what that plan was.

The touch of Dave's hands on his hips made him shudder again and he swayed forward into the touch, his own hand reaching up to clutch at Dave's shoulder, moaning into the lips that were claiming his, the lips that were fanning that fire inside him even higher... Only when his jeans were being pushed down did he realise what Dave was doing. And Hunter... Hunter was helping. Their hands were on his hips, his thighs, and he couldn't stop the noises falling from his lips as Dave gently pushed him back, down onto Hunt's lap.

"Dave... god! Hunt..." He caught his breath as Dave _looked_ at them, licking his lips. Hunt leaned forward, resting his chin on Shawn's shoulder, one hand sliding under Shawn's t-shirt, moving upward to tease his nipples, pulling noises out of Shawn with every touch. Leaning back, craving more of the touch that he'd dreamed about for so long, he whimpered as Hunter's other hand rubbed gently across his hip. Every touch sent sparks flying along his nerves, making him shift restlessly in Hunter's grasp. He reached back, trying to gain purchase; one hand closed on the armrest, the other on Hunter's hip. He couldn't believe Dave was doing this, was _willing_ to do this, here, practically in front of everyone... but he wasn't about to complain.

The firm touch of Dave's fingers stroking up his thighs sent his eyes flying open; he hadn't realised they'd closed. The sight that met him captured his gaze: Even watching Dave just _look_ at him, practically devouring him with his eyes, drew another moan out of him. The slow stroke of his deliciously hot tongue, the bar piercing it cool in comparison, forced his legs farther apart.

"Ah! There... Dave..." His fingers tightened as his hips thrust forward, seeking more of that almost overwhelming sensation. The lift of Dave's head and the smile on the big man's lips brought back that warm feeling that Shawn had had the night before, making him wonder... And then that wonderful tongue was touching him, tasting him, and Shawn groaned loudly, his voice breaking as Dave's fingers wrapped around him. It wasn't going to take much; the fire was burning too hotly, his nerves were stretched far too closely to the breaking point. Hunter's fingers hadn't stopped moving, touching and pinching and caressing any skin within reach, Hunter's voice a low murmur in his ear, a counterpoint to the whimpers and moans he couldn't hold back.

The exquisite sensation of that cool metal rubbing against his swollen head brought a sharp cry out of him as his body tensed, already hovering dangerously close to the breaking point. Forcing himself to look again, his breath coming in with fast loud pants, each exhalation almost a whimper, he watched with wide darkened eyes as Dave paused, looking up at them, heat in those smoky eyes. When the big man looked away again, Shawn bit his lip, anticipating... and then those wonderful lips were wrapped around him, swallowing him whole. He groaned, deep in his throat, hips thrusting forward into that wet heat. The soft hum rippled along his length, racing up his nerve endings, and he could feel the flames gathering, intensifying.

Panting, almost sobbing, he tried to move forward as Dave moved, but Hunter's hands on his chest restrained him, holding him subject to the rippling heat. Dave's tongue rubbing against him at the same time, flicking against his sensitive head, sent the flames roaring. His cock twitched, throbbing against that clever tongue, and Shawn threw his head back against Hunter's shoulder as a harsh cry ripped out of his mouth, the flames overwhelming him as he lost himself in orgasm, barely conscious of Dave swallowing his seed or of Hunter's arms closing tightly around him.

****

Like a ditz it had taken Chris a moment to realise the 'smart' and 'beautiful' person Adam was talking about was him. He'd heard Adam last night when the other man had revealed his interest but hadn't really thought it through to it's obvious conclusion. They'd both been dancing around their attraction for each other, both denying they were good enough and knowing they could never make the first move. CJ'd meant what he said about refusing to have regrets, but he could still want to smack himself sometimes for not paying enough attention sometimes.

Relaxing back into Adam's arms, he let the cool breeze from the air-con drift across his face for a moment. This was so nice it was getting to be scary.

"Hang on Babe, let me check," Chris lifted his hands from Adam's thighs and examined them minutely for signs of cramps or palsy. "Nope... no freaking, feeling too worn out and relaxed for freaking." Sitting up and twisting around, CJ pulled his sunglasses down his nose with one finger and looked right into Adam's eyes over the lenses. "Not going to freak either, I promise." And he meant it as seriously as it sounded. "But be warned..." A quick kiss to a certain cute nose. "... I can be emotional and clingy..." seeing the doubt in emerald eyes, Chris nodded furiously and nearly dislodged his glasses, "... I mean it. Man-shaped limpet right here Babe so watch out. Oh, and I may indulge in inappropriate public displays of affection, but not when it might get us fired so don't panic."

Smirking when Adam showed no signs of panic whatsoever, Chris turned back and settled himself comfortably in place. Tilting his head slightly to catch the breeze again Chris let a huge sappy grin cross his features. If Adam could put up with his shit, he was a more patient man than any other CJ had known.

And he'd known a few, in the biblical sense, so to speak. Chris had prided himself on the fact that he didn't date brainless oafs on _purpose_ , like a child with muddy boots it just 'kinda happened'. A string of pointless, short term sexual liaisons that had left Chris tearing his hear out and yelling incoherently at the total lack of anything other than fucking in his relationships. Not that he was the kind of guy who wanted 'commitment' and china patterns, but a conversation other than 'take your clothes off Doll' and 'damn you look hot on your knees' would have been a pleasant change. It had seemed that he'd only attracted the men thick enough that they didn't get half of what he was saying anyway, and they put up with the other half as payment for the nookie.

It was wasn't until Chris had finally been with a boyfriend who'd been strong enough to challenge him in every aspect of his personality that CJ had realised he _could_ have it all. Terribly arrogant of course. Or rather 'egotistical little shit aren't you' to use the exact words, but he'd nodded proudly at the assessment and had received a genuine laugh in return. Two years ago Adam had been his dream guy in more ways than one. Physically fulfilling all CJ's fantasies, muscles, built, fast, strong arms, great hair, but the tall Canadian was so much more that just his body... sexy as it was. He was as clever as fuck for starters, had a downright perverse sense of humour and his response to most of CJ's antics had been unruffled amusement. His dream man come to life it had seemed. Unfortunately, until last night, he'd also been totally off limits.

Now, if he could believe his own eyes, ears and yep... wiggle... ass, Chris was happily relaxing in the arms of said Dream Date, discussing the non-freaking outness of their 'thing' and planning for some more non-freaky 'thinging'.

A little bit sick of analysing himself and his feelings, Chris turned his attention to the other occupants of the car.

"Song lyrics to see who drives next!" Hearing the massive sigh from Jay, Chris conceded. "Okay Reso, don't whine. Only famous pop songs so I don't whip your ass on the hard rock. I'll start easy for you... hmmmm..." Tipping his head back, CJ looked at the tiny lines of holes in the ceiling fabric, "... 'for what it's worth, it was worth all the while'. You gotta know that one."

It was easy, but he was being generous.

****

He could feel the tension rippling through Shawn's body under his fingertips. That and the guttural shout put him on notice. Dave swallowed furiously as the flood of salty warm cream burst into his mouth. He savored the last few drops in his mouth as Shawn collapsed against Hunter. Letting the still-hard cock fall from between his lips, Dave slowly licked the remaining sticky fluid from Shawn's shaft.

Sitting back on his heels, Dave swiped his tongue along his lower lip as he looked up at the two men seated before him. Shawn lay in a boneless slump against Hunter with Hunter's arms wrapped around him. Pretty... so pretty together were these two men that he wanted to forge a relationship with. Even with all the unknowns, without talking at all, he still wanted it. Only time would tell if it were a useless fantasy or a potential reality.

Dave pulled Shawn's jeans up to his knees then realized that redressing him would work much better with a bit of cooperation from the man... something he didn't seem quite capable of yet. Pushing himself to his feet, he slid into the seat next to the two and leaned in to press a gentle kiss against Shawn's cheek before looking into Hunter's wide hazel eyes.

Dave was still a little tentative as far as Hunter was concerned. The kiss in Hunter's hotel room had probably shocked the hell out of him and Dave hadn't lingered long enough for him to have a chance to respond. Apart from that there had only been friendly gestures, the brief kisses in the hotel room and the casual arm around his shoulder. So far Hunter had been mostly hands-off when it came to him and Dave wasn't quite sure how to interpret that. Was Hunter honestly interested in Shawn's proposal or was he simply going along with it because of Shawn?

He wasn't sure and he probably wouldn't be sure until they all had a chance to sit down and talk, but until then... until then he wanted to end an already nice encounter with something else just as nice. If Hunter shied away in the process, that would certainly answer his question. It wasn't really a test... he was just feeling things out.

Allowing his eyes to drop a few inches, Dave let them linger a moment on Hunter's lips. He raised a hand to Hunter's face, his fingers brushing slowly over the strong jaw even as he looked up and locked eyes with the man.

"Hunter?" His voice rumbling and deep, the way he spoke the name it came out more as a question than just a simple form of address. Leaning forward slowly, giving him all the time he would need to pull away if that was his wish, Dave pressed his lips gently against Hunter's.

****

 _"Not going to freak either, I promise."_

Good. That meant that Chris was not going to scream and jump out of a moving car just because he'd announced his intentions... sort of. Relieved that he hadn't scared the man to death, Adam smiled at the brief touch of lips against his nose. He certainly couldn't see Chris as the emotional, clingy type, but since Chris insisted that he was Adam would just have to deal with it. Like that would be a hardship. He'd probably be just as bad himself at least until he felt more secure in their relationship.

 _"Oh, and I may indulge in inappropriate public displays of affection, but not when it might get us fired so don't panic."_

Forcing himself not to think of what kind of inappropriate displays Chris might initiate, Adam continued smiling. He'd most likely indulge in a few inappropriate displays of his own. He wasn't worried that Chris would do something like that where it would have an adverse affect on their jobs, Chris was too smart for something like that.

When Chris turned back around and settled himself, Adam simply took the time to enjoy the spot he was in. Having Chris cuddled up in his arms was... comfortable. There wasn't a need for idle chatter... no uneasy silence between them... just the pleasant experience of having Chris' warmth pressed against him. Although there was a bit of tension noticeable in the car.

Leaning his head back against the door, he looked at Ty then briefly at Jay. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on with the two of them. Adam had thought that maybe Jay had finally found the right person. He couldn't remember Jay ever being happier than when he'd finally hooked up with the tattooed man. They seemed to get along very well if one could take the fact that they were constantly all over each other as proof. What could have gone wrong between last night and this morning? He knew Jay had been a little out of sorts since his back injury, but he wouldn't take that out on Ty and Adam just couldn't come up with any other reason the two of them would have been yelling at each other.

 _"Song lyrics to see who drives next!"_

Adam smiled into the back of Chris' hair. In all honesty, he'd much rather sit in the back cuddled up to Chris than have to drive. That was a switch... usually he was the first to volunteer because of the motion sickness. Deciding that he'd purposely not supply the answer, he turned his eye to Chris' hair. Lifting one hand from its comfortable position atop Chris' stomach, Adam carefully lifted a lock of blond hair and rubbed the ends against his cheek.

While waiting for one of the others to come up with the 'Green Day' song, he leaned forward and let his breath blow against Chris' ear for a moment. They obviously weren't going to do much in the car and he wasn't really up for it yet anyway, but nothing said he couldn't indulge in a little bit of teasing in the meantime. "So, any thoughts on your punishment yet sweetheart or should I come up with one of my own?"

****

"Punishment? Well I guess it depends on if I'm supposed to like it or not." Chris grinned as he shifted slightly once more against his beautifully hard back rest. Adam's warm breath in his ear made his toes curl and started some serious thoughts about getting totally naked in the next two hours. CJ'd always fantasised about getting it on in the back of a car, just not in front of two other men... he wasn't _that_ kinky. Reaching down, Chris adjusted his jeans to give himself more room for his marginally interested dick. Maybe he could seduce Adam in the restroom when they stopped for gas?

"Oh please Jay, everyone knows 'bustle in your hedgerow' for Christ's sake. Have another go." After berating his friend, Chris dropped his voice so only Adam would hear. "If I'm supposed to like being punished, then maybe I should be your slave for 24 hours, you know... foot rubs, breakfast in bed, pick your clothes?" Oh Chris so knew what he'd make Adam wear if it came to that. "If I'm not supposed to like it, you could make me sleep with Bunnykins tonight rather than you." 

A pause.

"I meant sleeping In. The. Same. Room." Chris enunciated every word quite clearly. "But that would punish you too, I would think." He seriously doubted Adam would go for the second option as they were still too fresh and, let's face it, horny for each other to go without for a night at the stage. CJ's problem was that Adam could be a psycho bastard when it came to practical jokes or revenge. He'd seem Reso's embarrassed, furious face often enough to wince at the punishment he might be getting for his stunt this morning. Of course, that wince corresponded with a delightful twitch in his groin at the thought as well.

Chris opened his mouth to say, "Jesus you picked Britney?" when Bunnykins beat him too it. At Ty's answer, the tension in the front seat lessened a fraction and Chris smiled, pleased. One of the few men in the locker room who knew more about music than himself, Ty kept his interest, like every other aspect of his life, very private. The game went back and forth between the two men in the front seat for a few minutes, Jay's complaints at Ty's difficult lyrics a counterpoint to Bunnykins' exasperation at racking his brains over mainstream pop. Finally Chris caught one.

"Willst du, bis der Tod euch scheide," Ty's voice took on a crushed gravel tone.

"That's Rammstein's 'Du Hast' you crazy neo-nazi and I can't believe you got the cadence right. Okay..." something out of Ty's sphere, "... Strung out like a guitar. Maybe you can educate my mind..."

Adam hadn't played yet, maybe it wasn't his thing, childish guessing games. They'd traveled enough together in the past to have learnt each other's habits in cars. From Adam's mild motion sickness and ruthless possession of the wheel to Chris' ability to sleep like the dead and read in the back seat without feeling queasy. One memorable trip with Lance Storm had resulted in the other Canadian becoming ill, simply from watching the pages of Chris' book tremble and roll as they sped along the interstate.

Letting his sleepy eyelids drop, Chris ran his hands up Adam's long thighs, fingers stroking backwards and forwards up the outside seams. Jay and Bunnykins were talking about something neutral now, their voices blending into the radio in nice steady hum. CJ's fingers continued to stroke as he drifted, not thinking of very much at all.

****

When Shawn came it was like trying to hold a wild deer in his arms. Head flung back, spine arched, a hoarse shout pressed against Hunter's jaw, the slim form was racked with deep shudders that translated directly to Hunter's own aroused sex. He'd been so engrossed in his verbal pleasuring, that Hunt hadn't realised he'd actually miss seeing Shawn's climax. But from the feel of it, it would have been the most beautiful thing he'd even seen.

Speaking of beauty... Dave was looking up at them, with an expression in his eyes that caused Hunter's already accelerated breathing to stop dead. Such a wonderful face, so honest in the adoration directed at the slowly panting man in Hunter's arms, so damned perfect for them in every way. But those wicked midnight eyes weren't hazed with anything like innocent infatuation, oh no. If that sexy little jump in response to the tongue ring was anything to go by, gorgeous noble Dave certainly knew his way around a blow job or two. And speaking of wicked...

Still cuddling Shawn like an oversized teddy, Hunter kept his own hot stare on the kneeling man as, with a smooth move that defied his size, Dave shifted to the seat beside them. The gentle kiss to Shawn flushed cheek cause a wild spasm in Hunter's heart. So much more tenderness for his beloved friend in that simple gesture, than in all the sexual acts known to man. And god, finally, about damn time too. Shawn had been dropped and kicked so many times, Hunter was sick to death of counting the bruises. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that Dave would disembowel himself before deliberately causing the blond pain, and would certainly disembowel the man who accomplished it. The fact that it hadn't been Dave kicking Hunter's ass this morning was a testament to the bigger man's self control. Instead he'd put his own anger aside and concentrated on being there for Shawn.

Was it any wonder he and Shawn had fallen so hard for the 'Animal'. How could they not?

Dave's eyes on his lips drew Hunt's fascinated attention. He smelled so damn good, like soap and desire, a sharp contrast to Shawn's spicy denim and his own designer aftershave and silk scent. As Dave leaned in, a hand touching his face almost tentatively, Hunt forced his eyes to remain open so he could watch that smoldering look coming closer and closer.

 _Hunter?_

The slight lilt at the end of his name, turned it into a question that Hunter was in no doubt about his answer to. One hand still locked around Shawn's waist, he reached up and snagged a handful of shirt when warm, moist lips pressed against his.

Suddenly ravenous, Hunter pushed back harder than he'd intended, his tongue storming passed Dave's sweet lips to dip and taste in his mouth. The mingled flavour of Dave mixed with Shawn's essence, exploded in Hunter's brain like a narcotic. The sensual slide of tongue against tongue an erotic fantasy come to life.

And there... the warm metal rubbing against Hunt's lower lip, brought a noise up from somewhere deep inside him, that sounded suspiciously like a cross between a whimper and a growl. God, he never just enjoyed kissing someone for so long before. Like they were making love with their mouths, moving from foreplay to fucking, but only with lips, teeth and tongues.

Feeling a long dead desire catch alight and begin to burn, Hunter unclenched his fingers from Dave's shirt and gently pushed until their lips parted. That voracious mouth on his after the thrill of Shawn's passion was too much. Too soon. Hunt couldn't indulge like this... not here... not now.

Tearing his eyes from the expression on Dave's face, that he refused to read, Hunt dropped a kiss onto Shawn's tousled head and stood. Lifting the man in his arms gently before realigning his clothes and letting him slump back into his once occupied chair.

"Just... I..." Hunter lifted his hand uselessly, trying and failing to convey his chaotic, overcharged thoughts. For a man noted for his manner of speech, he just couldn't find the words. Dropping his hand, he inclined his head towards the rear of the plane and headed to the small bathroom. Once inside, Hunter latched the door and gripping the edge of the small stainless steel sink, stared into his own unfathomable eyes.

"What the fuck did you just do idiot?" he asked himself, disgusted.

****

Letting out a breath that verged on a moan, Kevin tilted his head toward Scott as his lover's fingers slid through his hair, soft brushes against his sensitive scalp that added fuel to the heat slowly building inside him. He knew that the rest of the day would be like that, each of them teasing the other, fanning those gentle flames until finally something tipped and sent the fire flaring. Sighing into Scott's mouth, he returned the slow kiss, one hand slipping down to Scott's hip to pull him closer.

 _"Every time I think I couldn't love you more than I do, you go and prove me wrong."_

Damn. Scott's voice, all low and intent, just made him want to melt. Not that he'd ever admit that, but when Scotty got that note in his voice, the one that just oozed love and pride and happiness and sincerity, he couldn't help it. Making Scott happy was what he lived for, and knowing that he'd succeeded in doing just that by taking the simpler-than-it-had-appeared step of fixing things with Hunter, well... that made him very happy in turn. The fingers that never stopped moving in his hair almost made him miss the rest of what Scott said, but when he realised what his lover had said, he raised a curious eyebrow at him even as he let out another soft rumble of contentment at the gentle strokes.

 _"Do you have any idea how much I love your hair, babe?"_

His eyes widened momentarily in surprise. That wasn't at all what he'd been expecting... and he _hadn't_ realised how Scott felt about his hair. After all, it was just... hair. Yeah, he'd had it long for years and had hated having to cut it, but it was just hair, right?

The soft tug on his locks ended that train of thought abruptly as a quiet growl escaped him, his body arching slightly toward Scott at the action. That had sent a stronger spark off to feed the fire, that was for sure. If anyone knew his weaknesses, it was Scott, and that was a _big_ one.

 _"The way it brushes against my thighs while you have your mouth wrapped around my cock...drives me crazy."_

A sharp inhalation at that particular admission, the words bringing back images of the night before, when he'd had Scott whimpering and begging underneath him, writhing as he pleaded for more, the familiar, addicting salty-sharp taste filling his mouth... A shudder ran through him, and the hand on Scott's hip glided across worn denim to squeeze the firm flesh contained within. His body was still far from being able to follow up on those lovely thoughts, but he wasn't about to let Scott have all the fun with this particular gentle torment.

 _"I pouted for an entire week. Be glad that you missed that."_

Kevin blinked at his lover in shock. An entire week? Perfectly able to picture the pouty look on Scott's face, he _was_ glad that he hadn't been around for that, no matter how difficult the separation had been. That pout could get him to do practically _anything_ , and Scott knew it. There was an unspoken agreement between them that he not use it unless he really meant it... but seeing it for a week would've killed Kev.

And where was this going, anyway? They'd both been more thoughtful this time around than before, being so terribly aware of how fragile their relationship could be and how easy it was to lose something so important... but this was different. In fact, this sounded more like what Scott had been saying...

 _"It's a part of you...a_ beautiful _part of you."_

"Scott..." he whispered, half-protesting, as he buried his face against Scott's shoulder, trying to hide the red that he could feel heating his face at those words. His thoughts scattered for a moment as he tried to regroup. He was still off-kilter from their encounter this morning and he knew that the aftereffects from that would likely last the rest of the day, but he doubted that explained his reaction to Scott's words. At least, not entirely.

Sighing a little into the dark curls, he raised his head, knowing that Scott loved to see him blush. He wasn't sure _why_ , but he did enjoy seeing Scotty like that, so he shouldn't fight letting his lover enjoy it... he supposed. Reaching up with his other hand, he idly twirled a curl around his finger as he met Scott's eyes.

"I... I didn't know," he answered quietly. His lips curving a little at the slightly smug expression on his lover's face, he took a breath, then continued, his voice still soft, almost hesitant in the unfamiliar confession he was making, "But I think your own hair has qualities of its own, Scott. I love burying my face in it, smelling its scent... especially when I need a little comfort." He paused for a moment, kissing Scott's temple. "And when I turn over in the middle of the night and reach out for you, just feeling your hair under my hand reassures me. When you wrap your hair around me when you're going down on me..."

Another pause, a deeper breath, and then he was cupping Scott's chin with his hand, smiling at him, seeing his own emotions reflected in the dark eyes. "Beautiful, Scott. God, I love you." And pressing his lips to Scott's, he kissed him gently, expressing his feelings in a way that words could never convey.

A hoarse cry echoing from the front of the plane caught his attention as he pulled back, still smiling, and his eyebrows raised briefly even as he laughed, recognising the sound from fond memories.

"I think Heartbreaker's gotten what he wanted. He's always been good at that."

****

 _"If I'm supposed to like being punished..."_

Hmmm. Now there was an idea. Chris at his disposal for 24 hours. That would definitely have its advantages. Although he wasn't sure he would let Chris anywhere near his clothes. He could seriously see Chris dressing him like some extra in a low budget bondage porno. Not that Chris didn't look good in his own clothes, but Adam just didn't see himself as the sparkly type. Who the hell was he kidding? If Chris wanted to dress him then he'd don each article of clothing with a smile as long as it didn't include a leash or something equally kinky... he'd rather keep that kind of thing to themselves.

 _"If I'm not supposed to like it, you could make me sleep with Bunnykins tonight rather than you."_

Muffling a laugh against Chris' shoulder, Adam considered the reaction that Ty would have had to that statement if he had heard it. That Chris thought sleeping with him would be a punishment... the man would probably be a bit offended. He'd known very well what Chris had meant, but it made him happy that Chris had bothered to clarify his statement. There was no way that he was shipping Chris off to sleep in Ty's room tonight. Sorry, definitely not an option. Even if it so happened that they didn't have sex that night, he still wanted to fall asleep with the gorgeous blond in his arms.

Of course he had his own little list of ideas as far as Chris' punishment was concerned. Tying the blond to the bed and driving him insane with lust before letting him come was right there at the top of that list. He'd also seriously considered following through on his threat of a spanking, but he'd have to test the waters with that... he hadn't had the chance yet to discern Chris' likes or dislikes concerning the more adventurous side of sex. Although he had to admit that Chris' reactions this morning hinted that he might like the whole dom/sub flavor of sex to some degree. He'd also considered following through on his promise from this morning of letting Chris watch him bring himself off... but not allowing Chris to touch himself until after it was all over.

Paying slight attention to the remnants of the lyric game, Adam realized that Chris had grown quiet although he wasn't asleep quite yet. The light touch of Chris' hands on his thighs had his skin tingling even with the barrier of denim. Adam tilted his head and leaned his cheek against the wispy blond strands of Chris' hair. At the light tickle against his cheek, he closed his eyes and just took in everything that he could about their points of bodily contact. It wasn't sexual really, just... nice. Just holding Chris in his arms gave him a sense that he finally belonged somewhere. He really was getting sappy, but as far as Chris was concerned he decided he'd allow himself to be. It wasn't like he was voicing his thoughts out loud or anything. No one else had to know that he turned into a puddle of contented goo just by holding the man in his arms.

Opening his eyes as the motion of the car ceased, Adam realized that at some point during his internal inventory of his thoughts Ty had decided to pull into a gas station. Nuzzling his face against Chris' cheek, he spoke quietly, unsure if the blond had actually fallen asleep in the last couple of minutes.

"Hey sweetheart, you're going to have to let me up. I need to make a pit stop while we're here. You want something to drink while I'm in there or are you coming with?"


	30. Wants

Slowly coming back to himself, Shawn swam reluctantly up out of the blissful haze he was lost in, realising that he was still in Hunter's arms, draped back across the man's body, his head lolling on Hunt's shoulder. His lips curved in a smile as he relived the image of Dave on his knees in front of him... the sound of Hunter's voice in his ear... Practically every fantasy he'd had for the last year could come true if things went well. Judging from Hunter's reaction, prodding him gently in the rear, and Dave's enthusiasm, he wasn't the only one happy about that possibility.

Twitching a little, he opened his eyes almost drowsily, hearing Dave say his friend's name in an almost questioning tone. Hunter shifted beneath him, one hand slipping away... before Shawn could voice a protest, the sight in front of him took his breath away. Dave and Hunter... shadow and gold... The mental image of the two of them wrapped around each other, nude, made him shiver. Such a beautiful contrast... 

A quiet noise of appreciation slipped out of him as he watched them, in almost the perfect position for appreciating the sight. Something about the sight brought back vague memories of what Hunter had said to him, and his smile widened a little at the memory of Hunter, voice husky and warm, calling him "my love". That memory brought back another, and his eyes widened abruptly as he stared at Hunter.

 _".. .will you do that to me Shawn?... Please?"_

He sucked in a breath, suddenly far more conscious of the hard length prodding against him, his mouth almost watering with the thought of finally tasting that long-wondered-about flavour...

And then his world shifted, tilted, and Hunter's hands were at his waist, and then he was back in the seat... by himself. Blinking in confusion, he stared at Dave for a minute, until the vaguely hurt expression on the big man's face sank in.

Hunt... Hunt had left. Had left him... had left Dave.

Oh.

 _Oh._

Hunt hadn't looked upset, just... confused? Shaking his head a little, Shawn levered himself up, then took the half-step necessary to collapse into Dave's lap, making himself comfortable there without pausing to ask the man if he'd mind. The look on Dave's face told him all he needed to know: Whatever had just happened, Dave was pretty upset about it. He might not know the man _terribly_ well---an interesting thought, considering their current situation---but he'd known him long enough and spent enough time around him with Hunter to recognise the expression. Winding an arm around Dave's neck, he looked up at the big man.

"Dave..." He stopped, not quite sure what to say. His mind wasn't really focused yet, which wasn't helping. All he really wanted to do at the moment was curl up in Dave's lap and enjoy the moment, but... Hunter. Hunter hadn't really responded to Dave at all today, had he? Was Dave wondering if Hunter really wanted him? Shawn knew he did, had heard Hunt whine and bitch and moan about being rejected by Dave... although of course he'd been under the same misapprehension about Hunt's marriage, so he hadn't really understood the rejection that Hunt had meant, but still. Well... if Hunter had just gone to be alone for a few minutes, Shawn was going to respect that wish. He might not _like_ it, but he was going to respect it.

For now, anyway.

Curling into Dave, he leaned up and kissed him softly. He was acting a little more emotional than he normally did, but he was allowed; how often did someone get a walking fantasy handed to them, after all? Even if the other two members of said fantasy seemed to be having communication issues, he was damned if he was going to be given this marvelous taste of what could be and then sit back and watch it slip away from them. Definitely not. He'd go talk to Hunter, but the man _had_ to tell Dave... or show him... or _something_... how he felt about him, or the big man would try to bow out, Shawn was pretty sure. For now...

"Thank you," he said softly, smiling. "That was... amazing. And that... that _thing_ you did with the tongue bar..." He shivered at the memory, smiling a little wider before taking a breath and plowing ahead.

"I know you're still not sure about this whole thing, but please... give us some time to try to work things out. I'm sure that sounds strange coming from me, all things considered, but..." Flushing just a little, his eyes dropping to Dave's shoulder, he said reluctantly, "It's been a long time since I've been with anyone, and... well... over the last day, I just..." His voice trailed off awkwardly. He normally wasn't this tongue-tied, but it had been an exceptional day no matter how you looked at it.

****

 _"Scott..."_

As soon as Kevin's head landed against his shoulder, Scott wanted to cackle with glee. He didn't because he knew that it would bother Kevin, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't do it later when he was all by himself. God, he just loved it when one of his hunches paid off... and this one had, in spades.

Scott almost couldn't restrain a laugh though when he heard both Dave and Hunt's names from the front of the plane. Good lord. He bit down on his lip for a moment, fighting the impulse and just managed to swing his thoughts back to Kevin again when the man looked up at him, his face nicely lit with a pink glow. Yep, no two ways about it... just plain beautiful. He'd have to pick something else for when they were alone tonight just so he could actually take advantage of one of these pretty little blushes.

Then Kevin started talking and Scott got lost in his words... words that he hadn't expected Kevin to give voice to. Scott was aware of Kevin's fondness for his hair. The times he'd touched it when he thought Scott was sleeping were innumerable. As soon as he'd realized that it was a regular occurrence and not just random acts he'd sworn he'd never cut it shorter than it was at that time.

 _"When you wrap your hair around me when you're going down on me..."_

Like he had just last night. The flashback of him going down on Kevin last night was short but sweet. Short because he was choking up over Kevin actually giving these thoughts voice. Normally it wasn't something that Kevin did... he let his actions speak for him. Today just seemed to be the day for emotional moments and lots of surprises.

 _"Beautiful, Scott. God, I love you."_

Soft lips pressing against his cut off his reciprocation for the moment. There was so much emotion in that gentle kiss. Scott's vision blurred a bit with the dampness in his eyes, but he blinked it away. He knew that Kev had more than likely noticed it. He didn't care. Kevin was the one person he wasn't going to hide anything from.

Shawn's loud cry echoed through the plane. Definitely a toss up between him and Glen... he'd have to ask Kevin later. He laughed along with Kevin, grinning over the true words that he'd spoken.

 _"I think Heartbreaker's gotten what he wanted. He's always been good at that."_

Scott had to agree... Shawn always had been good at that, but Scott had a feeling he was going to have to work a little bit to get what he _really_ wanted. A relationship involving three people was never all hearts and roses in the beginning. If anyone should know that though it would be Shawn after the experience he'd had with Kevin and Scott. They would have to work at it... especially with all the issues involved there. Hunter's marriage, Vince, Dave having to deal with Shawn and Hunter's pre-established feelings for each other, the reactions of people backstage... any one of those things could cause major trouble and that was just the tip of the iceberg. He'd have to check in on Shawn later and see if he needed a sounding board for anything. They'd also have to make an effort to get to know Dave better if he was going to be a part of the family now.

When Hunter passed by on his way to the lavatory, Scott was a little surprised. He'd left the two of them up there alone such a short time after... He winced a bit. Definitely not a good thing. He wondered what had set Hunter off. He hadn't looked angry, just... confused. Hopefully now that Kevin and Hunter had patched up their relationship Hunter would come to Kevin if he needed to talk. He knew that both he and Kevin would do their best to help along the fledgling relationship, but only if they were asked. Pushing would not do any good. But since he couldn't do anything about it right at this moment...

Looking at Kevin again, Scott smiled down at him. "Next time we have one of these flights planned, we'll have to save a round for later," he said with a wink. "Can't let the others have all the fun. Although..." Taking a moment to run his fingers through Kevin's hair again, Scott feathered a few kisses gently along his neck. "I kind of like this slow burn thing we have going on here. By tonight we'll both be ready for more... and I think maybe during our time off we should spend a little time in _our room_."

He knew that Kevin would understand the implications of "our room"... the room they had set up at the house for their non-vanilla adventures. It had been a long time since they'd used that particular room, but the timing just seemed right. Hopefully Kevin would agree.

"I love you, Kev." Lifting his head from Kevin's neck, Scott pressed his mouth against Kevin's. A little more kindling added to the fire that was smoldering inside him.

****

 _or are you coming with?_

Chris snorted at the obviously dirty joke he could've made, but manfully refrained from doing so. Lifting himself from Adam's body with a small pout of regret, CJ blinked into the bright sunlight and re-adjusted his sunglasses. Trying to exit the car with some grace, his plan was shot to hell by a sharp pain in his calf muscle. Propping his foot up onto the trunk of the car, Chris pulled his booted toes back until the sharp twinge receded.

"Fuck, cramp, fuck, cramp, cramp, cramp, fuck, fuck, fuck..."

His plea for 'Gatorade Babe, please' was lost in amongst the cursing as CJ leaned his head onto his knee. "... cramp, fuck, cramp, fuck..." While sprawling across the backseat and lover were obviously comfortable in many ways, his protesting leg was demanding he drive for the foreseeable future. "... fuckity, fuck, fuck..." Or at least sit in a seat like a normal person.

When the pain had finally gone, Chris lowered his leg from the embarrassingly ballet-like pose and looked around for said shiny new lover. Jay was sitting on the hood of the car, twisting the top off a soda bottle and staring far into the distance. He really looked like he needed a friend. The problem was, they really didn't have enough time given that Bunnykins was joining the payment queue. He'd make sure to bail up Reso before the show tonight. Eyeing the restroom door, Chris wandered over to see if he could ambush Adam and get some 'alone' time.

It only took about thirty seconds before the door opened. CJ tackled the taller man back into the restroom, his momentum carrying them into the far wall. Pleased he'd missed crippling Adam on an inconveniently placed sink, Chris dragged Adam's face down to his, hooked one leg up beside a slim hip and kissed his lover like there was no tomorrow.

The initial shock that had held Adam frozen soon dissipated, his response causing Chris to almost try and climb into him. 'Such a damn good kisser... and all mine.' was CJ's possessive thought as his hands glided from the back of Adam's neck into his hair, tangling it wildly in the process. The thirsty, wet sounds of their mouths locking and moving began to seriously tighten Chris jeans. They really, really didn't have time dammit, and his soul might be willing, but despite its renewed interest, CJ's flesh was weak. Although he'd be willing to entertain doubts if Adam kept doing _that_.

Pulling back Chris smiled innocently into Adam's wicked face. "Good thing that was you Babe, that woman with the hair looked like an octopus."

****

Hunter sighed angrily at himself and tore the sunglasses ruthlessly from his hair, dropping them by the sink. Letting cool water flow over his hands, he splashed his face carefully so as not to ruin his clothes. The brisk chill killing Hunter's ardour easily and sending a small shiver down his spine.

"What the fuck was that anyway?" Hunter avoided his eyes in the mirror and he looked down and his hands now resting loosely on the edges of the sink. The slow splat of drops falling from the tips of his fingers against steel. "You hold in your arms the love of your life while he has the most amazing orgasm you've ever seen, then your other potential true love starts kissing you like you taste like candy or something and what do you do Champ? Do you climb all over him and fuck his brains out? Oh no, not you, you big coward. You run and hide. What is it Hunter? Huh?" Finally meeting his eyes, Hunt asks harshly, "What are you so afraid of?"

But there are no answers to be found and quite frankly Hunt was getting sick of his own reflection. All this self-analysis was killing him. But at least... at least he and Kevin were cool now. That meant a helluva lot to Hunter. And maybe he could talk to the Big Man now about these _things_ which were risking disaster between him and Dave. Checking his watch, Hunt realised they'd be landing soon so he smoothed his hair, re-gained his sunglasses and came out of hiding.

First thing he saw was Ric's concerned face and enquiring eyebrow. He hadn't even thought how his mentor might respond to the little scene that had occurred to the front of the plane. Sitting next to the blond, Hunt smiled reassuringly at Ric to ease the worry in his friend's eyes.

"Did I say thank you for last night Ric? Probably not so... thanks. I... things were crazy with Shawn and Dave. I let it get to me, but I appreciate you checking on me." Hunter couldn't stop the sly grin that he directed at the older man. "Tell Candy thanks as well. I appreciate her sacrifice too."

Ric's snort of amusement was a beautifully normal sound in Hunter's morning of abnormality. "Any time Champ, just don't make a habit of it okay?" Ric slung and arm companionably around Hunt's shoulders. "I mean... I got things to do, talent to check out you know. I can't keep baby sittin' you when I got places to be understand?" The brash teasing was like water off a duck to Hunter. Ric had been in his room at the hotel, by _himself_ , after all.

"Sure Ric, I'll be more considerate in the future." Hunter captured his water bottle from the small coffee table and snuck a glance at Kevin and Scott. The lovers were obviously in the midst of some kind of moment and Hunt was loathe to interrupt them. They just looked so at ease together, despite their pasts and Hunter felt a surge of envy at their successful relationship.

"But they're ain't gonna be no future calls right Champ?" Ric's question drew Hunter's attention back from the couple across from them. The older man gestured vaguely at were Shawn and Dave were situated. "Ya got that sorted out right Champ?"

He honestly didn't know how to answer that. Yes, the pain from last night had been soundly demolished by Shawn this morning, but Hunter's anxiety still remained for some reason. His response to Dave's kisses worried him more than he could say and Hunt just hoped they'd have a chance to talk soon without interruptions.

"Good afternoon passengers. Just letting you know we will be landing presently. If you could find your seats, we will begin our decent shortly. Thank you." The voice of their pilot came over the speakers, her warm honeyed voice causing Ric's ears to perk up and Hunter's spine to unclench somewhat.

"Oh yeah Baby, wooo!" Ric was practically salivating. "I just looove a woman in uniform!"

Hunt nearly choked on his water.

****

To say that Hunter's enthusiastic response surprised him would be an understatement. After the barely there exchanges he'd received for most of the day, he had expected gentle... tentative, if he received a response at all. What he ended up getting was neither. It was hot... forceful... a storming of the gates and Dave was momentarily stunned by its intensity. The hand tangled in his shirt was warm against his chest, the material of his shirt a thin barrier to that desired touch. Hunter's probing tongue searched every recess of his mouth in an erotically forceful display. Dave returned the favor, taking in every nuance that he'd missed during the kiss that he'd initiated in Hunter's suite. He had been too caught up in the emotions then to register the smooth blend of spicy-sweet that was Hunter, but he definitely noticed it this time around.

The muted noise that passed from Hunter's mouth to his own sent a shiver down his spine. He'd never heard a sound like that from the man he was so tied up in at the moment and he hoped with everything in him that he'd get the chance to hear it again... and again... and again. The sensual experience he'd just had of bringing Shawn off with his mouth, the taste of his essence still lingered on his tongue mixing with Hunter's own distinct flavor, still lingered in his head. Then this kiss that so closely resembled a long enthusiastic fuck more than a simple meeting of mouths... Dave was about ten seconds away from begging Hunter to do him right there on the floor of the plane, regardless of who might be there.

And then it was simply over. The brand of Hunter's hand against his chest was no longer claiming but forcing a separation of their fused lips. Dave slowly opened eyes that he hadn't realized he'd closed and tried to focus on what had just happened. He could handle the separation, after all it wasn't as if they actually had the time or space to follow that mind-blowing kiss to its logical conclusion, but what came after that... he wasn't sure he could handle that at all. Watching warily as Hunter gently kissed Shawn's head and then lifted him from his lap, Dave tried to interpret the look on Hunter's face but his mind was still mired in the fog of passion their kiss had induced.

Before he managed to fight his way out of it, Shawn was dressed and Hunter had fled. There was no doubt in his mind that that was the exact word for what Hunter had done either. Without even having the chance to process the "why" of Hunter fleeing to the back of the plane, Dave settled on his immediate response... hurt. He knew that it was probably showing on his face, but he couldn't tuck it away while he was still scrambling for the reason that Hunter left. Letting his head drop back against the seat, he avoided looking at Shawn for a moment while he tried to process his screaming thoughts.

He'd pushed... too hard, too fast. Leaving Hunter out of the encounter hadn't been an option for him because he hadn't wanted to take things to that point without him. So he'd led Hunter up here, dropped Shawn in his lap, and proceeded on with his little plan without even bothering to ask if Hunter was comfortable with it. Then once again without thinking about the consequences of his spontaneous actions, he'd initiated the kiss, wanting to ensure that Hunter hadn't felt left out. He had wanted to make sure that Hunter knew there was desire for both of them in equal measure... that it wasn't just Shawn that could make him lose control and do things that he wouldn't normally do in such a public place.

Then again maybe it wasn't just that he'd pushed. He'd thought from Hunter's response that he'd finally had the answers to his questions about how Hunter actually felt towards him. But If Hunter hadn't been with anyone in quite some time, as he was assuming, then maybe the kiss had been an instinctive response given the situation. Maybe that scorchingly hot response hadn't been for him at all, but just a way to vent some of Hunter's own frustration. He couldn't help the doubts swamping him. Hunter's cool responses throughout the day had eaten at him... he'd be the first to admit it. Then the first time he'd actually gotten a response, and one hell of a response at that, Hunter lit out of there like his ass was on fire. It had to be because of him... didn't it? Just maybe he was right with his earlier thought that Hunter was going along with this because Shawn had asked and not because he really wanted it.

Shawn settling in his lap was enough to stop him from wallowing in that miserable thought, at least for awhile. The arm around his neck drew his attention to the man cuddled up against him and Dave tried for a tentative smile, knowing that he failed miserably. He wanted to smile... he wanted to be happy and simply enjoy the experience that they'd just shared, but he couldn't when one of the parties to that experience was hiding out in the airplane lavatory.

 _"Thank you."_

Shawn was thanking him. He kind of thought that he should be thanking Shawn for making at least one of his long-held dreams a reality. Even if the others ended up turning to dust, he'd have that to remember. He flushed as Shawn mentioned his tongue bar. Shawn had obviously liked it and he'd never been happier that he'd gotten it done.

 _"I know you're still not sure about this whole thing, but please... give us some time to try to work things out."_

Dave wasn't sure that time was going to help, but for the moment he concentrated on Shawn's reaction. He seemed embarrassed that he'd been so worked up when to Dave's way of thinking it was a compliment that he had been.

Wrapping one arm around Shawn's back, he used the other to press two fingers against Shawn's mouth. "Shhh. Stop Shawn. You don't have to try to explain it. After the number of close calls that we've had in the last twenty-four hours, I was just as worked up as you were and I didn't want to put a stop to things again any more than I did before. If I recall, I'm the one that led the way up here and I'm the one that bumped things to another level. You just let me have my way... which I'm extremely fond of I have to tell you," he finished with a wink, though where he managed to dredge up his sense of humor he had not a clue. "I just wish it had ended on a little better note."

There was the rub wasn't it? He couldn't help the small sigh that escaped him. If he'd just waited until after they talked things through maybe Hunter wouldn't feel the need to be hiding right now. He wanted to be honest with Shawn though. Maybe this just wasn't going to work out and it wouldn't do to give the man false hope. "I don't know about this though Shawn. We can all talk about this until we're blue in the face, but... I just don't know. Hunter... the way he's been through all of this... yes he's said it's what he wants, but it just feels like he's going along with it because it's what _you_ want. Maybe I'm wrong... I hope that I'm wrong, but it doesn't feel that way." He could tell that Shawn wasn't very happy with his assessment of things, but he couldn't help the way that he felt. "You should go check on him, make sure he's alright. I just want to sit here a bit and think about things."

Dave placed a gentle kiss on Shawn's lips. He wasn't at all sure that Shawn would agree with what he wanted him to do. There wasn't much he could do if Shawn decided not to go. He didn't honestly want him to go anywhere either, but... Hunter. One thing was for sure... they needed to sit down and talk and soon. If this wasn't what Hunter wanted, he wanted to know _now_ before it was too late. The only thing was, Dave had a feeling it already was too late.

****

Adam sighed as he looked into the mirror over the sink. He'd taken care of business, washed his hands, and messed with his hair in an attempt to delay the inevitable. When Chris had started in on swearing about his cramp, his first instinct had been to help alleviate it. The problem there was that he'd basically have been fondling Chris' leg in full view of the public and he couldn't have sworn that it wouldn't have gotten out of hand. Pathetic if you really thought about it. He was _so_ whipped and they'd barely even started this thing that was going on between them... imagine how bad he'd be in a month. So he was hiding out in here long enough to make sure he wouldn't be faced with temptation. Deciding that he'd probably been in here long enough to make people wonder if he'd fallen in, he turned and unlocked the door.

He'd barely had the door opened and hadn't even managed a half step before he was hit by an energetic bundle of blond. Was it weird that he'd recognized Chris' weight after only one night? Probably not considering the number of times they'd found themselves in similar positions in the ring... similar but not quite the same. He certainly would have noticed Chris laying a lip-lock on him in front of a crowd.

Soft warm lips covered his own, tongue plundering and searching, and the gentle warmth of Chris' hands on the back of his neck held him motionless for all of about fifteen seconds. This must be one of those inappropriate displays of public affection that Chris had mentioned. He considered the necessity of locking the door, but the thought was fleeting. Toss it. Finally moving, he put his hands at Chris hips and twined his tongue around Chris'. Was it kinky that he was kind of turned on by the threat of public discovery?

Chris' hands tangling in his hair drew a ragged moan from somewhere deep inside him and he increased the forcefulness of his searching tongue. If there had been even a slim chance that either of them was up for it by now, he'd have been locking the door and begging Chris to take him right there in the bathroom stall. There was the added point that they didn't really have time for the delay either. Not that it would take all that long if it were round one of the day, but round four? That didn't stop Adam from letting his hands slide down to cover Chris' ass, pulling hard against the mounds to bring their groins into close contact. A little bit of teasing never hurt... right?

 _"Good thing that was you Babe, that woman with the hair looked like an octopus."_

Adam didn't fall for the innocent act for one moment and Chris most likely wouldn't fall for his either.

"Oh! It's you. And here I thought some overzealous fan was looking to grab a piece in a public restroom." Leaning down, he pressed a gentle kiss to Chris' nose at the same time he slapped him on the ass. With a smirk, he headed out the door and turned towards the cooler section to grab Chris' Gatorade.

****

As much as he was enjoying Dave's embrace, Shawn couldn't quite relax into it. The big man was radiating unhappy tension and he was reacting to that.

 _"...I was just as worked up as you were..."_

The temptation to suck those fingers into his mouth arose in the back of his mind, but he pushed it away. Even if they had time for him to try anything, Hunter's flight had pretty obviously countered Dave's reaction to what had just happened, and this wasn't a good time for that sort of thing, given the mixed emotions floating around. Even thinking that, Shawn could feel himself starting to ground again, starting to get pretty upset with Hunter. For God's sake, if Hunt was so into this, what the _hell_ was up with him? He'd _said_ he wanted it... but he was acting like he was almost... afraid of it.

Shawn blinked.

Was that it? Was it that simple? Was Hunter afraid of what he was feeling? It was entirely possible, Shawn supposed, given how afraid _he'd_ been of what he'd felt for Hunt for so long. And after dreaming of the impossible for so long, to have it handed to you with a smile... that could make anyone paranoid. Especially someone who'd been living a lie for the last year, and who apparently hadn't had _any_ intimate contact for that time.

Exhaling slowly, Shawn listened to Dave's unhappy words, frowning.

 _"...it just feels like he's going along with it because it's what you want."_

Oh, now that had better _not_ be the case. If it was, Shawn was really going to lose it. But... looking back at Hunter's reactions not just today, but over the last year or so, he really didn't think that was the problem. Hunt had tried too often too hard to get Dave's attention to just walk away from it now.

 _"You should go check on him, make sure he's alright. I just want to sit here a bit and think about things."_

He was half-expecting the kiss, to be honest. Dave obviously enjoyed being affectionate, and he didn't mind that at all. What he _did_ mind was the thought of leaving the man alone in the frame of mind he was so obviously in. He opened his mouth to protest, but one look at the expression on Dave's face and he shut it again, nodding slightly.

"All right. Just don't... don't give up. Please. I _know_ Hunt's not stringing you along, Dave. I just... I think there's something else going on and we need to find out what that is." Standing up, he smiled at the man... at his lover?... before walking to the back. He caught Sean staring at him but ignored his friend, not quite ready to deal with Kid's energy level. He paused when he reached the couches; Scott and Kev all cuddled up together made him smile, but the sight of Hunter sitting next to Ric brought an ache to his heart.

What if he was wrong?

 _"If you could find your seats, we will begin our descent shortly."_

Shaking his head slightly, he pushed away the doubts and stopped in front of Hunter, looking down at him.

"We need to talk, Hunt."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ric look from Hunter to him and roll his eyes before pushing himself up and wandering toward the back seats, shaking his head and muttering to himself. He appropriated Ric's seat without the slightest vestige of guilt, feeling much more like himself. To his eyes, Hunt didn't look so good, but that just made him want to shake the man until his teeth rattled and he saw the light. Biting back a laugh at that image, he leaned back against the arm of the couch and leveled a steady gaze at his best friend.

"What's wrong, Hunter? What are you so afraid of?"

****

Hunter looked up as Shawn came to stand in front of the couch he and Ric were sitting on. They'd be landing shortly and if Shawn wasn't near someone, he'd be crawling out the window with anxiety. Hunt gave Ric the eye as well and the Nature Boy muttered something about 'boots' wha? before sauntering off towards the stewardess. He knew Shawn was upset with him from his posture and the slightest of shifts in his voice, that Hunter had learned long ago to listen to for clues as to his friend's mood. Right now it held 'worry', but that was slowly changing to 'extremely pissed' and would move into 'you stupid bastard' pretty soon, if Hunter didn't head off the explosion.

 _What's wrong, Hunter? What are you so afraid of?_

It was a reasonable question and one that Shawn had every right to ask him. It had been Hunter's fear of Shawn's love that'd caused the horrible night they'd both endured and the fight this morning. Now Hunter's fears were threatening the whole 'possibility' that the three of them were working towards before it had even started. Hunter had no doubt that he had hurt Dave just a few minutes ago. His reaction to Dave's kisses and then sudden departure probably came across in the nicest possible way as 'blowing hot and cold' and in the not so nicest, as a 'prick tease'.

The irony of that concept wasn't lost on Hunter and he finally dumped the empty water bottle and snared Shawn's hand with his own. Curling his fingers around those familiar ones, Hunter carefully stroked each nail, before lifting Shawn's hand to his lips and kissing the back of it. His voice, when he finally spoke, was quiet, as if he fashioned the thoughts only moments before they became words.

"I honestly don't know Darling, I really don't. When I look at you, at Dave, I just... want. But it's like walking to work and everyday looking through a window at a new sports car. Much as you'd like to own it, you can't afford it and you know it. So you stare and you long for it, but you know you can't. Eventually you don't even have to tell yourself not to touch, because your instinct isn't to. Not anymore. It's to keep your distance." Why Hunter was comparing Dave and Shawn to sports cars was anyone's guess. But hey, it was his messed up head after all. "I... god I... _hunger_... for you both so badly Darling. I love you...both of you I think. I got hard holding you Shawn, like you wouldn't believe," a small curl to his lips to acknowledge the truth of that particular statement. "So I'm not... god help me... frigid. But it's like... maybe I suppressed that side of me for so long I can't un-suppress it."

The plane was beginning to descend and the fingers in Hunter's own tightened. Shawn had moved closer on instinct, so naturally Hunter wrapped his arms around his shoulders and waist and became the rock that Shawn needed him to be. Even with Shawn's reaction to the descent breaking his thought process, Hunter continued the spiel in his mind.

Was he _unable_ to touch them sexually, now that he had been granted permission to have what he'd wanted for so long? Had his mind actually convinced his body that touching Shawn and Dave was such a no, no that now he wasn't physically able to? Talk about fucked up. But really, what were his choices here? He could be a slave to the past and let his inbuilt defenses wreck his life, and Hunter had no doubt that if he lost Dave and Shawn now, his life really wouldn't be worth shit.

Or..

He could just **get the fuck over it**.

Put aside the drama queen, I Am Complex and take to this chance with both hands grasping. Indulge in some way hot monkey sex with his two incredibly gorgeous lovers, be a successful wrestler and millionaire, and live happily ever after.

 _Bit of a no-brainer there Hunter._

For once Vince was absolutely correct.

The touchdown was smooth, the Lady Captain obviously knew her stuff. Which was a good thing, because if Ric got within ten feet of her, the ability to escape by plane might become a necessity. Leaning his forehead against Shawn's for a moment, Hunter felt another of those cruel emotional burdens lift from his soul.

"We're down Darling, you can relax now." Meeting his lover's eyes for the first time since that moment in the front, Hunter smiled. Yes... lover. For that was their relationship, even without the sex bit and Hunter was sure that would be fantastic, if their last try out had been a comparative sample.

"Talk about epiphanies Shawn. But... before you kick my ass again," Hunt held up a hand to forestall Shawn's comments for just a moment longer, "... I just fucked that up for you and I'm sorry. I'll tell Dave as soon as he can look at me again. I'm a bit thrown by just the _idea_ of diving into this with you, but that's my problem and I'm working on it. If you've got the patience, and I can stop Dave from dumping me 'cos I'm a cock tease, then I think this can happen. I just... have to put you two into a different place than where I've kept you. Going from 'untouchable' to 'very touchable' may take me a little while, but I'll get there eventually... I promise."

****

Kevin couldn't remember the last time he'd been this relaxed. Yeah, his ass was still throbbing gently, but at this point, that was just adding to the simmering heat that he and Scott were so slowly building up. Even hearing Shawn's almost-constant stream of soft noises and words from the front hadn't been enough to distract him from the man in his arms. Sometimes Kev had to wonder what other people thought of their little group. Not the people they worked with, not Vince, not their families... but people like chauffeur drivers who got asked to take a long, circuitous route back to hotels while the privacy screen was up and pilots and stewardesses who had to sit in the fronts of planes and listen to half of their passengers have loud obvious sex in the back. Maybe in those kinds of jobs they were used to it, but still. For all the stories and rumours about them, it was amazing that there weren't more.

Movement to the side caught his attention, and he frowned over Scott's shoulder as he watched Hunter walk past, looking upset... and almost depressed. What in the world...? After what had so obviously happened just moments ago, what could Hunter be thinking, leaving the other two alone? Dave had included Hunt in whatever happened back there, so it couldn't have been jealousy. Well, hopefully it wasn't jealousy. That could strike at unexpected times even when you were convinced it wasn't a problem... Kev still remembered walking in and finding Scott and Shawn wrapped around each other in the bed and having an instant reaction of "What the _fuck_ is he doing with _my_ Scott?". He'd managed not to let it cause problems, but it had been there for a while. Somehow, though, that didn't feel right for the expression on Hunt's face. Well... when Hunt came back out, he'd offer to talk. Being able to do that was a wonderful feeling, and if anyone would understand the problems a threesome could face, it'd be him and Scott.

 _"I kind of like this slow burn thing we have going on here."_

Kevin returned the smile before it slipped from his face with a soft sigh at the feeling of those fingers in his hair. Scott's lips on his neck brought another quiet noise from him and he tilted his head, allowing his lover better access to the sensitive skin there.

 _"...we should spend a little time in_ _our room_ _."_

That got a soft groan and a clenching of his hands on Scott's flesh. It had been so long since they'd used that room... since before they'd been apart. It just hadn't seemed quite right for the new "feeling" that had surrounded them since they'd reunited, but now... now it sounded perfect. Somehow, they'd managed to combine a new gentle awareness of each other with the same hot kinkiness that they'd had before. Kev wasn't sure how they'd done it, but he wasn't about to complain.

 _"I love you, Kev."_

Returning the kiss, still gentle but starting to grow in hunger, Kevin had just lifted his head when he saw Shawn walk past, looking determined. He caught Scott's eye and nodded at Shawn behind them, watching as Ric rolled his eyes and vacated the premises. Huh. He hadn't even noticed Hunter coming out of the lavatory, he'd been so caught up in Scott. He felt vaguely guilty about that for an entire heartbeat before shrugging a little. Hunt had been chatting with Ric, so it wouldn't have mattered if he _had_ noticed.

Trying to shut out the soft murmur of familiar voices, knowing that whatever they were discussing, it wasn't a conversation they'd really want shared, Kevin couldn't help but notice some of the body language. Watching Hunter take Shawn's hand and kiss it, seeing him wrap his arms around Shawn when the smaller man grew tense at the beginning of the descent... Kevin relaxed. Whatever the problem was, Shawn wasn't letting Hunter hide from it, and Hunt was apparently trying to deal with it. Looking back at Scott, tangling his fingers in those well-loved curls, he smiled a little wistfully at his lover as the plane landed.

"I think our boys are growing up, Scotty."

****

He released the breath he'd been holding when Shawn nodded at him. Not that he wouldn't miss Shawn's presence, but at least this way he could be sure that Hunter was taken care of. Shawn would make sure of it.

 _"All right. Just don't... don't give up. Please."_

He returned Shawn's smile until Shawn was well up the aisle, just in case he happened to turn back to look. Once he was sure he was alone, at least for the moment, he dropped the happy façade and a wistful smile took its place. He wanted to stay positive, for Shawn's sake if nothing else, but it wasn't going to be easy. The ups and downs of the last 24 hours were starting to take their toll.

The first up had started when he'd actually managed to ask Shawn out last night. The first down had followed rather quickly when he had figured out how Hunter felt about Shawn and he knew he had to try to make things right there. That first down had been bad, but at that point it had only crushed a few, okay a lot of, fantasies that he'd let himself indulge in. Things had progressed from bad to worse with Hunter's denial in the limo. Watching the hurt Shawn had gone through had ripped him up inside and he'd been angry at Hunter for lying.

The second up had been joining Shawn for dinner. Spending all that time with the man he'd been carrying a torch for had only deepened the feelings he'd already had. Getting up the courage to ask to stay, he'd been granted a night that produced mixed feelings... over the moon happiness at being with Shawn, yet deep sadness while he'd held the sobbing man in his arms. He wasn't even going to touch on the dream he'd had which had brought emotions he had thought he'd managed to suppress to the fore.

Another up when he'd woke to find Shawn in his arms. Another down when he realized that he wouldn't do anything about it because of Shawn's feelings for Hunter... and if he had to be honest his own as well. That of course had led to an even bigger down during the fight and Hunter's confession of his feelings to Shawn. Then the biggest up of all came with Shawn's suggestion that the three of them be together. He knew that they had to talk of course, but he'd already started to look forward to it... he _wanted_ it. The rest of the day had varied between hot and in Hunter's case cold. Dave could almost see it slipping away right before his eyes and he wanted to fight for it... but only if it was what they _all_ wanted. Shawn wanted it. Dave wanted it. Hunter... he just didn't know.

He almost jumped through the roof of the plane when he realized that someone was standing next to him. "Hey Ric. What's up man?"

He almost groaned as Ric slid into the row of seats and dropped down beside him. This was probably the last thing he needed right now. He really liked Ric. The guy had done more for him than he could ever repay him for, but he also saw way too much. He was pretty sure that Ric had been completely aware of his forays into the upper decks for some time, though he hadn't said anything about it. Then again, Ric liked holding things close until there was a need to say something.

"Nice set of shiners there Dave."

Dave snorted and smiled at the man seated beside him. "Thanks Ric. I thought the look would go well with my new ring gear," he said dryly. At least this was a topic he could deal with and he could escape shortly since it seemed the plane was in the process of landing. Apparently he'd missed the announcement.

"Ya might be wise to keep those shades handy. Never know when the boss man might rear his ugly head."

He couldn't help but laugh. You never quite knew what was going to come out of Ric's mouth. "Thanks Ric. I'll keep that in mind. Figured I'd con one of the girls into taking care of it for me after I swore them to secrecy."

Ric nodded and then they sat there in silence for a moment or two. He was just starting to think he'd gotten off easy when Ric turned and fixed him with that manic grin as the plane touched down. "So... guess all that lookin' finally paid off for ya. Now ya don't have to hide in the upper tier."

Dave groaned and let his head drop back against his seat. Luckily he'd remembered not to do the instinctive hands to face thing. He wished he could do it though to hide the brilliant shade of red creeping into his cheeks. He'd momentarily let himself forget that Ric had most likely seen and heard everything up to the point they'd come up front, despite his feigning sleep, and then most likely heard everything from that point...or at least heard Shawn.

Luckily he was saved from having to respond verbally. The pilot coming on to announce their arrival caught Ric's attention and as soon as the plane came to a complete stop the man was out of his seat and headed to the front of the plane. Dave shook his head and pushed himself from his seat. He wasn't sure he was ready to face everyone yet after Ric's not-so-subtle reminder, but he had to do it sometime. At least the color had had time to fade from his face.

Walking to the back he went directly to where he'd dropped his glasses on the side table and put them on before even attempting to look anywhere else. He grabbed his bag and then noticed that Shawn's brush was still laying on the floor. He picked it up, keeping his face as neutral as possible as he turned to look at the other passengers. Unable to stop a shy smile from popping up as he remembered Shawn's reaction to having his hair brushed, he extended the hand that held the brush towards Shawn. He'd just have to try to bluff his way through this and hope he managed to keep the blushing to a minimum.


	31. Touches

Watching Hunter, trying to keep his growing upset off his face, Shawn knew that his long-time friend could probably read his emotions just from the way he was sitting, but... he really _didn't_ want to start another fight. Anything but that, actually. He shuddered slightly at the memory of that morning and resolved to pin Hunter down if necessary later to inspect him for any damage he might've received from Shawn's loss of control. That thought forced him to suppress a smile at the image of what that inspection might lead to... Hunt's earlier half-heard request echoed in his mind before he forced his libido back down. Not now, not here. Not yet. They had things to deal with first.

The soft, unexpected strokes to his fingers sent little shivers through him, and the kiss... He blinked fiercely, his free hand stealing up to wrap around Hunt's back and settle gently on his shoulder, thumb rubbing at the tension there. God, he was already addicted to this side of Hunter and he'd barely seen it. The quiet words caught his attention and he listened without interruption, letting Hunter say what he needed to say. The metaphor Hunt chose made him smile; he was the only person Shawn knew who would compare their budding relationship to a sports car.

 _"I... god I..._ hunger... _for you both so badly Darling. I love you...both of you I think."_

Shawn drew in a sharp, unsteady breath, his fingers clenching for an instant in Hunter's grasp. Hunter... _where_ have you been hiding all of this emotion? Somewhere so far down, so deep, that you didn't even know it was there... Shawn's heart hurt, seeing the confused emotions on the familiar face. This wasn't even because of Stephanie; that girl would be horrified if she knew what Hunter had done to himself. This... this was a choice, of sorts, Shawn was willing to bet. That metaphor was probably dead on. He'd done something similar, but not to the point where he couldn't reach out and react when his long-held dream looked like it might come true. But then, he'd always been more arrogant, more cocky than Hunter, regardless of the in-ring personas; he wasn't the type to be too afraid to take what he wanted when it was held out to him, regardless of the possible strings or problems attached to it. No, he was more likely to reach out and grab it while flipping the bird to the problems.

Feeling the plane start to descend, he tensed before moving closer to Hunter, stopping short of sitting in the man's lap. While he'd be more than willing to do so, this probably wasn't the best time to try to push Hunter's limits. He could tell the man was still thinking, but his attention was focused at the moment on not leaving nail marks on Hunter's flesh as he stared at the floor, avoiding the ever-tilting view out the window. When the plane actually touched down, he let out the breath he'd been holding, forcing himself to relax. He knew it was silly, but he'd never been able to get past his dislike of the entire flying process. Take-offs were actually worse, but the whole thing made him unhappy.

 _"We're down Darling, you can relax now."_

He couldn't help but smile at the endearment, so totally unlike anything he would've expected from the man, but so utterly fitting at the same time.

Hunter's earlier words came back to him, and he looked at the man consideringly. Unable to touch? Oh, hell no. Maybe unable to believe that he _could_ touch, but frigid Hunter definitely was not. His reactions to Shawn and Dave all morning proved that. Whatever the problem was, they could get past it, Shawn was sure. And Hunter was going to tell Dave everything he'd just told Shawn... especially about how he felt. He was almost giddy at a point inside himself, knowing that Hunt felt _that_ deeply about Dave. For all of Dave's insecurities, to have Hunter willingly admit that... but he had to tell _Dave_ that, or Shawn suspected that the big man would run, playing the self-sacrificing martyr to make sure that the two men he cared for were happy with each other, without waiting long enough to see that it wasn't necessary.

 _"Going from 'untouchable' to 'very touchable' may take me a little while, but I'll get there eventually... I promise."_

A laugh escaped him at that and he shook his head, smiling as he met those wonderfully deep eyes again.

"No... not "eventually" Hunter. Not even "a little while". You're not going to get a choice about it, and if you need to convince yourself that we're touchable, well... I'll be more than happy to assist you with that." That was all the warning he gave before leaning forward and pressing his lips to Hunter's, one hand sliding down across his chest to hover at the waist band of his slacks. Shawn allowed himself to indulge in that addictively spicy taste for a moment before pulling away, licking his lips. Round one... and now for the real play.

Lowering his voice as he leaned in, he whispered huskily in Hunter's ear, "Now... if we had more time, I'd gladly fulfill that favour you asked me for earlier. Hell, I'd do it even if you _hadn't_ asked. I've wanted to taste you for _years_ , Hunter. I've fantasised about what you look like when you come, about having your cock in my mouth... having you fuck me. I've brought myself off more times than I can remember by imagining that it was your hand touching me, wondering what your lips felt like... I've dreamt about fucking you, do you know that?"

Pausing, he let his eyes travel over Hunter's body, smirking a little. He wasn't immune to his own medicine, but even saying things like that to Hunter wasn't enough to incapacitate him after an experience like he'd just had. And on that note... a sound to the side made him glance up, seeing Dave standing there. He let his smile widen as he looked at the man, even though the black eyes still made him want to wince. He'd make up for that later... hopefully later that night. Pulling his hand away from Hunter's shoulder, Shawn reached out and took the brush from Dave's hand, standing up as he did.

"Thanks, Dave. Now," he looked down at Hunter, then back at Dave. "I believe we need to stop and eat lunch... and have that talk. Before we do _anything_ else." The tone of his voice left no room for trying to wiggle out of it. Hunter might "manage" everybody around him... but he'd learned his management skills somewhere, and Shawn was a past master at getting his way when he wanted something. He wasn't above playing dirty, and if he had to do so to get Hunt to open up to Dave, then by God he would.

Reaching out a hand to Hunter, he pulled the man to his feet before reaching for his carry-on bag. Stashing the brush back away inside, he looked at each man in turn again. "Got everything? Good. Let's get going, then."

****

As Kevin pulled away from the kiss, Scott was still wrapped up in a pleasantly blissful state of mind. Between Kevin's reaction to his suggestion and the sweetly languorous kiss, the anticipation for later tonight had gone up a notch. It was still comparable to slow roiling simmer, but he knew as the day progressed it would continue to grow in intensity until one of them finally gave in and pushed past the boiling point.

Seeing Kevin's nod, it took Scott a full minute to process what he was supposed to notice. Once he did, he zeroed right in on the mood of both men. Now this was interesting. He probably shouldn't listen, but then Scott was the first to admit he was downright nosy when it came to the rest of their family. He simply excused it as something he did because he wanted to protect them. Kevin was watching them, but more than likely he'd tune out what they were saying. Scott wouldn't... not with the tension he could sense between them. If there was a problem then maybe he and Kev could help and if they couldn't then they would at least be aware of who to keep an eye on if the situation went downhill.

After listening unobtrusively through what both men had to say, Scott was a little surprised. That Hunter was apparently running anytime things got past lukewarm between the three of them was an obvious problem. It looked like Shawn had a suggestion for dealing with it and it would most likely work, but Scott was still going to suggest that Kevin look for Hunter later tonight to see if he needed to talk. Shawn seemed to be back to his bossy little self and unless he got frustrated enough to try to separate Hunter's head from his body, he'd most likely browbeat Hunter right through his problem. He might offer to talk if Shawn seemed to need it, but right now he was kind of wondering about Dave. The man had stayed up front for the landing and didn't seem to be in a big hurry to get back to where they were sitting.

 _"I think our boys are growing up, Scotty."_

Looking down at Kevin's wistful smile, Scott couldn't help but smile tenderly back at him. Even if they were 'growing up', they obviously weren't past all their problems and Scott knew how protective Kevin was of each and every one of them. Despite Kevin's worry, Scott had a feeling that they would still need to bend Kevin's ear on occasion. Tracing a finger down the side of Kevin's face, Scott leaned in for another gentle kiss, pulling away when he heard Dave's approach.

Now that was obviously still a problem. He was extremely curious still over what had happened to poor Dave's face and the man seemed like he was on the verge of lighting out of the plane at warp speed. Shawn cut him off with his dinner invitation, but the tension was still thick enough to cut with a knife. It might not be the best idea ever, but Scott thought maybe they could use a little break from all that emotion.

Sliding off Kevin's lap, Scott smiled wickedly at him before turning to face the assembled group. Sean and Glen had finally abandoned their seats and joined the group to disembark. Pretending to hold an imaginary microphone, Scott addressed the group around them.

"Welcome to the 2004 'Backstage Slammies', where you the fan get to make the deciding vote! In the category of loudest vocals your nominees are Glen Jacobs and Shawn 'HBK' Michaels." Turning to face Kevin, he winked. "Sir... please cast your vote." He held the 'microphone' out to Kevin who immediately grinned.

Shawn burst into laughter. Glen was turning a most brilliant shade of red and shaking his head. Dave's mouth had dropped open and he was rivaling Glen for 'most likely to be mistaken as a fire engine.' Sean of course was laughing his bouncy ass off.

"Hey, maybe we should have a contest or something. We could record it so..." Sean was cut off abruptly by Glen's hand clamping over his mouth.

****

 _your cock in my mouth.... having you fuck me.... I've dreamt about fucking you, do you know that?_

"Jesus Christ!" Hunter swore under his breath as Shawn's delicious dirty words flowed into his ears. That sharp kiss had been enough to renew Hunt's arousal, the words spoken in a seductive deep voice by his lover were almost enough to bring Hunter to his knees. He'd known Shawn had a knack for revenge, getting on the bad side of the Heartbreak Kid was not a good place to be. But this bulldozing sexual overture left Hunter white-knuckled in shock and desire.

Gripping Shawn's shoulders tightly, he looked for a moment deep into hot, dusky eyes. This man... _this_ man, could tangle him up in so many ways. Hunter had felt the absolute perfection of peace this morning when they'd first kissed, and a blazing rage of hurt and pain, not ten minutes prior. All because he'd fallen for the untamed glory that was his lover, Shawn. Did he regret this descent into mad passion?

Not even for a moment.

If Shawn was wild, then Hunt was ensorcelled by that wildness, that willful cocky man, who, when given Hunter's promised to try, had ignored that weak offering and flat out demanded he do better. And damn him if he wouldn't. Groping the guy who'd just said he was having issues with being touchy feely was just so like Shawn.  _Sex issues? I'll give you some sex issues you only wish you had Baby._  Hah! That was Shawn. God, was it any wonder he loved the man? No-one pulled him out of his self-imposed funks the way Shawn did. He had done so this morning with a magnificent fury to rival Vince himself and was doing so now using an even more lethal weapon... his sex appeal. Hunt may be in love with Shawn Michaels, but he was an HBK fan after all.

A hum across his nerves made Hunt look up into the 'not concerned at all' face of Dave Batista. He was doing an excellent job of being absolutely fine about the situation and if Hunter hadn't known it was a load of crap, he would have believed that smiling, exotic face. Like the fathomless dark eyes, Dave had a soul so deep, Hunter was afraid he'd fall in and find there was no end to it. A master of the 'inscrutable mask' effect, Dave was almost impossible for Hunter to read on the surface. But there would be no way in hell he'd be unaffected by Hunt's duck and run earlier. The question was whether the effect was 'pissed off' or 'I'm outta here'. Hunter could deal with the first, although groveling wasn't his strong suit he'd do anything for Dave, the second would require him to convince Dave to stick around. A not so easy task if the bigger man had made up his mind. Dave had many admirable traits, Hunter would go hoarse listing them, but one of his few vices was a stubbornness that would make a bull envious. Hunter actually admired Dave's tenacity, as long as he wasn't on the wrong end of it. Like now.

But Hunt himself was anything if not pig-headed. Now that he had his own feelings in order, for all the good they did him, he now had to persuade Dave that they were really there and that he did actually feel them.

He could always jump him as a last resort, even if it might result in another bruised jaw. Hunter determinedly ignored the frission of worry and 'don't' that that thought generated. He was _allowed_ to contemplate rubbing up against Dave till his hair stood on end like a statically charged cat. In fact, given the whole 'let's have a threesome' idea, it was practically one of the regulations.

 _Got everything? Good. Let's get going, then._

Hunter, not being exactly at his best, was happy to follow Shawn and the others as they went through the motions of disembarking and getting through the airport. Nods and arrangements made with the Kevin, Sean, Scott, Ric and Glen, had them catching up in either the hotel's gym if there wasn't a Gold's nearby, or at the arena if they got held up.

Another private car, thank god _not_ a limo, and they were soon pulling up at the Champions Sports Restaurant. Sending in the driver to arrange a private table on an upper balcony, Hunter followed the manager quickly to their places. It was probably a bad choice of eatery considering the WWE was in town, but the food was good and the manager was all over himself to keep them secluded. They'd probably end up with signed photos on the wall amongst the other memorabilia, but hey, at least they could chat here in some semblance of privacy.

After ordering their food and drinks Hunter dumped his sunglasses on the table and looked at Dave. This was going to be harder than he thought, since Dave was giving nothing away but a detailed interest in a break stick. Thinking that pussyfooting around was going to make things worse, Hunter began his opening salvo.

"Dave?" Nope, not even eye contact. Shit. Okay... "Sorry I went all blushing virgin back there on the plane. Would it help if I said it's not you, it's me?" He truly wasn't trying to make light of his rather nice fuck-up, but Shawn would probably kick him anyway.

****

Chris happily settled into the passenger seat and watched from the corner of his eye as Jay and Bunnykins got comfortable in the back. They hadn't touched once since the debacle in the room this morning and CJ was starting to get concerned. He'd heard enough from Jay in the past to realise the man was pretty crazy about Tyson and Chris doubted the 'problem' was anything to do with romance or sex for that matter. Anyone with the room next door to them knew that that particular couple had few inhibitions about sex, room service tables not withstanding

What bothered Chris was Jay's reluctance to talk to either he or Adam about it. Not that they'd noticed a wrong note till this morning, but usually Jay would have recounted chapter and verse of his issues to first Adam, then Chris, if he couldn't do it in stereo and save himself the repetition. He been serious about talking to Bunnykins if there was a break-up of some kind. Tyson had been in the WWE for only a few months and due to the tattooed giant's reserved manner, was not close with anyone backstage except Jay and by osmosis Adam and CJ. Chris actually kinda liked the guy too, hard not to when the man was so determined to do hard work to do well in the business, and treating their favorite bimbo Jay like he was spun gold certainly didn't hurt on CJ's 'good guy vs. asshole' meter.

So if he could suss out the reason for the tense silence in the back seat, he'd be able to lend an ear, or an earful of advice if Chris was honest, to Bunnykins when needed. Sipping his Gatorade, CJ surfed the radio stations until he found some music that didn't draw protests from the back, or cause a wince in the face of their driver. Casually dropping his hand onto Adam's thigh, Chris just left his hand there as he tilted his seat back.

"Wake me when we get there Babe, would you?" CJ asked sleepily as the combination of sunlight, fantastic sex and five hours sleep caught up with him.

The cool quiet and repetitive motion of the car, caused Chris to sleep for nearly an hour. Blinking muzzily, he checked his sunglasses were still in place before chancing the position of the sun. A jaw-cracking yawn followed by a stretch that would make him look like a pretzel in the confines of the seat, were enough to bring CJ back to reality.

They'd made good time, Tuesday lunch traffic was about as good as you could get in the day, and Adam seemed content to drive the rest of the way. As long as the snores from the back seat continued, the ride at least, would be pretty peaceful. Looking over his shoulder Chris smiled. Whatever the issue was it couldn't over-ride instinct. Bunnykins was deeply asleep, leaning back into the 'v' where door met window and Jay was curled up with his cheek on Ty's lap. Raising one eyebrow, CJ wondered what the first thing they both thought of when they woke up would be. He only needed one guess.

Taking another drink of Gatorade to freshen his mouth up, CJ leaned over and kissed Adam's cheek. Well... he'd never been allowed to do that with his high school crush. Getting past thirty in one piece should have some benefits attached rather than just drawbacks.

"Hey Babe, you right for the rest of the way?" Because although Adam looked fine, Chris knew how sleepy a driver could get if everyone in the car was snoring in your ear. Shifting his palm back to the warm, denim of his lover's leg, Chris nuzzled Adam's neck for a bit, before gently biting his ear. "I'm not distracting you am I?"

****

Shawn was smiling and damn what a smile. Under cover of his sunglasses, he let himself sneak a peek at Hunter. He seemed a bit dazed, but having Shawn sprawled all over you tended to do that to a person at least from his personal experience. When Hunter looked up at him, it was only through sheer force of will that he managed to hang on to his unaffected smile. He knew Hunter was trying to gauge his mood, but he wasn't about to let his feelings show at the moment... not with their current audience.

 _"I believe we need to stop and eat lunch... and have that talk. Before we do anything else."_

Dave hadn't even been aware of Shawn taking the brush from him, but he lowered his hand to his side as he heard Shawn's order. That's what it was. Refusing would get him nowhere. That pretty much put an end to his vague idea of checking into the hotel and then hitting the gym so he could think. So be it. If Shawn wanted to do this now, they would. When Shawn helped Hunter to his feet, Dave automatically took a step back. After Hunter's last reaction to him he didn't want to crowd him... just in case.

Dave snorted at the beginning of Scott's antics, until Scott reached the part about loudest vocals. Once he got the gist of what was coming he wanted to crawl into the overhead compartment and hide out there. His mouth dropped open and he could feel the heat building in his face. He was surprised, but only for a moment. The way this whole group interacted with each other was a bit daunting. They didn't even pretend not to know each other's business or hesitate to give an opinion if they felt like it. If this thing worked out with Hunter and Shawn...and at the moment that was looking like a pretty big "if"... then he'd just have to find a way to get used to it and stop his automatic reaction to their comments.

Keeping his head down as the walked off the plane and made their way through the airport, Dave went along with the plans made for later. He knew Shawn was keeping an eye on him so he didn't bail, even though he didn't make it obvious. If he'd taken more than a step or two from the group then he knew Shawn would be all over him until he fell in with the plan. In no time at all he was tucked nicely in a private car and they were on their way to have lunch. He wasn't at all sure that he'd be able to eat, but then that wasn't actually the purpose of their little luncheon.

Mercifully the trip was short and they soon pulled up in front of the Champions Sports Restaurant. After being fawned over by the manager, they finally were left alone for a moment or two. Feigning interest in a bread stick that he really wasn't planning on eating, Dave waited to see who was going to make the first move. Surprisingly it ended up being Hunter rather than Shawn, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

 _"Dave?"_

He tensed, but managed to keep it to near imperceptible. It would probably be polite for him to at least look at Hunter, but he wasn't sure if he could continue keeping his earlier hurt hidden so he kept his gaze fixed on that damn bread stick like it held the answers to all of life's questions.

 _"Sorry I went all blushing virgin back there on the plane. Would it help if I said it's not you, it's me?"_

Would it help? He wasn't sure anything could help at the moment considering that Hunter had just tossed the most classic break up line of all time at him. The fact that they hadn't even been a 'they' for even eight hours yet and it was over... was more than a tad depressing. Knowing that he'd been right with his doubts didn't make up for the feeling that he'd just been strung along like a toy. Wavering between hurt and not a little bit of anger, he tossed the bread stick down on his plate and pulled his glasses from his face. He ignored the slight twinge it caused, too wrapped up in how he was feeling to acknowledge it. Looking directly at Hunter, he just barely managed to keep his voice down to a growl.

"No, Hunter. It really wouldn't help at all. If you didn't want this then why the hell didn't you tell Shawn that when he brought it up? The big kiss off would have been much easier to deal with before you actually let me have a taste of what we might have had." Taste... ironic choice of words, but he couldn't find it in him to laugh about it at the moment. The fact that the rest of their "family" knew all the details didn't exactly put a damper on his anger. He probably would have gotten up and simply left at that point if not for the touch of the hand on his shoulder.

****

Looking at the small group of people standing around, Shawn was about to suggest that they actually start disembarking when Scott slid to his feet, a dangerously familiar smile on his face. Raising an eyebrow, Shawn wondered what outrageous thing was about to come out of his friend's mouth.

 _"In the category of loudest vocals your nominees are Glen Jacobs and Shawn 'HBK' Michaels."_

He couldn't help it, regardless of the embarrassed surprise on Dave's face. He started laughing, not embarrassed in the least. At this point, everyone in the plane had seen him in some sort of sexual situation at some point in time. The little stunt was just so unexpected that it had actually taken him by surprise. But it was _so_ Scotty... probably his way of trying to defuse the tension still obvious between the three of them.

Catching the deepening red on his darker lover's face, Shawn slid a hand around his waist as he finally gained control of himself. Knowing how out of place Dave was feeling, he managed not to respond to Sean's contest idea, although the thought was pretty amusing. Not to mention compelling... Shawn had never minded in the least being watched while having sex. In fact, it only heightened the experience for him. Yeah, so he was incredibly shameless. He had no regrets about that---or about anything he'd done---other than wishing that he'd been able to control himself enough that Dave hadn't felt uncomfortable around the others. But they'd get past that... because there _would_ be a "they".

Shaking his head, still smiling, Shawn led the way out of the plane, watching his lovers---and just that word sent a little thrill though him---to make sure that neither of them were trying to escape. If they broke apart now, he suspected that they'd never get it back together, and damned if he was going to let _that_ happen.

The ride to the restaurant was short, although the tension inside the car had him gritting his teeth. They'd been so _close_ to being past that. The private table was a fully appreciated and fully necessary luxury. Glancing over the side of the balcony, Shawn saw that they were far enough back to be pretty much unobserved as long as no one started yelling. Not that he thought that was likely to happen, but... you never knew.

They ordered quickly, an uncomfortable silence settling over them as the waiter walked away. Shawn looked from Dave to Hunter, sighing a little. Of all people, he _would_ have to pick the two most stubborn men he'd ever met---besides Kev, anyway---to fall for. As he started to open his mouth to prod Hunt into talking, he realised he didn't have to. Of course, hearing what Hunt _said_ made him want to scream.

 _"Would it help if I said it's not you, it's me?"_

Oh.

My.

God.

Hunt had _not_ just really said that... had he? As fervently as Shawn hoped that he'd misheard Hunter, the look on Dave's face as he threw down the breadstick he'd been staring at told him otherwise. Damn it! What was Hunt _thinking_ , starting off like that? He swung a foot in a sharp kick to Hunter's shin, glaring at him as Dave started growling.

 _"If you didn't want this then why the hell didn't you tell Shawn that when he brought it up?"_

Crap, crap, crap. Shawn thought frantically, trying to figure out how to make Dave _listen_... how to make Hunter _talk_... without this blowing up in their faces over a misunderstanding because of some poorly-chosen words. He knew better; he knew how Hunter felt about Dave, however surprising the depth of that emotion was, and he suspected that Dave was probably perilously close to that same depth... at least for Hunter, if not both of them. He suspected that he himself was closer to it for _both_ of them than he knew.

 _"...would have been much easier to deal with before you actually let me have a taste of what we might have had."_

Oh, lord. Forcing back the idiotic response that wanted to escape, Shawn stood up, pushing his chair back with a loud squeal of metal on tile. Even as Dave shifted in preparation to stand up, he was there, his hand dropping firmly onto Dave's shoulder, narrowing his eyes at the man.

"Don't even _think_ about it," he said sharply. "You are _not_ going to run away from us because you've convinced yourself of something that is about as far from the truth as it possibly can be. No matter how bad that sounded..." He glared at Hunter. "And that sounded pretty damned bad, I'll grant you, but it wasn't what it sounded like. So I suggest you sit there and _listen_ , Dave. Because now that I've had you, even as little as it's been, I'll be damned if I'm letting you go."

Releasing his grasp with one last _look_ at the man, he swung around to look at Hunter, his hands on his hips as he shook his head. "And you! Of all things to say, you pick _that_? Hunter..." Letting his voice soften a bit, he took a step to stand next to Hunt. "Just tell Dave what you told me. Please. Don't joke about it, just tell him. He needs to know, and he needs to hear it from you."

Sinking back into his chair with a sigh, he leaned forward, looking at them seriously, his voice level. "Just to start this off on a better note... Hunter, I love you. I've loved you for almost a decade... even if I _do_ want to smack you upside the head on a regular basis. And Dave... I'm not going to lie to you or sweet-talk you into thinking that I've magically fallen in love with you in the last day. I haven't. But the longer I'm around you, the closer we get... the more I feel like I'm heading down that path, and the easier it is for me to accept that. I want you, I care about you... I could _easily_ fall in love with you, if you just give me a chance to." Letting his lips curve slightly, he reached out to take their hands in his. "Earlier on the plane was... amazing. I want nothing more than to be able to look forward to that sort of thing every night. I want both of you. I want _us_. I want this to work, and I will work my damned ass off to make sure that it does."

Pausing, he looked at each of them again, seeing almost matching stubborn expressions on their faces, he couldn't help but laugh, the words out of his mouth before he realised he was going to say them.

"God, whatever I did to end up with _two_ of you... I'm sorry."

****

If Shawn's furious expression and the brilliant pain exploding in his shin wasn't enough of a message that he'd totally fucked _that_ up, then the look of mingled fury and despair radiating from Dave would have been enough. Grateful that Dave had refrained from tossing the bread stick at his head, Hunter let the agonised words from his one-time friend wash over him. He'd only felt more guilty once before in his life and that was last night, so this was pretty high up there on his guilt scale. He really, really, hadn't meant it like it had come out. For all it was a lame-ass break up line, it was also true. There was no problem with Dave, not as far as Hunt could determine anyway, the man was damn near perfect, it was his own vainglorious self who had the 'intimacy issues'.

Shawn rising to his feet gave Hunter pause; Dave, glare in full force, would have exited the table if not for Shawn's restraining hand. That Dave was past the verge of leaving him to rot wasn't a surprise, but it did generate a deep fear that if Hunter let Dave walk out right now, he'd be regretting it till the end of his days. And not just because Shawn would tear him limb from limb... hell, the blond might even follow the big man out. Hunter really couldn't blame him.

 _Of all things to say, you pick that?_

Yeah well. He could probably have made it worse, but not really. The thing was... the irritating, annoying, ego-bursting thing was... Hunter just couldn't read Dave to save himself. Right now, yeah, sure, the Animal was angry at him, but when it came to what was happening behind those eyes, Hunter found himself grasping. Shawn he knew better than he could trust his own fucked-up psyche, but he just couldn't get a bead on Dave. So, a new plan. The best way to find out what was going on with Dave was to ask him. But, maybe getting him to stay seated was a greater priority right now.

 _even if I do want to smack you upside the head on a regular basis_

You're hardly the first to say _that_ Darling. At least Hunter had brains enough to keep that comment to himself, even he wasn't 'game' enough to tempt Shawn's anger twice in one day. His lover confessing his feelings for Hunter and the blossoming passion for Dave went straight to Hunter's heart. For Shawn it was so simple. He loved Hunter, yippee, he was falling for Dave, yippee again. Now if Hunter could just stop fucking with their heads they could get to the good bits of a relationship.

 _whatever I did to end up with two of you... I'm sorry_

"I'm not." The remark was instinctive, but Hunter kept talking before he was murdered in front of the sucky-uppy manager. "But..." he held up a hand to forestall any interruptions. "... I _am_ sorry I didn't connect my brain to my mouth before talking. Dave? That's was a really stupid fucking thing for me to say and I'm sorry as hell you took it that way. Yes, I was trying to lighten up this tension between us, instead I made it ten times worse. So..." hoping he wouldn't get slapped, Hunter touched the back of Dave's tensely curled hand with his fingertips. Licking his lips at even that comfortable tingle, Hunt continued, keeping physical contact all the time he spoke.

"...I didn't mean that I don't want to be with you, or that I want to break up. I hope that's real clear, because I'll keep saying it until you believe me. I want this relationship to happen, probably more than you do. I want you, Honey, mentally, physically and as sexually as you'll let me. The problem, and I'm not going to deny there is one, is with me. Egocentric as I know it sounds, it's me that is the 'thing' causing tension between the three of us. My... feelings, my... reactions to being with both you and Shawn... physically. Jesus," Hunt was starting to feel an embarrassed heat coming to his cheekbones. "Basically I'll lay it out for you. The idea of having as much sex with you both in as many ways as I can manage, is an absolute dream come true. I want this relationship, I want you Dave." Directly into Dave's chocolate eyes, "now don't snort and shake your head at me, I _do_! I was about ready to climb into your lap in that plane my dear, talk about first times, you two nearly blew my head off. And as for 'tastes', just you saying that gets me wanting all sorts of things involving a king-size bed with a view and some of Shawn's cuffs. The problem... _my_ problem Dave... is that I got so used to being hands off around you both, particularly you Honey, because I taught myself to touch Shawn as just a friend, that I'm having trouble getting my hands in the same place my heart is." 

What? And people said he was eloquent. Yeah right.  _Just keep going Hunter, maybe they'll fall asleep and then you can just molest them._ Ignoring Vince, Hunt continued as best he could.

"It's like I have a switch that says 'sex with Dave and Shawn allowed' and despite this morning, the plane and now... it's still in the 'off' position. Shawn says he expects me to get a-movin' pretty quick and I will. I just..." Okay, now he was rambling too much. "... Maybe if you could give me another chance? A date tonight after the show? Like we should have done last night. Just the three of us. Candles, wine, what's your favorite food? I'll set it up..." Now he was downright pathetic, but if he could stop Dave from walking he'd do anything and arranging romantic dinners was something he could really go to town on to prove to Dave that he was here for the long hall.

Shawn was almost vibrating, but whether from anger or laughter Hunter wasn't sure He couldn't risk looking, because Dave was going to give him his verdict and still, _still_ Hunter couldn't read what his future would be in Dave's expressionless face.

****

 _"Don't even think about it."_

Shawn's sharp tone caught his attention. It didn't do much to take the edge off the hurt and anger he was feeling at the moment though. He stayed in his seat, but was still sitting on the edge of it, his hands tightly clenched on the table. He could leave, but he had a feeling if he tried, Shawn wouldn't let him get very far without a scene.

 _"And that sounded pretty damned bad, I'll grant you, but it wasn't what it sounded like."_

Ha! Wasn't what it sounded like, huh? There weren't too many ways to interpret Hunter's statement and the only other option right now was to take it literally. How likely was that? Hunter was hardly a shrinking violet and he seemed to have no problem at all being touchy-feely with Shawn, so it was only when it came to him that there was a problem. How else was he supposed to have interpreted it? At least he wasn't the only one that was going to be on the receiving end of Shawn's temper at the moment.

His breath escaped him silently as Shawn sat back down. He hadn't even realized he was holding it, but he'd witnessed Shawn exploding once today and that was quite enough, thank you very much. He listened carefully to what Shawn had to say next and though he'd heard it before it still made him want to smile. He couldn't though, not quite yet. As much as he wanted to give Shawn the chance he was asking for, wanted it more than anything, he wouldn't agree to it until he heard something to convince him that it was what Hunter wanted as well. Despite Shawn's reassurances he wouldn't believe it until he heard it from the horse's mouth so to speak. That almost drew a smile from him. Hunter would not like being compared to a horse at all, even if it were the pretty end of it that Dave wanted to compare him to... at least right now. Earlier he'd have been talking about another part altogether.

He somehow managed not to blush when Shawn brought up what had happened on the plane most likely because he still didn't know what had caused Hunter to run. He'd known that Shawn had enjoyed it... his screaming made that pretty obvious, but it was nice to hear it directly from him. Shawn wanted more of what they'd shared... Dave wanted to give it to him, but it all hinged on... Hunter. Dave turned to look at the man he'd exploded at less than five minutes before. He would give Hunter a chance to explain what he had supposedly 'really meant', but he wasn't as sure as Shawn that he'd change his mind.

 _"God, whatever I did to end up with two of you... I'm sorry."_

At any other time Dave might have laughed about that, but Hunter jumping right into his explanation drew his attention to the other man. That Hunter confirmed Shawn's insistent words about him taking things the wrong way only eased him slightly, enough so that his nails were no longer digging into his palms. Other than that he showed absolutely no change in his bearing or facial expression. Hunter's fingers touching the back of his hand surprised him enough that he almost slipped... it was amazing, the amount of warmth generated in that one spot from such a simple touch.

 _"I want this relationship to happen, probably more than you do."_

Not possible Hunt. He didn't say it, but he sure as hell thought it. The depth with which he wanted this actually scared him. It did calm him that Hunter admitted to wanting it, but that still didn't explain Hunter's reaction earlier or the way he'd pretty much avoided touching Dave throughout the rest of the day, at least in any way that could be considered intimate. The endearment inexplicably increased the heat at the point of contact on his hand and it was winding its way slowly through the rest of his body making him want that touch elsewhere, but he pushed that thought viciously to the side. He couldn't show it... not until they got this whatever-it-was settled.

 _"I want this relationship, I want you Dave."_

He wanted to dispute that. From Hunter's actions so far, Dave couldn't see how that could possibly be true. He was just about to react to it when Hunter cut him off at the pass.

 _"Now don't snort and shake your head at me, I do!"_

Dave almost pulled away in surprise. How the hell did he do that? Obviously he was way too predictable. The way he was reacting to what Hunter was saying was predictable as well. The pictures that flashed through his head involving a king size bed and handcuffs were doing nothing to calm the thoughts swirling around there. As soon as Hunter mentioned his "problem", all those thoughts disappeared and he tried once again to concentrate on what Hunter was trying to say. Dave could understand the hands-off part. Hadn't he himself done the same thing when it came to Hunter? Of course he'd gotten past that pretty damn quick once he'd been given even a hint that his touch would be welcome. Hunter hadn't gotten past it, but he thought he could.

He had a decision to make. Hunter wanted a date. Was it at all weird that they hadn't actually had such a thing when they were already considering this a relationship? Shaking off that irrelevant thought, he considered his options. He could go along with this date and possibly end up having all his dreams come true. Then again, it wasn't guaranteed that this would work out. They still had a million other things to talk about... Stephanie, Vince, and how things would go backstage between all of them, just to mention a few. If he let himself go further with this, get deeper into this relationship and things didn't work out... it would probably just about kill him. But at the same time, how could he not take the chance?

There wasn't really a choice. He had to. If he didn't then he'd be facing 'what ifs' for the rest of his life and that would be worse than any result from taking this chance. Since Shawn and Hunter had both pretty much thrown it all out on the table... that made it his turn. Letting out his breath slowly, he turned his hand over and laced it with Hunter's.

"You pick... as long as it's not linguine. I made enough of a mess with that last night." A slightly embarrassed smile accompanying his confession, he kept eye contact with Hunter. "I'm sorry I blew up earlier. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions but today has just been so... up and down all over the place that I just reacted." Turning to look at Shawn for a moment, he held out his other hand grateful that he hadn't even had to ask before it was accepted.

"I guess that makes it my turn for grand confessions, right?" Dropping his eyes to the table for a moment, he took a deep breath and gathered his courage. Christ, you'd think he was confessing to a murder or something as nervous as he was. He finally released the breath, raised his head, and looked at Hunter first.

"When I first got the chance to start working with you, I was nervous as all hell. I remember pretty much keeping my mouth shut for the first two weeks because I was scared I'd blurt out something stupid. Considering that Ric didn't have the same effect on me, it didn't take me long to figure out why I was so nervous around you all the time. Like I said earlier, I didn't know that you had any interest in guys so I kept my mouth shut. It takes me a long time to actually work up to asking someone out anyway so even if I had known I probably wouldn't have gotten around to asking before I tore my bicep." Dave squeezed Hunter's hand almost without realizing, the muscles in his arm still twitching automatically whenever he thought about the injury.

"Then I sat home for seven months and that might have been enough time but ... I came back five days before you and Steph got married. That buried any idea of asking you out because I tend to like my head where it's at. That didn't stop me from looking though... or wanting. It just stopped me from acting on it. That's why I rebuffed all your gestures... not because I didn't like you but because I liked you too much. We were still together all the time though at work and I got to know you... that just made it harder because I couldn't say anything. So I locked it all up and tossed away the key, but when you admitted what you did about Steph last night it found a way out and snuck up on me while I was sleeping." Turning to Shawn he smiled wryly. "Shawn outed me on that and I won't deny it. I'll have to tell you about that dream sometime. You'll both probably get a kick out of it, but not right now."

There were other things he wasn't quite ready to say right now either. Maybe it was just the place or the time... Maybe tonight when he was sure there wouldn't be prying eyes or someone interrupting then he could actually say the words he wanted to say. Then again... maybe he was just a big damn chicken.

"Shawn... I am going to admit that I've had a crush on you since the first time I saw you on TV. When I actually found out that we were having a match at Armageddon I was so excited and nervous that I didn't sleep for like three days. I was scared to death that I'd actually hurt your back and Hunter would kick my ass for it." Okay... he could stop blushing any time now... really. "After the match was over I was glad I had to wait for Ric to come down and help me up because... it probably wouldn't have been a good idea for me to stand up right then. I was mad at myself for reacting that way because it's not really professional, yet at the same time I couldn't exactly help it." Nope he wasn't going to be a normal shade in the near future... not after that confession.

"The more we worked together... the longer we were around each other... I wanted to say something, but I kept talking myself out of it. I figured you had so many people that would be willing to go out with you that there was no way you'd be interested. Plus there was that whole star-struck thing that got in the way until I really got to know you. After that I found all kinds of excuses not to put myself on the line because I was convinced you'd turn me down. Last night I finally convinced myself that I'd never know unless I tried. Things didn't quite work out the way I had planned... obviously, but I have to say despite all the ups and downs I'm really glad that I asked. The last twenty-four hours have included some of the most frustrating moments ever... how I managed to keep my promise to you I have no clue at all, but at the same time they've been some of the best ever too. On... on the plane... I wanted you both to be there because it just felt... right."

Looking back and forth between them he smiled. "I know that I've been all over the place since Shawn suggested this, but I really want this to work. It may take me a little while to get used to being so open around the rest of your friends though so I'll have to make sure whatever I'm wearing doesn't clash with the color red."

****

Adam was really starting to get curious. The two men in the backseat were as far apart as space would allow so obviously things were not all fine and dandy. He couldn't think of anything that Jay wouldn't talk to him about, yet Jay hadn't said a single word about what was going on. Although to be honest, they really hadn't had a chance to talk since last night. He'd definitely be cornering him sometime tonight to find out what was going on.

Since he was driving, he let Chris fiddle with finding something on the radio. He could at least count on not having to listen to Jay's favorites. Much as he loved Jay, the man's taste in music was just... horrid. As he settled into the right lane on the highway, he felt Chris' hand drop on his thigh and just managed to avoid jerking the wheel. He eyeballed Chris who seemed to be getting comfortable and let out a breath. Having an accident because Chris decided to feel him up would definitely register on his scale of not-so-good things even if the feeling up part registered very high on the scale of most excellent things.

 _"Wake me when we get there Babe, would you?"_

He nodded though he doubted Chris was aware of it. The man could sleep anywhere and sleep was what he did for the next hour. Adam spent that time cursing insane drivers underneath his breath, watching the progression of Jay's body until he slumped over and ended up using Ty's knee as a pillow, and of course looking at Chris. At least if he couldn't sleep he had pretty scenery and he didn't mean the view outside the car window.

Catching Chris' yawn as he woke up, Adam fixed his gaze decidedly on the road in front of him. No need to let Chris know that he'd been watching him sleep. That just smacked of deep emotion and it wasn't the time to reveal that much. Feeling the kiss on his cheek, he smiled. Too cute. Of course what Chris did next would not be termed cute but was most definitely welcome.

 _"I'm not distracting you am I?"_

Distracting? Yes. Enough to complain about it? Hell no.

"Maybe a bit, but not enough that I'll end up parking the car in the hotel lobby," he said with a grin. "I'm fine for the rest of the way since I have you to... keep me awake now." His neck was still tingling from where Chris' mouth had touched it. He really liked this in-between stuff almost as much as he liked being buried inside Chris or alternatively having Chris buried inside him. Though only almost. It would have to do until they had a chance to be alone again and unfortunately it was looking like it'd be awhile before that happened.

Trying to ignore the hand still laying warm on his thigh, he efficiently passed a couple of cars before he spoke. "So... any clue yet on what's up with the sleeping beauties?"

****

CJ nuzzled his face happily into Adam's neck; it was an awkward stretch across the console between the seats, but he managed. Actually it felt good to pull out the kinks he'd built up in his spine from the not exactly ergo-dynamic car seat. While he had the blessed ability to be able to both sleep and read in just about any circumstance, he still suffered the aftershocks of his abnormal sleeping arrangements. See leg cramp and back twinge for examples. He'd just have to make sure the next place he slept was horizontal, warm and preferably called Adam.

Chris had meant to tease his lover with the nip to the ear, but he wasn't about to cause an accident by being a damn fool and mess around with the man who held their lives in his hands. Despite his own reckless behaviour, Chris would never risk killing someone just because he was feeling horny. They always had red lights anyway. Traffic was getting a bit nasty too, so Chris settled on the nuzzling, kept his hand away from any X-rated areas, hey thighs don't count!, and focused on Adam's words rather than his delicious neck.

 _So.. .any clue yet on what's up with the sleeping beauties?_

"Hmmmph... maybe," because he wasn't sure, but could guess some of it at least. Bunking with Jay meant he'd seen the other man's personal items often enough to recognised the pain-killers and muscle relaxants when he saw them. Not just the regular 'I get tossed around for a living' pills that were par for the course with this job. But the powerful ones with occasional side-effects that you needed a real doctor for, not just a 'medical professional', as JR liked to call them. "His back's not healing quick enough for our Mr. Reso's liking. He's been pushing it at the gym and I think Bunnykins must have read him the riot act about it. That would explain the huff we are all enduring, but I have no idea why he's so hell bent on getting better _right now_. We all know it just makes it worse in the long run."

Chris knew he couldn't really talk much on the subject. His own remarkable injury-free career was the both the best card he'd ever been dealt and an occasional pain in the ass. Resentment he could handle, CJ was sure no-one genuinely wanted him hurt, but even he could appreciate trying to recover from a career worrying trauma and then seeing "I'm fine how are you?" Mr. Jericho at work every day. It would be...irritating. Fortunately he'd never felt that vibe from Adam for even a moment. Not that he'd blame the guy, it was just nice to have someone think his lucky run was good sense rather then just good fortune.

Thinking of injuries, Chris leaned his head gently against Adam's shoulder and let his eyes wander to the back of his lover's neck. He'd seen the scar last night. Just a small one, nothing to mar the beautiful silky skin, but a small mark nonetheless. Maybe it was a good idea he'd offered to talk to the also injury-less Tyson, rather than Jay. Hard to say 'I understand' when, really, you don't.

Shifting again as they entered the city proper, Chris sat up and stretched the last of those kinks out of his own back. Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs and taking a sip of Gatorade to wake him up completely, CJ leered at Adam when the blond stopped at the next red light.

"So..." walking his fingers down towards Adam's knee. "... we sharing a room tonight handsome? I don't know if Shelton would survive another round of me room hopping in the morning."


	32. Plans

_"Sir...please cast your vote."_

Grinning broadly at his lover's antics, Kevin brought a hand up to his chin, pretending to think deeply about the topic... while taking a surreptitious look at the people around him, particularly at the three they'd been quietly not-discussing just minutes earlier. Shawn was laughing, as expected; the man had a passing acquaintance with shame at best. Hunter was practically ignoring it, but then, he had a lot to think about, judging from the body language between him and Shawn a few minutes ago. Dave... well. The poor guy was trying to equal Glen in the "who can imitate a fire truck better" contest, but then, he'd never had this sort of exposure to them before. Things were still incredibly tense between those three, but after watching Hunter and Shawn, Kevin had faith that they would work it out.

Well... as long as Hunter managed to avoid the foot-in-mouth problem that he'd always seemed to suffer from outside the ring. Of course, if that happened, Shawn would probably fix it... after tearing him a new one.

Kevin finally shrugged as he turned back to Scott, raising his hands in a dramatic pose.

"I'm sorry, but I think... it's a tie!" Looking at Sean, who was still being muffled by a flustered Big Red Machine, he smirked. "Looks like we might have to have a sound-off to break it... but not today. Maybe on our next flight." Standing up, pleasantly surprised when his knees didn't complain at the movement, he grabbed their carry-on bags and wrapped an arm around Scott's shoulders, pulling him out of the way as Shawn led the others off the plane.

"I think..." Letting his voice trail off as he leaned in closer to Scott's ear, he said, "... that you are a _very_ bad guy, Scott Hall. That was an awful thing to do to Dave. Maybe when we get home, it'll be _your_ turn to enjoy our room, hmm?" Looking at his lover with a straight face, only the twinkle in his eye giving him away, he let his hand slip down to Scott's ass, pinching it firmly before pushing him up the aisle.

"I think we've earned ourselves some time away from the madhouse, don't you?" he said in a louder tone as they passed Sean and Glen on the tarmac.

The hotel was fairly close by, so the car ride was short... which was a good thing. His ass was starting to get sore again, probably from all the sitting aggravating the marks that were still there; and Scott was giving him The Look---the one that promised definite payback. He couldn't keep from tangling his fingers in the dark curls that just begged to be played with---the little shivers that that gave Scott was just icing on the cake. He knew he was making things worse for himself when they _were_ finally alone... but he couldn't resist. He'd been so out of control all day, so lost, that he found himself trying to reclaim his normal attitude by acting like his normal obnoxious self.

Letting Scott deal with the front desk clerk at the hotel while he got their luggage in, he was a little surprised to see a familiar face, although since it was the day for a Smackdown taping, he really shouldn't have been. Waving at Mark as he carried their bags to the elevator to wait for Scott, he nodded at the Dead Man as he joined him.

"What's up, Mark? It's been a while," Kev greeted him. He and Mark had been friends for years, and although the period of time after the breakup between Calaway and Shawn had been strained, they'd never lost it. Mark shrugged, looking tired.

"Not much. I've got that stupid shit with Heyman tonight... other than that, pretty much the same old thing." He paused, raising a curious eyebrow at Kevin. "Why in the hell did Vince make you two come over here? Is there some surprise change in the works or something?"

"Not that I know of... but that doesn't mean much. You know how Vince likes to keep his ideas to himself." Kevin's voice was wry, thinking of previous experiences with that sort of "surprise", usually sprung moments before hitting the ring. Mark snorted and nodded in understanding.

"Been there, done that. What're your plans for tonight?"

Kevin was prevented from answering as Scott joined them, holding out a keycard to him. He took it, suddenly wondering just how Mark would react to the new dynamics between Shawn, Hunter and Dave. The Dead Man might have been the one to break things off between them, but Kev suspected he'd never really gotten over Shawn. He'd had his occasional flings since then, but nothing serious... and he'd always been a little protective of his ex-lover when Shawn had been around backstage.

Well, now. This could be interesting. Trying to keep his thoughts off his face, he smiled at Scott. "Mark was just wondering what we were gonna be up to after the show tonight, Scotty. Any ideas?"

He kept his voice noncommittal; Mark had known about them for years and he was a pretty good friend... but Kev wasn't sure how sociable he'd be feeling by the time the taping was done. In fact, he suspected that he'd be feeling more like dragging Scott back to the hotel by then... but if Scott wanted to visit, he wasn't about to say no. Scotty had complained about missing his friends, and Mark was someone that they'd usually spent a lot of time around. So... shrugging mentally, he left the choice up to his lover.

****

Adam sighed over Chris' suppositions about Jay. He knew that Jay wasn't due back until some time in August at the earliest. Jay shouldn't even be on the road but resting at home instead. Adam had asked him several times why he wasn't taking it easy and resting his back, but Jay brushed it off every time he'd asked. If anyone knew about how aggravating it was sitting at home waiting for injuries to heal... it sure as hell would be him. He'd missed everything... his friends, the work, the sucky food in catering, and he'd even missed the traveling, believe it or not. Jay had stopped in as often as possible and others had too including Chris. It hadn't made it any easier. The whole mess with Terry had just increased his anger, frustration, and desire to get back to work as soon as possible.

Jay had only been out since early May and had been told he would probably be back within three months. Yeah it sucked, but that didn't explain the reason he felt it necessary to stay on the road all the time. Ty would have gone to Jay's on all his off days; Adam could almost guarantee it. In the short time the two of them had been together they'd stuck to each other like glue. So it couldn't be missing Ty that would keep him here... or could it? Jay had been his sounding board while he was out. He'd had to listen to all of Adam's whining and bitching about what Terry had done... for months. Jay had been there when he'd first sworn never to date anyone in the company again because it was too hard to trust they'd be there for you if you got put on the shelf. Still...just last night Jay had convinced him that not everyone was like that... that Chris wasn't like that. Surely Jay wouldn't suspect that Ty of all people would... nah, no way. That just couldn't be it. He'd have to corner Jay later and find out what was up. Groundless suspicions would get him nowhere at all.

The weight of Chris' head against his shoulder was nice. He could really get used to all this casual touching as long as they were careful to keep it out of the public eye. That really wouldn't go over well with the boss. Although he personally couldn't care less who knew about he and Chris, he wouldn't take the chance of hurting Chris' career. When the weight was suddenly gone, he turned to look at his companion, watching appreciatively as he stretched out all the kinks from sleeping and sitting in the semi-comfortable car seats. They could have been worse, though not by much.

Feeling the fingers walking not-so-stealthily down his leg when they stopped at a red light, Adam turned to find Chris looking at him and damn... the way he was looking at him had an immediate effect. Grinning, he knew that all he had to do was _look_ at Chris and he'd have suffered the same results.

 _"I don't know if Shelton would survive another round of me room hopping in the morning."_

Adam laughed loudly then slapped a hand over his mouth so as not to wake the other two in the back. Smiling indulgently he acted as if he were actually considering another option.

"That was pretty damn funny. Maybe I should have a video camera ready next time to record the reactions." He said winking at Chris. "I suppose for the safety of the rest of the roster and innocent bystanders I should keep you locked in the room until you are fully clothed. We wouldn't want anyone tripping and giving themselves a concussion or anything like that."

Turning back to the road as the light changed, Adam decided maybe it was time to get back a little of his own. He wasn't taking needless chances. After all, he was going to keep one hand on the wheel and both eyes on the road so if his other hand happened to go wandering...

Letting his right hand drop from the wheel onto Chris' thigh, he grinned wickedly. "Whoops. Now where did that gear shifter go?" He might even have gotten away with it... if the car hadn't been an automatic.

****  
   
 _"Maybe when we get home, it'll be your turn to enjoy our room, hmm?"_

As if that hadn't been his plan all along. Just thinking about their room was enough to kick the slow simmer up a notch. It had been way, way too long. The subtle pinch didn't do much for his composure either, but he did manage to make it down the aisle without a noticeable limp. Maybe it had been a bit much, but it had also helped in pointing out that they weren't going to treat what had happened with Shawn, Hunter, and Dave any differently than what had happened with Glen and Sean. If Dave was with Shawn and Hunter then he was already a part of the family as far as Scott was concerned and should be treated as such. Wouldn't it be worse if they coddled him and then later exposed him to the way they actually behaved? Better to start off as you intended and all that.

Scott wasn't about to argue against more alone time with Kevin. He wasn't stupid after all. After making the arrangements with the others to meet them later, they headed to the hotel. He definitely owed Kev for that little pinch, though he wouldn't be targeting the same spot that Kevin had. That would definitely hurt and that wasn't on the agenda for right now. There were other things he could do that would be just as effective though and he definitely planned on giving Kevin back a little of his own. The fingers tangling in his hair weren't really a surprise... Kevin liked pushing his luck... but they did draw the expected response, subtle shivers dancing through his frame. This little game of theirs was adding kindling to the embers which would eventually fuel a full-out blaze when they found themselves alone tonight... guaranteed.

Kevin wandered off as Scott headed for the desk. Oh the joys of checking in. The girl at the desk gawked at him for a moment and he wondered for just a moment if Kevin had done that big of a number on his hair, but those were the breaks. He figured out exactly what her problem was a moment later... though it should have been obvious.

"You... you're Scott Hall." Way to state the obvious there, chica. Obviously a wrestling fan.

"That's what it says on my driver's license." It might have come out sounding snarky if not for the smile that accompanied it. "Think you can check me in?"

After enduring a dozen or so sighs and shy smiles, he finally found himself in possession of two room keys that the girl was happy enough to trade him for an autograph. 'If you only knew, darlin', he thought to himself with a smile as he walked off to join Kevin. Actually if she really knew she'd probably have passed out on the floor. That invoked an even bigger smile.

Turning around, he looked for Kevin and spotted him with a familiar figure. Damn, he hadn't seen Mark in so long... the last time he remembered was around the time he'd been 'let go.' It would be nice having a chance to catch up. His smile still firmly in place, he approached the two, Kevin's keycard in his hand.

 _"Mark was just wondering what we were gonna be up to after the show tonight, Scotty. Any ideas?"_

Hmm. Ideas? He had tons of ideas, very few of them involving the Dead Man. Not that he wasn't interested in talking to him, but Scott wasn't so sure that Kevin would be up for a night out. "Nothing that I know of, but we did have a late night last night, so it depends on if Kevin lets me catch a nap or not," he said, smiling at Kevin. Kevin would more than likely figure out what he was doing and play along accordingly. He wasn't really tired, but Mark didn't know that. "Maybe we can catch a late supper or something, but we'll have to get back to you on that, if that's okay?"

That left their options open. If Kevin felt up to going out for a bit they would, if not then Scott could plead tired and no one would know the difference. He was kind of interested though in how Mark was going to react if things worked out between Shawn, Dave, and Hunter. Despite the long fling he'd had with Copeland, Scott had a feeling that it had never been serious and he was curious if Mark was still hung up on Shawn. Even if he was, Scott couldn't see him trying to cause trouble or anything, but Mark might need someone to talk to.

As they entered the elevator, Scott wrapped his arm around Kevin's waist, careful not to touch below the belt. Having Kevin flinch in front of Mark would not be a good thing... Mark was way too intuitive and Scott had already embarrassed Kevin once today, he wasn't about to do so again in front of one of their friends. Noticing that Mark had shown up by himself, Scott let his nosy/curious side come to the fore again.

"So... rooming alone tonight Mark?" Not that Mark having a roommate necessarily meant anything, but most of the guys found one to help cut the costs on the road. Mark's response might just enlighten him as to the Dead Man's current fling, it all depended on how Mark reacted to his question.

****

 _"...all sorts of things involving a king-size bed with a view and some of Shawn's cuffs."_

Listening almost bemusedly to Hunter's verbal outpouring, Shawn couldn't help but raise a curious eyebrow even as he smiled. First of all, why was it an automatic assumption that they'd be _his_ cuffs, and secondly, what better view could you ask for than the two men he was looking at? Hunter would have to get a personal introduction to the cuffs he'd so casually mentioned, Shawn resolved, and possibly some other things... later on, of course. But the man would definitely have to get the point that he shouldn't take things for granted.

Not, Shawn mused as he watched Dave struggle to remain expressionless, that _that_ would be a hard lesson to learn, after the series of debacles the three of them had experienced over the last day. Hopefully this would be the last one; Shawn really didn't want to have to lock them into a room by themselves just to tell each other that they were upset about something. At least it looked like they were finally getting somewhere. The spate of honesty was definitely helping, and Hunter _finally_ getting to the point and telling Dave how he felt---well, mostly---was incredibly a Good Thing.

 _"Just the three of us."_

Shawn hadn't been able to fully pull his mind away from the bed and the handcuffs, and hearing that from Hunter... he bit his lip to keep from laughing, although he knew that Hunter could probably feel him shaking with it. God, what he wouldn't do for a nice long evening of "just the three of them". Too bad it probably wouldn't happen tonight... maybe tomorrow night. Hopefully. He deeply suspected that this afternoon and the shoot tonight was going to send him screaming around the bend in frustration. He'd achieved some satisfaction not that long ago---and how!---but he was almost aching to see his two lovers naked... together... touching... touchable... tastable...

A quiet noise escaped him and he bit his lip. This was definitely not the time for fantasies, no matter how tempting these two were. They still had the rest of the day to get through... and god only knew how tonight was going to go. He'd definitely have to have a word with Dave later about helping with his little "teach Hunter to touch" project, though. If nothing else, sleeping in the same bed would help with that little problem.

Watching Dave slowly start to open up, seeing the easing of the tension in those broad shoulders when he laced his fingers together with Hunter's... Shawn was almost reaching for Dave's hand again even as Dave reached for him. Clasping their fingers together sent a tingle down his spine, and he wondered just how those fingers would feel other places. Shaking his head a little at himself, his lips quirked. No matter how serious it was, he just couldn't _not_ think that way. He'd acquired the _interesting_ reputation that he had now pretty honestly, after all, and he'd never been ashamed of his appetites. He wasn't going to be now, either... but it made it damned hard to concentrate sometimes.

 _"I'll have to tell you about that dream sometime."_

Nodding as he remembered the effects that dream had had on the big man, the tone of voice as he'd moaned their names... he made a note to remind Dave later on when they were alone about that. His smile softened as Dave admitted his crush, and his reaction to being in the ring with him. Not only was it sweet, it was telling that Dave was saying this now, and that he was willing to admit just how long he'd felt _something_ for both him and Hunter. Shawn could feel his hopes rising as they sat there, and realised that he was convinced this would work. If it didn't work... it would probably break his heart.

 _"...I wanted you both to be there because it just felt... right."_

God, did it. The circuit they were in now, all their hands entwined... it gave Shawn chills. It felt so right, so perfect. He never wanted it to end, and he didn't want it to change.

 _"...so I'll have to make sure whatever I'm wearing doesn't clash with the color red."_

Rubbing his thumb gently over Dave's hand, Shawn looked directly at him.

"That might take a while... or it might not. Earlier was... pretty normal, for us. But don't get me wrong---it's not a Clique orgy every time we're together. In fact, although I've been with Scott and Kevin and was for quite a while, I'm not sure if there've been any other... encounters between the rest of us. I've never been with Sean; he's too much like a little brother to me... and you know I haven't been with Hunter." He paused to cast a gentle look at his long-time friend, squeezing his hand a little. Maybe this wasn't the best time to bring up past relationships, but he really wanted any possible misunderstandings about the Clique cleared away right at the beginning. "Things like that aren't expected, and they aren't demanded, Dave. We've never been one big happy sexual group, although we've never been shy about doing things in front of the others, either. Everyone on that plane... except maybe for Ric, and I wouldn't swear to that... everyone there but you had seen or heard me like that before."

Pausing to draw in a slow breath, he met Dave's eyes as he continued, "I have quite a reputation backstage, Dave. It's fully deserved, and I earned every bit of it, good and bad. Some things may be exaggerated, and some things are out and out lies, but for anything that's been blown up in the telling, some other story doesn't do the truth justice; and for every lie there are three facts that just didn't get made public. I'm not proud of everything I've done... but I am not ashamed of anything I've done with the Clique. I love them too much to be."

He would've said more, hoping that Dave understood what he was trying to say, but the arrival of the waiter with their food broke the moment. Ignoring the almost-smirk on the man's face, he slowly withdrew his fingers from the other two, wondering if they were ever going to have a meal where hand-holding didn't have to stop for the eating part of it.

Feeling a little subdued, his unexpected confessions having surprised himself, he dug into his chicken salad, eating quickly but calmly. He very much wanted to get to the hotel. They wouldn't have too long before they had to be at the arena, but he suspected they all had a few more things to say that they just didn't want to say in public... no matter how secluded the table was.

And that reminded him...

"Hunt? Dave?" He took a sip of his water as he waited for their attention. "Did we want to change our reservations for tonight? I don't know about you two, but I'd feel kind of silly paying for three rooms if we're only going to use one. Bad enough that Dave wasted his money last night without more of us doing so tonight." He smiled a little at the surprised expressions. "Because regardless of anything else, I'll be damned if I'm sleeping alone tonight... or if any of us are."

****

Glancing out the window, Chris saw they were almost at the hotel. They had plenty of time to check in and find a gym before heading to the arena tonight. Maybe even a chance to have that conversation with Bunnykins. Not that CJ thought himself a master of advice giving, his own private life generally sucked beyond the telling of it. But he’d learned a few tricks over the past few years about dealing with Jay and his issues, not from a romantic aspect of course, no god help him, but maybe as an outsider he could help.

A bit.

Probably make it worse.

But he’d give it a try. Why he suspected the issue was Jay’s only, he’d have to consider. Just because Reso tended to live life on an emotional roller-coaster didn’t mean he had to be the one with the ‘thing’, did it? Ty had the whole strong but silent thing going and Chris was sure that would drive _him_ batshit in a week, let alone the irrepressible Jason. He suspected it might be a general lack of communication going on, which was odd for Jay, but you never know how an injury will affect someone. If he wasn’t talking and Ty was being Mr. Quiet and Brooding, then they were probably at an impasse that two interfering blonds might be able to break. He was glad this ‘something’ with Adam was so new, eighteen hours to be exact, that they were enjoying the honeymoon time without the drama. Adam and Chris generally got on brilliantly in any case, as long as the sexin’ didn’t mess that up, they’d be fine. Unlike Ty, Adam kept himself to himself most days, but CJ could still get better than monosyllabic replies on most occasions.

The reciprocal hand on his leg bought Chris’ thoughts back from the relationship of two other men, and focused it quite directly on his own.

 _Whoops. Now where did that gear shifter go?_

Chris just managed to stop the words, "I got your gear stick right here Baby!" from being spoken by his shameless lips. While he sincerely doubted Adam had actually been feeling for the gear stick, being a brazen hussy about it might be going a bit far. Not that he hadn't been doing the teasing thing himself every chance he got, just that he did know where the line was. Sure, he usually said 'line what line?' and jumped into everything feet first, nevertheless, Adam was teasing _him_ now and CJ would enjoy the moment without being completely crude about it.

Shifting a little so his back was almost against the passenger door, Chris thought briefly about Adam’s video camera comment. While it was certainly a compliment, the idea of people tripping over if they saw him naked wasn’t true in the slightest. His ego wasn’t actually _that_ big, despite appearances to the contrary. There were plenty of gorgeous half-naked bodies around the WWE, a beautiful example of one being right here in front of him. Adam had such an eye-catching handsomeness about him that Chris was inclined to lock _him_ in a room so no-one would get to see too much skin. At least they both worked in tights rather than trunks. CJ knew his lust factor would be driven to new heights if he’d had to see Adam’s long bare legs on show for everyone, it was bad enough when he wore just the coat over that smooth golden chest.

Turning his face from the sunlit window, Chris pushed his sunglasses into his hair and raised a saucy eyebrow at the hand on his thigh. His own fingers had traveled up Adam’s arm and lay lightly on one muscled shoulder. Canting one knee up half onto the seat, he watched as Adam’s palm was shifted inwards by his movement. Okay… so he was a hussy after all. 

“Hmmm yeah. Those gear sticks can be murder to find on these funky-new automatic cars. But you’re getting a lot hotter there Adam, just a little to the right and you’ll be dead on.”

Asking your driver to feel you up while doing 60 wasn’t a terribly great idea. But the food and Chris’ nap had done wonders for his flagging libido. He certainly couldn’t go another three rounds anytime soon, but a bit of harmless groping never hurt anyone. 

“You want to wake up Bill and Ted or should I do it?” Chris couldn’t keep the evil tone out of his voice. He loved to wake up peacefully sleeping people as viciously as possible. He copped it back in good grace and Ty was deserving of revenge after the unoriginal but effective ‘fingers in the ice’ trick from last week. “Please can I? Please? Please?”

****

Hunter had been short of breath before. On one memorable occasion he’d been unable to take in enough air after a spectacular match and almost collapsed a lung. The tight constricting bands on his chest hadn’t just made it _difficult_ to inhale, it had been _impossible_. This was almost like that. Hunter could breathe if he wanted to, but he had a definite ‘heart in the throat’ thing going as he watched Dave consider his reply to Hunter’s almost maniacal explanation of his feelings. Imprecise and scattered would have been the terms he’d use to describe what he’d said, but hey, emotions were like that, they didn’t make _sense_ , that’s why they were feelings.

 _You pick.. .as long as it's not linguine. I made enough of a mess with that last night._

Blink.

Okay… that sounded good.

Hunter let out his breath before he turned blue, giving Dave a cautious once over. The closed, hard face had relaxed and that awful anger and tension from earlier was gone by the wayside. Although still slightly flushed, Dave’s fingers had turned to grasp Hunt’s own and the grip was firm rather than crushing like he’d half expected. _Looks like you just bought yourself a second chance Champ._ Right now his ‘conscience that sounded like Vince’ could berate Hunter all he liked, as long as the relief coursing through him wasn’t misplaced. He’d been on tenterhooks about Dave’s reaction, since his abrupt departure from their kiss on the plane. Now at least he’d had some kind of answer. Also the sunglasses were gone and Hunter could get some clue as to his friend’s responses from those bruised eyes.

While listening to Dave’s remarkable confession, Hunter began planning in his mind their ‘date’. Had it really been that long since he’d had the chance to go all out to impress someone? To lead his beloved or in this wonderful case his _beloved **s**_ , into an expensive restaurant? To order fine wine, good food, no linguine check, and just be together? It had been a while certainly, but Hunter knew a good time when he arranged it, and Greg was a marvel of information about any city the WWE happened to land in, so he had help right there.

This was going to be his chance to prove to Shawn and more particularly Dave, that he was serious about them as a... a… _threesome... get it out Hunter, you can think it at least can’t you?_ Maybe trio? It didn’t matter, he was committed to this and he’d show them his intentions were, while hardly honorable, at least respectable.

Dave’s words grabbed Hunter’s attention like he’d been slapped. Dave had been _nervous_ , around _Hunter_? No way in hell would he have guessed that. Talk about playing Mr. Cool there Dave. It seemed like Hunt wasn’t the only one who’d made an art form of suppressing his inclinations. He honestly hadn’t had a clue that Dave saw him as attractive, by his actions Hunter may as well have been a ring-post for all the attention he got from Dave. No… that wasn’t strictly true. Dave was a good friend, a stand up guy who’d had Hunter’s back from the word go, both in character and in the locker room. But yes, their friendship had cooled somewhat after Dave returned from that shitty injury. Hunter remembered that time with a great sense of loss but also, weirdly, pleasure.

Steph was… entirely not appropriate for this discussion.

Dream? What dream? Hunter’s curiosity piqued like a cat’s, then he smiled as Dave spoke of his crush on Shawn. Looks like his Heartbreaker had snagged himself a hell of a catch in this one. Dave just flat out adored the blond and Hunt didn’t blame him in the slightest. Shawn was the reason they were both here after all. His determination to have his two idiots, despite themselves, was unbreakable and Hunt would send up a few Hail Marys to any god that would listen for giving him Shawn back after he’d almost wrecked everything.

 _because it just felt... right_

 

It had indeed, so very right that Hunter had been almost lost to the pleasure he was touching through both Dave and Shawn. Near perfect, up until the moment Hunter panicked and it had all gone pear-shaped.

As Shawn calmly explained how the Clique behaved around each other, Hunter returned the small hand-squeeze sent his way. They hadn’t been together in any way and Hunter hadn’t ever had an ‘encounter’ witnessed by their friends. Not that he cared if he was watched or not, Hunt tended to lose awareness of those around him, focusing instead on his partner’s pleasure and his own, rather than that of any audience. It must come for years of performing publicly, people looking at him and their reactions barely registered on Hunt’s radar these days.

He’d have to add his voice to Shawn’s as they reassured Dave. The Clique were his family and they were whatever Hunt and Shawn wanted them to be. Friends, lovers, audience, confidants, brothers, nothing was set in stone, no rules Dave had to abide by to keep their favour. If the big man was uncomfortable being intimate around the others, then they wouldn’t be. It wasn’t even an issue as far as Hunter was concerned. Getting to the intimate was _his_ stumbling block.

“Thanks Dave, “ he said softly, hoping he conveyed through his hand and his eyes the depth of his gratitude for his second chance. “It’ll be a night to remember I promise you both.” With that vow in mind, Hunter wondered if he could get a violinist to serenade them. Vince would have a fit if it hit the gossip sheets, but they could always brush it off as a practical joke or part of a storyline. They’d done worse and got away with it.

 _I'll be damned if I'm sleeping alone tonight... or if any of us are._

Thinking of the sad, lonely bed he’d occupied last night, Hunt felt a hot, fierce desire to never sleep alone like that again. “I second that ‘I’ll be damned’,” he chimed in while inspecting a sun dried tomato on his fork. “It’ll take a moment to call Greg and have him change our booking,” realizing that might come off as bossy, he glanced at the two other men. “If that’s okay with you?”

****

Shawn had been with Kevin and Scott. That explained why he was seemingly so comfortable with the idea of the three of them together. Dave wondered briefly why Shawn had left that particular trio, but considering what he'd seen of Scott and Kevin earlier he thought he could probably guess. Constantly being on the fringes of the seemingly perfect thing that the two men had going and not being a part of that would have to be difficult. He could tell that both Kevin and Scott loved Shawn as well, but it wasn't the same all consuming thing that surrounded the pair. That made him consider his own situation for a moment. Shawn and Hunter had loved each other for a hell of a long time. Would he be facing the same situation that Shawn had with Kevin and Scott? Maybe, but even if it turned out that way, he'd still want to be a part of this. Considering the depth of his own feelings, he really didn't have a choice... he had to give it a shot.

It didn't really bother him at all that Shawn had a reputation, even if Shawn admitted to earning it. The past was the past after all and you couldn't change anything about it. His own past wasn't sterling either... some of the antics he'd gotten up to in OVW were interesting to say the least, though he and his partners had kept things on the down low. He couldn't fault Shawn because the man lost his head in the fog of passion sometimes and didn't notice if he had an audience or not... after all Dave had been a part of just such an occurrence earlier that day, hadn't he? Knowing that it hadn't been out of the ordinary for that group did help and it also cleared up the subject of "touching" at least in front of the rest of the Clique... but what about the rest of the backstage population? That was something they were going to have to talk about _before_ they went to the arena.

Catching Hunter's thanks, he smiled at the other man. Dave had a feeling that tonight was going to memorable and extremely interesting no matter what actually happened. That feeling increased when Shawn brought up the rooming arrangements. Hard decision there... sleep in a room all by himself or share a room with Hunter and Shawn? That was probably one of the easiest decisions that he'd end up making regarding this relationship.

 _"If that’s okay with you?"_

Surprised that Hunter didn't have the phone to his ear already, Dave smirked at him as he poked his fork into a piece of grilled swordfish. "You want me to dial that for you?" he said, pointing his knife in the direction of Hunter's cell phone.

Deciding that he should at least acknowledge what Shawn had told him, Dave looked his way as he took a sip of water. "Shawn, I knew all about your reputation before I asked you out and I still asked. I'd rather make my own decisions about someone than go by what people say. Deserved or not... it doesn't bother me. It's not like I'm lily-white myself. The only reason you haven't heard anything is because my playmates were more often than not the extremely quiet type when it came to that kind of thing." Dave shrugged and took another sip of his water. "I think the reason I've been reacting the way I have has a lot to do with how unsettled things really were between us. Once we've passed the brand-new stage, I most likely won't give a second thought to what we do or where we do it. That brings me to something else I think we should talk about now... before we go to the arena."

Turning to look at Hunter, he fidgeted with his fork for a moment. How exactly did one ask if one's wife would mind there being talk about that person backstage? "I know you haven't talked to Stephanie yet, but what do you think she's going to say about... us? Are we going to need to keep this quiet backstage so that Vince doesn't find out about it? I understand if that's the case, but I'd like to know either way before we get there so I know how to handle things."

Dave could help but grin. Handle things... like Hunter. They were back to that whole hands-on/hands-off issue. Maybe this wasn't the perfect time to bring it up with Hunter already having issues with it, but it was better if they knew now before things got out of hand and caused even bigger issues. Knowing Shawn... and if he were honest himself as well... neither one of them would think twice about touching Hunter now that they had a green light. If it were going to be a problem... like causing Vince to have a coronary... then they needed to be aware of that.

****

This was pathetic, standing here in front of the elevator, staring at it like it was the gate to hell...

Just because he didn't have anyone waiting for him, did he have to act like a damned coward? Letting out a breath almost in a sigh, he pressed the "up" button, shouldering his bag. A wave from across the lobby caught his attention, and his eyes widened for an instant when he saw a familiar face. What the hell was he doing here? And if he was here, then... glancing over to the front desk, he nodded slightly. Yep. They were never far apart, after all. At least, not normally.

 _"What's up, Mark? It's been a while."_

Smiling at the blond, Mark nodded. It was good to see Kevin again; they'd been friends for so long that he couldn't remember where they'd actually met, and it was better to see Scott with him. He hadn't spoken to either of the Outsiders often over the last few years, but he'd kept in touch and was aware of the problems that had arisen. He'd hoped that they'd work through them; of all the relationships he'd seen over the years, theirs was probably the only one that had held together through all the shit they'd been through. It was definitely the only one he'd seen that had that _spark_ to it. At one point, he'd thought that maybe he'd found his own spark.

Pulling his thoughts away from that path before they could get any darker, he answered Kevin, suddenly wondering why exactly they were here.

"Not much. I've got that stupid shit with Heyman tonight... other than that, pretty much the same old thing."

God... Heyman. He'd love to choke that fat little bastard until he turned purple... but with the creative control Paul had right now, that would probably be a bad thing to do. His gimmick was already turning to shit because of the prick. Hopefully this angle wouldn't last much longer and he could move on... not like there was all that much time left in his career, after all, and he'd like to go out with a bang, not with a whimper. No quietly passing away into the night for the Undertaker; no way in hell.

Raising an eyebrow at Kevin, he asked curiously, "Why in the hell did Vince make you two come over here? Is there some surprise change in the works or something?"

That'd be just like Vince, too. Bring the Outsiders back and surprise everybody by putting them in a huge tag match or something. Not that there was all that much time left before the pay-per-view... in fact, if anything was going to happen before Bad Blood, it'd have to be during taping tonight, since nothing out of the ordinary had happened last night. Hmm. That was an intriguing thought, to say the least. They still weren't overlapping much between shows, but maybe that would change. Snorting at Kevin's half-disgusted tone of voice, he nodded in understanding. Vince _loved_ to pull last-minute shit with his people. If something was going to get changed, no one would know but him until he did it.

"Been there, done that. What're your plans for tonight?"

Maybe not so surprisingly, he found himself almost hoping that the two would want some company for a while. He could use somebody to talk to... but at the same time, he really didn't want to spend hours whining at these two about how lonely and miserable he was. They both knew what had happened between him and Shawn, and whose fault it had been... and it hadn't been the Heartbreaker's.

Kevin's sudden smile told Mark before he even turned around that Scott was approaching. It was nice to see that some things just didn't change. Watching these two had always made him smile.

 _"...but we'll have to get back to you on that, if that's okay?"_

A late night, huh? Perfectly believable, but Mark was pretty sure that they hadn't stayed up watching a late-night movie marathon. Hiding the small smirk that wanted to appear, he shrugged slightly as they entered the elevator and hit the buttons for their floors. From the little that he'd heard, they'd been apart for two years and had only gotten back together recently. If they wanted to spend more time together, that was understandable. He was sure to run into them on a regular basis, so they'd have plenty of time to catch up on things.

 _"So... rooming alone tonight Mark?"_

Shit. Hopefully that wince hadn't been visible. Turning slightly to lean against the side of the elevator, the sight of the two of them with their arms around each other didn't really help lighten his mood this time. It just reminded him of what he didn't have. Drawing a breath, Mark started to answer Scott's question.

"Well..."

The elevator stopped with a quiet ping and the doors slid open. Feeling far more relief than he should, he straightened up and smiled apologetically at Scott.

"My floor. Guess we'll have to catch up later. See ya at the arena, guys."

Hopefully he didn't look like he was running; he sure as hell felt like he was. What the _hell_ was up with him lately, anyway? This wasn't normal for him... of course, tonight would be the first time he'd seen Shawn in quite a while, too. They'd missed each other at the last few cross-brand pay-per-views, and he'd been out for a few months in between that.

Letting himself into his hotel room, he dropped his duffel bag with a quiet thud and sank into the chair next to the bed. This wasn't really about Shawn, though. Yeah, he still loved the man, but that didn't mean all that much. He always would love Shawn... but that was over, and they both knew it. It had been six years, after all. Even though he still had feelings for Shawn, he'd moved on, and so had Shawn. Heartbreaker was probably just a convenient excuse for him tonight, considering.

Tipping his head back against the back of the chair, he let his eyes close. Just because the person he was interested in didn't seem to realise that he existed outside the ring didn't mean that he was going to dwell on thoughts of Shawn all damned night. Hopefully Shawn had found someone else and was happy with them, even if Mark seemed to be failing miserably at achieving the same thing. His time with Adam had been exactly what he needed after their breakup: Fun, relaxing, and absolutely no strings attached. It had lasted longer than he'd thought it would, and the hot-as-hell sex hadn't hurt, but there had never been anything deeper there. Briefly, he wondered if Adam had ever gotten the balls to make a move for Jericho. The "smart and sexy" guy he'd fallen for hadn't been too hard to figure out, after all.

Sighing, he levered himself up and out of the chair. He needed to get something to eat and head over to the arena. Maybe he'd have time to stop in the gym before the show started. A good workout might take his mind off of things.

****

Kev relaxed immediately at Scott's touch, the arm around his waist drawing away tension he hadn't realised he had. Shifting one of the bags he was holding, he draped an arm around Scott's shoulder, trying to watch Mark without being too obvious about it. Something was up with the Dead Man, and the faint wince at Scott's question told Kev was that something probably was.

 _"My floor. Guess we'll have to catch up later. See ya at the arena, guys."_

Frowning, Kevin watched Mark until the elevator doors closed, then looked at Scott.

"That was weird. I wonder what's up with him. Usually he's more than happy to sit and talk." The elevator signaling their arrival at their own floor interrupted him, and he headed down the hall, arm still wrapped around Scott. Fuck Vince. It wasn't like it was out of the ordinary for them, even in public, after all.

Stopping in front of the room door, he waited for Scott to open the door before walking in, dropping their bags with a sigh. He sank onto the mattress, flopping backwards, his arms out to the sides as he relaxed.

"Well... wanna order room service and eat in?" He waggled his eyebrows at his partner, expecting the eye roll that he received. There were times that he really _did_ curse his age... this wasn't quite one of them, but he was a little wistful for an instant before he pushed the feeling away. They might not be able to have sex five times a day these days, but they more than made up for that lessened quantity with higher quality. The aftereffects of the morning were fading, but he was almost surprised by how much he was enjoying the teasing they were doing. They didn't indulge themselves this much that often. That would definitely have to change, Kevin mused, letting his eyes roam over his lover's figure as Scott picked up the phone.

Letting his thoughts wander for a minute, he wondered again what was up with Mark. As concerned as he was about Mark's weird behavior, he just couldn't bring himself to worry about it at the moment. Maybe his worry meter was maxed out already; whatever the reason, if their old friend wanted to talk, he'd come to them, and Kev wasn't going to dwell on it until then.

****

Snickering quietly over being caught out, Adam kept both eyes on traffic even as he let his hand drift slowly along the inner seam of Chris' jeans. He paused long enough to snarl at a driver who hadn't signaled before changing lanes, giving Chris enough time to get his question out.

 _"Please can I? Please? Please?"_

Tearing his eyes from the road long enough to look in the rearview mirror at the sleeping pair, Adam grinned wickedly before turning to Chris. "I would have gone with Dumb and Dumber myself, but yeah... go for it." This should be interesting... no matter how he planned to wake them. Chris' sense of humor was just as evil as his own, if not more so. And Chris did owe Ty for the trick from last week so it was only fair to let him get his own back. Maybe it'd further drive away some of the tension between the pair as well if they banded together to try to one up Chris.

While Chris was considering his plan for waking them, Adam moved his hand fractionally, finally letting it smooth over the front of Chris' blue jeans in an almost casual caress. They couldn't take it much further than that while he was driving 60 mph on the parkway in dense traffic with the sun shining brightly, but random groping was always fun. In fact his life was overflowing with fun right now. He was living his dream with his job, he had fun and entertaining friends, and he had one hand on his boyfriends nuts... it didn't get much better than that.

He wondered briefly if they would see Mark tonight. His friend would more than likely be happy for him... having finally gotten around to getting together with Chris. Shelton would almost certainly spread the word as soon as he got to the arena. That brought up another thought... he'd seen Shawn with Dave last night and he wondered if the man would get up the nerve to make his move with Shawn. If he did... how would Mark take it? He knew that Mark was over Shawn in the sense that they couldn't get back together, but that didn't mean that the Dead Man was completely over his feelings for the man. He'd have to check in with Mark later and give him a heads up if he hadn't gotten one already. At least he would be able to prepare for possibly seeing Dave and Shawn together.

Spotting their hotel from the road, he merged right and took the exit that would lead to their temporary home for the night, his hand sliding back to the relative safety of Chris' thigh. Speaking of home... he still wanted to ask Chris about coming home with him during their off time. It would give them plenty of time to explore this new thing they were getting into... without the unique observations of Jay's not always prudent mouth, Ty's penetrating stare, and the nosy stares or ribald comments of those in the back.

"Chris, I was wondering... were you flying home tomorrow? I have an afternoon flight and I was kind of hoping that you'd... come stay with me this week. Unless you have other plans?"


	33. Flirts

_I would have gone with Dumb and Dumber myself, but yeah... go for it._

Cool. Now all Chris had to do was come up with a particularly wicked idea. He wasn't as insanely creative as Adam about such things, that stunt with Austin last night had been hilarious, but with a bit of thought and preparation he could be downright nasty. CJ's options were limited in the confined space of the car though, he had little to work with other than a couple of empty drink bottles, some gum and the sound of his own voice. MacGyver he was not and although sticking bottles to their foreheads with the gum would be fun, they would probably fall off before he even saw the reaction. Chris dismissed the tried and true 'ink glasses and moustaches' as being as unoriginal as the ice water, besides he'd have to check into the hotel with them soon.

He could arrange the couple in some suitably erotic position, but given Jay and Bunnykins' current tensions, that would go down like a lead balloon. So that left the sound of his own voice. Regretfully CJ moved from under his lover's warm wandering hand and grinning at Adam, unbuckled his seat belt to twist and half climb back between the two front seats.

"Don't have a crash in the next five seconds Babe," he asked Adam, before taking a deep breath and leaning in so his mouth was less than and inch from Ty's ear. Even with his experience, Chris couldn't quite master the note at the highest end of  the register, but he was after results not accuracy.

 **"I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE, JUST LISTEN TO THE RHYTHM OF MY HEART. THERE'S A CHANCE WE COULD MAKE IT NOW, WE'LL BE ROCKING TILL THE SUN GOES DOWN!!!"**

Chris managed to complete the second line by ducking back in his seat and half hiding under the dashboard from Bunnykins' freakishly long, tattooed arm. Reso had nearly kicked him in the face with his foot, but seeing as Ty's reaction had caused him to be rudely dumped onto his own side, CJ felt he'd been successful. Should get points for sticking with the theme of the car ride too.

" **I BELIEVE**... hey.... it was your... erg... turn to guess... stop... heh... don't… gahhh... distract..." muffled laughter, "... our...*gasp* ... driver..." Chris pushed Bunnykins back into his own section of the car. "You could cause an accident acting so childishly." He admonished with a not so straight face.

While his 'friends' settled themselves in the back seat, no doubt plotting revenge, Chris resumed his own position, sitting upright on, rather than under his seat. He'd only just finished straightening his shirt, when Adam's question came to his ears. Of course he'd love to head over to Adam's for their few days break. He was supposed to fly to Florida to see if his house was still standing, so joining Adam at his place would be no problem. Now how to accept without sounding so eager he'd walk all the way if necessary. 

"I'm guessing we're on the same flight then, so it would be easier if we shared a cab home. I just want to check my place hasn't burnt down, then I'm all yours."

Yeah, not too eager there Mr. Smooth. But it was true, he was all Adam's, any bat-time, any bat-channel. Chris was just holding back a bit on the whole 'happily ever after' and picking china patterns until perhaps they'd been together for more than... I don't know... a _day_ maybe? Thing was, he'd known and liked Adam for five years, that was longer than most WWE marriages, let alone relationships. Still there really wasn't any rush with the whole declaring the heart and everything. Chris had time to show Adam that he was in for the long haul.

They had all the time in the world.

**** 

 _"That was weird. I wonder what's up with him. Usually he's more than happy to sit and talk."_

True. Usually he was. Scott was just as curious as Kevin was if not more so. Especially after that little wince in response to his completely innocent question. Wondering briefly if Mark would have issues with the new relationship that Shawn was entering into, Scott walked down the hall with Kevin to their room and slid his card through the reader. It seemed as if the Dead Man was currently unattached, at least if his reaction to Scott's question was reading true. Hopefully Mark wasn't hanging onto hope that he and Shawn would get back together, though from some of their earlier talks Scott hadn't gotten the impression that he was. True Mark hadn't been involved in anything serious since then, but that didn't mean he was looking to the past for something to materialize either. Maybe they should grab a bite with Mark later... just to feel things out.

Grinning at Kev as he flopped back on the bed, Scott more or less expected some kind of salacious comment. It was Kevin after all and they had definitely been more flirtatious today than normal, but he was having a blast with it. Maybe he should spank Kev more often. At least Kevin hadn't suggested eating out again, Scott knew he would have objected if Kevin had. Kev wasn't quite ready for barely padded seats again... not yet anyway. Rolling his eyes at the suggestive look Kev sent him, Scott turned to hide a smile. As much as he would love to pounce on Kevin, it just wasn't going to happen. That didn't mean they couldn't keep the fires lit until later.

Calling in a quick order to room service, he turned to look at Kevin's lazy pose on the bed and noticed that Kevin was looking at him as well. Hanging up the phone, he sauntered over to the bed and crawled up beside Kevin, a teasing smile on his face. Draping himself over Kevin's form, one leg slipping over Kevin's thigh and fingers drawing lazy designs on his chest, Scott kissed his lover's cheek gently.

"So babe... you interested in making out with a desperate old man until room service shows up?" Returning Kevin's eyebrow gesture from earlier, Scott leaned in and licked slowly along the seam of Kevin's lips before pulling back. Cuddle time wasn't necessarily something they'd get a lot of until later tonight and Scott wanted to take advantage of it while they could. Shifting slightly, he slipped his leg between Kevin's, his knee brushing gently against Kevin's groin as he slipped his hand from Kevin's chest into his hair. Nibbling lightly at Kevin's lips, he gave a gentle tug on the golden locks, taking advantage of Kevin's growl to sweep his tongue into his lover's mouth.

****

Hunter considered Dave's questions as he finished his meal. They were reasonable given the circumstances and totally deserving of a serious answer. The thing was, Hunter really couldn't be that serious about the first bit anyway.

"Stephanie? Well let's see..." Hunt rested both elbows on the table and toyed with the rim of his water glass. "What she says won't actually be to me, it'll be a cell call to Shane and be something along the lines of 'I _fucking_ told you so Nitwit, you owe me five grand.'" Hunter smiled softly at Dave's bemused expression. "Stephanie knows everything, and I mean _everything_ about me and who I happen to have strong feelings for. Shawn was dead on when he spoke of our Billion Dollar Girl. She's a baby sister, a shrill mother-in-law and your best drinking buddy all rolled into one. I love her dearly, but I know for a fact she will tease me incessantly and demand excruciating detail of our relationship for the foreseeable future. As to their being three of us well..." Hunter shrugged. "... I imagine she'll want pictures or something. No shame that girl, none at all." He shook his head affectionately. Steph could be a pain in the ass, no question there, but she'd held Hunter together more times than he could count and he'd flat out die for his Princess if he had to.

It was a good thing he and Stephanie were totally unattracted to each other sexually. There'd been many a time in their courtship when it would just have been so much easier to chuck all the pretending and actually become a couple. The difficulty there lay in their hearts belonging elsewhere: Steph's with her pretty blond P.A, banished until after the wedding by a firm Linda and Hunter's with two co-workers who thought of him as a friend. Even consolation sex hadn't happened between them, it would have been cheating and they both knew it. How about that, cheating on your non-existent lover with your spouse? Hunter had known he'd never lead a normal life, but _that_ had taken the cake.

"Steph will support any decision I make and trust me, that is a far more powerful thing than you might think." Shawn would understand the sheer determination of a McMahon; he doubted Dave had experienced it up close. "As to backstage and Vince..." this one wasn't quiet so easy. "No-one will give two cents backstage unless they're personally involved, but most of the time everyone with a partner is at least discreet. Especially around the new boys who may decide to run their mouths off if they feel they've been hard done by. It's happened before." This time a commiserating nod at Shawn. Most of the gossip about the Heartbreaker often stemmed, not just from his semi-public antics, but more from either jealous or hateful rivals out to bring down a legend.

"Vince I think I better speak to privately. I don't really think he'll care really, only as it relates to Steph and she'll hand him his balls if he interferes in her life too much. But it would be a courtesy to let him know about us, so he doesn't get it third hand and go off the deep end." Hunter felt it would work out fine, he and Shawn were damn nigh untouchable in this company and their personal life was just as bulletproof.

But Dave's questions had bought up some of Hunter's own concerns regarding the big man. Shawn's star and his own were permanent fixtures in the WWE sky, but Dave's was on the rise and bound to become something spectacular. The politics of both the management and the talent was a nice little ocean teaming with sharks. Dave had so far shown himself to be above most of the scheming, but an association with Hunter, beyond that of Evolution, may well bring 'the Animal' down for a dunking. His lovers had both asked him for reassurances of his feelings and he'd finally given them up. Now Hunt needed something as well. Not just for his delicate little ego... _snort_... but for his mental well-being. Dave had to understand what he was getting himself into.

As Dave set down his own cutlery and napkin, Hunt touched the back of one strong tanned hand to get his attention. "Dave, I don't blame you for almost giving up on me over this 'us' that's going to happen. Shawn almost had to sit on you to keep you from running, but I have to give you the chance to leave me out of the equation if you want." Hunt was momentarily distracted by the visual of Shawn sitting on Dave, except they weren't dressed and they weren't in a restaurant. Ahh-hmmm.

Right... Okay.  

"You've been in enough locker rooms to know about the sex and politics mentality there, but you've never been as up to your neck in it as I've been. Shawn can walk all over anyone who gets in his face, but you may get hit with a lot of feedback, mostly negative, for being with me. And I do mean _with_ me Dave. Half the guys think I'm already doing Randy and I'm giving him the belt as gratitude for a good fuck, the rest think I've got Vince by the balls and are too scared to say 'hello' in case I get them fired. I'm not crying in my soup over this mind you, this is my life and I love it almost as much as I want you both in my life. But you have to understand Dave, you become closer to me, you may get caught in some of the crossfire and it won't be pretty." Realising he voice was sounding far too serious for the situation to warrant, Hunt shrugged and pulled his hand back. "I'm just saying I want you to be aware of what you're letting yourself in for. It may not be worth it."

Sure, he was kinda digging for a compliment, but more than that, he really didn't want Dave going into this blind. The big man was too important to Hunter and too damned good to be mired in shit without fair warning. He'd demanded honesty from Hunter and this was it. Their relationship wouldn't be easy, office romances sucked for a _reason_ , but if Dave knew what he was facing, their chances of remaining a trio for more than a week increased dramatically.

Giving Dave the time to sort through his words, Hunter picked up his cell phone and dialed Greg's number by rote. Standing, he almost bumped into the waiter bringing their check. With a smirk and a raised eyebrow, Hunt looked from the bill to Shawn and back again. His look plainly said, 'I can't pay, I'm busy on the phone.' Answering Shawn's rude reply by going cross eyed, Hunt walked the three steps to the edge of the balcony and told Greg to get out his little black book. Hunter had some arrangements to make.

****

Still smirking over the truly disgruntled pair in the back of the car, he was happy to note that they weren't so upset with each other that they couldn't stoop to plotting revenge together. Chris answering his question toned down his amusement, but only marginally.

 _"I just want to check my place hasn't burnt down, then I'm all yours."_

Green light! Not that he'd thought otherwise, but knowing for sure now that Chris would be coming home with him, he allowed himself a moment or two to picture them together there. His thoughts ranged from romantic (candlelit dinner at home, midnight swim in the pool, cuddling on the couch to watch a movie) to downright erotic (Chris sprawled across his bed in the all-together with a come-hither smile, leisurely lovemaking in the grass beside the pool, a hot and rowdy fuck session in the jacuzzi). Tearing his mind away from such thoughts... he would have to walk into the hotel after all and preferred not to be pitching a tent while he did so... he leaned closer to Chris and whispered his last thought as they pulled up in front of the hotel.

"All mine, eh? You might regret that when I've got you tied to the bed and covered in vanilla frosting."

"Eww. And you say we're kinky? Frosting is too sticky. You should try..."

Raising one hand and thrusting it towards Jay in the backseat, Adam made a gagging noise. "Please spare me any details involving you and Bu..." Realizing that he'd almost used Chris' pet name for Tyson by default, Adam laughed then corrected himself. "... Ty's sex life. I don't need to be traumatized, thank you very much."

Quickly climbing out of the car to avoid retaliation, he unlocked the trunk and started tossing out Jay and Ty's bags, intending to grab his and Chris'. As they were standing there, Shelton drove by in a rental with his friends and nearly got rear-ended when he suddenly stopped the car to gawk at Chris. Amidst a blaring horn and crude words shouted from the vehicle, Adam laughed and reached out to pat Chris' cheek. "Awww, sweetheart, you've got yourself an admirer. Isn't that cute?" He had an odd sense of humor, so sue him.

****

 _You might regret that when I've got you tied to the bed and covered in vanilla frosting._

"I really don't think I'll regret anything about you Babe," Chris murmured under his breath as Adam laughingly jumped out of the car. Jay was muttering 'you started it' to Adam as he climbed out, while Ty was staring intently at CJ. He was trying to convey the depths of his displeasure and vengefulness, but Chris thought he looked kinda stoned. Grinning himself, he got out of the car and immediately went into a full body stretch to get rid of the rest of those kinks. Up on tiptoes with his hands behind his back, Chris managed not to lose balance at the blare of a car horn to his left.

Seeing Shelton being yelled at by his car mates, CJ gave him a flirty finger wave and headed back to steal their luggage from Adam. His lover's smile was that 'fuck the world' one Chris just loved.

 _you've got yourself an admirer. Isn't that cute?_

Chris' answering laugh hadn't the least tinge of embarrassment. "What can I say, Copeland. I just slay them by the thousands." Finally grabbing his bag before Adam did, he got in a half-hidden pinch to the butt as revenge for the frosting comment. "Besides he's kind of hot," a shrug to indicate his uncommitted views on the subject. "If I could stop the whole gawking thing, he might be worth the effort." Winking at Reso's horrified expression, Chris straightened his spine and, ignoring the height of the other three men, strolled like a king into the hotel.

He lost the loftiness however, when he saw Steve Austin leaning against the reception desk, head in his forearms, either hung over or…

"Lost your room again, Rattlesnake?" As Austin lifted his eyes hopefully to Chris' the blond ducked behind Adam quickly. "No can do Steve, I'm all booked up."

****

Having jumped when Chris executed his little retaliation, it took Adam a moment to process his lover's further comments on one Shelton Benjamin. Snickering over Jay's look of horror as Chris turned towards the hotel, Adam trotted out the most serious tone he could manage at the moment. "That's just wrong on so many levels. I don't know what I ever saw in him." Ignoring the reactions of the other two, he followed Chris into the reception area.

 _"No can do Steve, I'm all booked up."_

Paybacks were a bitch, weren't they? Leaning against the counter, he dropped his bags on the floor and offered up his name to the receptionist. Waiting until she moved back over to her computer, well away from their little group, he turned and smiled in commiseration at Austin.

"Yeah, he's rooming with Shelton tonight, I don't think they'd appreciate the company." Tossing an evil grin over his shoulder at the man hiding behind him, Adam turned back to Austin, serious look firmly back in place on his face. "I'd offer to split with you, but I plan to spend the night jerking off over memories of this really hot blond I picked up last night and I just don't trust you to keep your hands to yourself."

He did feel kind of bad... he'd been on the end of more than a few lost reservations himself, but at the same time he really didn't want to offer up their spare bed unless it was an absolute necessity. It would definitely curtail their activities for the night... not that he was at all shy, but he couldn't see Austin ignoring them fucking in the next bed over and he certainly _didn't_ trust him to keep his hands to himself in that situation. Besides, he'd have to gag Chris to keep him quiet and although that idea had merit, it wasn't something he wanted to explore with an audience.

Grabbing the keycards off the desk when the girl returned, Adam turned to look at Chris. He'd leave it up to Chris to make the decision. Steve was his friend, if he wanted to leave the guy to sleep in the lobby, then he'd have to make the call. Handing one of the cards to Chris, he shrugged. "Your call, sweetheart." Maybe Chris would suggest having him share with Jay and Ty, though that option was fraught with it's own set of problems if the two were still mad enough at each other to end up sleeping in separate beds.

****

 _"I knew all about your reputation before I asked you out and I still asked."_

Just hearing those words bolstered Shawn's confidence in this budding relationship... as well as warmed his heart. Too many people, especially people he'd been tentatively interested in, had taken his reputation at face value and thrown it back in his face. The simple fact that Dave knew about his reputation and _didn't care_... that was new. The only other people who'd been like that were the Clique... and they probably didn't count. Ric had never really cared either, but then, Shawn had a lot to live up to if he ever wanted to equal that man's rep.

 _"Once we've passed the brand-new stage, I most likely won't give a second thought to what we do or where we do it."_

That sounded promising. Shawn's smile widened a bit as he wondered if he could tempt the big man into "christening" Vince's desk. He had the sudden feeling that it wouldn't take much convincing... and he suspected somehow that his earlier wonderings about handcuffs were going to end up being answered positively.

 _"...I imagine she'll want pictures or something. No shame that girl, none at all."_

Biting back the sudden urge to spit his drink across the table, Shawn couldn't possibly stop the laugh that came out of him. If she had any shame, she wouldn't be Vince's daughter, after all. The fact that she and Shane apparently had a bet going... well. He'd always loved those two. It was going to be interesting, being around them more, given the situation. Looking up, he caught a glimpse of Dave's face and had to bite his lip to repress another laugh. Looked like the big man wasn't too fond of the idea of pictures... hmmmm. Shawn filed that idea away for later reference.

 _"...most of the time everyone with a partner is at least discreet."_

Shawn sighed a little at Hunter's nod. Okay, so he sucked at being discreet. Maybe if he hung all over Dave and kept his touching to Hunter at normal...? No. _Hell_ no. Well, he'd have to try to tone it down... but he knew that he wouldn't be able to do that all the time. If nothing else, he always tried to be honest with himself, and he knew there was no way in hell that he'd be able to keep his hands off his lovers, especially once they made that word true in every sense.

What Hunter was saying was incredibly true... in general. But for him and Hunt, nothing "general" ever held true. They were too much in the spotlight, too willing to put themselves there... just too damned visible. Every move they made would be scrutinised by _somebody_ , whether Vince, other wrestlers, or the general public. He was going to have to try his damnedest to behave.

 _"Vince I think I better speak to privately."_

Crap. He bit his lip again to keep from speaking, knowing that if he offered to go with Hunter, Hunt would be put in an incredibly awkward spot whether he knew it or not. He and Vince... well. They'd never been in love. Thank God. But they'd definitely been more than passing acquaintances in their day, and Vince never failed to make a point of making Shawn aware of just how well he remembered those times. Much, much better that Hunter do that alone... no matter how much Shawn didn't want him to have to.

 _"...I have to give you the chance to leave me out of the equation if you want."_

 _What?_

Before Shawn could speak through the shocked outrage that comment had sparked, Hunter was plowing on.

 _"I'm just saying I want you to be aware of what you're letting yourself in for. It may not be worth it."_

Oh, Hunt. Nothing could possibly be more worth it than the first real chance he'd had in years to be happy, could it? He understood what Hunter was saying, knew it first-hand. Casting a look at Dave, he could that the big man looked thoughtful, but... he suspected that he had a fair idea of what Dave's response was going to be. At least, he hoped so. He wasn't concerned for himself or Hunt---even if he and Hunter fucked on camera in the middle of the ring, Vince wasn't going to do more than fine them, probably suspend them. But Dave... Shawn remembered all too well Hunt's shocked pain at being told that he wasn't going to win King of the Ring after all in 1996. Not that something like that was really possible in today's environment, but still.

Almost lost in his thoughts, he didn't realise the waiter had approached until Hunter practically bumped into the guy. Rolling his eyes at Hunt's exaggerated "oh don't look at me" expression, he reached for the check, taking out his wallet as he did.

"I'll take it. The Golden Boy here is too busy arranging for flowers and candy to be bothered," he said with a smirk. Glancing over the bill, he pulled out a credit card and added a tip to the total before handing it back. As the waiter turned away, he stuck his tongue out at Hunter before looking at Dave.

"Well... if he hasn't scared you off, Dave, he has raised some issues I hadn't thought of. I suck at _not_ touching people, especially people I care about, but I'm known for that backstage, so it won't matter so much to me. In fact, I couldn't care less what other people think, including Vince. But... for you, it might matter, no matter what you think." Reaching out for Dave's hand again, Shawn let his lips curve into the smile that always seemed to threaten now when he looked at the other two men. "I do hope that you feel better now about Steph... and Vince."

He couldn't quite stop the hardening of his voice when he said Vince's name. At one point in time, he'd cared quite a bit about the man, had been actually very close to him. Until he woke up to the truth about how he worked, anyway. Vince had his good points, but in Shawn's personal experience, those tended to get lost in the man's egomaniacal attitude toward his business. Shaking his head slightly, he pushed the memories away and inclined his head toward Hunter.

"So, whenever he's off the phone, we should probably check in at the hotel and then head to the arena. We might actually have time to squeeze in a workout before the shooting starts." Shawn could've bitten his tongue as soon as the words came spilling out, considering that the "workout" that sprang to mind had nothing to do with weights or cardio... unless you _really_ wanted to stretch the meaning of "aerobics".

****

 _Yeah, he's rooming with Shelton tonight…_

"Hey," Chris objected as Adam removed himself from excusedom. The following comments about jerking off sent a nice little pulse to CJ's ego, but being abandoned to Austin's pathetic look was more revenge than the _'little'_ pinch had warranted.

"C'mon Darlin'. I'll owe ya big time. I got 'somethin' on after the taping tonight and I need a place to get cleaned up. I don' wanna hafta stay too long at the arena or I'll miss... I'll be late. C'mon Chris, I won't mess with ya for at least... a week I swear."

Chris looked from Adam's raised brows to Austin and back again. He could help a friend out of a tight spot, a plus on his karma chart or have mind-blowing sex with his delicious lover, a plus on his horniness chart. Karma or sex? No way, there had to be a third option.

Ahhh.

"Hello... Meredith. How are you doing today? I'm guessing this Big Scary Man did ask if any other rooms were available? Okay. Did he ask if there were any reservations not checked in? If there's a cancellation, could he be put on stand-by for any free room? Great. You are so very helpful Meredith, you have no idea what this means to me right now."

Smiling successfully, CJ swung away from the counter and gave Steve a wink. "You can leave your gear in our room till Meredith finds you something, but if she's out of luck you're sleeping in the car." Joining Adam near the elevator, Chris watched Steve give his cell phone number to Meredith and follow them across the foyer. Something about Austin didn't seem right as he trudged into the lift with them. He'd seen the bald man hung over many times and this wasn't it, this was something different. Steve seemed almost... thoughtful.

But that just couldn't be right. Stone Cold didn't do 'thoughtful'. CJ suspected it was a genetic impossibility for Austin to dwell seriously on a matter for more than ten minutes. Something must have happened after they left the bar last night. Something that had resulted in the pissed off expression on Steve's face at lunch and the too-quiet atmosphere around him now. 'Somethin' after the taping' that Austin, who generally didn't give a shit about time-frames, was reluctant to miss. So it seemed that while he and Adam were on the same page, all their satellite planets were going out of orbit in a big way. After talking to Ty he'd, god help him, see what was happening with Austin, see why he was acting so strangely. Well... strange for Steve.  
.  
As they stood in the lift, Chris leaned his head on Adam's shoulder and watched Ty and Jay keep a perfect eleven inches between their bodies. Just as the lift pinged to indicate their floor. "So you need help with that jerking off Babe? Shelton and I could come round and give you something to pace yourself by?"

Ha. Those eleven inches dissipated like light speed as Reso reared back into Ty to give him some distance from CJ and Adam. Well, that had been one of the reactions he'd been hoping for.

****

He wasn't really surprised at the answer to his question about Stephanie... well maybe a little bit at the part about the call to Shane and the pictures. He hoped like hell Hunter was joking about the pictures because Dave had a hard enough time posing for promo photos without fidgeting let alone thinking about someone taking pictures of them doing stuff like... that. The rest of the explanation made sense though, so he put his worries about Stephanie aside for the moment and concentrated on the rest of what Hunter had to say.

He could see the sense in not flaunting things backstage, but since that had never been a problem in the past he wasn't too worried about doing it himself in the future. Unless of course one of the other two tempted him to it... look at what had happened on the plane. He figured common sense would rule there and they'd manage to at least keep the more outrageous stuff behind closed doors.

Hunter could handle Vince. As long as it didn't end up causing Hunter or Shawn problems, then he wasn't worried about it. Vince could possibly fire him, but if it happened then it happened. He loved his job, but it wasn't the end all, be all of his existence. Which also applied to the warning that Hunter seemed determined to impart. He wasn't about to let other people's opinions or actions rule his life... except for Hunter's and Shawn's of course. He'd do absolutely anything to make them both happy... which was an indication of just how far gone he was, as if he hadn't already known.

Managing to spare a smothered laugh over Hunter and Shawn's antics. He tried to look serious again as Shawn addressed him, but he was too busy picturing Hunter showing up at a door with flowers, candy, and a huge teddy bear all decked out and for some reason it just struck him as cute and funny at the same time. He knew he should be taking this more seriously, but he just couldn't. It wouldn't change his decision about what he wanted and they couldn't deal with any of it until it really happened so he would have to reassure them both that he wasn't changing his mind and handle the rest as it came.

 _"So, whenever he's off the phone..."_

Grasping Shawn's hand in his, he lifted it to his mouth and kissed the back of his hand before squeezing it gently. "Sure thing, just give me a minute to deal with this," he said nodding his head in Hunter's direction, "then we can go do whatever you want." Finishing with a grin, he released Shawn's hand and waited for Hunter to walk back over to the table after he'd wrapped up his call. Inevitably he did and that's when Dave acted.

Figuring he had to make it quick, though they should have a couple of minutes before the waiter returned with Shawn's card, Dave grabbed Hunter's hand as he approached and tugged him onto his lap. Wrapping his arms around Hunter's waist before he had a chance to protest, Dave took a second to rub his face gently against Hunter's back before speaking.

"Listen, Hunter... I may not have jumped feet first into all the backstage politics, but that doesn't mean I'm not fully aware of them. It's just not my thing and to be honest I doubt it ever will be. I love my job, but that's all it is... a job. Those come and go, but what I feel for you and Shawn... that's not going to change. So if I had to make a choice between being with the two of you and working for this company... there wouldn't really be a decision to make." Pausing a moment to let that sink in, Dave didn't want them to think he was blowing it all off though.

"If the guys I work with in the ring work stiff, I'll smile and knock them on their ass. If the writer's decide they just don't have anything, well it can't be too much worse than working with _Maven_ , so I won't be any worse off than I am now. And that is not me whining over where I am... so don't try to fix it. That goes for _both_ of you. I'm happy with where I am right now and if it's meant to be then someday maybe I'll get to wrestle with the big boys. I'm not saying I'm not ambitious, but not at the cost of things that are more important."

Pressing a kiss against Hunter's spine, Dave finally loosened his grip to allow the man up if he so chose. The waiter would be back soon and he wasn't going to press his luck just yet, though growling at the guy would probably have him pissing his pants. "I suppose we should get going. If I don't do something before the show tonight, I'll get lazy and you two will have to support me after I lose my job for getting fat," he said with a smirk. Couldn't let it get _too_ serious after all.

****

"Good... yep... I meant it... yes, two, two of everything." Hunter dragged his eyes away from Shawn's tongue and his mind away from an intense desire to lick it. Looking down at the diners on the ground floor, he quickly finished up with Greg, ignoring the blatant surprise and curiosity in his friend's voice. So Hunt hadn't had a romantic dinner in the life of his P.A.'s employment. Didn't mean he wasn't capable, and if he got a bit carried away well... grand gestures never hurt anyone. Good thing, he didn't blush easily either.

Flipping his phone closed, Hunter moved back towards the table only to feel two strong arms wrap around his waist. Sitting on Dave's lap was something he'd never given thought to. Pity, because the feeling it was generating would have given him fantasy material for weeks once upon a time. He just wasn't used to someone being bigger than him, in height as well as strength. Most of his programmes were with guys his size or smaller, really only Kevin came to mind as any lasting physical presence. He and Glen had both agreed, with a blood oath mind you, that the debacle of their work together had 'never happened'.

Listening to what Dave was murmuring into his ear just managed to stop Hunter from freaking out and jumping off his lap like a frightened virgin. It was cool. He was cool. Just because it was the first time he'd sat on another guy's lap, wasn't any reason to cause more doubts about him in Dave's mind.

 _If the guys I work with in the ring work stiff, I'll smile and knock them on their ass_

"Then they'll be hung, drawn and quartered," was Hunter's silent reply to that possibility. He would have absolutely no qualms about shredding _any_ wrestler who worked stiff with Dave or anyone else Hunter cared about for that matter. Vince had  made valiant attempts to stop personal issues spilling into the ring, but it happened a hell of a lot more than it should. Hunter and Steph had often come the heavies when people were put as risk or worse in the ring over stupid shit like 'no-selling' someone. It was a personal bug bear of Hunt's and if Dave got touched by that crap, he'd go ballistic.

 _so don't try to fix it_

Dammit, now that wasn't fair. He'd been lectured plenty of times by the Clique for putting his two cents in when it wasn't needed. Now he had a beloved partner who he _could_ help get a decent push and he was vetoed before his plans had even left the drawing board. Still, Hunt could make things happen on the q.t. or even through Ric, but it would certainly piss Dave off no end and Hunt didn't want that. Besides, Shawn would kill him and surprisingly considering their relative appearances, that was the more worrying concept than Dave's ferocity. He'd have a word to Stephanie tomorrow and then leave things as they lay.

For a while.

Till the end of Randy's run at least. Then they'd talk.

Maybe even Wrestlemania 21 could be in the....

 _you two will have to support me after I lose my job for getting fat_

Hunt considered that possibility for all of a micro-second then dismissed it as the massive absurdity that it was. Released from that comfortable embrace, Hunter found he was having no inclination to get up, he'd almost pushed his limbs into a small wiggle/shift before he chickened out and stood up when the waiter returned with Shawn's card. Spinning he leaned forward and touched his palm to Dave's cheek in a hidden caress.

"Glad I'm higher on the scale than the belt, Dave Bautista. You pretty much outrank anything else right now yourself." Grinning down and then up as Dave stood, Hunter took up the bigger man's completely unserious tone. "Fat? You? I don't think you're physically capable of putting on weight even if you ate fast food for a month. You either..." he shot at Shawn who was looking at them impatiently. "Yes, good idea Darling. Let's go before Dave goes from three to four percent body fat while we're being so lazy."

Nodding at the overjoyed manager Hunter once again led the way down the stairs and into the heavy heat of the mid afternoon. Taking his usual seat next to the driver, he did lean back and run his eyes lazily over the two beautiful men in the back seat. "We should probably head straight for the arena after the hotel, rather than find a Gold's. It's as easy to get sweaty there as any place else."

Yeah, the flirting part was easy. It was his follow through that left something to be desired.


	34. Friends

They were cursed. That was the only answer that was coming to mind at the moment. Jay and Ty were arguing and Austin was acting... weird. Okay, scratch that... Austin always acted weird, but today he was even weirder than normal and that just made him twitch. Now that he was finally with Chris, where he belonged, all of their friends were going to hell in a hand-basket. Kind of made him wonder who was going to be next. It sure as hell had better not be him or Chris or he'd probably bawl like a two-year-old.

 _"So you need help with that jerking off Babe? Shelton and I could come round and give you something to pace yourself by?"_

Chris was really playing this Shelton bit for all it was worth. It took him a moment to catch on, but watching Jay move closer to Ty he choked down a laugh and contemplated his options. Jay obviously thought he was going to have a fit... god knows he did have a hair-trigger temper some days, but then Jay probably thought all this Shelton stuff was serious as well. Choking down a laugh as the doors slid open, he bent over and placed his shoulder against Chris' stomach and then stood with the man slung over his shoulder, his arm wrapped behind his knees. Chris started squirming almost immediately and Adam reached up with his free hand and swatted him on the ass... hard.

Walking out of the elevator, Chris seemingly calm for the moment, he turned back to look at Austin who hadn't moved an inch. "Austin? If you are going to leave your bags in our room, shouldn't you... I don't know, follow us or something?"

Turning to walk down the hall, he was completely aware of Austin now following them and Jay and Ty watching them from just outside the elevator doors. Raising his voice loud enough so that the two could hear him, Adam grinned as he spoke. "Once we get there Steve, you can call down and talk to Meredith and find out where Shelton's room is so I can drop the extra baggage off there." Punctuating his words with another swat to Chris' lovely backside, he swiped the card through the reader and walked into their room. As soon as they cleared the door, he put Chris down gently on his feet and burst into laughter. Jay and Ty's reactions had been simply priceless.

****

Desperate old man, huh? Before Kev could reply to that, Scott's mouth was on his and his knee was brushing against him and his fingers were in his hair... Growling at the soft tug, Kevin tilted his head as Scott kissed him deeply, his own hands sliding around his lover's body, one tangling in the dark locks swaying around his face, the other moving downward to grasp the hips hidden by tight denim. Meeting Scott's slow exploration of his mouth with his own questing tongue, Kevin shifted, pushing his groin up against Scott's with a lazy roll, the muted touch enough to make his fingers clench for an instant. The fingers in his hair, the insistent mouth on his, the legs tangled together... all combined to send a warm wave through him, his nerves tingling with slowly growing arousal.

Finally pulling away when his lungs demanded relief, Kevin simply looked up into Scott's eyes, knowing that his own were darkened. He could see the love and arousal and simple joy at being together that he felt reflected back at him from those familiar eyes, and his lips curved slightly as they shifted together into a less demanding position. Content simply to feel his lover's weight against him, Kev lost track of time as he combed his fingers through the dark curls in a slow, almost meditative fashion, his mind focused on nothing but the pleasure of the moment, listening to their mingled breathing.

The brisk knock at the door was nearly shocking in the warm silence that had overcome them. The sound was repeated before Kevin's mind focused enough to realise that it was their room service delivery.

"Just a minute!" he called, his voice a little husky from the long silent minutes. Dropping a quick kiss on Scott's cheek, he reluctantly slid away from him and stood up, ignoring the creaking as he did. He dug into his pocket as he took the few steps to cross the room, pulling out a bill for the tip. Opening the door, he stood in the doorway out of habit, blocking the view of the bellboy as he handed him the tip with a smile, waiting until he had turned away to pull the cart inside and close the door behind him.

For all of their public antics and teasing interviews, they had each developed their own little habits intended to protect the small amount of privacy they actually had without even realising that they had. Only after Shawn had commented on that protective hovering block did Kevin realise that he did it, and he'd immediately decided that it was a habit well worth keeping. The fact that there was nothing to hide this time didn't make it any less compelling for him to do it.

He pushed away all thoughts of Mark, Hunter, Shawn, and everyone else outside the room as he looked at Scott, still lying on the bed, sprawled out now that they'd separated. They could deal with all of their friends and their issues later. For now, all Kevin wanted to think about was his lover and the small happiness they'd found in this moment.

Pulling the cart behind him, he sat next to Scott again, unaware of the small smile curving his lips as he let his gaze drift over his partner's body, hidden from view in the everyday clothing, but bare in his mind's eye as he relived countless moments together in that instant. When he met the dark eyes that were watching him, he blinked, losing his tenuous grasp on the thread of thought he'd been following without regret. Why live in the past when there was so much to enjoy in the present? Moments like this were rare, and he intended to savour this one for as long as it lasted.

Leaning forward, he kissed Scott gently, some of the quiet peace they'd found earlier still with him. Cocking his head as he sat back, his smile grew into a mischievous smirk as he remembered Scotty's earlier comment.

"Hungry... old man?" he asked teasingly, knowing that Scott would roll his eyes and smile back at him even as he shook his head.

****

Shawn tilted his head as he watched Dave curiously, the back of his hand still tingling from the soft kiss. Such a little thing, that quick gesture... and so telling. The emotions swirling around the three of them had softened somewhat, he decided, shifting his gaze to admire Hunt's backside as he leaned against the balcony rail. No vertigo there, he thought ruefully. They seemed to be on firmer footing now, even if there was still more to discuss... but there would always be more to discuss. Now that the important things had been dealt, laid out on the table for all to see, they could deal with everything else as it came up.

He followed as they left the building, leaning comfortably against Dave in the back seat of the car, nodding in all the right places during their banter, but almost abstracted as he considered his feelings. This level of introspection was unusual for him, and he was a little surprised at what he found.

A small part of him was still hurt by Hunter's rejection the night before, his harshness this morning, the insecurities that he'd always tried to push away and hide coming back to the surface despite himself. He knew that Hunter loved him, he even understood Hunter's motivations behind the rejection... but that doubt was still there. Not doubt in Hunt, not at all.

Doubt in himself.

He'd been with Kevin and Scott for a year, more or less, and while he'd loved them deeply, he'd known from the outset that it would be a temporary arrangement. They loved him, but it was nothing like what they felt for each other. When he left them, it had been an easy thing, still surrounded by love, and still connected by that feeling. His other relationships... hadn't gone so well. Marty had happened well before he'd met the rest of the Clique and he had no one to blame but himself for the ending there. Bret... well. Love and hate were equal sides of the same coin, and Shawn still wasn't entirely sure how he really felt about the man. It had been passionate, intense, and incredibly brief.

Vince... well, if an affair with your boss so that you could get a push in the business was a relationship, then yes, he'd had one with Vince. On-again, off-again, for longer than he liked to admit, it had started as nothing more than the then-nearly-required time on his knees to gain and retain that all-important gold. It had become something more than that somewhere along the line, and he'd let himself make the mistake of thinking that it was something real. Right up until he'd walked in to Vince's office and found him fucking a fresh young face right through his desk.

For some reason, he'd been unable to really get past that. Fortunately for him, he was at the top of his game then and Vince couldn't pull the rug out from under him for refusing to bend over anymore. Not without a _lot_ of backlash, and even Vince hadn't been willing to risk that. Mark had been the one to pick him up after that and convince him that he really was worth something. Hunter had tried, but with Shawn's long-buried feelings an unacknowledged unseen wall between them, he hadn't been able to breach the distance.

Mark.

He'd loved Mark deeply. He still did. But that relationship was long over, and he'd moved on. Mark had moved on also, although neither of them had had any great luck at finding a real connection with anyone else afterward. Mark knew how he felt about Hunter, had always known. Shawn had been honest with the Dead Man from the beginning, and that had come back to bite him in the ass at the end. After his injury, when he needed the support the most... Mark couldn't be there. With him gone, Vince needed his other stars to support the company while he rebuilt angles and decided on new pushes, new stars... and Mark was one of his pillars. Hunter had been a rising star, but he'd been able to take time off and stay with Shawn, helping him struggle through the aftereffects of the surgery, the physical therapy, the emotional storms when he'd realised that he could never go back...

And Mark had seen that. He'd seen that, and he'd made his decision. When Mark had come to see him, Shawn had known immediately what the man was going to say from the expression hidden in his eyes. There had been no tears, no fight, no emotional scene... just a simple statement.

 _"You love him."_

 _"Yes."_

 _"You need him. You don't need me."_

 _"... yes."_

And he'd gone.

Afterward, when the realisation of what had happened sank in, he'd turned to Hunter for comfort. Irony of ironies, that, and it wasn't lost on him at the time any more than it was now.

Watching Hunter from the back seat of the car, his arm sneaking its way around Dave's waist as he soaked up the warmth emanating from the man, he knew that he'd have to tell Hunt the truth about Mark. He hadn't been able to at the time. How was he supposed to tell his best friend that the man he'd loved so deeply for over two years had left him because no matter how deep that love was, it couldn't compare to what he felt for that same friend? He couldn't do it.

He'd have to, now. He knew Hunter had always resented Mark for hurting him, especially since Mark hadn't told him anything. He'd left that completely up to Shawn. It was long past time to fix that, since ultimately it had been out of all of their hands.

And Dave... he looked up through his eyelashes at the man who had an arm around his shoulders as they leaned comfortably into each other. What about Dave? How did he feel, exactly?

Did he love him? No, he didn't love the Animal... yet.

Could he? Definitely.

Was he already well on his way?

... yes.

Letting his feelings for the two men fill him, he let go of his doubt. He knew that it was a temporary fix, but at least for now, he knew that he didn't need the doubt. He didn't need the selfish pain. He didn't need to worry. Whatever happened, they would deal with it, and they would work through it.

Sighing a little as he forced his thoughts back into the here and now, he leaned his head against Dave's shoulder, smiling a little as the big man shifted to make him more comfortable. Softly, his voice still a little husky from the events of the morning and previous evening, he said in a low tone, "What I'd really like to do is lay with my head in your lap, Dave... but I don't think I should right now." Smiling a little, he tilted his head so that he could meet the chocolate eyes.

"I do think, though, that I'll need your help with a project. Hunter's all wound up over being able to touch us, and we need to help him get past that. I can't think of a better way to convince him that it's okay to touch us than for us to touch him... as often and as intimately as we can. You've already seen that it can work... so. Are you in?" He let his smile widen a little, the familiar cocky glint in his eye as he flicked his gaze to the blond in the front seat before looking back at Dave.

****

Adam's reaction wasn't the one Chris had been expecting. He'd thought maybe... he didn't know... another comeback regarding Shelton? Agreement to CJ's suggestion and then some laughter? Maybe that wicked grin and an eyebrow wiggle to suggest he'd pay Chris back later for the teasing.

Instead the reaction threw Chris completely off balance... literally. Tossed over Adam's shoulder like a sack of grain, Chris immediately began to struggle. About to tip his weight forward so he could climb down Adam's back, the sharp slap to his ass put paid to that idea quick smart. He could hear Adam chuckling too, the bastard. Guy was enjoying the fact he'd taken CJ by surprise, so he stopped squirming on principal. He wouldn't give Adam the satisfaction of overpowering any more struggles. It wasn't that he was enjoying it at all. No way.

Taking the delightful opportunity to rest his hands on Adam's ass... for balance of course... Chris looked up at Ty's wry expression, Reso's rolling eyes and Steve's smug grin. At least the Rattlesnake was looking normal at last. His quiet demeanor was unsettling to say the least.

 _find out where Shelton's room is_

"Somehow Babe, I don't think Shelton will like having that kind of snake in his bed tonight." Chris' laughter was abruptly cut off by another smack to his ass, just a teensy bit harder than the first. It was disturbing in the least that he was thinking up some other ways to get Adam to swat him. Maybe _that_ could be his punishment for starting this whole Shelton thing anyway. The thought made CJ feel quite flushed, but in a good way, a very good way.

Adam's own peel of laughter as he set Chris on his feet was enough to bring an answering smile to CJ's face. Rarely had he seen Adam smile so much in the last few months, the tall blond's expression more likely to be a frown of concentration or distant speculation. One day he'd have to ask what Adam had been thinking all those time Chris had caught him watching the other wrestlers. He sincerely doubted they'd been receiving scores out of ten for the firmness of their butts. But with Adam you never could tell.

Steve's grin was still in place as he followed them into the room, the bald man dumping his bags near the door with a grateful, "Thanks Boys." But when he began to eye Adam speculatively from behind, Chris' frown sent him back out into the hallway, hands up in an 'I didn't touch anything' plea. He did really need to talk to Austin, the look in the man's eyes had been something that Chris recognised. A need to talk. Its rarity grabbed CJ with an affection he hadn't known he had. For all that Austin could piss him off just by breathing, he was a good, solid friend. And despite his 'crowd' Chris didn't have that many that he'd let one down when he was needed.

Knowing the sleaze was just a cover for something else, CJ looked up the few, _very few_ , inches into Adam's sparkling green eyes. Eyes with a light that Chris was beginning to realize, was now a primary part of his own well-being. As Austin had given them a moment of peace, Chris leaned forward in the circle of Adam's arms and kissed his lover slowly and sweetly. He'd never get tired of kissing Adam, _never_. That instant when their lips met was fast becoming an addiction Chris had no intention of fighting.

"Babe, I want to see what's bothering Austin. Could you put this stuff out for the laundry service and I'll meet you downstairs in twenty?" CJ nudged one of his clothes bags with a toe and blinked up at Adam hopefully. He knew his clever lover wouldn't be taken in for an instant by his innocent look but it was worth a try.

**** 

Glad that for the moment at least the turbulent emotions that had surrounded them all throughout the meal had lessened, Dave followed Hunter out of the building so that they could head to the hotel. Despite the fact that things were easier between the three of them, his head was still churning over what Hunter had said. After his reassurances, he hadn't expected Hunter to respond... not with the waiter returning when he had. He had been comfortable with that since he was sure he'd gotten his point across. That Hunter had responded in kind and had actually touched him while doing so had him wondering more than ever over Hunter's feelings towards him. There wasn't the doubt that Hunter had some... Dave couldn't see him wanting to move forward with this threesome if there were none, but Hunter hadn't been real specific and Dave hadn't had the nerve to ask him to clarify.

He knew where Shawn stood right now, that helped. And it wasn't as if he'd been jumping hoops to divulge the depth of his own feelings for either of them. It just hadn't been the time or place and he wasn't sure exactly when it would be. Of course with the way his luck had been running lately, it would come out at some completely inappropriate time.

Hunter's comment in the car distracted him from his rambling thoughts for a moment or two. Dave could think of all kinds of ways of getting sweaty at the arena and not one of them involved exercise equipment of any kind. Knowing that Hunter, by his own admission, wasn't ready for the kind of 'exercise' he was contemplating did not help. Nor did Shawn's arm snaking around his waist. He wrapped an arm around Shawn's shoulder, tugging him closer, and suppressed his instinct to take it farther. There was a driver after all and just because he was now in a relationship did not mean he was going to turn into a sex fiend.

He felt a little better giving himself the excuse that it had been awhile since he'd been with anyone. A brief resurgence of his on-again, off-again fling with Ty during his rehab at OVW being his last encounter. Ty was now extremely happy with Jay Reso and Dave couldn't have been happier for the guy. They were still friends, as were he and O'Haire, his other OVW playmate. No doubt they'd both be happy for him having finally ended up where he had wanted to be. He hadn't come right out and told them so, but the closer that Hunter had come to his wedding, the shorter Dave's temper had been. Both men were very insightful and had called him on it at one time or another. He had admitted to his feelings, upon threat of death if either of them leaked it to anyone else. His attraction to Shawn on the other hand, he had kept mum about. Though either man might have noticed it in the weeks previous, they hadn't said anything to him if they had.

 _"What I'd really like to do is lay with my head in your lap, Dave... but I don't think I should right now."_

That really had not helped his condition at all with the way his thoughts had been running. Thanks, Shawn, kill me while you're at it why don't ya? Shawn had been quieter than usual during this car ride, but Dave attributed it to thinking about what had come up at lunch. Hadn't he spent time doing so as well? Despite the conversation they'd had, there was still plenty to figure out with where this thing was going between them. Especially considering Hunter's 'problem', which Shawn so nicely brought up at that moment.

 _"I can't think of a better way to convince him that it's okay to touch us than for us to touch him... as often and as intimately as we can."_

Dave took a moment to look at the man in question himself, before turning back to look at Shawn. Was he in? Returning Shawn's smile with a rather wicked one of his own, Dave nodded once. "I think that can be arranged. We'll just have to watch our proximity to bathrooms when we do it." At least he could joke about it now. Knowing the reason behind Hunter's little flight earlier _did_ help. Without the explanation he probably would have shied away from initiating anything further himself, but knowing now that that was what it would probably take to get Hunter to break this leash he'd put on himself, Dave was all for it.

When they arrived at the hotel, he stood to the side with Shawn while Hunter checked them in. His sunglasses were firmly back in place for now since they were out in public. As soon as they got to the arena, he would have to head to makeup and get it taken care of so that they weren't a necessity. If Hunter had to talk to Vince about them, seeing Dave's bruises probably wouldn't help make things easier. As they filed into the elevator to head to their suite for the night, they found themselves blessedly alone for the moment.

Never one to look a gift-horse in the mouth, Dave dropped his bags on the floor of the elevator and smiled at Shawn as the doors slid closed with no one joining them. As soon as they were firmly shut, he turned and pressed himself full length against Hunter, pushing him back against the wall of the cubicle. Before Hunter could protest, Dave had his mouth pressed to Hunter's, his hands at the man's waist to hold him steady. He didn't linger, knowing they wouldn't have that much time and by the time they'd reached their floor he'd pulled away and leaned up against the wall next to Hunter, a smile on his face as the ping of the elevator signaled their arrival.

****

Hunter briefly juggled his keycard and mobile phone as the trio stepped into the elevator. Letting his bag drop to the ground, he finally got the phone into the inner pocket of his jacket and the key in his hand rather than half-way up his sleeve. Clumsy was not normally a word people generally associated with Triple H, but this day seemed to ensure he'd be nicknamed something similar if he didn't get his act together. Pushing his sunglasses up into his hair from where they'd slid down his nose and almost off, _yeah, yeah a long trip_ , Hunt smiled to himself. Looking up, he noticed Shawn had been a little more subdued since the restaurant. Hunt didn't blame him. It was Shawn's motivation and frankly his sex drive, that had pulled them into orbit with each other in the first place. He certainly deserved a bit of quiet to get his head around everything, just as much as Hunt and Dave did.

Just as he was lifting a hand to give Shawn's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, Dave crowded him into the wall and planted a kiss on Hunter that was more comparable to a steamroller. An overheated steamroller.

Gifted with a talented tongue.

That had a warm metal bar in it.

Guh.

Hunter was pretty sure he'd died and gone to heaven in the few seconds the kiss lasted. Dave's hands on his waist held him in place, but he really didn't feel like moving anyway. His own fingers had landed on Dave's shoulders, first to catch himself during his sudden movement backwards and then to become his grip on reality as Dave's lips and tongue brought a surprised groan from somewhere deep inside his chest Hunter hadn't known existed. The _move, move_ imperative he'd come to feel whenever he got physical with Dave or Shawn reared its ugly head just then. Hunter's hands sliding from their grip on Dave's shoulder's and around to his chest to push him away. His action was stalled, however, as at that moment Dave pulled back from him and with a sexily crooked smile, leaned his shoulder against the wall at Hunt's back.

Hunter knew his hand would be trembling slightly if he tried to adjust his tie or glasses, so he placed his hands palms against the wall and returned Dave's speculative look. To say the big man was looking pleased with himself would be an understatement and Hunt did give him credit for ending the kiss before his own flight reflex jumped in. Score one for the Animal.

"I get the feeling I'm going to be brought out of this semi-frigid state of mine come hell or high water huh?" Hunt kept his gaze locked firmly on Dave's smile and that dangerous tongue within. "If that's the case then... proceed."

He'd managed to time it perfectly with the lift's ping and the opening of the door. Scooping up both his and Dave's bags, hunter borrowed a definite swagger from his father-in-law as he strolled down the corridor to their room. Even with the remnants of his hang-over still giving him grief, a wife he had to explain his lovers to and a small physical complex threatening that relationship, Hunter was feeling on  top of the world.

Nope, no Mr. Clumsy here. 

****

He hadn't noticed Austin's exit from the room, he'd been too busy watching Chris for signs that he was going to get smacked for repeating his caveman tactics in public. He had noticed the frown directed beyond him and wondered what Austin had done to earn it, but he wasn't about to turn around and find out. The obnoxious man was starting to grow on him a bit and he didn't want to have to follow through on his threat from the night before.

The sweet taste of Chris' mouth erased all thoughts of Austin from his head, at least for that moment. This kiss was slow, gentle, affectionate - a definite contrast to their earlier frenzied explorations. The emotions it stirred inside him were so powerful that he almost blurted out that infamous three word phrase that he'd been suppressing since their encounter this morning, but he suddenly recalled the possibility that Austin might be lurking around. When he said it out loud for the first time, he did not want an audience to witness Chris' reaction... whatever it might be.

 _"Babe, I want to see what's bothering Austin."_

Adam didn't buy the innocent act for a moment, but he'd noticed Austin's unusual behavior as well so it must be something more than Austin's usual surliness. With an exaggerated sigh Adam picked up the bag and affected a pathetic pout. "First Shelton and now you're tossing me over for Austin. I feel _so_ used." Sticking his tongue out at Chris and smiling, he grabbed his gear bag as well and exited the room.

Waving Austin back into the room from his spot against the wall with an enthusiastic flourish, Adam looked at him speculatively. Deciding that with Austin's mood it was most likely safe, he continued with his current theme. "He's all yours, but if you break him, you buy him."

He'd only taken a few steps down the hall when Mark exited one of the rooms on the other side of the elevator. Now seemed as good of a time as any to impart the information he had. At least if he did it out in public Mark would be less tempted to break something, most notably him, if the news wasn't to his liking. Meeting up with his ex-lover in front of the elevator doors, he pushed the down button and greeted the man. "Hey Mark. Long time, no see. You have a minute? I need to talk to you about something."

Receiving the standard Dead Man nod that he'd become accustomed to during their three years together just as the doors slid open, he waved Mark into the cubicle ahead of him and then leaned against the wall with a sigh. "I know it's not one of your favorite topics, but I wanted to give you a heads up about Shawn." Seeing the look that Mark directed at him he clarified though he didn't really want to bring up what he was going to. "I know you never mentioned him by name when we talked about the 'him' from your past, but I'd have had to have been blind and stupid not to have figured out who it was in all our time together. If the way you reacted when someone mentioned his name wasn't enough then hearing you say his name when we were... that would have done it."

He didn't want Mark to feel bad about it. He doubted that Mark had even been aware of it at the time, so he rushed to point out his opinion on it. "It didn't bother me. At the time I knew you were trying to get over someone and I wasn't looking for something that was going to become too serious. You are still my friend though Mark and I care enough that I don't want to see you hurt."

"I don't know if you still have feelings for him or not, but from what I saw last night if Shawn and Dave didn't hook up last night, it's likely they will in the near future. I didn't want you to walk in on something and find out about it that way." Hearing the ping, Adam turned to the doors as they opened and stepped through them, turning back to Mark and smiling affectionately. "If you need someone to talk to, you know how to reach me. Not just about that, but anything."

****

Closing the door behind him, Mark shifted his duffle bag higher up onto his shoulder while he put his keycard in his pocket. He really wasn't looking forward to the taping tonight, all things considered. Heyman might be a creative genius, but he was a sniveling little prick and he was enjoying having the Dead Man at his mercy right now far too much for Mark to be comfortable with.

If he didn't know better, he'd think that Heyman had been hitting on him for the last few weeks. That was a thought too disgusting to dwell on, although it nearly brought a smile to his face. If Heyman ever _did_ make an obvious pass at him, he'd have no problem whatsoever throwing the little bastard through the nearest available wall. The days of having to get to his knees to get a push were long behind him, and he didn't miss them.

At least thinking about Heyman forced him _not_ to think about anyone else... although he wasn't entirely sure the mild nausea accompanying his train of thought was really worth it.

Stopping in front of the elevator, he was brought to a halt by a familiar voice.

 _"Long time, no see. You have a minute? I need to talk to you about something."_

Nodding, his curiosity only visible to those who knew him well, Mark entered the elevator and leaned against the back wall, watching Adam. Whatever it was, the blond didn't look too thrilled to be talking to him about it. Of course... his eyes fastened on a small darkening mark high up on Adam's neck where it was _almost_ hidden by his long hair. His lips curved slightly as he looked back up at his friend's face. Yep. That was a familiar aura. Not just the "I got laid" look that was so familiar on the man, but a warm glow that had him almost bouncing on his feet without realising it. Looked like his hope was true; Adam must've finally gotten the balls to hook up with Jericho.

 _"...I wanted to give you a heads up about Shawn."_

What? How did... Shooting a questioning frown at the blond, he wondered how in the hell Adam had found out about Shawn. They'd kept their relationship intensely private, and he knew he'd never told Adam who it was that he'd been with. The blond's next words reassured him even as he felt chagrined. He wasn't normally that easy to read, but he _had_ been with Adam for quite a while... and he'd never fully recovered from Shawn, so it probably wasn't surprising that he still showed the signs. At least Adam hadn't taken it the wrong way. That was good to know. They'd never been serious about each other, and the length of time they'd stayed together had surprised both of them, but Mark had always tried very hard not to treat any of his lovers as a mere substitute for anyone else.

 _"...if Shawn and Dave didn't hook up last night, it's likely they will in the near future."_

He couldn't stop his eyebrows from shooting up in surprise for an instant before he recovered his composure. The fact that Shawn was getting involved with someone else was... bittersweet. He missed the man and he always would. Their attempt at a friendship had been strained since the end of their relationship, due to Hunter's unknowing involvement and his lingering resentment of Mark. But for Shawn to be taking up with Batista? That was... unexpected. If Shawn was happy, then Mark was happy for him. He'd always wanted Shawn to find happiness... but he'd always expected that it would ultimately be with Hunter, once Shawn got up the nerve to tell The Game how he actually felt about him. Well, it wasn't any of his business, but he'd keep an eye out to see how things went. There'd been a time when Shawn had laughed at him for his protective streak, but he'd never been able to turn it off when it involved someone he cared about. Hopefully it wouldn't be needed now.

 _"If you need someone to talk to, you know how to reach me. Not just about that, but anything."_

Following the blond out of the elevator a little more slowly, Mark paused as Adam started to turn away, then reached out and touched his arm.

"Adam." He cleared his throat, dropping his hand as Adam looked at him curiously. "Thanks. That... means a lot." He smiled a little, feeling his loneliness lift somewhat at the affection on the blond's face.

Nodding at him, he headed for his rental, dropping into the driver's seat with a sigh. A workout was definitely called for. It'd help take his mind off things, and hopefully keep him calm enough to face Heyman in the ring later without his dislike for the man being too obvious. And if he ran into Shawn... well. They were still friends, although not as close as Mark could wish, and it had been quite a while since he'd chatted with his favourite blond. More than past time, he decided as he started the car.

****

He loved these slow lazy moments when all they had to focus on was each other. Warm hand at his hips, hand tangled in his hair, warm mouth, lazy exploring tongue twining with his own, the slow roll of denim on denim, fingers tightening at his hips, long legs tangled together... Scott was drowning in sensation, yet felt safe and cherished rather than smothered by it. Eventually these moments they'd shared throughout the day would culminate in a powerful explosion of passion, but for now Scott was content to simply enjoy this for what it was... a moment of expressing those tender feelings that they'd think but likely not speak of.

As Kevin pulled away, their eyes locked, understanding flowing between them without the words. They didn't need to be verbalized to be felt... that's just the way it was with the two of them. As they settled into a loose embrace, Scott allowed his mind to drift aimlessly, the gentle hand combing through his hair assuring that his thoughts revolved around his lover. Through his fingers curled loosely against Kevin's chest he could feel the steady beat of Kevin's heart. This was one of the moments he always found himself most thankful for, especially since they'd gotten back together. That he could have lost moments like these if he'd been successful in managing to down the pills he'd held in his hand never failed to hit home with him. Of course that had been one of his motivations for having them in his hand in the first place, that there would be no more moments like this with Kevin.

The knock at the door barely registered in his mind, Kevin's voice the first indication that there was someone outside waiting for entrance. Watching as Kevin dealt with the bellboy in his customary manner, Scott felt the warmth inside him grow even more. The fact that Kevin never failed to block the view of their room, even when it wasn't a necessity, assured them of their privacy. For all that they had jokingly alluded to their relationship from time to time with the public, they were smart enough not to give any evidence that it actually existed. He kept his eyes on Kevin until he was seated beside him, closing them only when Kevin leaned forward to kiss him. Soaking up the love from the gentle kiss, he stored it away for those times when they would be apart.

 _"Hungry... old man?"_

Rolling his eyes, he smiled at Kevin. He never should have referred to himself that way. Kevin would bring it up at every opportunity now, although he would say it in such a way that Scott wouldn't honestly be able to take issue with it. Sitting up, he snatched a plate off the cart and placed it between them.

"Of course. When am I not? Although just for food at the moment," he said with a smirk as he offered up a slice of fresh peach to Kevin's lips. "I think I'll hold off on dessert until after the show tonight. I've got a craving for a big ol' crème puff."

Scott grinned knowing that Kev probably wouldn't appreciate the inference. Kevin _was_ a big softy, at least when it came to him. He wouldn't dare try to call him that all the time, definitely not in front of anyone else, but he loved pointing out Kevin's softer side when they were alone. Shivering as Kevin licked the juice from his fingers, Scott firmly decided on the next part on his "Kev is beautiful" list. Now he just had to wait for the appropriate time to bring it up with Kevin.

****

He wasn't oblivious to the reaction his words had on Dave. Far from it. Shawn wasn't trying to be cruel to his lover, but he was definitely teasing. Now that he'd gotten his mind wrapped around this new relationship that he'd proposed without thinking through the finer details, he was more than looking forward to reaping the benefits of it... and not just the sex. He'd been alone for far too long, regardless of the lovers he'd taken. Only Mark had been able to really touch that lonely ache in his heart, and that had been temporary.

 But now... Shawn bit back a smile as he covertly eyed Dave while they waited for Hunter to finish checking them into the hotel. Hunter might take a while to get used to them, and Shawn planned to enjoy every second of his little acclimatization project. However, Dave didn't need that extra time... and Shawn knew damned well that he'd been affected by the happenings of the day just as much as he had been.

Licking his lips as Dave kept his attention on Hunter, he could feel his fingers almost itching with the need to reach out and _touch_... but the kind of touching he was thinking about at the moment would probably get them arrested if he tried it. They wouldn't have time for any fooling around before heading to the arena, after their long lunch, but there were plenty of quiet spaces backstage and Shawn was very familiar with how to find them. A slight smile played on his lips as he followed Dave and Hunter into the elevator. There were definitely times that he didn't regret his past at all.

Inhaling sharply as he watched Dave push Hunter back against the wall, he felt his heartrate jump a few notches. That sight... Dave, holding Hunter there while he kissed him, Hunt's hands sliding up to clench on the big man's shoulders as he responded... The groan that escaped Hunter sent a deep shudder through Shawn, the pure _sex_ of the sound resonating within him. He forced himself to take a breath, noting Hunter's sudden aborted move to push Dave back as the big man released him.

The action made him more sad than anything else. They'd all dealt with their emotions toward each other differently: Dave had buried them, Shawn had hidden them by cavorting with anyone else who was willing, and Hunter... Hunter had sublimated them until he couldn't break through that block. _That_ would definitely be changing, though. Shawn entertained some brief thoughts of just how they'd all react in the morning when they woke up all tangled together...

 _"If that's the case then... proceed."_

Allowing his smile to show, Shawn followed the other two down the hall, laughing softly at the overdone strut. Entering the room and setting his bags down beside the wall, he eyed the other two men as he sank down into the small couch in the corner.

Waiting until Dave was close enough to touch, he leaned forward and snagged the big man's arm, pulling him down and around to sit next to him even as he shifted, ending up straddling Dave's lap, his hands on his shoulders. Smiling at him, Shawn looked to the side and motioned to Hunter.

"Come over here." His tone brooked no argument, and Hunt took the spot Shawn had just vacated. Reaching out, he tangled his hand in Hunt's hair and leaned over, kissing him gently, running his tongue along the seam of his lips until they parted. Taking his time, he explored Hunt's mouth, soaking in the spicy taste that seemed to be purely Hunter's. Softening the kiss, he pulled back a bit, nibbling on Hunt's lower lip before pressing his lips against it one last time as he felt Hunter tense.

With a fond smile, he shook his head. "No running, Hunt. You don't need to." He pulled his hand away, smoothing the blond locks as he did, running his fingers down Hunter's cheek in a soft caress as he said softly, "I love you." Just saying the words made him feel that warmth inside again, and he knew he'd never get tired of that feeling.

The smile still on his face, he turned his attention to the man whose lap he was on... the man who was definitely enjoying the show, Shawn could tell.

"And you..." Letting his voice trail off, he leaned forward to kiss Dave in turn, nearly mirroring his attention to Hunter. Keeping it gentle, Shawn let himself sink down until most of his weight was on Dave's thighs, his other hand still on Dave's shoulder for balance. Finally breaking the kiss, he met the dark eyes with heat in his own. "We may not have time now... but I don't tease without following through." Letting the slow burn that was filling him show in the huskiness of his voice, he said, "I look forward to returning your favour, Dave. Sooner rather than later, I hope."


	35. Realisations

_He's all yours, but if you break him, you buy him._

Now who was playing the tease? "Oh yes Babe. I'll order you that pimp coat and fur hat, ASAP," Chris called to Adam's retreating back as the blond strolled into the hallway. "Good thing to know he's against sharing." This was sarcastically muttered under Chris' breath as he gestured Austin back into the room. The very fact that Steve was avoiding his gaze was enough to set Chris' radar off. Austin was an in-your-face guy, he told you exactly what he thought and fuck you if you couldn't take it. He'd never been too embarrassed to meet CJ's eyes in the five years they'd known each other.

Watching Steve pace across the room, then turn and retrace his footsteps, Chris decided he'd better cut to the chase or they'd be here all week. Getting Austin to volunteer any serious personal information was like asking Matt Hardy to breathe between sentences... not happening in this lifetime. Sitting cross legged on the sofa, CJ silently stared at the back of Steve's neck like a cat. He blinked when he had to, but other than that, kept up with the laser beams until Steve twitched with the effort of not looking at Chris.

After about two minutes, just as Austin seemed like he'd break and walk out, Chris asked calmly, "Who?"

Shoulders suddenly tense and hard as granite, ice blue eyes staring intently at the lacings on his boot, Steve responded quietly.

"Randy."

CJ nearly bit his tongue trying to swallow the burst of laughter that threatened to erupt. If he made light of this, something obviously very serious to the bald man, Austin would probably kill him. Or storm out and never speak to him again. Now, while the second result may have its merits, CJ really didn't want to hurt Steve's feelings. At least unintentionally.

He had a pretty good idea what was going on, but Chris felt he should confirm some details just to make sure he didn't step into any emotional land mines.

"Where?"

Austin drove the tip of one steel-cap boot into the floor. He did _not_ look like he was seven. Big, mean rednecks did not look like little kids no matter how hard they tried.

"Hotel bar."

At Chris' badly stifled snort, ice blue eyes shot up and narrowed. A light blush seemed to be creeping up Steve's hairless neck.

" _Met_ in the bar, _went_ back to my room." The multiple words were grudgingly given.

Under control now, Chris prompted, "And?"

A shrug. "Woke up alone."

Ouch. CJ's sapphire eyes darkened with sympathy. Not that he let it touch his voice in the slightest.

"Were you drunk?"

This time Steve's gaze went past his shoulder. "Yeah."

Right. Chris just hoped the advice he was about to give was the right kind. It all rested on the personality of a young man he didn't know very well. A young man with a big attitude and crap taste in friends, but moderately good taste in pick up victims apparently. If CJ was wrong, he'd personally tear a hole through the kid's ego a mile wide.

"He left because he thinks you didn't want him there. That you were so ripped he could have been a ring rat for all you noticed the difference. He likes you or he wouldn't've had the guts to approach you in that bar. Trust me Steve, young guys, even with Randy's arrogance, would have to suck it up before getting within ten feet of you when you're drunk. He got in that ten feet because he wanted to be there, then got freaked when he realised he'd have to deal with you sober." Chris stayed seated until Austin's expression had gone from morose to hopeful. "Or maybe he just ran at the sight of you with a hang-over, I know I would."

Standing Chris checked his watch and smiled, realising he'd probably beat Adam to reception. Steve was looking thoughtful again, but this time it had an actual element of _thought_ to it, rather than just weirdness.

"So, whadda I do Doll?" Austin's voice held a lot more confidence now that he'd heard a possible reason for the disappointing end to a fantastic night.

Opening the door, CJ lead them towards the elevator. "Corner him at the arena and tell him you don't like being a cheap fuck and if that's what he'd needed he should've looked elsewhere." Stepping inside the cabin, CJ leaned towards Austin conspiratorially. "Say that if he'd been planning to use you to get a break, he should have hung around and finished the job. You're _hurt_ Steve and horribly, horribly disappointed. He'll try to deny that's what he'd been intending, interrupt him and ask "so what were ya after then kid?" If he stutters or blushes, you're in."

They'd reached the lobby and Chris spied Adam lingering near the glass foyer doors. God he looked beautiful. His long, lean man glowing all golden and pretty in the sunlight spilling through the glass. If CJ hadn't fallen for this guy two years ago, he would have done so just at that moment. He kept thinking of Adam as his lover, so did that mean he loved him? Well, why not? It wasn't like he could pick better hands to place his heart in.

"And if he doesn't?" Steve's question dragged Chris' attention back from his own little personal revelation.

"Then he's a prick and you hold my glasses while I break his thumbs."

Steve's soft, surprised smile was enough to push CJ over the edge.

"Oh shut up!" He poked Austin hard between the ribs, ignoring the yelp of pain it caused and sidled up to a far more attractive option than an emotionally stunted Texan. Placing his hands on Adam's hips, Chris breathed huskily into the back of his neck.

"Hey beautiful. Shame, but he couldn't afford me. Looks like you're stuck with this naughty cat a little longer."

****

Watching Hunter's adaptation of Vince's strut had Dave's hand flying to his mouth to cover the burst of laughter it had provoked. At the moment Hunter looked more like Vince's son than his son-in-law though he doubted Hunter would appreciate that observation. Funny... Dave had always thought that that particular swagger on Vince made him think the guy was impaired by a stick shoved... well somewhere he didn't even want to think about. On Hunter, it was actually cute and endearing. God, did he have it bad.

He had assumed, apparently in error, that they were simply dropping off their bags before heading to the arena. Shawn settling on the couch had him raising a brow and wandering closer. He seriously hoped this wasn't Shawn's way of hinting that they needed to talk more right now. His body was still tingling head to toe from his interaction with Hunter. Brief as it had been, the feeling of Hunter's muscular frame pressed tight against his own had outshone any fantasy that he'd had. Having to _think_ was not really high on his list of priorities at the moment.

It dropped even further down the list once he was seated on the couch with Shawn straddling his legs with Hunter taking a seat next to them. His breath caught in his throat, his eyes locked on the two men as their lips met. Some might say he should be jealous of this, but all he felt was awe as he watched them kiss. Only it wasn't simply a kiss, but an expression of desire, tenderness, and love that had spanned a decade. Even if he hadn't been there when they had confessed their feelings, this 'simple' kiss would have made it perfectly clear. He had tried to avoid thinking ahead to what it would be like when they were all together, but right then he knew that this was a gift and not something he'd ever be jealous of. That they wanted him to be a part of their lives together... he felt nothing but blessed.

Seeing the two of them like this had converted the slight tingling he'd been feeling into a slow steady hum of pleasure. When Shawn turned to him and laid claim to his mouth as well, he had to fight his instinctive desire to carry Shawn off to the nearest bed, dragging Hunter along with them if necessary. Hell he would have been content with being able to stay right here, just as long as they were somewhere they could touch to their hearts desire and not have to worry about interruptions, schedules, or prying eyes. They would have that tonight, but the wait was going to severely strain his already strung-out nerves. Closing his eyes, he bit down on the temptation to control the kiss and let Shawn dictate the pace. Slow, sensual... he felt like he was lost in a fog once Shawn pulled away.

 _"I look forward to returning your favour, Dave. Sooner rather than later, I hope."_

With a groan, he turned and laid his forehead against Hunter's shoulder. "You two are going to be the death of me, but at least I'm going to die a very happy man." Though the words were mumbled against Hunter's shirt, he was sure they'd both caught the gist of what he'd said. Patting Shawn's backside gently, he looked up at the blond perched on his lap. "Up with you now, or I'm going to ignore Vince's rules and keep you both here indefinitely and that's not going to help when he hears our news I'm guessing."

Just for the hell of it, since he was in such a good mood, he gripped his hands at Shawn's hips and with a deft maneuver deposited Shawn in Hunter's lap. It might only last for a moment, depending on Hunter, but it sure was a pretty sight to see regardless.

****

Hunter could feel the heat from their bodies like they were a bonfire, his face warmed, his body relaxing into that comforting feeling. Shawn's hand at his neck didn't surprise him this time, nor the lips on his, giving him a slow, deep acknowledgement of love and passion he might actually deserve. Hunt blinked a little as Shawn pulled away, the heart in his throat adding to the tightness he'd felt since Shawn's hand had touched his face moments before.

The pressure in his lungs eased a little as Shawn gave Dave a similar promise with his mouth and hands. Sure the pressure, and blood, headed to a different destination, but that one wasn't so hard to manage, no pun intended. He'd been stifling his desires for years, he could easily control himself when they were all dressed and on the clock. But he wanted to show his affections as well as just be on the receiving end. Leaning forward slightly, Hunter gently kissed the side of first Dave's neck, then Shawn's. Tiny gestures, probably lost to the men so blatantly enjoying each other, but a veritable leap for Hunter. He also stroked a hand from Shawn's shoulder, down his curved spine to rest on his tailbone. It was more like a comforting caress than a sexual one, but it got a small shiver in response so Hunter was pleased.

Dave buried his face in Hunter's shirt just as the blond was getting ready to move away. Shaking his head ruefully at Dave's impeccable timing, Hunt draped an arm across the broad shoulders in such nice proximity to his and dropped a kiss on the back of the 'animal's' head.

 _Up with you now,_

This one Hunt _didn't_ see coming. Reflexes kicked in and he caught Shawn around the waist to stop his lover from tumbling to the floor in an undignified heap. Although given Shawn's inherent grace, he'd probably look good doing that too. Despite his surprise the last thing he wanted to do was push Shawn away, so he tightened his arms, cuddling the smaller man close until their noses touched.

"Hey Darling," he smiled. This was what he was used to, holding Shawn, loving him with his eyes and words, while letting his body simply indulge in the closeness of physical contact. They really better move soon, but this had been too nice an interlude to spoil by looking at his watch.

"Shall we?" It was an invitation to leave, but Hunter would let Shawn decide if they were moving. He wasn't running yet, but he might soon. Better to leave the decision to someone with their head on straight.

Hunter just didn't know which of the three of them could make that claim at the moment.

****

 _"Thanks. That... means a lot."_

He continued smiling as Mark walked away. Honestly he didn't expect Mark to take him up on his offer. The man was so damn silent all the time that it was hard to read him... only his long time with the man had allowed him any insight at all. Then again maybe Mark would surprise him. After all the bitching the man had heard from him after Chris had jumped to Raw, he would be happy to return the favor and let Mark bend his ear if needed. Then he'd been a sounding board once again after things went bad with Terry, though true to his stubborn nature he hadn't listened when Mark had said that Terry was an ass and always would be.

He wondered a moment over Mark's surprise. That seemed an unusual reaction... Adam's first guess would have been sadness or a slight degree of upset. More than likely he wasn't supposed to have noticed it at all, but he was pretty sure it wasn't because Shawn was taking up with someone. That had happened before even if it hadn't been loudly advertised and Mark had shown little to no reaction. Adam had to assume that it was the person of choice that had surprised Mark and that made him wonder just what he'd missed. Maybe he was slipping.

Pulling one of a half dozen pair of sunglasses from his bag, he put them on as he approached the glass doors to the foyer. It was a nice bright sunny day so far and he wished for a moment that he and Chris could run off to a beach somewhere and spend the day quietly. Wasn't going to happen though... maybe while they were at home.

 _"Hey beautiful. Shame, but he couldn't afford me. Looks like you're stuck with this naughty cat a little longer."_

The words breathed against his nape made him shiver and smile at the same time. Such a tragedy to be 'stuck' with Chris. Not hardly. Turning his head, his cheek just a breath away from Chris' mouth, he replied quietly without thought. "He could have offered everything he owned and still not come close. Can't put a price on something priceless."

Whoa. Serious much? Maybe too much for where they were. Ever aware of the people around them he turned instead of leaning back into Chris' body as was his want. Time to lighten things up or they'd end up in Vince's office for a big lecture. "Does this mean I don't get my coat and hat? I was thinking about using them as my new ring gear."

"So... crisis averted or do we have a roommate for the night?" Despite what Chris had said earlier, he was pretty sure that he wouldn't actually make Austin sleep in his car. Adam wasn't thrilled with the notion, but he was Chris' friend so if it ended up being the result he'd deal with it. He wouldn't come straight out and ask about whatever was bothering Austin either. It obviously wasn't something Austin wanted to advertise or he'd have been his normal bitchy self and fuck anyone that didn't want to listen to his complaints. Must be a woman... or a guy he supposed. Either one would apparently do where Steve was concerned although if Adam had to guess the man or woman in question had Austin second-guessing himself.

Before Chris could answer him, Ty and Jay passed by them on the way to the car. Things were still tense there or so it seemed. Adam sighed as he looked at the pair. He'd have to grab Jay later at the arena and make him spill his guts. There was definitely something wrong and he wanted to help. Tossing an arm around Chris' shoulders, he turned towards the doors. "Guess we better get out there before they forget we're supposed to be riding with them."

****

"Mmm." The softly satisfied noise escaped before Shawn realised he was making it, but all he could do was smile as Hunter's arms closed around him, holding him close. He could see Dave's smug expression from his new position, and stuck his tongue out at the man, laughing quietly.

 _"Hey Darling."_

The simple endearment nearly made Shawn's heart melt. After so long, so many years of wishing for this... he couldn't believe that he had it. Well, he hadn't had it _yet_ , but still. He'd see about that later tonight, most definitely... after he saw to Dave's little surprise. Good thing for his new lovers that he had an oral fixation. His own thoughts made his smile widen, and he met Hunter's eyes, seeing a familiar sparkle in the whiskey-toned depths... and realised suddenly what that sparkle meant, what it had always meant. The sudden squeeze to his heart took his breath away for a moment and he bowed his head forward, leaning against Hunter's forehead.

The simple act of touching Hunter wasn't new, or even that of Hunter touching him... but with the knowledge they shared now, every simple familiar touch took on new meaning. Finally, Shawn understood why Scott still shivered a little every single time Kevin touched his arm, or why Kevin's eyes still glowed whenever Scott cocked his head at him and called him "chico". It wasn't the mere action, so mundane and familiar to those around them... it was the meaning behind them that only they knew. He cast a sidelong glance at Dave, wondering just how the Animal would react next time Shawn clapped him on the back in public.

 _"Shall we?"_

A sigh.

Reluctantly, unwilling to give up his comfortable seat but knowing that they had to get moving, Shawn scooted back, standing up and holding his hands out to Hunter to help him up. Considering what Hunter had to talk to the man about, they didn't need to push any of Vince's buttons beforehand. He'd be pissy enough anyway.

"Since we must..."

Turning to Dave, Shawn let his eyes show the emotions he was feeling, knowing that the big man still needed some reassurance. Reaching out and stroking a hand down Dave's arm, he forced himself to suppress the temptation of sliding to his knees right here and now and finding out just what their Animal tasted like. He was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to wait until they got back to the hotel after the show, but he knew that he wanted to be able to give his lover the time he deserved, too. Letting some of that longing show, he said, "Well... we should get going. Before we give into temptation and get ourselves into trouble."

Heading out the door, he held it open as the other two walked by, content to follow them down the hall to the elevator. After all, that way he got to appreciate their... assets.

****

 _"...Although just for food at the moment."_

Kevin smirked back at his lover, knowing full well what he'd rather be tasting... but knowing that the game they were playing today would lead to one hell of a memorable night. Leaning forward to suck the peach slice out of Scott's fingers, he made a quiet noise in the back of his throat at the surprisingly sweet taste. Chewing and swallowing, he held Scott's arm still with a loose grasp and lapped the juices off his fingers, making sure to swirl his tongue over every inch of flesh.

 _"I've got a craving for a big ol' crème puff."_

Kev's eyes narrowed at the grin on Scott's face and he growled softly. He wasn't about to deny what Scott was implying: He _was_ a softy, especially for Scott... but hardly ever did his lover actually _say_ something like that. Scott was pushing his luck, apparently, to see just how far he could push Kevin today. Well, then. Tucking that little line in the back of his mind for later recall, he resolved not to give Scotty the satisfaction of any further reaction to it... for now. But just because of what had happened that morning, didn't mean that Scott wasn't due his turn.

That thought brought a small curve to his lips, and he picked up a strawberry and held it out to Scott. His lover responded in kind, and even though Kevin had been expecting it, the feeling of that tongue sliding over his skin never failed to provoke a reaction in him. Of course, Scott could provoke a reaction in him just by saying his name, too. The things that man could do with his voice were positively indecent sometimes.

They teased each other through their lunch, leisurely enjoying each other's company. Finally, as Kevin swallowed the last grape in a semi-reclining position, Scott nestled up against him, he let himself indulge in simply looking at Scott. The relaxation almost pouring out of the man made him happy; he was far too used still to seeing unhappy tenseness there... or drunken looseness. He ran his hand down Scott's shoulder before wrapping his arm around him, content in the moment.

Until he caught sight of the clock almost hidden behind their discarded dishes.

"Damn," he said softly. Feeling Scott shift against him, he met his lover's quizzical gaze with a resigned expression. "We need to get going. If we're not at the arena by the time the promos start, we'll hear about it." He brushed a kiss against Scott's temple before reluctantly releasing him and sitting up. "Wonder why Vince insisted we come to this taping, anyway. It's not like he needs us for anything tonight."

****

 _Can't put a price on something priceless._

Oh wow. That wasn't just the nicest thing Adam had ever said to him, that was the most complimentary thing _anyone_ had ever said. The words made Chris' heart turn to a strange, mushy substance and his breathing halt for a moment. He leaned his cheek against Adam's shoulder blade and shut his eyes, savouring what CJ realised was a 'moment'. He'd never really had one until now, a fraction of time you wanted to imprint in your memory like a stained glass window. An image of colours and feelings that you could drag out in the future and think, "hey, remember when Adam said...." It was the first of what Chris hoped might be many such moments with Adam. The first and definitely the best.

 _I don't get my coat and hat?_

Yeah, well.

Even 'moments' had to end.

Laughing at their game, Chris promised himself that he'd track down their old costumer and find one of the Godfather's outfits as soon as possible. He'd try to get a purple one if he could, but yellow would be awesome as well. It freaked him out a little that the thing he wanted to dress Adam up in was a loud coat and furry hat, rather than a vinyl soldier's outfit, but their relationship was weird anyway, so this was nothing new.

It took less than a minute to load themselves into their car. Austin was chauffeured to the arena as usual. It never ceased to amaze CJ that such a rough nut redneck like Steve was so incredibly wealthy. He wouldn't seem so on first meeting, but the guy could buy and sell the whole fucking hotel for gawd's sake without his accountant giving a hiccup. Luckily it hadn't messed with his head like some of the older WWE superstars. Steve was embarrassingly normal for such a star, this morning's freak out being a prime example of money not meaning shit in the real world.

Chris however, despite his own healthy income, sat in the back seat of a rental car with Adam and tried not to tear the armrest off the door with his fingernails. Jay Reso was almost driving. That was about the nicest possible term CJ could come up with to describe his friend's lack of talent when operating a vehicle. That he made the car go in a straight line was something of an achievement in Chris' book, that they didn't have an accident was a fucking miracle. Jay drove emotionally rather than mentally, his feelings, which at this time were obviously angry and frustrated were spilling out of him, traveling through the chassis of the car and affecting everything in a ten foot radius. Luckily there wasn't much traffic, or they'd be involved in a COPS-like road rage incident for sure.

Fortunately they only let Jay drive on the short trips between arena and hotel etc., because there was no way in hell he'd be allowed near an interstate. At least not with willing passengers.

Ten harrowing minutes later, Chris and Adam tumbled out onto solid ground and CJ almost fell to his knees a la the Pope, in thanks for his very life. It was an exaggeration sure, but every time Jay drove he swore 'never again', he liked his life right now too much to risk losing it.

Exchanging a look of pained understanding with Adam, CJ collected his wits and put on his best flirty look at they walked through the employees' entrance of the arena.

"Would you like to share my dressing room Babe? Or maybe not," Chris corrected after a moment of thought. "We _are_ supposed to dress after taking our clothes off in these things and that's a step I might be unable to complete."

It wasn't a RAW taping and CJ knew he would likely be in the main locker room anyway, but Adam was his lover after all and finally being able to flirt like a madman with him was fantastic and liberating all at the same time. He and Adam were together with a capital T and Chris didn't care who knew it.

****

He smiled smugly at first, neither had been expecting his actions obviously though both had adjusted quickly to the new position. Thankfully Hunter hadn't stood up and dumped Shawn on the floor... that would have been bad. Instead he was now grinning over Shawn's reaction. And then he was holding onto that grin for dear life as the two looked at each other.

Everything they felt for each other was laid bare in their eyes and for just a moment he felt intimidated. It wasn't a familiar emotion for him. He could count on one hand the number of times he could actually remember experiencing it. He managed to squelch the emotion with his next breath. They wanted him to be with them and it was better that they felt comfortable having this exchange of emotions in front of him. If they tried to hide it, or save it for moments when he wasn't there, it would only make him regret their having to do so.

It didn't stop him from hoping that he'd be on the receiving end of one of those looks someday. He could honestly say that he was capable of giving one to either of them. Right then and there he admitted to himself that he loved both of them. It wasn't a flash in the pan love at first sight... the feelings had been there beneath the surface for awhile. He'd just refused to give them names until now.

What he felt for Hunter was deep, cultivated during the time they had worked together. Hunter marrying Stephanie hadn't changed his growing feelings, it had just necessitated that he keep them to himself, burying them where even he wouldn't look too closely. Shawn, what he felt for him, was newer granted, but no less powerful. Question was... when would he actually get up the nerve to _tell_ them. Just coming right out and saying "I love you both", at least the first time he said it, made his romantic side twitch. Maybe if he thought about it awhile he could come up with something. It really wasn't like he was procrastinating... honest.

 _"Since we must..."_

Wow. Had he spaced out there or what? Forcing down the instinctive shiver that Shawn's touch provoked, Dave simply smiled at him. Didn't need to give Shawn any more encouragement to stay right where they were or they'd never get out of here. Pushing himself to his feet, he followed Hunter out the door that Shawn was holding open for them, still somewhat caught up in his thoughts.

As they entered the elevator, Dave leaned back against the wall casually. The doors slid shut behind Shawn and Dave cast a speculative look at Hunter. He could repeat his earlier actions, but then he so hated being predictable. Hunter twitched under his stare and Dave just continued looking at him, a wicked smile in place. No jumping on Hunter in the elevator this time... he'd save it for the arena when Hunter wasn't expecting it.

****

With a deft flick, he adjusted the white cuff peeking out from beneath his black jacket. Far more formal attire than he was used too, but given the dress code at the WWE, one he was just on the verge of passing. Just.

This was the third week in a row they'd had a meeting. Three weeks he'd been on fuckin' tenterhooks about whether he would have the chance to work here or not. Probably not, given that Vince, Patterson and that cock-sucker Melrose the Contract Advisor were bringing him back for another raking over the coals.

But... if they were giving him a chance, just another god-damned _chance_ , he'd prove to Vince that he was worth the gamble. He would, he _would_. Because if he didn't, if they didn't, he may as well just walk in front of a bus, because he had no-where else to go. No-one else he wanted to be, than the person he could be here.

Looking down the corridor he realised, thank fuck, that no-one was here yet. Running into any WWE talent right now would be a nightmare he really didn't have the focus to deal with. They could all go fuck themselves as well, as far as he was concerned. Vince was his focus now. Melrose would shut the fuck up if Vince made a decision, so Vince was his one and only priority. He'd do this. He had too.

Fuck the world, he'd show them.

****

His entire body immediately went on growl alert. He'd known it was coming and he still hadn't been prepared for it. Damn the things Kev did to him with one tiny little sound. Not surprising though when sometimes all Kev had to do was _look_ at him in that certain way to have him tied up in knots.

Kevin wasn't going to retaliate... at least not right now. It took Scott a full minute of looking at the smile on his face before he had figured that out. Oh god. Torture... and one of his favorite kinds at that. Anticipation was a strong aphrodisiac. Even as he bit into the strawberry offered with Kevin's fingers it was there. It would build incrementally until Kevin exacted his playful revenge. Thoughts of the possibilities flew through his head as he licked the juice from the berry off Kevin's fingers. Lingeringly he let his tongue slide over Kevin's fingers, fastidiously claiming each drop that was mingled with the taste of Kevin's skin.

Each in turn offered another delight for the other's consumption. It was comfortable yet full of sensual moments that would add to one another until they reached overflowing. As he offered up the last grape to Kevin, he moved closer. How many nights had he laid in the clinic and wished for moments like this? The comforting heat of Kevin's body pervading his own. How many nights had he spent alone at his own home until he'd had the nerve to seek Kevin out and make his apologies? Even one was too many as far as Scott was concerned. He'd missed this even though these moments had been farther between when they were together before. Thankfully it seemed that they were past the point where displays such as this were too emotionally charged. He'd wallow in them to his heart's content now and not take them for granted again.

 _"We need to get going. If we're not at the arena by the time the promos start, we'll hear about it."_

Scott sighed quietly, knowing they really had no choice. He couldn't figure out why Vince wanted them there either, but with Vince it was hard telling. Maybe he'd finally decided on a program for them rather than having them do random promos until they figured something out... most likely something to be started after the PPV.

"I need to talk to Vince anyway Kevin. I should have done it last night before we left," he said with a grimace as he pushed himself off the bed. "If I know Hunter, he's already had words with Vince about it, and as much as I appreciate it, it isn't his responsibility. Tonight is as good a time as any to take care of it."

Grabbing the bag with their gear in it, Scott reached out and grabbed Kevin's hand on the way to the door. "Let's just hope he's in a good mood tonight. I have a feeling Hunter's going to have to be having a talk with him tonight as well. I'd almost pay to see his reaction to that little bombshell." Smiling up at Kev as they headed into the elevator, he kept a firm hold on Kevin's hand. Maybe it was a good thing that they had to be there, he wouldn't want to miss all the fun.


	36. Workouts

Hunter could feel Shawn's eyes on his ass, as they got into the elevator for the second time in twenty minutes. He shook his head minutely at his lover's antics. Looks like his 'issue' would last about five minutes with these two around; if he didn't know better he'd think they were conspiring against him, but he doubted that. It was a measure of the possibility they were forming, that two of them reacted to a problem with the third quickly and effectively. It'd been the same if Dave was hurting or Shawn was struggling with his past. They'd drop everything and come to the party of solving the problem and making their lover feel better. Thank god they were getting this balance fairly quickly, Hunt would just have to make sure they knew he was emotionally invested in this to the maximum, even if his physical responses might say otherwise.

Noticing Dave kept a respectable distance between them in the lift, Hunter wondered for a moment if he'd changed tactics and decided to pull Hunter into those long, strong arms. It might work too, even after only a couple of hours, Hunter felt he'd be far more relaxed with wrapping his arms around both his companions than he would've been this morning. Good. His hated this 'no touchy' stuff as much as they did and would prefer it right now.

But Dave and Shawn both kept to themselves for the remainder of the trip downstairs as well as the short walk to the car. The driver happily put their ring bags into the trunk while they got settled.

"The arena sir?" Perfectly polite and a bit intimidated, Hunt wondered if he was a fan.

"That's the trip, thanks." Hunter said in a friendly tone. Sure, he didn't care what the general public thought of him most days, still didn't mean he wanted to act like a 'bastard heel' in the real world as well as the fantasy that was the WWE. As he and Dave were traveling with Shawn, it would be fairly obvious to the casual observer they were all friends, despite Vince's attempts to maintain kayfabe beyond the arenas.

The drive to the arena was over pretty quickly as their driver... Paul, wouldn't you know?... was local and knew the roads like the back of his hand. Waving Shawn and Dave into the arena, Hunt decided to ask Paul to be available for them tonight if he wasn't busy as dealing with a new driver each time could be a bit of a headache depending on the guy assigned them. Paul literally glowed at the request and Hunter smiled again. Yep, a fan. One who now gets to hang at the arena and can pass it off as an actual job.

Finding his companions in the Evolution locker room---Ric insisted even though they weren't even on Smackdown---Hunter changed quickly into sweats before heading to the gym area. Dave was ready to follow, but Shawn wasn't so....

"See you at the gym Darling, when you've got your sexy ass ready that is." Kissing Shawn on the nose, Hunt headed towards the small weight room provided by my arenas, wondering if Dave would follow or enjoy the show about to be performed in that locker room.

****

Cursing as he pulled into the parking lot, Mark found the first available parking space and parked, turning the car off with a sigh. It never failed, really. The more wound up he was over something, the worse the traffic was, and the stupider the people. If he'd had to slam on his brakes to avoid being broad-sided at a stoplight one more time, he would've Tombstoned somebody on the pavement. For real.

Taking a deep breath, he climbed out of the car and grabbed his duffle bag, locking the rental behind him as he headed into the building. He wasn't looking forward to this at all, but at least he only had to deal with Heyman for tapings, not for house shows.

As far as he knew, anyway. Mentally crossing his fingers, he stopped a vaguely familiar-looking crewman and asked him where they'd hidden his room this time. Nodding in thanks at the directions, Mark found it hidden down a side hall from the main locker room, which was a pleasant surprise. He didn't always get his own room, so it'd been an assumption... but with the mood he was in right now, he didn't need company. On the down side, Vince's office for the night was practically right next to the main locker room, so he had to pass it every time he left his room, but nothing was ever perfect.

Changing quickly, he found the weight room not too far away and very nicely unoccupied. Just a short workout today; he didn't have any in-ring work to do besides his spot with Heyman, and his shoulder was bothering him a bit. He knew he needed to take some time off to let it heal up again, but it was just a strain... At least the weights would keep his mind off... no. Not going there. Better to wonder what the hell was up with Shawn and Batista than think about _that_.

When he realised he was gritting his teeth as he lifted weights, he admitted to himself that it was past time to stop. He noticed Adam and Jericho come in as he was starting to finish up and nodded at them.

Heading out the door, his shoulder aching, he passed other superstars as they trickled in, absently noting Hunter among them. A familiar laugh caught his attention and he looked to the side, to see Shawn smiling at Dave... and Hunter was standing back by the weight room, watching them. That was odd, he frowned to himself... but he was in no mood to talk to Shawn at the moment, let alone with others around to overhear the conversation. First, a stop back at his room to pop a couple of Tylenol, a quick shower and a change... and then maybe he'd try to track the man down. Maybe.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't realise how close he was to the main locker room until he heard raised voices from up ahead. Slowing a bit, he peered ahead, wondering... and stopped as he realised the noise wasn't coming from the locker room after all.

It was coming from Vince's office.

Since the door to said office was firmly shut, Mark raised an eyebrow for a moment, wondering just what the hell was going on in there. Then again, he probably didn't want to know. Every time he'd been involved in a shouting match with Vince, he'd come out on the losing end.

Shrugging a bit, he started to move past the door... only to stop cold as it flew open, narrowly missing hitting him as it slammed into the wall with a dull thud. He opened his mouth to demand an apology from the idiot who'd just done that... only to find himself speechless as he found himself staring at an all-too-familiar and completely unexpected figure.

****

He was seriously considering reaching up and smacking Ty in the back of the head for letting Jay drive. The only thing that stopped him was the set look on Ty's face. While he and Chris were hanging on for dear life in the backseat, Ty sat in stony silence ignoring the possibility of an accident. As soon as the car skidded to a halt in the parking lot, Adam was out the door like a shot. That was the last time Jay was driving when he was in such a foul mood... his driving was bad enough when he was actually happy. Next time, Adam would physically drag him out of the driver's seat before climbing docilely into the back of the car.

Ty and Jay didn't immediately follow them towards the building and Adam almost considered going back to get them. Tension was rife and the last thing they needed was a shouting match in the parking lot for Vince to grumble over. Chris' question as they walked through the doorway distracted him for a moment. Like he was even going to consider letting Chris out of his sight unless he had to... especially if he was going to be anywhere near naked.

 _"...That's a step I might be unable to complete."_

Grinning wickedly, Adam tossed an arm around Chris' shoulders and walked a few steps. "You won't hear me complaining... and I doubt Shelton would mind the view either. We could always give him something else to stare at, because I'll most likely not keep my hands to myself if you are anything close to naked. Maybe he'd walk into a wall this time."

They teased quietly back and forth until they reached the locker room. Thankfully it was pretty much empty at this time and Adam had a blast keeping to his word. In between laughing and what were supposed to be covert gropes, they finally managed to change into their workout clothes. Adam winked at Shelton on their way out of the room on the way to the gym. Unfortunately he didn't walk into a wall, but he did turn around and run into his locker door. Almost as amusing, really. It gave them something to laugh at on the way to the gym at least.

When they entered the room, Adam spotted Mark just finishing his workout. He returned Mark's nod and tamped down his concern. He had noticed the gritting of the teeth as they'd walked in. Mark had always used exercise to help clear his head, but maybe he'd overdone it just a bit this time. He forced himself not to shake his head at his former lover. The stubborn man just wouldn't take the time off he needed to heal and no one was going to convince him otherwise until he was forced to do so by a doctor.

Turning back to his current lover, the man he was completely head over heels for, Adam smiled at him. "I wonder what Jay and Ty are up to. Hopefully it's making up. I would much rather spend the night cuddling up to you than listening to Jay rage. And speaking of cuddle interruptus... you never did give me a yes or no on our prospective roomie. Please tell me that you don't have to spend the night coddling our resident redneck."

****

Thankfully Shawn had behaved himself en route to the arena or Dave probably wouldn't have been able to walk in when they had arrived. The cumulative effects of touching Hunter and Shawn off and on all day seemed to have him on hair-trigger status now at least as far as his initial reaction. He managed to make it through changing in the same room with Hunter and Shawn only through sheer force of will, though he thought he was doomed to failure when Hunter kissed Shawn on the nose and left. Having changed quickly into a pair of sweats when they'd first arrived in the room, he was ready to leave as well, but lingered for a moment, his eyes roaming over Shawn's form as he stripped off his clothes.

He was about to turn away instinctively so that Shawn wouldn't catch him at his observation. That's when he remembered that he didn't have to do so. He no longer had to hide his interest in Shawn or Hunter beneath covert glances, though most times he'd resisted even that much to avoid getting caught. Hell, Shawn would probably think it stranger if he didn't look. He smiled as he noticed that Shawn was now ready to go and waved him out the door ahead of him.

As they walked down the hall, he wondered exactly how much of a workout he was actually going to get accomplished today considering the fact that Shawn and Hunter would be there. He'd probably spend more time looking at the two of them than actually doing anything productive. He rolled his shoulders slightly as they continued towards the gym. It wouldn't actually hurt anything if he slacked off one day. He just wasn't in the mood to tire himself out with a workout when he wasn't sure what Hunter had planned for tonight. Speaking of which...

"Should we be scared of what Hunter's got planned for later? I can just see him springing for a barbershop quartet to sing a serenade." The scary thing was, he actually _could_ see it. Grinning unrepentantly at Shawn, he barely noticed who was present as they entered the weight room and walked towards Hunter.

****

Chris was almost giggling at the teasing touches they'd been giving each other for the last ten minutes. Talk about a turn on, this kind of behaviour would send CJ through the roof pretty soon. His dick was telling him he'd rested enough, that it wanted to play with Adam and wanted to play _now_! "Yeah well, you're a slut," Chris chastised his hopeful member. He was at work now and while the groping was fun and hilarious CJ liked to keep anything more explicit till there was some privacy and lots of time.

 _Please tell me that you don't have to spend the night coddling our resident redneck?_

"God no. Coddling Steve would involve too much beer and possibly the loss of an arm, he's fine." CJ's dismissive wave was premature he knew, but if Austin didn't work up the guts to corral Randy, he _could_ sleep in the damn car. "He was just being a baby at reception. There's another hotel two blocks away that would drool to have a high profile wrestler stay there. If he doesn't end up in _Randy's_ room anyway." Chris felt no shame in revealing Austin's plight to Adam. He trusted his new lover no question, Adam wouldn't say a word to the young idiot. More than likely he'd sit back with CJ and watch the drama unfold while drinking and offering commentary.

Slowly stretching out every single muscle in his body, Chris felt the last of the tension in his back and calf melt away. The wicked irony of their lives was the need to be constantly in good shape, while doing just about every damn thing they could think of to wreck that shape. Long drives, irregular eating, strange beds, weird food and not enough sleep were just par for the course in his profession. Too bad Chris loved what he did so much or he'd have called it quits years ago, based on the shitty schedules alone. Tonight for instance, he had like _one_ interview to do. A three-minute grab CJ could give with his eyes shut and his mouth taped, but he _had_ to be there for four hours. Those were the rules and that was that.

Deciding to work on his legs to teach that cramp a lesson, Chris overtly watched Adam warm up and begin his work out, with impressed blue eyes. It was a difficult task to watch his lover's perfect body go through the familiar motions, but hey, CJ would make the sacrifice. It was for a good cause after all. Letting his mind drift into that zone you got when focusing on exercise, Chris planned what they might do at Adam's place for the next few days.

Well _sure_ , they'd be fucking like bunnies. But _after_ christening every room in Adam's house, they'd have to fill in their refractory periods with something. Lazing around and watching t.v. wasn't really in Chris' nature, but Adam might not go for zipping about like an insane bumble-bee like he usually did. They had what? Four nights... so two for Chris and two for Adam. He really, really wanted to take his lover out for fast food and juvenile behavior, but given the weather, a long sunset walk and hearing a jazz band would be awesome too.

Falling into the repetitive nature of the work-out Chris almost missed the entrance of Hunter, Shawn and Dave Batista. Talk about a threesome that could invite trouble as well as lustful thoughts, and jeezuz! Were those hot, hot, _hot_ looks being tossed around between the three of them for real?

"I am psychic. I swear to you Babe I am. I've got that Medium chick beat hands down." Chris said in an undertone to Adam while gesturing rather comically with his chin towards the three men now doing their own warm up. It would have been a clearer gesture if he'd still had his King Tut beard, but thank god that bet was over and he was fairly happy being almost clean shaven for the time being. "Vince is going to freak out so bad, his toupee will hit Pat in the face. You just wait." Chris was _gifted_ , it was obvious.

****

Jeff Hardy barely managed to get the door open before stalking through it like an enraged cat. Oh yeah, his ears were back and his tail was fluffy right now, "You assholes!" he shot back under his breath, ignoring the looks on the faces of the three men still in the office as he'd made his magnificent exit. He'd almost cleaned someone up with the door, but Jeff didn't catch who is was, a white haze of rage had overtaken him. Causing the air about him to fairly vibrate with his fury and yeah... hurt. Blindly he headed down the nearest hallway, it  was deserted and out of the way. Good.

"It doesn't matter Hardy, it _doesn't_ matter!"

 _"Maybe we could discuss some conditions of you working for us again Jeffy." God Melrose was such a smarmy asshole. Jeff loathed that cutesy nickname and he was sure Melrose knew it._

"Who gives a shit? I hated it here."

 _"You know me Vince. There were reasons in the past, reasons that're gone now. I'm good." He'd been calm and earnest, keeping his filthy tongue in his mouth out of the need to prove himself._

 __"Your ability has never been the problem Jeff." Pat had shot a look at Melrose with the slight emphasis on his name. "It's your attitude we have trouble with."_

"Stupid, motherfucking...."

 _Not long after that Melrose had offered the proverbial straw. "Maybe we'd believe in your commitment if you could manage to turn up to work on time."_

"Fuck you Melrose! Argh! Fuck them!" Lashing out Jeff  kicked the wall... hard. His knee would let him know about it later, but right now there was no pain.

Just the anger and despair.

One of the lights above him was out and Jeff felt like merging into the shadow lining the wall. If he could just lose himself in that dark, comforting warmth, then maybe he could find some peace. Something he was missing. Curling in on himself, Jeff wrapped his arms across his middle in a self-hug and rested his forehead against the wall. The lime plaster was a cool contrast to the burning emotions that were gripping him, turning from the energetic, frenzied fire of rage to cold reality.

Shutting his eyes, Jeff felt himself calm down. He didn't want it, didn't want to be rational or thinking, that would just make things worse. Not that they could be.

"No fourth meeting for you, Fucktard." It was almost funny. "No contract either." 

Almost.

****

Working out was... well, working out. Same old, same old. Except this time he could work out _and_ watch Chris to his heart's content. That seemed to make the weights feel a little lighter and running the treadmill a whole hell of a lot more fun. He was so busy checking out his lover's assets that he barely noticed anyone else in the room.

 _"I am psychic. I swear to you Babe I am. I've got that Medium chick beat hands down."_

Zeroing in on the three that Chris had indicated, Adam's brow nearly shot up into his hairline. He was obviously slipping. How the hell had he missed that? Of course he'd known something was up with Hunter, but he'd completely missed out on any hints that there was going to be a totally hot threesome forming. At least he'd been right about Dave and Shawn. Hopefully Mark heard about the change before seeing something he shouldn't or there could be one hell of an explosion. Was he evil for wanting to be a witness if it did happen? Probably.

Laughing over Chris' mention of Vince's hairpiece, though the man swore he didn't have one, Adam dropped the weights he'd been lifting back onto the rack on the wall. He was completely done in for the moment and he should probably go see if he could find Benoit to cut their promo and make sure they were set for the match on Sunday. He hadn't seen Glen yet so he'd have to hunt him down as well. Not to mention that he still had yet to corner Jay and see what the hell was going on with him, though that could wait until after the taping started. Seeing that Chris was done with his own workout as well, Adam tossed a towel around his neck.

"You ready to get out of here? I've got a lot to get done before the taping starts." Rolling his eyes over the necessity of actually being here tonight for any of this crap when they could have done it last night and had the night off, he grabbed Chris' hand at his affirmative reply and led him towards the door.

"Did you want to do something tonight after the show or just head back to the hotel?" In all honesty, he'd rather hole up with Chris at the hotel even if the night was not crammed full of totally amazing sex, but he figured he should at least ask. If Chris wanted to go out first, then he'd gladly go anywhere that Chris wanted to. He was just crossing his fingers that they wouldn't have to take Dumb and Dumber with them, or suffer Austin's crap mood if he wasn't going to end up in Randy's room. Randy? Geez. He really hadn't seen _that_ one coming either.

His good mood was dampened minutely when he heard the snide comment from a few feet down the hallway. "Decided to fuck your way through the roster now instead of picking up rats, huh Adam?"

Sighing silently in resignation, Adam kept the smile on his face and reacted exactly as he always did in these situations... by replying with his own version of Stone Cold's salute. Normally that was enough to shut the man up for awhile. The slurs didn't really bother him. Ever since Brock had dropped Terry, neatly coinciding with his NFL tryouts, Terry had been using every opportunity available to take a dig at him. Why he'd waited so long, Adam didn't know or care. That Terry was paying such close attention to his life outside of work... was a bit bizarre, not to mention irritating. Too bad Terry didn't stick to his normal response.

"So you finally nailed the bitch. Was it worth all that whining and bitching you did when he left?" Terry was leaning against the wall, a smug look on his face like he'd just spilled a state secret.

Well now... there was a question he actually felt like answering. Maybe it was the insult to Chris or maybe it was because he was feeling full of piss and vinegar today, but he'd finally had enough.

"Excuse me just a moment would you, sweetheart?" A quick kiss to Chris' temple and he walked over to stand beside Terry, leaning on one hand against the wall, 'you are so fucked' smile in place.

"Actually, if I'd known what I was missing I'd probably have whined and bitched ten times as much as I did, but you got a couple of things wrong there. First off, he's not a bitch and if I ever hear you refer to him as such again, I'll happily choke the life right out of you." His grin grew a bit wider as Terry edged a few steps away from him. "Second, he actually nailed me if you want to get technical and did a phenomenal job of it. You did get part of it right though, so maybe you aren't as stupid as all those people say you are." Adam flashed a grin at Chris who seemed amused as well, ignoring Terry's look of disbelief.

"Bullshit. You don't bottom, Adam."

He couldn't help it. He tossed his head back and laughed. "That's what you get for trying to think. I take it back. You actually are that stupid. See... I actually do for people that matter. With that pencil stub you call a dick, it would hardly have been worth it. Chris on the other hand has a _huge_ cock," he said, evil grin firmly in place, "and he had me screaming like a fangirl." Chris' laughter rang through the halls and Adam decided that he'd had enough. Well... almost. "If you see Brock, tell him I said hello. Oh wait. He dumped your sorry ass for another football player wanna-be, didn't he? My bad."

He took two steps back towards Chris before Terry responded, his voice barely audible to Adam. "You better hope I don't end up in the ring with him Adam. I'll make sure he doesn't walk out." A chill ran down his spine. How could he have ever seen anything at all in Terry? For the first time in his life he could honestly say he hated someone and mean it. Quick as a snake, he turned and had one hand at Terry's throat, his body pressing Terry's tightly against the wall. He saw a flash of fear in Terry's eyes, but didn't loosen his hold.

"Shall we see how well your surgery is holding up? At least yours has healed you little prick." He almost laughed at the fervent shaking of the shaggy black mop of hair. "You'd better think twice before you open your mouth from now on. If something happens to him, I'll be back for you Terry." He let go before he really was tempted to choke the living shit out of the man and turned to join Chris. He hadn't made it half a dozen steps when he heard Chris shout his name.

Adam turned back quickly but not quite quick enough. As soon as the breath whooshed from his lungs he knew what had happened. He could practically hear Heyman shouting "gore, gore, gore" in his head. He'd taken the move before, but not with this intent. As his back hit the far wall, he heard a sickening crunch and drew in a gasping breath just as his head ricocheted off the wall. Flashes of light burst before his eyes and then he was collapsing to the floor. Fucking hell that hurt. Chris's screaming had him trying to reach his feet. He'd managed to push himself to his knees, still gasping for breath when he felt a boot connect with the ribs opposite the ones that were already fractured or broken.

He could still hear Chris yelling, but his head was spinning and there was no way he was getting up at the moment. Why the hell hadn't he just left the son of a bitch alone? Then he heard other random angry voices and hoped that whoever had joined in the shouting were friends of theirs and not Terry's.

****

Shawn couldn't help but linger in front of his locker, openly staring at Hunter as he changed. All that bronzed flesh that he could look at now... all that temptation. Not that he was all that used to Hunter's body anymore; between Evolution's private dressing room and his long retirement, it'd been quite a while since he'd had occasion to watch his best friend undress.

Resolutely pushing that temptation away and restraining himself to simple admiration, he didn't realise that Hunt had actually finished... Although he did see Dave just beyond him, and took just as much pleasure in watching him, something he'd never let himself do before. He let his eyes trail over Dave's body, imagining what it would be like to actually touch it... what it would be like to taste him, later.

Only Hunter's voice made him realise that he'd been lost in the visions before him, and he smiled ruefully at the teasing note in that familiar voice.

 _"...when you've got your sexy ass ready that is."_

For you, Hunter... anytime. He had to bite his tongue to keep from saying the words, knowing that Hunt still had a ways to go before he'd really be ready to take Shawn up on his offer. Unfortunately. The kiss to his nose made him laugh even as it reassured him that Hunter was trying to overcome the barriers he'd erected.

He shrugged his shirt off as Hunter left, tossing it into the locker with a careless motion. As he sat to pull his shoes off, he realised that Dave was still in the room... watching him. A warm tingle filled him and his eyelids dropped a little as he cast a long look at the Animal. They didn't have time to do anything, and he knew that Dave was already fairly well wound up... but he just couldn't resist teasing him a little. After all, he was going to make it more than worth Dave's while to have been so patient. Just imagining going to his knees in front of the man was enough to get Shawn's heart rate up; he had to control himself better, or they'd never get anywhere. In the meantime, though...

Standing up and stretching slowly, he could feel Dave's eyes on him almost like a physical touch. It was reassuring, in a way. If Dave hadn't been looking at him, he'd be worried that they were moving too fast or that Dave had reservations of his own that he hadn't shared. Knowing that the man was watching every move he made... well. He'd better make those moves worth watching, then, hadn't he?

Letting his hands slide down his chest to the waistband of his jeans, he slowly unbuttoned the fly, glancing again at Dave as he lowered the zipper with a leisurely motion. He wiggled his hips slightly, letting the jeans slip low enough to tease before turning to face the locker again and bending over to slide the jeans off in a long smooth motion. The barely audible sound of an indrawn breath behind him made him smile, and he picked up his short sweats, sliding them on with the same gliding motion. An old cut-off tee of Hunter's was pulled over his head, allowing his midriff to show before he leaned over and put on his tennis shoes. A hair-tie to hold his locks out of his face and he stood again, facing Dave with a mostly innocent look.

"I know it's not your favourite look," he said, flipping the ponytail with one hand as he approached Dave, "But it's the most practical for the workout we're going to have." Smiling a little as Dave waved him ahead, he made sure to exaggerate his steps, feeling those dark eyes following his ass until Dave caught up to him.

 _"I can just see him springing for a barbershop quartet to sing a serenade."_

The image made Shawn laugh, but he was nodding even as he did. That was something he could see, too. He'd witnessed his friend's well-hidden but well-developed romantic streak many times in the past, although always second-hand before. In fact...

"I think he's done that, Dave," Shawn grinned as they walked into the weight room. Immediately he saw Hunter waiting for them, the whiskey eyes never leaving them as they walked across the room, oblivious to the others around them. Shawn's eyebrow quirked a bit at the expression on the other blond's face, but he couldn't prevent his own face from showing probably far more than it should. Catching Dave's arm, he cast a look up at the big man, wondering suddenly just how bad this idea had been. The three of them, half-dressed, sweaty, in close quarters...

A long shuddering breath, and he'd regained at least the semblance of control. One last look at the other two, and he headed for the bench off in the corner. Before he could even think to ask which of the two wanted to spot him, Dave was there, and as Shawn laid back, he had to almost physically force himself to look at the ceiling and the weights in his hands. This was not the place to get distracted by his lovers' presence... if he dropped the weight on his chest, he'd be spending a lot longer than just a few hours unable to touch them like he wanted to.

The workout went quickly, since his mind was very much elsewhere, although he took his turn spotting Dave as well. Finally, he mopped his forehead with a towel as he watched Hunter on the machine he was using. Not really caring who was around, Shawn asked, "Hey, Hunt? You about done? We still have to get back and shower and change so we can shoot those interviews, and you've got a meeting."

Wandering toward the doorway as he waited for the other two to finish up, he glanced out into the hall... only to have his attention firmly caught by raised voices... and the distinctive sound of a body hitting a wall. Jericho's voice was clearly audible, and the half-panicked, half-furious note as he screamed obscenities made it obvious that whatever was up it wasn't some minor brawl. Glancing behind him as he stepped out in the hall, he called back to Dave and Hunter.

"Hunt... Dave? Something's going down back here and it's not friendly. I'm gonna go check it out." Heading down the hall at a half-jog, he hoped to God that it wasn't as bad as it was starting to sound.

****

It couldn't be. Mark felt almost like he'd just been sucker-punched, staring at the wild blur of motion that was the man he'd been trying so hard not to think about for the last few months. Sure, they hadn't seen each other in person for almost two years, but Mark had been sure to keep up with him via the web and mutual friends. At least that title match had given him a convenient excuse for his lingering interest in the nonstop whirlwind that was Jeff Hardy.

And a convenient way to ignore the real reason.

Shaking his head at his own mental wanderings, he glanced inside the still-open office door, more than a little surprised at the people gathered inside. Was Hardy trying to negotiate a new contract? There was no other reason for Melrose to be there, the legal nitpicking slimeball that he was. Not showing any reaction to the sight, he continued walking, following the audible trail of angry, frustrated words.

Turning a corner, he realised that he was nearly to his own locker room. If nothing else, the dark spot from the dead light bulb was a dead giveaway... and there he was.

Standing in the shadowed spot, arms wrapped around himself, leaning against the wall... Jeff nearly oozed pain and anger. And... self-hatred? Hearing the last few words that the younger man muttered to himself, Mark almost nodded to himself in confirmation. He'd seen this before, hadn't he? From himself, years ago, and from Shawn later on.

For some reason, Hardy reminded him of Shawn... maybe it was because of their similarities in the ring, although Mark doubted that. More likely it was their similarities outside the ring. They seemed to share the same sort of hidden insecurities and anger, although at least Jeff had found other outlets for his emotions. His music wasn't anything to Mark's taste, but he'd always wondered about the younger man's poetry.

Sighing at himself, he steeled himself. This wasn't going to be easy or fun; obviously the meeting hadn't gone well, from the way Jeff had stormed out of the office, and just as obviously, it was hitting him a lot harder than he'd be likely to admit if he knew anyone else was there. Even though he knew he was likely to regret this, knowing how the man reacted if he thought others saw him as weak, knowing that he was going to leave himself wide open to whatever damage the man wanted to inflict... he couldn't walk away. Not from this. Taking another step, he stopped a few feet away, trying to leave Jeff a comfort zone, and cleared his throat.

"Jeff." He stopped awkwardly, knowing that the man would probably throw any offer of comfort or help back in his face, possibly physically. That was a laugh, really; the Dead Man, afraid to talk to someone nearly two decades younger and half as light as him. What the hell was he supposed to say here? What had worked with Shawn? Well... he hadn't _asked_ Shawn, though, had he? He doubted the same tack would work with the stubborn, hurting young man in front of him, but he just couldn't think of anything else to try.

Trying to make his voice softer, understanding but not pitying, he put a hand on his hip and cocked his head, shrugging his hair out of his face as he looked at Jeff. "Tell me."

****

 _"I'd almost pay to see his reaction to that little bombshell."_

Returning Scott's smile, Kevin nodded, treasuring the feeling of Scott's hand in his. They wouldn't be able to do that in the lobby, of course, but still... as much as he loved this business, there were times that he looked forward to retiring just so that he could show the whole world just how much he loved the man next to him.

Entering the elevator, Kevin allowed his smile to widen a little. "I think I'd pay to see them together tonight. They make an awfully pretty picture."

Reluctantly releasing Scott's hand as the doors slid open, Kev led the way out to their rental, realising that the lingering soreness from that morning's play was finally starting to fade for real. While he enjoyed the lingering effects, he was relieved as well, since it had been a completely new thing for him to deal with today.

Letting Scott drive was almost a given, all things considered, and as he sat in the passenger seat, he let his eyes roam over his lover's form, imagining those lips on his, those hands touching him, the dark hair caressing him... A quiet nose escaped him and he could feel his body react a bit to the thoughts. At least he'd be able to deliver on the unspoken threat he'd given earlier; Scott definitely needed _something_ in return for the cream puff comment.

His lips curving again, he reached out and draped a casual hand on Scott's thigh, kneading the muscle lightly through the denim overlaying it. Smiling innocently as Scotty as his lover glanced suspiciously at him, he continued the light massage for a few more minutes... before sliding his hand a few inches further up Scott's thigh, still kneading.

By the time they'd reached the arena, his fingers had been caressing the sensitive area at the top of Scott's thigh for some minutes, taking care to "accidentally" brush against the soft bulge just next to his hand every so often. As Scott parked the car and shut it off, Kev pulled his hand away with a long, deliberate stroke against that bulge, enjoying Scott's reaction to the touch.

Opening his door and climbing out, he stretched, only partially acting as he sighed in relief. No matter how many times they specified a full-size, the rental places seemed to screw up at least every other time and give them a compact car. Being seven feet tall and having to fold himself up like an accordion just to sit in the car wasn't fun at the best of times; today, given the aches in his lower regions and his knees, it had been very far from entertaining.

Casting a look at Scott across the roof of the car, Kevin gave him a lazy smile as he asked, "So... ready to go in and face the overwhelming excitement of absolutely nothing to do?"


	37. Reactions

_... after the show or just head back to the hotel?"_

Looking down at his feet while they walked down the hall, Chris thought for a moment about his response, before answering Adam. What did he want to do tonight? Easy... spend time with Adam. Doing what? Anything. They'd partied last night even though it hadn't been a date as such, so maybe they could do the goofy stare into each others' eyes then neck on the sofa deal. Chris hadn't done something that simple in ages and he found he wanted that goofiness for a change. Maybe even order a movie? Or porn?

 _Decided to fuck your way through the roster now instead of picking up rats, huh Adam?_

The charming question had come from Terry. Chris didn't turn to look although he caught sight of Adam's middle finger from the corner of his eye. CJ had to bite his lip to stop the laugh and a comeback, but this was Adam's ex and his decision if he wanted Chris' verbal support.

 _worth all that whining and bitching you did when he left?_

If someone here sounded like a whiny bitch, it wasn't Adam. The problem with the question wasn't the insult or the rather obvious sour grapes with which the words were spoken, it was Adam's reaction. Terry was pretty dumb, but even he knew that getting at a man's new lover would bring a response and what a response he got too. Chris looked on proudly as Adam verbally ripped Terry's balls off and fed them to him. Such a nice change to be in total lust with someone who could make threats with just their posture rather than their muscles.

Chris remained silent, simply letting the wicked humour he found in the situation show in his face. Terry really was digging his own grave. "It's over meathead," he offered mentally, "he don't want yer ass no more Son."

 _Chris on the other hand has a huge cock._ Well, Adam wasn't lying there, _and he had me screaming like a fangirl._

That one-two punch had Chris laughing like he was being tickled. Adam was the best looking fangirl he'd ever seen. CJ let his towel drop till he was only holding one corner, spinning it slowly, he prepared a whip with which to show his 'fangirl' who was boss.

 _If you see Brock..._

Ouch, knock out.

Terry's pathetic threat didn't phase CJ in the slightest. He could, and had, handled The Rhyno's infamous temper with one hand tied behind his back. Not that the guy didn't have talent. Chris just had more.

Afterwards Chris would think it had been that singular arrogant thought that had made him look from Adam's half-apologetic face to the man fairly hopping with fury. Yeah, CJ knew he could take him if Terry tried anything. Like he'd conjured it up with his mind, he saw the dark man suddenly propel himself down the hall like a freight train in that devastating trademark move.

Chris' instincts unfortunately saved his own skin, but failed Adam at the last moment. His own voice still echoing down the hall, CJ neatly side stepped the two bodies about to crash into him, while reaching out a useless hand to cushion Adam's impact with the wall. Seeing his beloved Adam slump to the ground, the unmistakable smear of red where his head met the wall, sent Chris into a wild, frenzy.

"Get the fuck off him! Get off! Fuck! Adam! _Adam_!"

Reaching for Terry's neck to pull him away from the horribly broken form of his lover, Chris' finger's wouldn't obey him, the sharp stabbing pain running up his forearm an indication of the condition of his hand. At the momentary pause, Terry got in a boot to Adam's ribs, the sickening sound and spasm of Adam's body forming a knot of cold fury in Chris' stomach.

Using his foot around an ankle and an off-hand grip on his wrist, Chris pulled Terry away from Adam, around him in a half circle and down to the ground face first. Twisting the bigger man's imprisoned arm back and up between his shoulder blades, CJ pressed his knee into Terry's ribs and wrenched his finger's cruelly, ignoring the pained yell and grunt of submission his actions caused.

"How about I break your fingers _Bitch_?"

****  
   
 _Something's going down back here and it's not friendly._

Hunt's towel hit the floor as Shawn's words and CJ's voice reached his ears at the same time. Oh shit... he knew _that_ tone when he heard it. Feeling Dave's reassuring presence at his shoulder and seeing Shawn out pace them just ahead, Hunter took in the startling scene at a glance.

It was pretty clear CJ was about to dismember Terry, but it was the state of Adam that had Hunter dropping to the man's side to assess his condition. The blond was on his knees, arms holding his chest and breathing in deep rasping coughs that could be the indicator of several different things, most of them nasty. It was the dark area of wet blond hair on the back of Adam's head that was more troublesome though. Placing a gentle hand on one bowed shoulder, Hunter spoke clearly over the vicious words coming from Jericho, not three feet away.

"Just take deep breaths Adam. In. Out. Yeah I know it hurts. What is it? Ribs? Okay, if you can bear it, I need you to sit down and lean against the wall. Good. Sit up straight, you got it buddy." As Adam gingerly moved at Hunter's directions, Hunt tried to make out the condition of the blond's hair-covered face. "CJ? He's fine. You just hold those ribs and focus on breathing. I swear he's okay Adam, hear that?"

Hunter almost smiled, in spite of the serious situation, at the stream of obscenities and insults pouring from CJ's pretty mouth.

"Let go! Let Go! Stupid motherfucker Cro-Magnon here's gonna find out if the thumb hurts as bad as the pinkie. Yeah you, Fuck-knuckle! Fuckin' come get me, you don't need _ten_. I hear your dick's too _small_ for five anyway, three'll do. Fuck you Terry. No, fuck you! No! Fuck  _you_! Let go!"

Hunter gave a quick glance over his shoulder to see that the situation was well in hand.  Terry and Chris now yelling insults at each other, the dark man's more pained as he clutched his hand to his chest in an obvious world of hurt. Dave was fine and Shawn's concerned face looked back at him over Adam's slumped form. Other wrestlers had arrived from the locker room down the hall, attracted by the scent of violence and mayhem. The trainers and EMTs arrived soon after, dislodging Hunter and Shawn, questioning Adam quietly while checking his pulse and perfectly awful respiration.

Hunt imagined one of them would eventually get to Terry.

Unfortunately of those people attracted to the commotion, one was none other than his father-in-law, their boss. Great.

"What the hell is going on?" Vincent K. McMahon demanded of, naturally, his alpha wrestler... Hunter.

Even Chris was subdued into angry hissing at Terry, while still trying to shrug off the arms pinning him in place. When the small blond started to struggle, but this time looking at Adam, Hunt gave the nod to let the man go.

Standing, Hunter rubbed at the back of his neck and raised a sarcastic, questioning eyebrow. He'd get it in the neck later but really... what a stupid question.

"A fight?" he offered, having no actual facts to hand other than his own suspicions and well... logic.

****

"So tell me again why a contest would be a bad thing, babe?"

Glen turned and growled at Sean who was seated in the car next to him. It didn't last long as Glen was driving and all he received for his efforts was a burst of laughter.

"I don't need a contest to tell me how loud I am Sean. It's not like it's something I have any control over." Sean snickered quietly over the pink tint now staining Glen's cheeks.

"I know what it is. You're just worried that you'd actually win and then the guys would never leave you alone about it. They should have heard you last night... in fact I'm surprised that none of them did since we were all on the same floor."

Pink turning to red told Sean what he had already known. He was dead on about this. Poor Glen. You'd have thought the man would have lost the ability to blush by now as long as they'd been together. Sean actually hoped that he never did though. He absolutely loved it.

"Will you just hush. We are _not_ having a contest." Glen tried a scowl this time with pretty much the same results. It was a sad thing when he couldn't even intimidate someone of Sean's size. He shouldn't have been surprised though. Sean knew that he had Glen wrapped around his little finger and that there was very little that he could actually deny his lover. He was whipped and had been since the day he had admitted to his love for Sean.

Sean laughed over Glen's edict. The only reason he kept pushing the issue was because he loved Glen's reaction to it. Besides this wouldn't be the last time they had sex or exchanged blow jobs in the presence of family. Neither one of them had that much self control. Sean could honestly care less who was around when he was in the mood and he knew Glen honestly didn't either... he just had a hard time when someone acknowledged it. Sean had a feeling that Scott had done so to put Dave more at ease. Ha! If Kevin and Scott hadn't spent all night fucking then they probably would have added to the noise factor themselves. Kevin was no slouch in the noise department.

As they pulled into the arena, having already checked into the hotel and stopped for a bite to eat, Sean decided that they should go find Dave, Shawn, and Hunter at some point just so he could find out what was going on. He was nosy and he'd be the first to admit it! Shawn and Dave he could have guessed about, but how in the world had Hunter ended up with them... and he had no doubt that Hunter was _with_ them. And what was Stephanie going to say about it? Worse yet, what was Vince going to say about it?

As soon as the car stopped, Sean bounced out the door in his customary manner and waited for Glen to round the car. The two of them headed into the building and were faced with an interesting sight. Copeland was sitting on the floor, obviously hurt, with Shawn and Hunter beside him; Dave was holding onto a struggling Chris Jericho and had one foot planted on Terry's back.

Glen immediately volunteered assistance to Dave. He'd never really cared for the 'man-beast' so he wasn't as gentle as he could have been. As soon as Dave moved his foot and Terry started to move, Glen took a seat right in the middle of his back. Sean was laughing like a loon until he figured out what had Chris in an uproar, then he just sent a menacing glare at the back of Terry's head and followed it up with a not-so-gentle smack or two when Rhyno whined about the weight.

In the midst of all this chaos, in walked Kev and Scott.

 _"What the hell is going on?"_

And Vince...

****

The workout he'd done today had been light by his standards, but he'd doubled his repetitions since he hadn't bothered to add more weight when Shawn was done doing his own lifts. Ty would be laughing his ass off if he had seen what Dave had actually done today. Of course it had been awhile since he and Ty had indulged in their lifting competitions... ever since Ty and Jay had become attached at the hips. As he finished, he toweled himself off while Shawn checked to see if Hunter was ready to go. He spent another lazy moment sitting on the bench watching Hunter finish up and grab his own towel. He'd been so caught up in watching a drop of sweat traveling down Hunter's chest that he hadn't noticed Shawn moving to the door. The tone of Shawn's voice had him off the bench and out the door right beside Hunter.

Not friendly? It sounded like someone was a little beyond enraged. Chris, he noted as they spotted him down the hallway with Terry face first on the ground. It took him another moment to spot Adam and realize what had set Chris off. As Hunter and Shawn knelt next to Adam, Dave noted the red smear on the wall and grimaced even as he wrapped his arms around Chris and _tried_ to pull him off of Terry. He'd just dodged an elbow and gotten his arms wrapped around Chris' biceps when Chris happened to mention Terry's endowments. It was all Dave could do not to laugh despite the seriousness of the situation.

 _"No, fuck you! No! Fuck you! Let go!"_

He wasn't about to let go, but when Terry tried to push up off the floor he did manage to put one foot squarely in the middle of his back and growl "Stay put."

Terry apparently wasn't up for another confrontation with Chris because he did exactly as Dave told him to. He was all for letting Chris go to wreak havoc on the dark-haired man, but he knew there was other stuff that Chris needed to be doing at the moment. "Stop Chris," he said quietly in the blond's ear, "I promise he's not going anywhere and if you want to beat the hell out of him later, I'll help you do it. Right now I think you need to go over there so that Adam knows you're okay. He's not going to settle down until he knows."

He'd thought he might finally be getting through when he heard the question from behind him. "Like some help with that?" Nodding in Terry's direction, Dave took his foot off of Terry's back and almost laughed when Glen sat on the man. Seems Glen held no love for Terry either. The man was just tough shit out of luck with this crowd.

 _"What the hell is going on?"_

Oh shit. Just what they didn't need. Vince did not look happy at all. Chris was once again struggling to get free and when he saw Hunter's nod, Dave let him go. He watched as Chris scrambled over to Adam's side and Hunter stood. And what did his illustrious mentor have to say about this whole situation?

 _"A fight?"_

Dave turned away as quickly as possible, not able to hide the grin on his face. Hands on his hips, he smiled at Glen who was having a time of hiding his own smirk. He also noticed Scott and Kevin standing off to one side. Scott was glaring at a point off to the side and following his eyes, Dave noted one Johnny Nitro standing a little ways down the hall with an obvious grin of mischief on his face. Wondering if that's who they had to thank for Vince's presence, Dave glowered at the man as well. Oh god... Vince.

He had left his sunglasses in the locker room because he hadn't needed them for his workout and he hadn't given a second thought to going down to makeup after Shawn's little striptease. Hoping against hope that Vince wouldn't notice his previous injuries, Dave made every effort to keep his back to the man.

****

Kevin's laying a hand on his thigh was nothing new even while they were driving. Hell they'd done a _lot_ worse things while driving than being touchy-feely with each other. It was probably surprising they'd never wrecked a car while doing some of those things. They did usually confine those kinds of things to open road or at the very least under cover of darkness. Thus the suspicious look that Scott directed towards his lover. The smile really didn't fool him. Kevin, innocent? Yeah, right. Maybe when he was five.

As Kevin's hand slid higher on his thigh, Scott seriously considered turning the car around and heading back to the hotel. If he weren't already a candidate for Vince's 'shit list', he probably would have done so. By the time he pulled into the parking lot he was trying to rationalize with himself as to why they shouldn't just leave. Vince probably wouldn't even notice that they weren't there. The long slow stroke against the front of his pants had him moaning huskily, a slight thrust of his hips pushing his awakening length against Kevin's hand. If Kevin so much as blushed the tiniest bit while at the arena, Scott would be all over him without a second thought, even if they had to lock someone out of their own locker room so he could accomplish it.

 _"So... ready to go in and face the overwhelming excitement of absolutely nothing to do?"_

"Oh yeah. I’m so excited I might just burst into song." That wasn't at all sarcastic... was it? As they passed through the doorway, Scott decided to carry on in that theme. "I suppose I could get excited over having to appear before our ever benevolent... what the hell?" Scott tilted his head to the side as he took in the scene in front of them. "Maybe a little excitement after all, eh chico?" he said with a nod at the growing circle of bodies around them.

"I didn't do it, Kev, I swear." Scott threw his hands up as he proclaimed his innocence and then started to laugh quietly; at least until he saw Vince headed their way with Nitro on his heels. Nitro drew to a halt a little ways down the hall and smirked when he caught Scott looking at him. That's when Scott finally noticed who was in the middle of that circle... Hunter, Shawn, Dave, Glen, and Sean... among others. Fuck. Nitro would be lucky to walk out of the arena under his own steam at the end of the night if Scott had anything to say about it.

****

Jeff felt the pocked plaster of the wall start to make imprints in his forehead. At least his heart-rate was back to normal now that he'd had his fine little hissy fit. God what a day, what a year. He was just so _tired_ of all this. The politics... the discussions. In the past Matt had taken care of all their contracts but now... well. It was obvious why his older brother was known as the brains of their outfit. This sucking up to the authorities was not something he managed very well at all. And wasn't _that_ the understatement of the year.

Jeff's lean body shivered as the reality of his situation sank in. So what now? No contract, and never likely to be, with the WWE. He could head back into meetings with TNA but if all they wanted to offer was him jobbing to Jarrett every other month, then he'd rather be unemployed. His music career had pretty much died in the ass and let's face it, was it that much to begin with? Music, despite his love for it, had never had his heart and soul like this parasite business called pro-wrestling. At least Jeff knew he was good at this, unlike the music gurus who basically just fed him lines till in a self-pitying daze, he believed them.

Opening his eyes Jeff, lifted one fingernail to pick at the cracking plaster in front of his chin. Back home? Nah. Jeff was far too fucked up beyond all reason to taint his family for more than a few days. Their unequivocal love and affection would be like lemon on a paper cut right now. He was too weak to face all _those_ hurdles. So lonely, pathetic _Jeffy's_ gonna run away again? Well fuck! What worth was there in hanging around like a dead relative? If he wanted to get repeatedly kicked in the nuts, he'd look up an ex-boyfriend for the job.

 _Jeff._

Jeff nearly jumped out of his boots at his name said so softly to his right. His punkish "I just don't understand why Son" hair began to crackle as the owner of that voice registered in his morose thoughts. No. There was no way the one person he'd run into would be Mark Calloway. Life couldn't hate him that much could it? Obviously he was damned because that deep voice, with just a hint of Texan honey, continued.

 _Tell me._

A man of few words this one, but when he made his point so concisely who needed more? Shit. Jeff really didn't have his defenses in place right now to deal with a curious Undertaker. But since he hadn't had any defenses against the man since their brief feud two years ago, being vulnerable around him wasn't that unusual.

Snagging his sleeve with his fingers, Jeff turned away slightly to wipe away the shameful moisture that had gathered on his lashes. Such a cry baby.

"Hey 'Taker," he said coolly, turning back to rest one shoulder against the wall, arms still crossed defensively over his chest. "It's cool, just called in to visit Amy and give Pat an update on Matt. He's good by the way." He'd take a few to spread the word about his brother's surgery to the locker room. Everyone there liked Matt and would be concerned about his recovery, so Jeff was happy to play messenger.

And god, didn't Mark just look to die for as usual? A sleeveless hoody showing off all those wicked tattoos Jeff had often imagined tracing with his tongue, slight ginger-black stubble across ivory cheeks and damp black hair clinging to that stubble and eyelashes like a tenacious lover. Hair envy didn't even _begin_ to cover Jeff's fascination with the Dead Man, both inside and out. Mark was like one of those weird European books he liked to read so much, on the first read you said WTF and tried to remember what it had been about. Third and forth time through you started to get the drift until finally you managed to ouzel out what drugs the writer had been on in the first place. Mark was Jeff's unusual manuscript. He would really have liked the chance to get past page one.

Seeing the look of dissatisfaction on Mark's intent face, Jeff had doubts that the big man believed his casual answer. So what? He could lie if he wanted to. 'Taker couldn't care if Jeff lived or died as far as he knew. Although... that was probably cruel. Mark was a decent guy who _would_ care if a co-worker was in trouble. That kind of person had no business being in the same world as Jeff Hardy. Deciding to give 'Taker at least the courtesy of part of the truth, Jeff shrugged like he didn't give a damn.

"Vince was talking about a come-back but I fucked that up with Melrose so... whatever." Jeff looked at the floor to hide the hot disappointment he felt at _that_ turn of events. "Looks like Jeff Hardy's gonna go out with a whimper rather than a big bang. Pity." Another shrug to indicate his total lack of care for the situation.

"Gotta go man, be seeing ya."

It was pure cowardice that had Jeff moving past Mark to escape towards the car park but he was just about on the verge of losing it again and Mark was the last man he wanted to witness that event.

****

Shawn took in the events with a glance, his eyes narrowing as he connected Terry with Adam's crumpled form. Jericho seemed to have Terry well in hand, though. A malicious smile flickered across Shawn's lips at that thought before he dropped to his knees next to the fallen blond, the smile wiped from his face by worry.

"Adam? Adam, you'll be okay," he said, hopefully reassuringly, half-listening as his lovers caught up. And then Hunter was there, and Adam seemed to be breathing a little better. Hopefully that hitch in his breath didn't mean broken ribs; even cracked ones were nasty, and given Jericho's reaction, Shawn suspected that both of the blonds would be pretty upset if Adam's movement were limited. The blood on the back of his head didn't worry Shawn nearly so much; head wounds _always_ bled buckets, and the fact that this one was already clotting reassured him that it wasn't too serious. At worst he'd probably have a concussion, at best an incredibly nasty headache. At least, Shawn thought as he glanced at Jericho, there wouldn't be any worries about who would keep an eye on Adam tonight.

The EMTs arriving forced him back, and he moved around Adam's form to stand next to Hunter, unashamedly leaning into his body for comfort. He and Adam weren't terribly close, to say the least, but this... this was horrific. Watching Jericho's reaction as he hit the ground next to Adam with a thud that sent a sympathetic ache through Shawn's own knees told Shawn everything he needed to know about the situation. Looks like last night had been a night of new beginnings for a lot of people. His eyes narrowed at Terry, still clutching his hand and cursing and... being sat on by Glen? His eyebrows raised briefly in surprise before he caught sight of Sean off to the side.

Wrapping an arm around Hunter, he looked up at his friend with a tight frown on his face. "You'll take care of this, right?" It wasn't really a question, and at the look on Hunter's face, Shawn nodded at Terry, finally being looked at by one of the EMTs. "He needs to pay, Hunter." He knew he'd never asked Hunt to pull strings before, but this time... shaking his head, he wished that he were on better terms with Vince these days. Sure, he could get what he wanted, but there were limits; Vince knew him far too well.

Pushing those thoughts away before they could affect him, he watched Jericho as he hovered over Adam, wishing that he were a good enough friend to go to him and offer what comfort he could. But he wasn't even really a friend, was he? God knew he'd tried, when they were working their program together, but Jericho had always been a little distant. Not so much as to be unfriendly, but enough to make it clear that he didn't want anything more than the good working relationship they had. Shawn had always regretted that distance, never sure if it were something he'd done, the Clique, or something else altogether. He smiled slightly as Chris looked up and met his eyes, hoping that that at least would help a little.

 _"What the hell is going on?"_

Speak of the devil.

As he looked up, Shawn couldn't help but picture Vince with horns and a tail; it wasn't that much of a stretch.

He reluctantly pulled away from Hunter before Vince could notice their position, not wanting to make Hunt's upcoming discussion with his father-in-law any more difficult than it would already be. He spotted Kevin and Scott behind Dave, and followed Scott's glare to one very smug-looking Johnny Nitro. His fists clenched briefly at the pleased spark in those eyes; if the little bastard thought this was _fun_ , he had another thing coming. And from the look on Scott's face, he'd make sure he got it.

 _"A fight?"_

A snort of laughter escaped him before he could muffle it, earning him Vince's glare. He met the man's gaze steadily, not losing the small curve to his lips. It had been a long, long time since Vince could intimidate him, and Hunt's answer had perfectly suited the question. The man's attention was almost immediately caught by the people around him, however, and the EMT who stood up to talk quietly with him. Shawn took the opportunity to edge closer to Dave, patting him surreptitiously on the shoulder as he cast another look at Kev and Scott. Kevin had a hand on Scotty's arm and was talking to him in a low undertone, so at least there would be no further explosions from that direction.

Turning to survey the damage again, he caught Sean watching him and Dave with an intently curious expression, and groaned quietly. If he could just get the other two back to Evolution's locker room so that he could fulfill his plans, he was damned well locking the door, and he didn't care _who_ came knocking, it wasn't going to be opened until he was done drinking Dave dry. That thought in mind, he looked back up at the big man, his eyes glowing a bit.

"Looks like things are starting to calm down. I think we should get back to the locker room to shower and change, and maybe stay out of the way for a while." The huskiness in his voice probably gave him away, but he didn't care. Catching Hunter's eye, he motioned at himself and Dave, and then Hunter, before pointing toward their room.

****

Watching as the younger man almost visibly gathered himself, Mark could see the walls going up, even if the hand sneaking up to brush across his eyes hadn't been as stealthy as obviously hoped. The pause before answering made him worry that he'd chosen the wrong approach altogether, but he wasn't too sure that there was a right one for this man. All wound up, all ego and talk and attitude and shock value, but with so many insecurities poking holes through that wall... Mark had started to see beneath it during their short run together and had been sucked into those swirling depths before he'd realised it. Two years later, he was still trying to get back out.

He hoped.

But he realised as he watched Jeff straighten up, his posture screaming 'leave me alone I'm fine dammit!' that all he wanted to do was reach out and gather the young man into his arms and hold him and protect him...

He rolled his eyes. What a load of crap. Even if Jeff were willing to let him do something like that, and Mark was pretty sure that Jeff would claw out anyone's eyeballs who actually tried it, it wasn't _Mark's_ style to do that, either. He'd given in to that protective impulse once before with Shawn, and it had backfired horribly. That hadn't been the end of their relationship, but it had been a big clue, and he'd never repeated that mistake.

 _"Hey 'Taker."_

That was an unexpected pain. He was used to the guys calling him that; hell, some of the new kids seemed to think that it was the only name he _had_. But in this situation... He forced it away, concentrating on the here and now. There was an odd look on Jeff's face as the k... young man, he reminded himself forcibly, looked him over, and it almost made him uncomfortable. He was still in his workout gear, of course, and sweaty as hell, but still. Before his mind could follow that line of thought any further, Jeff was talking again.

 _"... and give Pat an update on Matt."_

Sure. That was why the Southern boy had traveled all the way to New York, dressed to meet Vince's backstage standard, and had just stormed out of a meeting with Vinnie Mac screaming obscenities. Of _course_ he was only there about Matt.

Mark couldn't hold back the snort and he tilted his head at Jeff, his expression both disbelieving and inviting the man to tell him more.

 _"Looks like Jeff Hardy's gonna go out with a whimper rather than a big bang. Pity."_

What? Vince had hung out the possibility of a comeback to the kid and then let Melrose fuck with him? What was that man _thinking_?

The defeated air in Jeff's downcast posture ate at Mark. He'd never seen Jeff like this before. The man was so full of himself, so _sure_... he must've really wanted that chance, regardless of the bullshit he was spouting. Melrose had undoubtedly brought up Jeff's unreliability and his attitude... but the attitude at least was incredibly minor. And the reliability problems... Well, if Mark had heard the rumours correctly, that had been a problem that had since been dealt with. Whatever Matt saw in Amy was beyond Mark's understanding, but apparently Jeff had seen it at one time, too.

 _"Gotta go man, be seeing ya."_

Coming back to himself as Jeff started to walk past, obviously intent on escaping the arena, Mark moved before his mind had a chance to catch up with his body. He reached out and grabbed Jeff's shoulder, spinning him back around to face him, the grasp firm enough that he wasn't going to be able to just back out of it.

"I didn't think you were a coward, Jeff," Mark said, watching those pained eyes. "It's not like you to run away from a challenge."

He hesitated, seeing the emotions starting to overcome Jeff again, then made his decision and moved them both down the hall to his locker room, easily pulling Hardy's slight form along with him. Pushing him in first, Mark let the door close behind him as he looked steadily at Jeff, who was looking everywhere but at him. The kid looked good, that was for sure. That Goth-style suit clung in all the right places, and the fluttery cuffs and neckline only emphasised the long, graceful fingers and the bare skin peeking out from underneath the ruffles. He drew in a deep breath. God help him for what he was about to say, what he was about to do... he suspected he'd need all the help he could get.

"You wait here." He raised a hand as Jeff finally looked at him, his eyes sparking angrily. "You _wait_. If you're not here when I come back, I'll hunt you down and drag you back. You understand me?" Waiting for a reaction, Mark wondered if he was about to make the biggest mistake of his life.

****

Chris was so angry he was almost shaking with cold fury as he was pulled off Terry by strong arms, arms that had managed to secure his hands as well to stop him from doing any more damage to the piece of shit now keeping completely still under Dave's foot. Even in the depths of his anger, Chris recognised the grip of the big man holding him almost off the ground. Twisting and squirming CJ was too caught up in hissing his foul hatred at Terry to focus on breaking his captor's professional grip.

 _I think you need to go over there so that Adam knows you're okay. He's not going to settle down until he knows._

Batista's deep, calm voice penetrated the white haze of rage that had dominated Chris's mind since he'd seen Adam hit the wall. His head snapping away from the grimacing man currently lying under Glen Jacobs, CJ saw Adam's crumpled form trying to move, to get up, while the people surrounding him gently held him down.

This time Chris put all his attention into escaping from Dave's grip, but he needn't have tried so hard. A second after he began to struggle he was free and moving, trying not to trip over the trainer as he reached his lover's side. Other than Adam's grey face, only one thing registered to Chris as he pulled the blond's hand from the ground where he'd been trying to push himself up, the presence of the two men next to him.

"Thanks Hunt," he acknowledged as his friend stood up and away, allowing Chris the precious space next to Sandburg, their head EMT. "I'm here Babe, sit down Love. I'm right here, I'm fine." There was a thick gauze pad held against the back of Adam's head and Sandburg was listening to his lungs via a stethoscope. Letting his damaged hand rest in his lap, Chris squeezed Adam's fingers gently until his lover looked up and blinked at him through unfocussed emerald eyes.

"Now _that's_ a good way to make sure we stay at home this week-end, Babe."

Chris' words were teasing, but his voice betrayed the shock and fear he felt over witnessing the attack. There had been enough 'altercations' back stage over the history of the WWE to write a very large book. CJ himself had been the instigator of one of the most well known, but generally people weren't actually _hurt_ in any of that stupidity, not like now. They'd all been injured while working before, that was a given, but to be deliberately and viciously damaged by a co-worker was beyond even the most generous definition of 'incident'.

Chris frowned at Adam's difficulty in catching his breath. The nauseating crunch he'd heard when his lover's back had hit the wall was more than likely cracked ribs, maybe even broken. Feeling remarkably helpless and hating that feeling beyond belief, Chris gently stroked his fingers over Adam's knuckles, a place he knew wasn't painful for Adam right now. Looking up from Adam's painfully coughing form, CJ met the warm blue eyes of Shawn Michaels looking back at him with concern and affection.

"Okay Adam, lets get you moved to the med bay. Can you walk, or do you want me to get a stretcher?" Sandburg asked gently, his hand on Adam's shoulder to hold the blond's wandering attention.

****

 _I didn't think you were a coward, Jeff._

It was the accusation as much as the grip on his shoulder that had Jeff spinning around to face Mark like a startled bird. Who the fuck did the Dead Man think he was, calling Jeff a coward? Hadn't he displayed, to millions of people for Christ's sake, his complete lack of any fear? And to hear that from Mark, a man who had all the respect in the world from one younger Hardy and well as every man working for this rotten company. For Mark to say that to him was like having Dom tear his guts out all over again, to be hit by a low blow when you least expected it. So what, that he'd put so much of himself into impressing the bigger man? So what, that he'd thought, like some naive kid, that he'd earned Mark's respect in return by his behaviour during their feud.

Well. Fuck him then.

The absolute last thing Jeff cared about was what other people, particularly Mr. You're Not Worthy to Crawl at My Feet Undertaker, thought of him. Setting his heels into the linoleum floor like a stubborn mule, Jeff pulled backwards against Mark's firm hand. He had no chance in hell of overpowering that carelessly strong grip, but if he could pull Mark towards him, he'd be forced to correct his balance to cater for Jeff's weight. Such as it was.

About to let fly with his own version of 'And You Can Kiss My Ass Too' Jeff saw the hallway blur again as he was spun again and pushed firmly into the locker room near Vince's office. Still trying to pull away, Jeff's innate grace saved him from doing a face plant when Mark released him into what Jeff could see was the big man's own room. Refusing to look at the man who'd just moved him against his will, _so damn easily_ , Jeff turned on his heel and kicked the low table like a petulant child. The lamp, which had rested on said table, tipped over and rolled along the floor.

Jeff wished it had smashed, it would've suited his mood to be ridiculously destructive.

 _You wait here._

No fucking way was that gonna happen.

 _I'll hunt you down and drag you back. You understand me?_

The imperious commands would have brought out Jeff's filthy tongue, even if he hadn't been so thrown by Mark's strange behaviour. "Fuck you too Mark. I don't jump just because you want me to."

With that shot, all the anger Jeff felt at Mark suddenly drained out of him, the quicksilver play of his emotions pulling him away from anger and into snarky boredom. After all, it wasn't the big man's fault Vince had thrown him out like a wretched whore, he could afford to do what Mark wanted. This time. Besides curiosity killed the cat right? Jeff wanted satisfaction from something tonight.

Turning away from the deep eyes that seemed to control him just as much as his hands had, Jeff climbed up on the waist high bench under the mirror and crossed his legs Indian style. He pulled the short leather ribbon from his hair and riffled his hand through it to soften a slight pull.

"Fine. Go." Jeff said with a careless wave. "I need to wait somewhere for Amy to arrive anyway."


	38. Steps

He had to get up. Chris might need him. Not that Chris couldn't take care of himself when it came to Terry, he could... the point was that he shouldn't have to. Adam had instigated this whole incident with his taunting of the idiot. He should have just kept walking like he always had. No use dwelling on it now. He needed to get up, just in case.

Adam managed to make it to his knees before the coughing set in. Fuck. He couldn't breathe. Each expansion of his ribs sent a fresh wave of pain racing through his chest, each retraction was accompanied by a forceful cough which brought its own wave of pain. The pain wasn't the issue really... pain he could deal with. It was the damn dizziness that he was experiencing that had him stuck on his knees. Of course the fact that he couldn't breathe properly just added to the dizzy sensations caused by the blow to the head.

He was getting ready to force his hand to the wall to aid his balance; anything to help him make his way to his feet... for Chris. The voice in his ear distracted him and he lost his train of thought. He followed the directions seemingly on autopilot. He knew the voice but he couldn't have said who it belonged to if pressed. He sat against the wall as the disembodied voice commanded. A hand pushed the hair from his face and he registered blond hair, but that was all he could make out, his vision blurred.

Blond hair. Chris.

No, not Chris... voice was wrong.

He knew the voice though. Hunter. Hunter was here and he could tell him where Chris was. His hand clutched at Hunter's shoulder, his mouth formed the word, barely audible between gasping shallow breaths.

"Chris?"

 _"CJ? He's fine ... I swear he's okay Adam, hear that?"_

Calm voice. Still Hunter. Reassuring.

Only he wasn't reassured. If Chris was okay, where was he? He wasn't going to believe it until he saw him with his own two eyes... blurry vision or not.

More hands, more voices... still no Chris. Hand against his ribs replied to with a sharp hiss of pain. Fingers probing at the back of his head... Fuck! Grabbing the shirt-covered shoulder closest to him, whose he didn't care. A single word yet again. "Chris?"

No response, more probing hands. Fuck that.

If he could just get up and find Chris, he'd be fine, but they wouldn't help him. He'd help himself. Tightening his grasp on the unknown shoulder, he pushed his other hand against the floor, struggling to get up.

More hands holding him down, his name, more words that meant nothing. If he could have drawn a proper breath, he'd have screamed at them. 'Just let me the fuck up.'

Suddenly there was a hand wrapped around his own. Chris' hand. He didn't have to look. He just knew. Another voice.

 _"I'm here Babe, sit down Love. I'm right here, I'm fine."_

Chris' voice. Beside him. And Chris was fine. Chris wouldn't lie to him. He slumped back against the wall, no longer needing to get up _right now_ because Chris was here. A squeeze to his hand and he looked up at Chris. Still not focused, but he could vaguely make out blond hair, eyes, nose, mouth. It could have been anyone with those same features, but it wasn't. It was Chris.

 _"Now that's a good way to make sure we stay at home this week-end, Babe."_

He laughed and then wished he hadn't. Another round of painful coughs racked his body. Once he'd managed to still the coughs, he tried again to focus on Chris. A pained smile on his face, he managed to force out a few words.

"Had better plan... for staying home... much better."

 _"...Can you walk, or do you want me to get a stretcher?"_

 _Now_ they wanted him to get up? Wasn't that what he'd been _trying_ to do when he had wanted to find Chris? Sadistic bastards. As long as his legs weren't broken, he was walking. Fuck the stretcher.

He vaguely registered Vince's raised voice and knew he'd have to deal with the man sooner or later, but for now he wanted to concentrate on getting up and not falling on his face.

"Walk," he ground out between his teeth. Turning his eyes to Chris pleadingly, he whispered, "Help me up?" He saw Chris' lips twitch into a frown. "Please?" Pulling his hand from Chris', he lifted it and draped it over Chris' shoulder. Chris' other arm slipped behind him and he could feel the warmth of Chris' hand at his waist. He felt other hands gripping his arm, yet he was oblivious as to whom they belonged.

On three he was hefted to his feet, hissing loudly at the movement of his ribs. His head swimming from the movement as well, he stumbled, but Chris was still supporting his weight. His free arm wrapped tightly around his chest, he and Chris made their way slowly towards the med bay.

****

Hunter was saved from Vince's condemning reply to his comment, by Sandburg the EMT who was checking Adam. Hunt briefly heard the words... _broken ribs... maybe concussion_... and saw his father-in-law's frown become even more pronounced. Hunter mentally reviewed tonight's card but from what he could remember it was Terry, not Adam, who was working tonight, and judging by the dark man's winces when the trainer tested his fingers, he wouldn't be doing much work at all.

Shawn's body so close to his own, brought Hunter's attention from Vince and tonight's roster and back to his lover. Shawn looked concerned by the scene around them, but not overly worried. After all, Glen had positioned himself as Terry's guard and with seven foot of immovable object at your back, you weren't trying _anything_

 _You'll take care of this, right?_ Hunt knew exactly whom Shawn was referring to, the moment he spoke. _He needs to pay, Hunter._

That thread of anger through his lover's voice was enough to start Hunt's own very pissed off reaction to the situation. Until now he'd been concerned with Adam, Chris and fielding the various techs and EMTs that were scurrying around the scene like rabbits. This was the kind of shit he'd been thinking about earlier, only he'd been determined to stop stiff matches in the ring rather than brawls back stage. But apparently all you needed was a temper like Terry's and an obvious couple like Adam and Chris, and wouldn't Hunt be thinking through _that_ turn of events when he had more time, for all hell to break loose.

It was stupid, costly, dangerous and just stupid again, to have this kind of thing happen when so much of their lives revolved around safety and physicality. Copeland would be out for who knows how long, all because Terry needed anger management. Dammit, Hunt wanted CJ to break the guys hand all over again just for causing him a headache that he knew wouldn't be soothed until Vince was happy again. As unofficial 'leader' of the locker room, with Stone Cold playing lazy butt and Mark refusing all involvement anymore, the talent saw 'him' as their representative with management. For all the good he could actually do. Hunt didn't book matches and despite rumours to the contrary, couldn't make or break anyone, that was still Vince's prerogative and no-one else's. What he could do was make an argument that would appeal to Vince and wait and see if it did. What the official come back to Terry would be was ultimately out of his hands, but unofficially Hunter could make his and the others' feelings known. It actually had more impact than they might expect.

"Yeah Darling, he will," Hunt murmured in a low voice to Shawn, the hand he used to squeeze his lover's shoulder, hidden by the presence of Dave who was joining them near the wall, back determinedly towards Vince.

 _and maybe stay out of the way for a while._

Now wasn't _that_ the suggestion of the moment. "Sounds like a plan to me," Hunter lifted his arm in an "after you" gesture, towards Evolution's locker room, intending to follow his lovers so that Hunt had his own back between them and his father-in-law. Just in case. They got three steps before Vince's voice caught up with him.

"Hunter, my office in thirty minutes," and because he _was_ Hunt's father-in-law, "If you wouldn't mind?" He received a measure of courtesy.

Hunter turned so he was looking back as he walked. "Sure Vince. I'll just shower and change, then I'll be right there." Hunt wouldn't... make that couldn't... refuse that courtesy no matter how much he wanted to hide in his dressing room with Dave and Shawn. Besides, he and Vince had to have a **big** conversation. Sooner rather than later it seemed.

Watching Jericho support Adam's staggering form, Hunt paced them to the Med Bay just to be sure the tall blond's injuries weren't worse than they seemed then jogged to catch up to Dave and Shawn. Closing the door behind him with a sigh of relief, Hunter smiled at the hot, impatient look on Shawn's face. He had no doubt what Shawn had in mind as his best friend stared at Dave with hungry eyes. He didn't think Dave could sense it yet, being as the 'Animal' was too busy assessing the obviousness of his blackened eyes.

"Well that was fun... not."

****

 _"Maybe a little excitement after all, eh chico?"_

The normal little shiver that particular endearment caused was chased away by concern as Kevin took in the situation in front of them. Adam was crumpled against the wall, surrounded by EMTs, and Hunter and Shawn were standing next to each other, watching over him and talking quietly to each other. Dave was just letting go of Jericho, who was obviously enraged and scared to death as he stopped glaring at Terry, who was being held on the floor by Glen. Jericho headed across the hall to Adam at what would've been a dead run in a larger area, but as it was, it was enough to make Kevin realise just what had happened. He'd caught on to some of the backlash from Adam and Terry's relationship ending last time he'd been backstage, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why Jericho had been intent on crippling the man-beast.

Scott's stiffening next to him as his quiet laughter cut off got Kev's attention, and he swiveled his head to follow Scott's narrow-eyed gaze... right over to one Johnny Nitro, who was nearly gloating as he watched Vince storm right into the middle of things. Crap. The punk just loved to stir up trouble, didn't he? But if he did the wrong thing tonight, the entire Clique---and associates!---would make sure he never did anything again. If he tried to implicate anyone in this mess, besides the idiot moaning in pain underneath Glen... well.

Kevin put a hand on Scott's arm, trying to draw his lover's attention back to him. When Scott finally looked at him, Kev met his gaze with a steady look.

"He's not worth it, Scott. Whatever the hell happened here, it's a sure bet that he didn't cause it, even if he is trying to stir things up more. You wanted to talk to Vince later? That's the time to deal with the punk." He could feel Scott's tension, but the immediate flare of anger seemed to fade a bit. That was good; if Scott could stay calm while he talked to Vince about Nitro, he could undoubtedly twist the man around his little finger.

Moving closer to Scott, Kevin dropped the hand to Scott's waist, drawing his lover closer to him. Fuck Vince if he didn't like it; he'd signed them back on their terms, and he couldn't very well fire them for being physical backstage. If he followed through with those terms, he'd have to fire half the roster. Including, Kevin realised as he looked around again, his two biggest stars; Hunter and Shawn were standing off to the side, arms around each other, and even if it was fairly subtle and not _too_ far out of character for them, it was obvious from their body language that there was more going on than just a friendly gesture.

Ignoring Vince as the crowd started to break up, he saw Hunter, Shawn, and Dave head off to the locker room as the other two blonds were headed off to the med bay. Sighing a little, he glanced at Scott again.

"Looks like the excitement's over for now, babe. We don't have to change or anything, so maybe we could go find a quiet corner to sit in, or we could look up Mark or something... I think you might want to wait to talk to Vince until after he talks to Hunter." He couldn't stop the little twitch of his lips at that; he'd dearly love to hear _that_ conversation, but he'd settle for seeing the results. Cocking his head at Scott, he waited for a response, knowing that the Bad Guy had missed a lot of his friends while he was gone.

****

"Well... how about the front row, then?"

Chris rolled his eyes as he grabbed his duffle bag from the trunk before turning to his lover. Eddie's eyes were dancing with mischief as he leaned casually against the side of the car with his jacket draped over his shoulder, his lips quirked in a small smile. Chris let himself appreciate the sight of Eddie in dark slacks and a button-up shirt. Vince had been trying to insist on business dress backstage for the last year, but Eddie usually blew him off. Since he'd been champion, though, he'd been enjoying doing so. Benoit suspected it was mainly to show up JBL, who just looked ridiculous no matter what creative did with him.

"I'm not even going to be _sitting_ in the front row, Eddie, let alone let you... do anything to me there." He hated that, hated his almost automatic blushes and his embarrassed stammering, but he just couldn't seem to get past it. Probably the interesting little encounter with Nash and Hall earlier that day hadn't helped, but it hadn't caused it, either. Shaking his head, Chris headed for the entrance, hearing Eddie behind him.

He knew it drove Chris nuts, but Eddie _loved_ his lover's little embarrassed reactions to his outrageous suggestions; he wasn't quite sure if Chris had ever figured out that he made them just to get those reactions, but figured that he probably hadn't. After all, Eddie was still capable of walking.

Spotting the distinctive white limo off to the side, Eddie rolled his own eyes. If he ever found out whose brilliant idea it had been to turn Bradshaw into the major heel of Smackdown, he'd personally hurt them. Badly. As Bradshaw, at least the man had been entertaining, if limited at best in his in-ring skills. As JBL, he was just obnoxious as well as untalented. And tonight's plot line... well, at least he'd get to enjoy himself a little. He wondered, though, if WWE creative delighted in coming up with stereotypically racist concepts. A Mexican chauffeur... Who would've thought?

Pushing that away, Eddie followed his lover into the arena and almost immediately ran into him. Chris had stopped just inside the main hallway, and as Eddie peered around him, he could see why.

Whatever had just happened, it had been fairly major. The techs were still straightening equipment and cables, and one of them seemed to be wiping... blood? off the wall. Eddie's eyes narrowed at the sight, and grabbed one of the people still standing around talking in quiet undertones.

"Rob? What happened, ese?"

"Eddie! Man, am I glad to see you and Benny!" Rob's tone didn't reassure Eddie, and looking at Chris, he could see that it hadn't done much for Benoit, either. Rob shook his head as he glanced around again. "You shoulda seen it, guys. It was just... wow. Terry just came unglued, I guess, but with what Adam was saying to him... of course, Terry started it anyway--"

Benoit dropped his duffle bag as he grabbed Rob's arm and shook the man, glaring. Of all people to ask, Eddie would've had to pick the pothead, wouldn't he? "What the hell _happened_ , Rob? Is my tag partner okay?"

"Oh, dude. I dunno. I mean, Terry gored him right into the wall after Adam said some pretty cool stuff about CJ... wonder if he's right about how big his dick is?" Seeing the dangerous glint in Eddie's eyes as they narrowed, Rob hurried on. "Anyway, they took him back to the med bay. Said something about his ribs..."

Anything else Rob might've said was lost to Benoit as he headed down the hallway in the direction Rob had indicated nearly at a sprint, leaving Eddie to pick up his bag. Eddie followed at a fast walk, chewing on his lower lip. He'd seen some of the nastiness between Terry and Adam after the breakup, but this? This was bad.

****

 _"Fuck you too Mark."_

Mark barely kept from reacting, but his eyes undoubtedly reflected his reluctant surprise. He'd given far more thought than he'd ever admit to the idea of Jeff doing exactly that, and having those words tossed at him as a casual insult was almost dismaying. He'd obviously pushed a button somewhere without intending to, but with someone like the whirlwind in front of him, it was probably impossible not to.

He couldn't keep from drinking in the sight in front of him, no matter how much part of him was screaming at him for it. The young man with that dangerously broken edge to his voice even as he tried to sound casual had quite possibly even more power to hurt him than Shawn had ever had. That thought scared the hell out of him, and he pushed it down, burying it with the rest of the thoughts he'd grown so good at hiding about Jeff Hardy.

 _"I need to wait somewhere for Amy to arrive anyway."_

He couldn't stop an eyebrow from raising, but Jeff had turned away from him anyway by then, staring casually into the mirror that he'd perched in front of. The quicksilver changes of mood were almost fascinating to watch, and Mark couldn't quite stop himself from comparing Jeff to a younger Shawn.

Whoever had originally come up with that comparison had been dead on... unfortunately so, Mark thought as he watched Jeff pointedly ignore him. By the time he'd been with Shawn, the Heartbreaker had already done some growing up, but his ego had hidden heart wrenchingly deep insecurities. Something about the very pose Jeff had adopted in front of him warned Mark that this man was going to be incredibly similar to the last one who'd affected him this deeply.

Remembering how that relationship had ended brought a familiar dull pang of pain to his heart, along with a new worry. He'd been responsible for that hurt, and had long ago accepted its inevitability, given how Shawn felt about Hunter. But this one... he must be crazy to even consider going to Vince. If he left himself open to Jeff, the man would probably tear his heart apart without even realising it. His fingers clenched briefly in his indecision, but as he watched the man, he saw those brilliant eyes flicker shut, an expression of soul-deep pain cross that amazingly expressive face... and he could feel something deep inside resonate with that emotion.

Damning himself for a fool, he turned on his heel and left the room, letting the door close too loudly behind him.

Striding down the hall, he saw Vince as the man was heading back to his office, anger practically suffusing the air around him. He stopped in front of the office door, waiting for him with a hopefully unreadable expression on his face.

"What the hell do you want, Mark? This isn't a good time," Vince snapped as he halted. Mark shrugged slightly, wondering what had just happened to provoke McMahon; Jeff's little temper tantrum wouldn't have done it.

"I want to talk to you, Vince." Pausing, he waited until he saw Vince start to reply, then interrupted him. "About Jeff."

The brief look of surprise that crossed the man's face nearly made him smile, but he knew better. Right now, he had a good chance of getting what he wanted because Vince was off guard.

Vince frowned and visibly paused, casting a look behind him before meeting Mark's eyes again.

"Fine. It'll have to be brief, though. I have other things to worry about right now than the Hardy brat." Vince motioned at him to follow him into the office, and Mark took a deep breath to keep back the retort that hovered on the tip of his tongue before following him in and closing the door behind him.

****

He was so locked into avoiding Vince's notice that Shawn's hand on his shoulder took him by surprise. He didn't show any outward reaction, but his heart skipped a beat as he felt the already recognizable touch. Risking a quick glance in Adam and Chris' direction, he watched as they helped Adam to his feet. He frowned as he saw the pain etched in Adam's face. Dave had meant exactly what he'd told Chris earlier. If he wanted help roughing Terry up, he'd be all over it. Terry had gone way over the line of a backstage brawl and straight to an out and out assault. That wasn't going to be looked on favorably by any of the roster. Fights happened more frequently than one would expect backstage and were tolerated to an extent, but going after someone with the intent of putting them on the shelf was another story.

He wouldn't go after Terry himself with that intention, but beating the man black and blue? That was another story altogether. Dave couldn't imagine how Chris was feeling. How would he feel if something like this had happened to Shawn or Hunter? He could damn well guarantee he wouldn't have limited himself to a few fingers.

 _"I think we should get back to the locker room to shower and change, and maybe stay out of the way for a while."_

Dave nodded absently at Shawn's suggestion and when Shawn started moving down the hall, Dave kept pace with him. He stiffened slightly as Vince addressed Hunter, but forced his feet to keep moving. Apparently Hunter was going to be talking to Vince sooner rather than later. Dave was a little nervous about that... from the standpoint that Vince was Hunt's father-in-law more so than from the point that he was their boss. How was Vince going to react to their news? He had to know about Stephanie's lover... so he shouldn't really be surprised that Hunter might want one as well, but what would he say about _two_ of them?

As they walked through the doors of the locker room, Dave walked over to the mirror. He hadn't honestly looked at his face since this morning in the bathroom, not wanting to draw attention to his injuries, but with Vince wandering around he had to give it consideration. Groaning as he saw the darkened spot under both eyes now, he poked at them. Lovely... his glasses were going to be a permanent fixture until he left tonight at least. He didn't think he had any promos to attend to, even with Hunter, so as long as he kept a low profile he shouldn't really need the makeup tonight.

There were a few things he did need to get done tonight though and he should hurry up and get them done. He could do them while Hunter and Shawn were doing their promos. As soon as he got his goals accomplished, he'd be stuck to Shawn and Hunter like glue. For now though, he needed a shower. Glancing at Hunter and Shawn, he smiled, his eyes wandering briefly over both of them. Damn. Not the thing to be doing when he was about to be naked with no relief in sight. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to his locker and quickly stripped out of his workout gear, then wrapped a towel around his waist. Grabbing the bottle of soap he used for both his hair and washing the rest of himself, he didn't need two separate bottles when he had such short hair, he headed for the showers. Better to get this done with quickly since Hunter had to be off to see Vince soon and Dave at least wanted to make the offer to go with him. He doubted that Hunter would take him up on it, but the offer would still be made. Hanging up his towel, he turned on the water and ducked underneath the shower head.

****

Jeff stared at his own reflection for a few seconds before huffing slightly and raising a fog on the glass. Why the hell was he waiting here anyway? It would take less than a minute to find the divas' locker room, pull Amy aside and tell her to call his brother or he'd kick her ass, then leave. Except for maybe Jericho, Adam and Jay, there was no-one else here who would talk to him, and Jeff didn't know if the crazy blonds were even at the arena tonight. Maybe he should just make a run for it, grab a taxi, find a club where no-one knew anything about wrestling and dance till his feet hurt. Jeff wanted to ignore the repercussions of the meeting for tonight, to pretend it didn't happen for a few hours and let himself believe he had something more than an empty hotel room and a non-existent social life to go back to.

"But you're a little bit too good at running from your problems aren't you Jeffy Boy?" His lilting voice was unpleasant with irony. "How about we suck it up, crawl back into that office and give Melrose a fucking blowjob if that's what it takes to get your contract back on the table?" He doubted the man would accept the offer though. Melrose looked at Jeff like he was something he'd found on the bottom of his shoe rather than with the slightest hint of desire. Then again, you didn't have to like someone to fuck them, as Jeff well knew from first hand experience. But despite general opinion, he'd never slept with anyone who had management power over him... or fucked them either. He'd never had to, as Matt had always bargained in the cleanest and smartest way for their money and schedules.

Matt would've hit the roof if anyone had tried it on with his baby brother.

So Jeff didn't tell him about it.

He'd managed, somehow, to protect Matt from any of the flack his relationships and behaviours had received. Most of his subtlety came from dating outside the profession and in his own time. It had worked like a charm too, Matt had been none the wiser about Jeff's interests until that night with Dom. The night all hell had broken loose and Jeff had destroyed Team Extreme more thoroughly than creative ever could. He'd worked his ass off to repair things with Matt, his brother's incapacity leaving him a victim of his younger sibling's desire to make up. Given the presence of the rest of the Hardy clan watching over him, Matt had mellowed enough to try and meet his brother half way. But they needed time apart before they killed each other, so Jeff was job-hunting and in the process, giving his brother some much needed space.

Drawing a smiley face on the fog, Jeff stared at his visage unblinkingly, feeling his eyes dry up a bit as he let them go out of focus while he watched his nose. Blinking at the double vision of his own eyes, Jeff shook off his introspection and spun around on the bench.

"What the fuck is 'Taker doing anyway?" he asked the room. The room had nothing to say on the matter so Jeff gave the WWE, Vince, Undertaker and the room the metaphorical finger and slid to his feet.

"Screw this 'sit and stay' shit. Amy, taxi, club, dancing, that's me tonight." Tucking his wayward hair behind his ears, Jeff turned the handle of the door and wrenched it open.

He actually got about five feet before he was caught.

****

Scott took notice of Kevin's hand on his arm immediately, though the glare he was directing at Johnny lessened not one bit. After another moment, he finally turned to acknowledge Kevin. He knew that Kevin wouldn't let him go after Nitro right now, but that didn't lessen his desire to do so.

 _"You wanted to talk to Vince later? That's the time to deal with the punk."_

As much as he hated to admit it, Kevin was right. Nitro wasn't responsible for this, but it was obvious that he couldn't wait to drag Vince along in the hopes that Hunter or Shawn would cop part of the blame. That meant the little bastard was messing with his family. Since yesterday hadn't made a dent in that thick skull, he'd just have to make sure the next time he faced the man, he wouldn't forget it. That gave him a fabulous idea. Kevin was right, he _would_ go to Vince and Vince _would_ give him what he wanted. He'd just have to work the man, play to his vanity.

Huddling closer to Kevin as his hand dropped to his waist, Scott took another look around. Adam and Chris were slowly making their way down the hall. Shawn and Dave were a little ways ahead with Hunter shadowing the two blonds until they reached the trainers' room. Then Hunt took off after Shawn and Dave like his ass was on fire or like he was looking to be alone with the two of them. Scott could hardly blame him there.

Scott smiled up at Kevin as he suggested finding a quiet corner to sit in. Then there was Mark. As much as he'd love to go find the man and catch up, having to deal with Heyman was bound to have the big man growling like a bear. Thanks, but no thanks. Maybe they would grab a quick bite after the show if Mark didn't come up with other plans before then.

He, himself, would love to hear Vince's reaction to what Hunter had to tell him, but he knew it wouldn't be possible. He'd just browbeat Hunter for the details later. Although Vince being in a good mood after his talk with Hunt was a possibility, a possibility that Scott was actually hoping for, Scott knew Vince would still be growling over what had happened here in the hall. That would actually work to his advantage.

"I vote for the quiet corner, chico," Scott said, his eyes downcast so that Kevin couldn't read the mischief in them. He didn't want to give away his _real_ purpose after all. "There are a few things that I need to get my hands on and I think you're just the person to help me with that. Revenge is rather sweet." Faking a glare in Nitro's direction, Scott led Kevin down the hall. Now was it his fault if Kevin assumed that the 'things' in question had to do with Nitro? Not at all. After all he kind of owed Kevin for all that delicious teasing he'd endured on the drive here and now was as good a time as any to pay him back.

Stopping in front of a door, Scott let out a sharp burst of laughter before reaching up and snagging the plaque off the door. Turning the knob, he walked in and threw the plaque bearing the initials JBL into the trash bin. Grinning at Kevin he pulled him over to the couch.

"I think this is as good a place as any, Bradshaw won't be needing it tonight with the spot he's doing, at least until later." As Kevin stretched out on the couch, Scott paced for a moment before looking back at Kevin. "And now, chico... the reason I brought you in here..."

He pounced mid-turn and settled himself astride Kevin's lap, his mouth crashing down on Kevin's. Hands tangling through dirty blond locks, he ground his ass against Kevin's groin. He pulled back when he was finally to the point of gasping for breath.

"Now about some of those 'things' I need to get my hands on," he said even as one hand slipped from Kevin's hair and down his chest.

****

Shawn drew in a slow, deep breath as he watched Dave, drinking in the simple sight of the man. He should probably feel bad for being so preoccupied with his plans after what had just happened, but he rather thought that the blonds would understand. He smiled a little at that as he waited near the door for Hunt to get there. Seeing Dave wince at his reflection in the mirror brought out that earlier desire to help, but he'd probably done more than enough when it came to that injury... at least for now. If Dave ended up having to do anything later, he'd go out and see if one of the girls couldn't come by and make it look a little better, at least.

Hunter walking through the door brought his attention back to the present and the smile on his friend's face when Shawn met his eyes told him that his thoughts were pretty transparent at the moment. Reaching behind the other blond, Shawn locked the door. He'd seen the look on Sean's face earlier and wasn't about to have someone walking into the room in the middle of things and interrupting them. So he should probably be patient and wait until later when they were at the hotel and guaranteed privacy... but he didn't want to. It had been a long time since he'd had so little control over himself, but he discovered he was enjoying it. Playing with his new lovers was something he doubted he'd ever get tired of... and just thinking that sent another spark of lust through him as he looked back at Dave.

Another glance at Hunt, hot blue eyes meeting warm whiskey, and Shawn took the few steps across the room to his locker, stripping off his own clothing with slow motions while he appreciated the sight of Dave's dusky skin. Managing not to stare openly, he didn't miss Dave's eyes wandering over his own body and stretched out his normal routine for the benefit of the other two in the room.

Smiling to himself as Dave headed into the showers, he waited until he heard the water start before turning to Hunter, his smile widening at the sight presented to him. His towel lay with his discarded clothing on the bench as he ignored them as unnecessary.

"Hunt..." he nearly breathed, taking the step necessary to be face-to-face with the man. Watching him carefully for any signs of tension, Shawn reached out slowly, his fingers touching Hunt's cheek before sliding down his neck, feeling the quickening pulse beat underneath his fingertips. A slow slide along the collarbone, and he paused, meeting those hazel eyes again before allowing himself to touch a small flat nipple, leaning forward to replace his fingers with his lips for a brief taste. The spicy, sweaty flavour made him shiver, and he raised his head again, his hand dropping to tighten on Hunter's hip before he leaned up and kissed him, his lips non-demanding and gentle.

Pulling away with a soft sigh, Shawn smiled a little wickedly at his friend.

"Any time you want me to, Hunter, I'm more than ready to fulfill the request you made on the plane," he murmured, his voice husky. Stepping back, he knew that the humming _want_ rising up in him was obvious on his body and he paused, allowing... no, _wanting_ Hunter to look, to see just how much he'd been affected by the brief exploration he'd just indulged in. "Any time you're ready, Hunt... I'm yours."

A glance toward the showers, and his smirk widened. "But for now... I have a surprise to deliver. And you need to watch." The tone of voice left no room for argument, and he turned around, picking up his towel and other bottles and walked into the shower, trusting that Hunter would follow him. Seeing that Dave was oblivious to his presence, Shawn arranged the items he'd carried in at the next showerhead before turning away from it and letting himself drink in the sight in front of him. All that dusky skin, wet and clean... and his to touch. His fingers almost itched with the urge, and as his gaze wandered lower, his mouth started to water. The big man was obviously still feeling some of the effects from the long day of frustrated teasing. Well... more teasing was definitely in store, but the frustration was about to come to an end.

Waiting until Dave was done rinsing the soap off his body and had his head tilted back, his eyes closed as he rinsed his hair, Shawn moved forward, stopping inches away from him. Just the sight of his lover had his breath coming faster, and he let his impulses move him. He ignored the falling water, although he didn't mind the slipperiness it added as he settled one hand at Dave's hip and the other at his neck. Shawn grinned as the "Animal" jerked in surprise at his touch and stared down at him with wide eyes. Before Dave could find his voice, Shawn was kissing him, demanding entrance, and when he got it, he used his surprise advantage ruthlessly as he devoured his lover's mouth. Breaking apart with a harsh noise, he let the hand on Dave's hip slide down, his fingers wrapping around the hardening flesh of Dave's shaft even as he met surprised chocolate eyes.

"I thought it might be a good time to return that favour." As Dave was processing the husky words, Shawn dropped to his knees, licking his lips as he eyed the man in front of him. Grasping Dave's hip again with his other hand, he leaned in to slide his tongue gently across the rounded head, making a noise in the back of his throat as Dave's taste exploded across his tongue. Feeling Dave's cock swell under his touch, he paused, looking up to meet the dark eyes again with a lazy smile.

"You taste good, sweetheart," he said before glancing to the side, his smile widening as he saw Hunter watching them.

****

Letting the door close behind him, Mark finally allowed himself to smile. The discussion with Vince had been short but intense, and he'd gotten what he wanted. The possible price was a little high, but... shrugging a little, he knew he could deal with it. The knowing look on Vince's face had been a little hard to deal with, but better that the man think he knew what was going on than have him find out the truth. If McMahon wanted to think that Mark was willing to make that kind of deal for somebody he was fucking... well. Vince definitely had his biases, and if that's what he thought, all the better for Mark to get his way.

Hopefully it wouldn't come back to bite Jeff on the ass.

He'd worry about that later, though. Right now, he needed to get back to his locker room and talk to the man. Vince still needed a signature, among other things, although that could probably wait a little longer if need be, given the conditional nature of the agreement. Hopefully Jeff wouldn't look at this as interfering in his life... if he'd just made a deal with the devil only to have the kid walk away, things wouldn't go so well for him.

And on that note... Mark frowned, thinking about Adam. Vince had told him briefly what happened earlier, and to say that he was displeased with Terry would be an understatement. He and Adam hadn't been together for quite some time, but they'd remained friends. He'd have to see what he could do about Terry; it'd been a while since he'd pulled the strings available to him, but maybe it was about time he put himself back in the leadership position backstage. And he'd definitely have to stop by the med bay and see how Adam was doing. But first... he had a whirlwind to try to contain.

Rounding the corner, he was disappointed but not surprised to see Jeff leaving his room. He'd be willing to bet he was looking for the divas' room to talk to Amy... whatever was up with that, Mark probably didn't want to know. He'd really thought Jeff wasn't the type to run from things... although ordering him to stay put had probably been the wrong way to go about things. It had never worked well with Shawn, either.

Moving up quietly behind the young man, Mark dropped a heavy hand on Jeff's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. The disappointment he felt was obvious in his voice when he spoke, as was the irritation he couldn't help but feel, given what he'd just done for the man.

"Going somewhere?"


	39. Arguments

Chris gently maneuvered Adam into the med bay, his arm supporting much of the man's weight, but desperately trying not to put undue pressure on his ribs. When his lover had shaken off the offer of a stretcher, Chris had felt a sharp burst of exasperation with Adam's stubbornness, quickly squelched by concern as well as the small voice in the back of his mind calling him a hypocrite. No-one in this line of work wanted to be stretchered anywhere if they could help it, least of all Chris. So he'd held the too-shaky arm and let Adam climb to his feet under his own power. He'd seen the pained expression on the white face he'd come to care so much for and stifled another surge of anger at the son of a bitch responsible for it. After twenty-three agonising steps, steps CJ thought would be etched into his memory of things he _never_ wanted to experience again, Sandburg released his hold on Adam's other shoulder then moved quickly to arrange the room's just arrived equipment for a full examination.

"Nearly there Babe, then I promise you can sit down for as long as you want." Watching Adam sit on the padded table, Chris ran a critical blue eye over the lean body before him. Adam was curving inwards around his torso, unconsciously protecting the injured area with his arms and shoulders. No longer focusing on the walk, he'd dropped his head, trying and failing, to take slow, deep even breaths. The fact that he was breathing at all, made CJ fairly sure he didn't have a punctured lung or something equally as nasty. He'd hit the wall hard, no question, but thankfully not _that_ hard.

"Okay Adam, first I want to check your lungs again, so can we unbutton your shirt?" As Sandburg began his exam, including how deep a breath Adam could take, what places hurt like hell when he pressed them and if the red areas on his back were going to become more than just incredibly colourful bruising, Chris stood exactly two feet away with his finger intertwined with his lover's. CJ couldn't count the number of times he'd stood in a room very similar to this one, hearing the same questions being asked and answered, by his friends, co-workers and often himself. It was never pleasant, but it was part of their job and one every man and woman who stepped into the ring had come to terms with. But this was different, this wasn't a bump gone wrong or a spot blown, this was his lover in pain and Chris found he hated this routine with a vengeance right now.

When Sandburg was done with Adam's chest, CJ took his place and tried to hold those glassy emerald eyes with his own while the cut at the back of his head was examined.

"Hey Beautiful, you still with me?" Adam's answer was cut off by a wince as their EMT probed a little too deeply into the head wound. Chris didn't think it was the endearment he'd let slip that'd caused Sandburg's reaction. The man had seen every body part of every wrestler and apart from being distinctly unimpressed by the experience, knew exactly what they all got up to, if not exactly who with. Although one wrestler having a freak out while another was getting a bruised knee checked wouldn't have been too hard to decipher by someone with more than a single brain cell.

"Just superficial in the back here Adam. It won't need stitches just a sealer and some Advil. Now look me in the eye please," going through the concussion tests, CJ knew the answer the same moment Sandburg did. Mild at least, but still concussion. A hell of a headache, some dizziness, watch for numbness, nausea, vomiting, large pupils, mental confusion, and memory problems etcetera, etcetera. Must be woken regularly for checks over the next twenty-four hours but the rest of the time bed rest and liquid diet. As for the three cracked ribs... rest, _big surprise there_ , deep breathing sessions every day, apply heat for pain relief and no work for the next two weeks.

Yeah right. Chris didn't believe that any more than Sandburg did saying it

They'd all worked damaged before and all would again. Chris had wrestled with a broken arm for god's sake, not that he would again, but two weeks rest translated as two days in the wrestling fraternity. Still, just because CJ would be an idiot, didn't mean Adam had to join the club.

Now that his lover's injuries were identified as treatable, Chris felt that horrible hollow feeling in his gut disappear, leaving him shaky with relief. "So bed rest and invalid watch for two weeks? How should I amuse myself in that time I wonder?" Chris allowed a hell of a lot of innuendo to colour his anger roughened voice.

From where he was writing up his mandatory report for Patterson, Sandburg unsuccessfully stifled a snort.

Chris ignored him.

****

 _"Going somewhere?"_

It was the disappointment lacing the deep voice more than the anger that had Jeff feeling like something that had crawled out from under a rock. Why he let Mark's opinion matter was beyond him right now, it just did matter. The warm, strong hand was on his shoulder again and Jeff fought an irrational urge to lean up into that strength like a cat getting it's ears scratched. Jeeses Jeff, get a grip man! Mark was pissed at him for fuck's sake, now was not the time to turn into SlutJeff. What he really wanted, even more than that touch, was to erase the offended expression he found in those compelling dark green eyes.

He could lie, say he'd been looking for Mark? But Jeff knew that wouldn't wash, he was a terrible liar and he knew it. Even all the lying to himself he'd done lately hadn't armed him better at doing it face to face. So go with honesty then. Just leave out the bits that make him look bad and he'd be fine.

"No... yes. But just to find Ames 'Taker, she hasn't called Matt in weeks and he's all set to come over, fucked knee an' all, just in case someone's getting in her pants while he's down." Jeff didn't like the pleading note in his voice, not one bit. Despite his resolution of honesty, he didn't need to explain himself to Mark, the only person who could claim that power was thousands of miles away and a hell of a lot shorter. But Mark had always, right from the first moment he and Matt had been introduced to the 'Legend' had a strange effect on Jeff. Mark saw too much with those forest green eyes, so much so that Jeff had literally stopped meeting the man's gaze during their program. Mark had asked him politely to do so during matches so he could time himself, but apart from that Jeff had hidden behind his hair.

Hey he was Jeff, it was his job to be moody and obscure.

Besides, s'not like the big man gave Jeff even the slightest hint of what _his_ motives where. Why should Jeff be such an open book, when Mark could be reviewing his taxes right now for all Jeff knew.

"'Taker c'mon... " Seeing no hint of reprieve in Mark's face, Jeff decided to go into the offensive. Moving inside the arm still reaching to his shoulder, Jeff grabbed two handfuls of black vest and pulled Undertaker back down the hall and into the man's dressing room. He felt like a tug-boat dragging a cargo liner, but Jeff was nothing if not tenacious and after a moment of resistance he claimed victory. It was instinct and raging hormones that had Jeff taking note of the feel of the fabric under his fingers and the sharp smell of sweat and sandalwood that was uniquely the Undertaker. Jeff's mind registered that Mark had been working out before they'd met in the hallway, images of long, tattooed arms and black clad legs, moving in a slow repetitive rhythm, causing the smaller man to drop his hands and take a step out of Mark's personal space before he did something so stupid, he'd probably end up dead.

"See now, I didn't leave. It was just a figment of your imagination." Gesturing at himself and then the room at large, Jeff settled his hands on his hips in a cocky pose that drove his mother nuts. "Now why exactly am I waiting like a good dog for his master's return with slippers in mouth and eyes all glowing with expectation?"

****

 _"Nearly there Babe, then I promise you can sit down for as long as you want."_

Sit down? Was sitting down a good thing? He wasn't so sure at the moment. Although sitting down meant he wasn't going to fall down and _that_ would probably be a good thing. Concentrating on his breathing kept his mind off the pain and the dizziness, at least for the moment. He'd had worse injuries, but the nature of how he'd ended up with the ones he had now had him burning for a little payback. Doubtful he'd get it though. McMahon would have his head on a platter if he went after the little bastard. Chris was okay and that's all that mattered right now.

During the exam, Chris' touch kept him grounded. The poking and prodding by Sandburg hurt of course, but not nearly as badly as it would have without Chris by his side. He knew that he had a concussion because of the stupid dizziness he was experiencing though Sandburg hadn't confirmed it yet. Apparently he had some cracked ribs, but as long as they weren't broken then he could live with it. At least his vision was clearing up rapidly so he could make out Chris' features much better now.

Once Sandburg had finished with his ribs and Chris was standing in front of him, he tried to focus on the pretty blue wells that appeared in front of him. He loved Chris' eyes. So blue, so full of emotion, so... ow fuck. Superficial? Good. That meant he wasn't in danger of what was left of his brains leaking out.

Adam sat through the concussion tests, Sandburg confirming what he'd already known. Listening to the list of directions the man rattled off made his head hurt a bit. Two weeks? Yeah, right. Not when he had a match on Sunday and one on Monday as well. Four days... two weeks... was there a difference? He'd be thankful for the Advil if the man would just give it to him. Instead Sandburg wandered off to fill in his report for the moment. Paperwork... the bane of all humanity.

 _"So bed rest and invalid watch for two weeks? How should I amuse myself in that time I wonder?"_

Despite the way his head was starting to ache, he smiled. "I can think of a few things to keep you occupied." God, he was such a slut. Actually come to think of it... a little making out might be just the thing to make him feel better. Though he'd have to hold that thought until they made it somewhere else. Sandburg would probably prefer not to be a witness to their antics.

"Although you're only going to have to worry about four days, not two weeks. I've got matches on Sunday and Monday." Before Chris could open his mouth to object and for some odd reason Adam had known he was going to, despite the fact that Chris had worked injured himself on occasion, he hurried on to reassure Chris that he would be fine. "I can't not do the match on Sunday. It's a pay per view, Chris. Besides, we'll only be out there for about ten minutes before Glen shows up with..."

"What the hell happened to you?" Adam's head snapped in the direction of the now open door when he heard Benoit's voice. Bad move. His head swam for a moment before he managed to focus on the man's face.

"Hey Benny. Terry happened," he said with a shrug, wincing when it pulled at his ribs. "He didn't appreciate me pointing out that he stuffs his shorts and used me for target practice. I need you to do me a favor, Chris."

Seeing the question in Benoit's eyes, even though it wasn't voiced, Adam continued. "I need you to go tell Vince not to scrap the match on Sunday. I'd do it myself, but I have to wait for Sandburg to tape me up and glue me back together," he said rolling his eyes. The man could hurry, but it was Sandburg so he wouldn't. "As goofy as Grenier and Conway are outside the ring, they won't do anything purposefully to aggravate my ribs. I trust Glen not to drop me on my head, so I can still do the match. You'll be in there half the time anyway."

He could tell that Benoit wasn't really convinced, but he still had another match to talk him into. "Monday I'm working with you and Chris. Flair and Batista don't worry me and as much as Orton is a cocky little shit, he's not going to intentionally go for my ribs either. Then if Chris insists," he smiled at his lover standing before him, "I'll stay in bed for an entire week except for going to the bathroom. I swear."

Hopefully, that would pacify Chris. If not, he would argue it until he was blue in the face. He'd already taken so much time off for his neck injury that working with cracked ribs and a concussion seemed like a cakewalk. He did not want to sit home again. There was a deeper-rooted issue there that he wasn't willing to face at the moment. He'd think through it later. Right now... he grabbed Chris' hands, intent on convincing him that he would be okay, when he noticed Chris wince. Lifting his hands, he looked at the one Chris was attempting to free from his grasp. His voice cracked as he spoke. "Did he do this?"

****

Frowning a little as he followed Scott, Kevin wondered if Nitro really had his lover _that_ worked up. Yeah, the little punk needed a lesson, but why was Scotty so affected by him? Almost concerned at the distant air Scott was putting off, he didn't even realise where they were heading until Scott stopped. Catching sight of the initials on the temporary plaque, Kevin returned Scott's grin as they walked in; Bradshaw had never been a favourite to start with, and fucking with him now would just be more entertainment for the evening.

Spotting the plush couch against the side wall as Scott pulled him toward it, he had to smile. Being a big name backstage had its little perks, and that couch looked like just the thing for his aches. He sat down gingerly, aware of the still-present pains from earlier, before laying back and stretching out with a loud sigh. Now _this_ he could get used to. Hell, maybe he'd add a rider to their contract demanding a nice couch in every locker room. That thought made him snort with quiet laughter, although watching Scott pace back and forth worried him a little.

 _"And now, chico.. .the reason I brought you in here..."_

A perplexed eyebrow climbed up his forehead at the odd look on Scott's face. He thought he'd managed to calm Scott down...?

And then Scott was on top of him... Kev's hands wrapped around Scott before he realised what he was doing, his surprised groan muffled by Scott's lips on his, growling from the sharp tugs on his hair and the press of Scott's body against his. He pushed his hips upward, seeking more contact, and couldn't stop the breathless whimper that tumbled out of his mouth when Scott pulled away, an evil sparkle in his eye.

 _"Now about some of those 'things' I need to get my hands on."_

The slow slide of Scott's hand down his chest made Kevin shift underneath Scott, trying to get the tantalisingly light pressure firmer. Realising as Scott's hand left his hair that he could touch, too, he slid his hands down Scott's back to grab his ass, squeezing as he pushed Scott's hips down while he bucked upward. He wasn't quite ready to follow through on the groping, but he suspected that wasn't Scott's intent.

Leaning upward, he sucked one of Scott's earlobes into his mouth, bathing it thoroughly with his tongue before sucking on it, biting it sharply before releasing it. He licked a path down Scott's throat, relishing the taste. A sudden firm touch to his half-hard shaft forced a moan out of him that was nearly Scott's name as he threw his head back before meeting Scott's eyes, his own gone wide and dark from the rising pleasure working its way through him.

****

The heated water sluicing over his body drew a deep groan of pleasure from him, at the same time washing away the sweat from his workout and at least temporarily the nastiness of what had just happened in the hall. He would stop to check on Chris and Adam later, just to make sure everything was okay there. For now though, the trickle of water was turning his thoughts. As he poured some soap into his hands and ran them over his body, the contrast between his own touch and the water was raising some issues... literally. It wasn't that he'd just came from a room where Shawn and Hunter were both stripping off their clothes... no, of course not.

His skin was so sensitive, aching for their touch, that the slightest touch of his own hands sent shards of pleasure dancing across his nerve endings even as he was wishing it was their hands on his body. He really needed to get a grip. Thinking about the bronzed skin of Hunter's sculpted chest and the sun-kissed skin of Shawn's, he groaned. That was not helping matters. Any minute they'd be in here and they'd be sure to notice the effect it was having on him. He'd waited this long to touch, he could wait longer.

You didn't really wait though, did ya Dave? Dave scowled at the inner voice as he rinsed the soap from his body. No he hadn't been able to wait. He was happy he hadn't. He could still remember the taste of Shawn's skin, the scent and taste of his release, and the taste of Hunter's mouth when he kissed him after. Maybe if he soaked his head it would steer his thoughts in another direction. Tilting his head back into the water, eyes closed, he started rinsing the soap from his hair.

He hadn't heard anyone come in, but suddenly there were hands touching him at his hip and his neck. Dave was drawn back to reality swiftly, his body jerking in surprise. At least he'd managed not to fall on his ass... that was something. He recognized the touch, but couldn't fathom why he was on the receiving end of it right now. Surely Shawn didn't mean to...

All thoughts fled as Shawn's mouth covered his own. Instinctively he returned the kiss, shuddering at the sound Shawn made as their lips parted. His muscles danced underneath Shawn's searching fingers and he tensed slightly, biting his lip on a moan as Shawn's fingers wrapped around his length. As much as he'd imagined this, it felt ten times as good as he could have imagined. His eyes widened as Shawn spoke and he realized that Shawn did indeed mean to do this here and now.

Before he could even think to object, Shawn was on his knees in front of him and he could feel his body tensing in anticipation of what was coming. He watched Shawn's tongue sliding over his lips and he stifled another moan. Then that agile pink tongue was brushing over the head of his cock and he forgot about any need for quiet. Strange... that wasn't usually an issue with him during intimacy. Obviously it was going to be different with Shawn, he realized as a husky moan fell from his lips. And Hunter... where was...?

Dave eyes followed Shawn's gaze to the man standing off to the side. He shuddered and reached with one hand for the wall for support. As much as he'd dreamed about them separately, except for the dream he'd had last night... was it such a short time ago? Except for that dream he'd never imagined the three of them together, but now they _were_ together... in the shower... naked. That thought in and of itself almost had him exploding on the spot. Wouldn't that be a big disappointment for Shawn?

He really should object. Even though they'd worked at easing Hunter into the whole touching thing, he didn't want to overwhelm the man with too much too soon. The problem was he wasn't sure Shawn was willing to wait and honestly it would probably kill him to put a stop to this now. He was hoping that Hunter would move closer, but he wouldn't ask for it. As for Shawn... if they had more time before Hunter's meeting, he'd probably be begging his lover to fuck him in the showers before Shawn was done. But they didn't have that time luxury and he wasn't willing to go that far without Hunter there so it would have to wait.

His eyes turning back to Shawn he smiled shyly. "Did you at least lock the door, sweetheart?" he asked, his gravelly with desire. The last thing they needed was for someone, namely Vince, to walk into the middle of this little escapade.

****

Hunter's smirk widened as he watched Shawn turn the simple task of undressing into an almost stripper-like tease. He'd seen his partner nude possibly a thousand times, but this time, it was suddenly, wonderfully _different_ to see Shawn slowly become naked before his eyes. Maybe it was the new-found knowledge that he was allowed to admire his lover's beautiful body that gave him a funny buzz in his chest. God! He had, not just permission, but was actively encouraged to let his eyes linger on Shawn's tight, curved ass, to ache to kiss those pouty, pretty lips and tongue the smooth skin at the base of his spine. What a feast Shawn Michaels was to Hunter's admittedly partisan gaze. Damn this 'no touchy' problem of his, just let Shawn keep stripping in front of him and Hunt would be into the tactile stuff in a big way.

Pulling his eyes away for a second, Hunter reached over his head to pull the loose singlet he'd been wearing, over his head to drop in a sodden heap on the floor. Sweat pants and shoes quickly followed. He was just raking his finger through his sweat damp hair when Hunter opened his eyes to find the very object of his lust standing so close he could feel the puffs of air from their mouths intermingle.

Momentarily alone as Dave started the shower, Hunt's breath caught in his throat at the look on Shawn's face as he gazed at him through dusky-sweet blue eyes. Shawn looked like he'd seen a delicious meal of all his favorite foods, one that he just couldn't wait to taste. His expression was hot, hungry and just a little bit more than slightly impatient. It would have taken a crane to move Hunter from his position, as agile fingers stroked his face and neck, the warm, seductive path creating a tight sensation in his heart and his groin.

When Shawn's lips pressed to his ultra-sensitive nipple, Hunter's trapped lungs released a soft moan in appreciation of both the sight of that soft pink tongue on his skin and the hot feelings it evoked. Feelings that grew as their lips met for a gentle, slow kiss that had Hunter wondering if his battle scarred legs where still able to support him.

 _Any time you want me to... Any time you're ready... I'm yours._

The deep, husky promise sent a shiver down Hunt's spine and also, surprisingly relaxed the slight knots of tension that Hunter hadn't realised were beginning to form in that same column. Shawn had just given him a gift. One of no demands and no pressure. It was a gift Hunter wasn't sure he actually deserved given his own behaviour of late. But it was Shawn after all, the man would do anything for his lovers and Hunter was immensely pleased and shocked to know that he was now filling half of that position.

He'd thought that nothing would really change between them now that they were lovers rather than 'just good friends'. Well... _obviously_... some things would change, like the having of sex as primary example. But in Hunter's mind he had doubted that he and Shawn would act much differently towards each other. It seemed he was wrong again when it came to Shawn, being his lover held a very different standing in Shawn's eyes than just a friend. Would this mean they would be even more concerned and fascinated than they previously had been? They were already seen as being extremely tactile towards one another; what they _really_  had was no comprehension of the term 'personal space' when applied to the other. Hunt knew of plenty of times they'd practically stepped on each other during appearances because they stuck so close together.

Really. They should have been dating _years_ ago.

Duh.

Hunter, now feeling almost giddy with the freedom Shawn had just handed him, followed his lover's path into the doorway to their private shower. If his Heartbreaker was on the lookout to return Dave's favour from earlier, this was one sight Hunt didn't want to miss.

Looking at Dave's hardening shaft being licked by the same pink tongue that had teased his own nipple earlier, Hunter felt his own sex start to pay attention to the erotic display before him. Shawn on his knees before Dave, shooting Hunter a wicked smile before beginning what looked like the blow job to end all blow jobs. Dave's dark soaked hair and chiseled face, softened by desire and passion, while warm, steamy water fell on them like summer rain.

God, what a sight.

****

Chris had been ready to read Adam the riot act over doing a PPV with cracked ribs and a concussion when Benoit came in to do it for him. Unfortunately despite his lover's crack to the skull, he was still coherent enough to make reasonable arguments in opposition to the ones unspoken by the Chrises. True, Benoit and the La Rez boys could handle an injured co-worker no problem and Glen could plant Adam down like a baby if he wanted to. The six man the following Monday wouldn't be any more dangerous, given that Ric, Dave and Randy could play the heels all by themselves if they had to, while CJ and Benoit directed traffic. But it was still stupid and CJ'd tell him so.

Then Adam took his hands and squeezed them gently.

Chris was sure he hadn't reacted, he was _sure_.

Still, the look on Adam's face was the exact same one he'd had when Terry had made his snipe about CJ working a match with him. It was a scary look, one Chris hoped would never be directed at him, but it was also comforting in a 'damsel in distress, need big hero' way. Kinda made him horny too... except for the tendrils of agony running along his fingers and the back of his hand.

 _Did he do this?_

Oh shit. "No, actually I did." Chris tried to tug his hand from Adam's deceptively gentle grasp. "Genius here tried to catch you before you hit the wall and my hand caught the brunt of it. It's fine." Another tug. "If they're broken I'll wear a pressure glove, they're fine."

CJ knew he was doing the exact same dance that Adam had been trying about the matches. 'But this was different,' he defended to himself. 'I'm not gasping for air with blood in my hair, so it's _fine_. In comparison.'

Half-listening to Benoit make his arguments for him, CJ finally got his hand back and nodded Sandburg over. Adam couldn't argue so well while he was being taped up, he kept hissing and cursing if Sandburg hit a sore spot, but he still managed to block all of Chris's logical attempts to re-work the programme.

Fine. Adam wouldn't listen to reason while in the arena, but Chris had other ammunition his lover had no hope of avoiding. Or so he'd heard. Right now all CJ wanted to do was take Adam home and keep him safe and warm for the rest of the week. But when he suggested they leave, he was dobbed into the EMT who took one look at his unmoving fingers and began to call him rude names. He tolerated Sandburg taping his hand up and nodded his way through a lecture about X-rays and macho pain-tolerant behaviour.

After pushing Sandburg for another listen to Adam's lungs, CJ was finally given the all-clear to leave with his precious charge. Standing close enough to his lover to offer support when Adam's feet took his weight, Chris asked.

"Hotel I think Babe? Let Chris tell everyone what's what, you need to be horizontal... and not in the fun way."

Chris just hoped Adam wouldn't pull a stubborn mule act and demand to stay for the taping. 'Cos in CJ's opinion that would be just dumb.

****

Scott thrust his hips back, pushing his ass further into Kevin's wandering hands and forcing him into firmer contact with Kevin's groin. His head tilted back with a gasp exposing his throat to Kevin's talented tongue. An unbridled hum of pleasure vibrated through his throat as Kevin wended his way down Scott's neck. In retaliation, he lowered his hand further, settling it firmly against the semi-hard shaft ensconced within Kevin's pants. The noise Kevin made sent shivers racing down his spine and there was _the_ look again in Kevin's eyes... the one that he loved so.

The sound of the door opening didn't register as Scott leaned down to kiss Kevin once again, thrusting his groin against Kevin's. His muffled groan of pleasure was cut off by the voice coming from the doorway.

"What the hell? Jesus, don't you two ever stop? Go get a damn room why don’t ya?"

Scott pulled away from Kevin's mouth, taking the time to lick Kevin's bottom lip before turning to face their audience, his body still draped over Kevin's. Raising a brow, Scott grinned. "I thought we were in a room. Doesn't look like the hallway to me," turning to eye Kevin salaciously he licked his lips. "Want to close the door on your way out 'Shaw? Unless you plan to stay and watch."

Ignoring the sputtering at the door, Scott winked at Kevin. "But... but this is _my_ dressing room."

"Funny... I didn't see your name on the door."

Scott smothered a laugh against Kevin's shoulder as JBL stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He was terrible. Thank goodness Kevin loved him that way.

****

Benoit threw open the door, his mind racing through all of the possibilities that he could be confronted with. Broken ribs, concussion, cracked skull, cracked vertebrae, broken arm... The sight that actually met his eyes was a little different, though. He stopped in the doorway, taking in the sight of Adam and Jericho practically cuddling, for all that Copeland was injured and in the med bay. When had _that_ happened? For some reason, he flashed back to Rob: _"Adam said some pretty cool stuff about CJ... wonder if he's right about how big his dick is?"_

Shaking his head, he approached the table Adam was perched on. Whatever was up between the two blonds was none of his business, although if it meant that _he_ didn't have to watch over Adam for signs of concussion tonight, he'd be eternally grateful to Jericho. He and Eddie had spent way too much time apart lately.

"What the hell happened to you?" He couldn't help but smile just a little at the protective way Jericho hovered in front of Adam at his question.

Leaning against the doorway, Eddie watched Chris try to deal with a tag partner who was pulling the best stubborn act since... well... since last time _Chris_ had been injured and insisted on wrestling anyway. He smirked a bit as he listened to Adam's arguments; they sounded terribly familiar, and they were about as true as they hadn't been when Benoit had used them on him last time. However... they were probably going to be just as effective with Vince, which was what mattered.

He stepped backward as Chris turned with a final, exasperated, "Fine! Whatever you say, then. I'm sure you'll be just _fine_." Raising an eyebrow at the mutters emanating from his lover, he paced Chris down the hallway.

"So, _ese_ , what's up?" He couldn't quite keep his amusement out of his voice, now that he'd seen that Copeland wasn't too badly hurt. The fact that he _was_ hurt was a big problem, but at the moment, he had to try to calm Chris down rather than give in to his own impulses to plot revenge for the gross stupidity Terry had demonstrated. Big surprise, that.

Benoit slowed to a halt and glared at him. "The damned fool insists that he'll be fine to work Bad Blood _and_ the next Raw! He's got _cracked ribs_ , and he's talking about taking a choke slam like it was nothing! What the hell do you think is up, Eddie?"

Eddie raised an eyebrow in response, seeing through the upset words. "If you're so pissed with him, Chris, then why are we standing in front of Vince's office? If you didn't think he could work, you'd've headed for the locker room. But you're going to talk to Vince for him, aren't you?"

The stubborn, almost embarrassed silence that greeted him gave him his answer. Shaking his head, he put a hand on Chris's shoulder. "Chris... you knew he wasn't going to go lie down quietly for two weeks. Not anymore than _you_ did, last time you had cracked ribs... no matter how much I wanted you to. So it took four weeks instead of two to heal; you healed. So you nearly gave me nightmares every time you did that _pinche_ headbutt. Did it stop _you_?"

A long silence, as Eddie looked steadily at Chris. Finally, Chris sighed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realise..."

Shaking his head, Eddie cut him off. "That's not the point, Chris. The point is that he's doing the same thing you do, the same thing I do... the same thing every single person in the back would do in his place. Complain all you want; I understand that. But go in and talk to Vince for him. _Go_!" With a gentle push, he moved Benoit toward the door they'd stopped in front of. Chris reluctantly knocked on it, paused in response to a voice that Eddie couldn't quite make out, and then entered.

Leaning against the wall, letting their bags fall to the floor, Eddie wondered who was the bigger _pendejo_ : Adam, for wanting to wrestle injured; Chris, for arguing to let him do so; or himself, for arguing Chris into getting Vince to let Adam go on. There was no telling, in situations like this.

****

 _"No... yes."_

Oh, for the love of... Mark stifled an impatient sight, counseling his features to their normal expressionless state. Jeff was the worst liar he'd ever seen, and the longer he was around him, the more he reminded him of Shawn, a decade ago. That was probably unfair to Hardy, and could get Mark in all kinds of trouble if his mind went too far down that path... but it was true, dammit.

Only half-listening to Jeff's babbling, he wondered suddenly if that wouldn't be something to think about. Maybe he could get Shawn to help him out with this one... if he could be pried away from Batista long enough to listen. His lips curved just slightly at that thought before he blinked it away and looked back down at Jeff. He ignored the use of his ring name rather than let it irritate him further. And why _did_ it irritate him coming from Jeff? Practically everybody backstage called him that, too, after all. No, better not go there. Instead, better to concentrate on why he was irritated with Jeff's leaving his locker room when he'd just put his balls on the line for the k... man.

Allowing the smaller man to pull him down the hallway and into his room, hiding his amusement at the sight, Mark raised an eyebrow as Jeff almost jerked away from him after the door closed behind them. That was interesting. Jeff had always seemed to have a problem being around him, although Mark had assumed that it just a matter of the size difference plus his normally brooding personality. That affected a lot of his coworkers that way... but this? This was different.

 _"Now why exactly am I waiting like a good dog for his master's return with slippers in mouth and eyes all glowing with expectation?"_

Mark had to force himself to tear his mind away from images of Jeff in a collar. It didn't help that collars seemed to be one of the man's favourite fashion accessories, but the pictures in his mind right now didn't involve the ring, and he didn't need to be thinking that way. Not now, not here. Probably not _ever_. Taking a breath, he ignored Jeff's posturing and met his eyes instead. That was almost a mistake, he realised immediately. He'd only really seen Hardy's eyes while working with him in the ring, and he'd been too preoccupied with their match then to realise how compelling they could be. Blinking once, he firmly kept his mind on track as he started speaking.

"Because I talked to Vince." Pausing to take in Jeff's reaction to that, he continued after a long moment. "When we're done here, go on back to his office and sign your contract. There are some conditions, naturally, but nothing you can't live with."

Hopefully. What he'd do when he found out that Mark was responsible for him, well... deal with that later. Letting Jeff stare at him in shocked silence, he walked across the room to his bag and sat on the bench, pulling off his shoes and letting them drop to the floor. He needed a shower desperately, and the dull ache in his shoulder from overusing it earlier was starting to settle in. Hopefully hot water would help ease that. The sleeveless hoody was just hitting the bench beside him when Jeff finally reacted.


	40. Responses

_"Genius here tried to catch you before you hit the wall and my hand caught the brunt of it. It's fine."_

Fine his ass! He wasn't at all happy that Chris had gotten hurt while trying to save him. Chris was so getting that checked out before they left... no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Adam sent a short glare at Chris before Benoit pulled him back to the argument about the matches. He knew that Benoit was getting frustrated with him, but he was not going to back down. If he weren't willing to go talk to Vince for Adam, then Adam would just do it himself. And wouldn't that go over like a lead balloon with Chris?

Sandburg was back, deciding that now was the time to tape up his ribs and glue the cut shut on the back of his head. Nice timing. The more hissing and cursing he did, the less convinced Benoit seemed to be. Of course he was going to be more sensitive to it right now. He was starting to get one hell of a headache--where was his damn Advil anyway?--and he had four days to rest up between now and the match on Sunday. He'd be fine by then... or at least on his way to it.

 _"Fine! Whatever you say, then. I'm sure you'll be just fine."_

Blah! That sounded less than convinced, but he knew that Benoit would do what he asked regardless. Now onto more pressing matters. At least more pressing for him as he heard Chris ask if they were ready to leave.

"Oh, no. Not until Sandburg takes a look at _your_ injury."

Chris giving him the evil eye was a small price to pay. As he listened to the words Sandburg had to impart, he smothered a smirk. At least he wasn't the _only_ one being stubborn and unreasonable tonight. His ears perked up upon hearing the word X-rays. Despite Chris' nod, Adam knew he had no intention of getting them. Ha! That's what he thought. Adam might not be able to toss him over his shoulder with the condition of his ribs right now, but Chris _would_ have those X-rays done. He suffered through another check of his lungs, then stood as Sandburg gave them the all clear to get out of there. As he wrapped an arm around Chris' shoulders, more because he wanted to rather than necessity, his lover offered up his thoughts on where they would be going when they left.

 _"...You need to be horizontal... and not in the fun way."_

Even before Chris started speaking he was shaking his head. Bad move again, damn it! Closing his eyes a moment to help dispel the dizziness, he did relax a bit of his weight against Chris. As they moved out into the hall, their steps slowly paced, Adam spoke up with his objections.

"No hotel. First of all, we came with Jay and Ty, so we at least need to inform them of what's happened since they aren't around. Second of all, you _are_ going to the clinic to get X-rays and I'm coming with to make sure that you do. You are not going to mess up your hand for my benefit when I'm the reason you got hurt in the first place."

 

And damn didn't he feel guilty about that? He was sure to delve into those feelings more later, but for now... He spotted a familiar figure coming down the hall in their direction, and Adam knew he'd just found the reinforcements he needed. If Chris objected to going to the clinic, Adam would just have Austin cart him off over his shoulder and stuff him in the car.

****

Not taking his eyes off the man in front of him, Shawn smiled as he saw the reaction Dave had to the simple sight of Hunter watching them. Knowing that Hunt was watching them sent heat shivering down his own spine and he could feel his own body tightening, responding to the sexual tension that was filling the room. The water beating down on his back was just another source of stimulation at this point and he wondered, in the back of his mind, just how they were going to end this. He certainly wouldn't mind taking it further than a simple blowjob, but he knew they didn't have the time that he'd want to dedicate to it if they did.

 _"Did you at least lock the door, sweetheart?"_

Oh dear lord. That little shy smile, so completely different from anything Shawn was used to seeing on that face... That look shot straight to his heart, joining the warmth that Shawn felt every time he looked at the darkly gorgeous man in front of him and realised that he was _his_. Letting that warmth show in his eyes, he returned Dave's smile even as one hand crept up the man's thigh to gently cup his balls, caressing them lightly. As much as he'd love to tease Dave, he suppressed the immediate retort that spring to his lips. This was not the time, not now when everything was so new to them.

"Don't worry about anything, Dave. Just... enjoy."

Bending forward again, he trailed his tongue up Dave's now-straining shaft, sighing a little as he took in the musky taste of his new lover. Flicking his tongue against the sensitive skin, he raised an eyebrow at the moan that escaped Dave's lips. He hadn't expected the big man to be too vocal... but if he could be, Shawn was going to have all sorts of fun prodding him into it. As he trailed his fingers farther back, brushing lightly against the small opening, he smiled again at the tremour that he could feel in the body so close to his.

The sudden sound of a familiar voice caught his attention and he looked up, his eyes widening in pleased surprise at the sight of Hunter standing behind Dave. One hazel eye winked down at him, as Hunter's hands came up to touch Dave's bare skin, the fingers tweaking dusky nipples as Hunt tilted his head, a now-familiar soft stream of words flowing into Shawn's ears even over the pattering of the shower. His own cock twitched against his belly at the sight and he moaned softly. The effect on Dave was staggering. One of Hunt's hands tightened on the 'Animal' to keep him upright, and Shawn took his opportunity.

Drawing in a deep breath, he pushed his wet hair out of his face and slid his lips slowly down around the swollen head, sucking briefly before letting it slip from his mouth. The loud whimper from above made his lips curve briefly before tilting his head, allowing his wet locks to trail across Dave's cock, wrapping around the hard flesh as he tongued the heavy balls, sucking them one at a time into his mouth and rolling them with his tongue.

One final caress to the sensitive spot immediately behind them, and Shawn leisurely ran his tongue back up the straining shaft before taking another breath and relaxing, allowing it to slide down his throat until his chin was nudging Dave's balls. The immediate reaction from Dave was incredibly gratifying.

****

Okay, that was just too gorgeous a sight to pass up. The moan Dave released when Shawn licked him again while simultaneously stroking the hidden entrance between Dave's legs moved Hunter further into the room like a magnet. All that naked skin, sluiced with water and the remains of a fruit-smelling soap, was calling to him with a siren's song he generally only associated with a big gold belt. And that was just a piece of cold metal, this was warmth and strength and love, right here in front of him.

Feeling his desires declare war on his panic button, Hunter moved around the two lovers like he was admiring an expensive piece of modern art. What a unique and priceless piece this would be. Hunter captured the image in his head like a snapshot, he'd call it simply 'want'. Because that was his primary feeling right now, a want deep inside his body manifested in his hard member and prowling walk. There was no panic here, neither Dave nor Shawn were touching him. No. His want was paramount right now, his desire mirrored on the faces of Dave and Shawn. A want that would finally be lessened, at least for the time being.

Feeling the hot spray cover his arms, Hunter's body shivered in the change of temperature, warming to match the endless expanse of skin and muscles he found as he began to stroke his hands along Dave's back. The dark man arched into his touch, so Hunt continued the caress, up over sharp shoulder blades, down along biceps, tensing and relaxing with each action of the man before them. Making sure his touch was sure enough to avoid tickling, Hunter moved closer until his chest met Dave's back, his cock resting against one hard cheek.

Dave's body was a masterpiece of muscle, bone and skin. It wasn't just eye catching, Hunter found himself positively enraptured by all the glorious flesh on display for him, enhanced beyond lovely by the dark, erotic dragon tattoos. Using his fingers to tease the small hard nipples he found while searching that muscled chest, Hunter started a litany of words that seemed to flow from the part of his mind he'd once suppressed while around these two beautiful men.

"Dave. Dave... do you know how much I've wanted to see you like this. See your skin exposed for me, for my touch. You're everything I want David. Look at Shawn, our love. He's so fucking hot, isn't he Dave? On his knees for you, sucking you and loving your cock like that. He wants you so much he couldn't wait to taste you Dave. Just like I want to, my David." A nibble on one soft lobe, his breath hot into his lover's ear as Dave let his head drop back onto Hunter's shoulder. "God I want you David, feel that?" Hunter shifted slightly so his hard sex now nestled in the wet cleft of Dave's ass. "That's what you do to me, what you do to us when we look at you. Let me..." catching Dave's hands from where they were braced, Hunter guided them to Shawn's head and shoulder. "Touch him Dave, show him how much you love what he's doing to you. I want you Dave, just like Shawn is now. I want to be on my knees for you, sucking you, tasting you, letting you thrust into me." Hunter's voice caught at the truth of the words pouring from him.  "I want you to own me."

****

 _Second of all, you are going to the clinic to get X-rays and I'm coming with_

Great, first Sandburg, now Adam, who should really be focusing on breathing, was pushing him to go to the clinic. Chris wasn't denying his hand hurt like hell, particularly after their EMT had pulled each finger to see if it _hurt_. Well yeah, of course it hurt, that would be why he was favouring it after all. The problem was, CJ admitted grudgingly, his concern for Adam was a higher priority right now that waiting at a clinic for a someone to tell him his hand was damaged. Chris knew that it was, and he'd deal with it like any other injury... keep it immobile and don't punch anyone. Well, if he ran into Terry the Fuckhead anytime soon, he wouldn't punch him.

Kicking was easier.

Now to deal with the guilt lacing Adam's slightly weakened voice. "Ahh yeah. Your fault. Of course it is, all of it. If you hadn't shut The Fuckhead down, _exactly_ as he deserved by the way, he wouldn't have charged you. But then... if you and I hadn't got together last night, he wouldn't have had anything to tease you about. So that's your fault too for being honest with me in that alley." Ahhh, Chris' friend sarcasm. "But then..." Chris ignored Adam's pained expression. "...if you didn't come out with us to cheer me up then I wouldn't have even known you liked me, so that's at your feet as well." A beat. "Also you shouldn't have been friends with me, dated Terry, jumped to Raw or let's face it, become a wrestler. Because obviously, if you hadn't this never would have happened."

Chris had just finished the last of his tirade, laying it on as thick as he could, when he looked up from Adam's steady pacing to see the pair of denim shorts, black t-shirt and bald head that could only belong to one man.

Coming to a halt, Chris assessed the expression in the Rattlesnake's eyes. It wasn't pretty. Word spread fast in the fish bowl environment of the locker room and Steve's reaction could be anything from laughter to explosive violence depending on his mood. In one sharp ice blue look-over, Chris could see Austin take in the blood still matting Adam's hair, the uncomfortably stiff pose his lover had adopted to minimise the pressure on his damaged ribs and the taped hand Chris held curled protectively against his stomach.

"He's a prick. A dead Prick. I'm gonna rip off that famous horn o' his and stick it up his ass like Dwayne always suggested." Fury radiated from the Texan in a wave. "If ya haven't a'ready heard, Vince's talkin' suspension without pay. But I got some other ideas for dealing with this kinda shit." Steve's voice almost caused CJ to take a step backwards, but he stood firm under Adam's arm. "Don't pretend ya ain't hurt Kitten, I ain't buying it fer a second, I know ya too well ya little shit. What ya gonna do about that hand yer trying to hide, huh? Ya need it checked over at a hospital? And what's up with yer head Copeland, got any brains left in yer skull or they all over the wall back there?" Austin jerked a thumb over his shoulder towards the scene of the crime.

Before Adam could turn him in again, Chris deflected Steve's concern to where it should be.

"You can rip off all the horns you want, you Nutcase. I'll bring the beer and pompoms, I promise. Now shift it so I can get a taxi to the hotel for Adam. Find Jay and Tomko and tell them what's up would you? They can have the rental, we won't need it."

With one hand around Adam's waist and his injured one still being uncooperative, CJ nudged Steve's ankle with his foot to make the bigger man give way.

"C'mon move." Yeah so, he was back to giving orders. But if everyone would just do as they were told the first time, he wouldn't have to.

****

 _sign your contract_

It's funny, Jeff always thought an alternate reality would be all cool and pretty colours like the original Star Trek. It wouldn't be so... normal. But it had to have been a joke, because there was no chance in this lifetime that Mark had just said what Jeff thought he'd said.

No.

This was an alternate reality.

A nasty version of Trish in leather pants would come walking in soon and tell him he was a vampire or something. Because it just wasn't possible....

Not possible.

Really, really not possible.

Jeff slowly came to realise that his mouth was slightly open. 'Catching flies', his mother would say. 'You look like a moron', would be his brother's more honest comment. Snapping that same jaw closed with an audible click, Jeff looked around for Mark who seemed to have moved while Jeff was contemplating his reality.

If Mark was serious, then Jeff just flat out did not know how to react. Had 'Taker really gone to Vince to talk him into giving Jeff a contract in... Jeff looked at his Mickey Mouse watch... seventeen minutes? Why had he...? Why would Vince let...? It all came down to the 'Why'. Keeping his mouth shut before he let the word burst out, Jeff tried to come up with the answer for himself.

The sticking point with the signing had been trust. Fuck Melrose, Vince just didn't trust Jeff anymore, and the galling thing was Jeff didn't blame him. He wouldn't trust himself in the same circumstances. So Mark had... what? Got Vince to trust Jeff to behave? Not fuckin' likely. More chance that he'd talked Vince into trusting Mark, an easy ask, than anything else. So what did Mark Calloway get out of getting Jeffrey Nero Hardy a WWE contract?

Jeff was fairly sure he knew.

Eyes suddenly sharp with knowledge, Jeff looked on passively as Mark pulled his vest off and tossed it on the floor. Piece by piece, Jeff felt his heart and soul go cold. He wouldn't never have thought this of Mark. Not him. Mark was supposed to be better than that...than this. He was supposed to stay on that high shiny pedestal Jeff had placed him on and never fall off. Perfect, tall, dark and handsome Undertaker, so totally out of Jeff's reach he wouldn't dare even try.

He wasn't supposed to do something like this. This'd teach Jeff Hardy to think there were perfect people out there.

"Right. Thanks." The words were like ashes in his mouth. "When we're done here I'll go and sign. Thanks."

Mark was looking at him strangely, but Jeff was better at dissembling than he had been in the past. Besides, he knew this game. "Just give me a minute okay?" He knew there was a pathetic note to his voice, but he really needed some time to get his head around this.

When 'Taker moved towards the private shower his status afforded him. Jeff slumped down on the bench and, just for a moment let his hurt flood him. Not Fair! He wanted to wail like a small child denied an ice cream. This wasn't him, shouldn't have been him. But unfortunately, Jeff was realising, this _was_ him. Whether he liked it or not.

 _I could always tell him to shove his contract so high up..._ But he wouldn't. For two very good reasons. The contract was a chance and Jeff knew he had run out of those. Then there was the price. It wasn't _that_ high and Jeff would be a liar if he said he hadn't wondered. Hoped.

Guess guys like Jeff don't get dinner and chocolates.

Shucking off his velvety jacket, Jeff folded it neatly before placing it on the bench. With trembling fingers he pulled at the buttons of his shirt and pants, placing his boots underneath his other clothes. He left on the stylized Hardy symbol at his throat for comfort.

Hovering in the bathroom door, Jeff couldn't help the pang of longing that filled him at seeing Mark's broad naked back. Such pale, luminous skin, long, long limbs and tight, hard buttocks. He'd said Mark was to die for and Jeff knew he probably would do just that.

Seeing the man slowly rotate his shoulder under the steaming water, Jeff watched as the black hair slid to the side, revealing the sexy Reaper tattoo on the back of 'Taker's neck.

Knowing his eyes and heart were dead and hoping Mark didn't care to notice, Jeff reached out to stroke the muscle being worked under the spray.

"What do you want me to do?"

****

Kevin couldn't quite prevent his laugh from tumbling out even as his eyes narrowed at the man still draped on top of him. He tried valiantly to ignore the little flashes of lust that sparked through him every time their groins rubbed together as he considered his lover. Scott was obviously trying to push buttons tonight, and Kevin wasn't blind to that. If Scotty thought that Kev needed a little help regaining his balance, who was Kev to argue? Hell, Scott might be right. Whatever the reason, though, this was one of his favourite games to play with the dark-haired man.

"That was pretty harsh, Scott, considering that it _is_ his room." He tried to keep his voice level, although he suspected that his amusement was visible in his eyes. Tightening his grasp on Scott's ass to keep him in place, he allowed one leg to drop all the way to floor before sliding the other one under Scott's body to follow, leaving him sitting up... and Scott still sprawled across his lap.

"You're being pretty naughty today, Scott. Maybe you need a reminder as to appropriate behavior backstage, since it's been a while, hmmm?" He ran a hand down Scott's back in a long petting motion, smiling a little at the unconscious reaction it provoked. No way was he about to actually get serious about things, between them being in a fairly public space and the fact that he really wasn't in the right mindset to take the lead in a scene like this, but that didn't mean that he couldn't enjoy himself a little. And he _knew_ Scott wouldn't complain. The longer this went on, the more he was looking forward to being alone with his lover tonight.

Leaning down, he slipped a hand under Scott's chin, turning him to face him as he kissed him gently, his other hand still caressing Scott's back. As he pulled away, allowing his fingers to tangle gently in the dark curls, he lifted his other hand before bringing it down in a sharp slap across Scott's ass. The little moan and squirm from his lover made him draw in a sharp breath as he repeated the motion, making sure to keep the blows hard enough to sting but light enough to not leave any lasting marks. Once more, and he trailed his fingers across the area, rubbing gently as he smiled down at Scott.

"Learned your lesson, Bad Guy?"

****

Even as he stripped off his clothes in preparation for a much-needed shower, Mark kept an eye on the man across the room from him. He was pretty sure he'd just shocked Jeff as completely as he could have, and he was starting to worry a little about the reaction. Maybe he should've explained further rather than let Hardy wonder what the conditions were, but... telling him that Mark was basically his "keeper" now probably wouldn't go over too well. The kid had always had problems with authority figures, only the mutual respect they had for each other keeping that problem out of their angle together.

 _"When we're done here I'll go and sign. Thanks."_

His head snapped up at the oddly flat tone in Jeff's voice, but the kid looked normal... maybe a little thoughtful. His eyes seemed a little cold, but... he could practically count the number of times he'd _seen_ Jeff's eyes on one hand, so how was he supposed to tell what they looked like normally? Frowning, he paused as he stood up, his hands at the waistband of his shorts. He wasn't altogether sure he wanted to just strip down completely in front of this man in particular, but Jeff looked almost frozen as he stared at him. What the hell?

 _"Just give me a minute okay?"_

Maybe he just needed a little time to pull himself together before facing Vince again. That was probably it; Vince could be pretty damned intimidating, and Jeff hadn't exactly left the office on good terms half an hour ago. Mark shrugged as he steeled himself and pulled off the rest of his clothes, turning around to pick up his towel and wrap it around his waist.

"Take as much time as you want." Hopefully that sounded understanding; this was a delicate situation, and Mark wasn't used to handling things like this. But the two of them were going to have to work together for a while and he hoped that they could get started off on the right foot, so to speak. He didn't want any awkwardness between them, but he wasn't going to be Jeff's confessor, either. So wherever that left them, hopefully somewhere in the middle, they'd work with. As long as Jeff didn't come unglued when Vince told him what those "conditions" were that he'd mentioned...

Sighing slightly, he picked up his bottles of shampoo and soap and headed into the showers, hanging his towel up and turning on the hot water with a sigh of relief. To hell with washing; he was just going to stand here for a few minutes and let the heat soak into him. He turned slightly to let the water fall more directly on his aching shoulder, rolling it gently to help it loosen up. Tilting his head to the side, he closed his eyes as he sighed in relief. He'd been able to come back at Wrestlemania basically completely injury-free for the first time in at least a decade and it had been the best he'd ever felt. It hadn't lasted all that long, of course, but every time he managed to recapture a part of that elusive not-in-pain feeling, he enjoyed it.

The soft touch to his shoulder made his eyes fly open in surprise and he turned sharply, his eyes widening in shock at the sight of Jeff standing in front of him... naked.

 _"What do you want me to do?"_

It took him a long moment to process the words, his eyes drinking in the unexpected but gorgeous sight in front of him. As the words finally trickled through to his brain, the strangely flat tone they'd been spoken in pricked him and he jerked back, mingled horror and shame filling him. Jeff had obviously assumed... but why? He hadn't said anything that would... oh. Oh, shit. His own words came back to haunt him, suddenly filled with overtones that he'd swear weren't intended: _"When we're done here.... There are some conditions, naturally..."_ No wonder Jeff had stared at him so strangely. But he hadn't... he wouldn't...

Shaking his head almost violently, Mark quelled his immediate instinct to reach out and touch. That would definitely be taken the wrong way right now, so matter how comfortingly he might intend it.

"Jeff... no. You don't have to do this." Cursing under his breath, he fumbled behind him for the shower handle, finally managing to turn the water off without looking away from the pale young man in front of him. The sudden silence was almost deafening. Forcing himself to look only at Jeff's face, seeing the almost frightening lack of reaction in those normally expressive features, Mark wondered just how much damage he'd just done. Damn it! "This... this isn't what I meant, Jeff. Not at all."

Running a hand through his wet hair, he shook his head again, then grabbed his towel. Reaching out, he handed it to Jeff, not able to stand seeing him standing there looking so unnaturally vulnerable.

"C'mon, kid. We obviously need to talk." He gently pushed Jeff toward the main room, following behind and picking up another towel from the bench to wrap around himself before sitting down and looking at Jeff. This was going to be awkward, with neither of them dressed, but he wasn't about to give the other man any privacy until he said what he needed to say; he just wasn't fast enough to chase Jeff down the hallways when he took off.

"Look, Jeff. Whatever you may have thought I implied... you misunderstood. The conditions I was talking about... they're not like that. Like this." He gestured vaguely between them, knowing that his face was revealing more than it should, but the shock of Jeff _doing_ that... He pushed his mind firmly away from that.

"You've got a contract. Period. The conditions... Vince insisted, since he didn't feel he could trust you. But all they really amount to is that I'm responsible for you. There's more to it, but that's the upshot. It does _not_ mean that you need to... do anything. For me. Like that." He stuttered to a halt, feeling lost. He wasn't too sure that Jeff was really listening to him, let alone believing him. After a long, uncomfortable silence, he sighed and stood up.

"Look, Jeff... if you want the contract, just... go sign it. Keep in touch with me. Show up at the next house show. We can... we can talk then." He took a step toward the shower again, then stopped and turned back to Jeff, feeling incredibly awkward as he spoke. "If you'd rather talk tonight... I just need to shower and get ready for my spot tonight. After the taping's over, we could talk about... things." He bit his tongue against any further words that might've tried to spill out, feeling like enough of an idiot. With one last concerned look, he headed back into the shower and turned the water back on, wondering if Jeff would be there when he got out.

****

A few stray touches from Shawn and already he was unable to control his responses. Maybe he should have requested a gag? Another moan spilled unbidden from his lips at the gentle flick of his lover's tongue, every point of contact like a flame licking along his solid length. The faint touch at his entrance had him trembling, wanting to push back in search of firmer contact. It was a little disconcerting that he was already considering begging when Shawn had barely touched him.

He had sensed Hunter's nearness, it was almost instinctive within him now. He hadn't expected the gentle touch against his back, but found that once it was given he craved it all the more. Arching into the hands behind him, he asked without words for more. More he received, those smooth hands washing away the tenseness in his frame. How many times had he convinced himself that it was hopeless to wish for this, for Hunter's hands roaming over his skin?

When Hunter pressed up against him from behind, he was sure he was suddenly going to wake up and find this had all been a dream... a lovely, lust inspiring dream, but a dream nonetheless. Shawn on his knees tasting his hot, hard length and the proof of Hunter's desire laying firmly against his ass... surely the stuff that dreams were made of. He forced himself not to come right then through sheer force of will, the games he'd played with O'Haire having a hidden benefit he'd never considered he might need.

Then Hunter began to speak, soft words raining down on him, inflaming his senses, making every touch electric. The gentle touch of Hunter's fingers on his nipples, Shawn's hands on him, the moist wet heat of Hunter's mouth on his lobe... everything was more arousing, more tantalizing... just more. He tilted his head back against Hunter's shoulder, his legs vibrating with tension to keep him on his feet, and he was thankful for the strong hand that leant him the extra strength to stay upright.

Shawn's lips closed around him as Hunter shifted. Unimaginable heat surrounded the head of his cock while the hard length of Hunter's shaft settled firmly in the cleft of his ass. His mouth opened in a silent gasp, having been robbed of voice by the dual stimulation. He wanted to plead for more, more of anything at all, but couldn't find the words through the fog of passion swamping his mind. When Shawn pulled away, removing that hot wet mouth from his cock, he found his voice once again, but still no words. A whimper ripped from his throat by the loss, he squirmed, pushing himself back against Hunter's hard length.

Wet tendrils of Shawn's hair wrapped around his shaft, cool against his heated flesh, Shawn's mouth and tongue teasing at his heavy sac and still Hunter's words washed over him. And then in one swift move, his entire length was lodged in Shawn's mouth, the head of his cock tickling the back of Shawn's throat and lord help him he actually wailed Shawn's name. He could have cared less at that moment that anyone passing in the hall might have heard him. Then Hunter was moving his hands to Shawn's hair and shoulder.

His hand clasped reflexively on Shawn's shoulder, his fingers tangling gently in damp locks. His hips thrust restlessly against his will trapped as he was between Hunter's solid length and the hot wetness wrapped around him. He growled as Hunter's words continued ending it with what could only be called a whine.

 _"I want you to own me."_

That would only be fair wouldn't it? Since Hunter already owned _him_ heart and soul, only his body yet unclaimed by the blond. The pictures being drawn for him with Hunter's words pushed him right to the edge. The demands of his body finally overpowered the thin thread of control he'd managed to cling for a few mere minutes. Shawn's masterful mouth sucked hard on his length as he exploded.

"Oh god... Shawn!" His hand clenched tightly on Shawn's shoulder as his release poured into Shawn's mouth. He turned his head, pressing his forehead against Hunter's neck as he growled Hunter's name as well. His breath coming in harsh pants, he stayed where he was, his body relaxing against Hunter's as he fought his way back to reality.

Shawn's hands trailing over his chest and soft moist lips tasting of his own release pressing against his drew his head from the clouds. He returned the kiss, his hand wrapping gently once again in Shawn's hair. After a moment, he used the silky strands to guide Shawn's mouth in another direction... over his shoulder towards Hunter's lips. His other hand catching Shawn's wrist, he guided a warm hand over the swell of his hip and directed it firmly to the solid length of Hunter's cock still prodding firmly against his ass. Hearing the surprised noise escape Hunter as Shawn's hand wrapped around his shaft, Dave couldn't withstand the desire... the need to taste.

Dropping to his knees, he let his tongue dance over the tops of Shawn's fingers, the cool metal in his tongue dipping in between the parted digits. Raising his hand to the swell of Hunter's hip, he squeezed lightly to gain the man's full attention. His hunger shining in his eyes, he licked his lips slowly. "Baby, I want to know how you taste. Will you let me... taste you?"

****

Listening to Dave wail his name, Shawn couldn't quite smile, but he hummed happily, the vibrations rippling against the hard shaft in his throat. It had been longer than he'd like to remember since he'd had the opportunity to do this, and he'd almost forgotten how much he loved it; the taste and weight of Dave's cock in his mouth was arousing him in and of itself. The incredibly sexy sounds spilling out of the big man, combined with Hunter's husky words only added to the effect. Dave's fingers tangling in his hair made him work even harder, wanting to push the man over the edge so that he could taste him, watch him...

 _"I want you to own me."_

Oh god. He whimpered around the flesh in his mouth, suddenly swamped by images of Hunter on his knees sucking Dave off... Hunter bent over in front of him as he fucked him... Hunt sprawled on his bed wearing nothing but a collar... Just the thoughts were enough to make him tremble. He forced himself to keep moving, to keep his hands off of himself, and as he flicked his tongue against the sensitive head in his mouth even as he slid back down the length of Dave's sex, he could feel it swell. Dave's shout echoed in the tiled room as his hips thrust forward one last time, filling Shawn's mouth with thick saltiness.

Swallowing as much as he could, Shawn reluctantly allowed Dave's length to slip from his mouth, licking his lips as he stood up. Seeing Dave draped against Hunter made him draw in a breath before he pressed himself against the dark flesh, his hands trailing gently over Dave's chest as he leaned in to kiss him. The fingers wrapping in his hair again brought out a soft moan, and as Dave gently pushed him away, he blinked in momentary confusion before he realised what Dave wanted. Smiling softly at his best friend---his lover---Shawn leaned up to press his lips against Hunter's, silently asking entrance, letting his lips part as Hunter responded to him, sharing Dave's taste.

Lost in the kiss, he nearly missed Dave's hand wrapping around his wrist, guiding it back and around to... oh. Wrapping his fingers around Hunter's cock, he echoed Hunter's surprised gasp as he moaned quietly against Hunter's mouth. Not able to resist the temptation, he squeezed softly, gasping himself at the unexpected hot touch of Dave's tongue. He trailed his fingers up the hard shaft, learning its contours as he delicately pressed against the sensitive spot at the front before letting his hand slip back down to cup the heavy sac below.

 _"Will you let me... taste you?"_

That brought a quiet whine out of him. As much as he yearned to taste Hunter, the thought of watching Dave do to Hunt what he'd done to Shawn earlier on the plane was a beautifully enticing one. He shifted slightly to look down, only to shudder as his own length brushed against Hunter's.

****

 _"...Because obviously, if you hadn't this never would have happened."_

Adam rolled his eyes over the heavily sarcastic comments. The bitch of it was that except for the point of Terry have nothing to tease him about, it was all technically true. Deserved or not... his prodding Terry had been the impetus for everything. He could have responded as usual and kept walking, but he hadn't, because Terry had used the one thing guaranteed to get a response from him. And like an idiot he'd snapped up the bait. Regardless, he could tell it would be useless to argue with Chris, so he wouldn't.

Besides, he had other issues to deal with right now. One being a pain in the ass lover who thought he was going to wiggle his way out of going to the hospital, the other being a very unhappy Rattlesnake. He was somewhat surprised to hear that Vince was already talking repercussions when he hadn't even heard what had happened, unless they'd had a bigger audience then he'd assumed.

Austin wanting to seek revenge was interesting. Although considering he felt the same way he shouldn't have been surprised. Adam wasn't under the misconception that all of that rage was for his benefit. Austin was upset because Chris had been hurt, the same as Adam was.

 _"I'll bring the beer and pompoms, I promise. Now shift it so I can get a taxi to the hotel for Adam."_

Nice try sweetheart, but I'm a more stubborn bastard than you will _ever_ be. Removing his arm from Chris' shoulders, Adam slowly made his way to the nearest crate and gingerly took a seat. He affected a bored look, ignoring the 'what the hell are you doing' looks being sent his way from both Austin and Chris.

 _"Why in the hell are you still here? You should be halfway to the hospital by now!"_

Oh. This could be fun. Turning to look at the man that'd just addressed them, he almost flinched at the look on Benoit's face. Almost. Obviously he was going to need some help to get Chris where he wanted him to go and it looked like Benoit had just volunteered his services. Ignoring the muttered words from Benoit he managed a scowl of his own.

"We're not going to the hospital according to Chris. He seems to think tucking me into bed is more important than getting X-rays. So I've decided since he doesn't have to get X-rays, I don't have to go to the hotel and I'm just going to sit here and hope that Terry wanders down the hall so I can take his head off."

Okay so that made him sound particularly stupid, but if it got results then he wasn't going to sweat it. Knowing Austin and Benoit, they'd make sure one way or another that they did reach the hospital protests from Chris or not. He wondered if Benoit would think he'd lost his mind and go tell Vince that he shouldn't wrestle in his matches, but if it came down to a choice, he'd give up both matches to guarantee that Chris got those X-rays.


	41. Waits

Chris shook his head as he walked back inside. He'd left Eddie behind checking out the limo, chortling madly. He suspected that his lover was going to have far too much fun with his spot tonight with JBL. Of course, since the character makeover had gone to Bradshaw's head in a big way, Chris couldn't really blame him, either.

The smile faded from his face as he spotted the little group ahead of him: Austin and Jericho, both standing in front of Copeland, staring at him. And Adam... the damned idiot! His eyes narrowed as he stopped in front of them, his hands on his hips.

"Why in the hell are you still here? You should be halfway to the hospital by now!" Yeah, he was definitely growling, but if that got the point across, so much the better. They _both_ needed x-rays, from what he'd heard in the med bay, and neither of them needed to be acting _this_ stupid.

 _"...and I'm just going to sit here and hope that Terry wanders down the hall so I can take his head off."_

Chris shook his head as his eyes closed momentarily in exasperation. He could sympathise with Adam's feelings, he really could, but this was ridiculous! He'd gone to Vince, against his better judgment, and asked him to let Adam go ahead with his scheduled matches... Hell. He'd have to call Eddie and let him know where he was once he'd gotten these two moving.

"If you keep up this stupidity, I'm going back to Vince and telling him that I was wrong, since you're obviously out of your damned mind! You _both_ need x-rays, and you're damned well going to go and get them." Pushing between Jericho and Adam, he tugged Adam to his feet and wrapped a careful arm around him for support. Turning to Austin, he snapped, "Don't just stand there! You grab Dumb and I'll take Dumber. If he argues too much, just throw him over your shoulder; we're going to the hospital. _Now_."

****

Hunter felt Dave's release overwhelm the body in his arms like an electric shock, the hoarse shout of Shawn's name reverberating in his own pulse of need. Leaning his cheek against his lover's forehead as Dave growled into his neck, Hunt continued to hold him while watching Shawn, sensuously licking his lips like a pleased cat, rise up to capture Dave's mouth in a loving kiss. Such delicious sights these two kept presenting him with, so nice of them.

Holding Dave through the aftershocks of what had obviously been a mind-blowing experience Hunter relaxed slightly, his own needs partially sated with Dave's climax. When Dave guided Shawn's mouth to touch his, Hunter, still hard as hell but not so desperately aroused any more, returned the luscious kiss with easy pleasure. Kissing Shawn was becoming second nature now, even though they had only shared the first tentative brush of lips not twelve hours ago.

The agile fingers curling around his cock, caused Hunter a momentary flare of concern, but Shawn's tongue in his mouth distracted him sufficiently. His balance momentarily shifted as Dave moved from his arms, but Hunt kept his fingers in place on his lover's bronze shoulder, so he wouldn't lose contact with the man.

What... oh my god.

Dave's tongue... tongue. Godalmighty.

Hunter looked down into eyes almost gone black with desire. David.

 _Will you let me... taste you?"_

Again Hunt heard that strange sound issue from his throat, not quite a moan, almost a growl. Half feral need, the rest all submissive passion. That smooth, metal bar stroking his length, darting in to touch oh-so sensitive skin, once again fully aroused and stimulated beyond tolerance by both his partners' touches. Shawn's moving, taunting hand, first on his shaft then his balls, had Hunter's eyes shutting and his body arching into those wonderful sensations. The tips of his fingers still resting on the damp skin of Dave's shoulder, Hunter curled his other hand around the back of Shawn's neck, holding his partner steady while he deepened their kiss. It was heaven to feel them both touching him, Shawn at his lips, Dave at his sex, both giving him their love and their pleasure through their mouths.

It was...

...too much.

Pulling his hands off Dave and Shawn like he'd been burnt, Hunter didn't realise his feet were moving until his back hit the wall of the shower room. The cool tile was like ice on his burning hot skin, his hands braced behind him like the wall was the only thing keeping Hunt on his feet. It probably was.

They looked at him. His lovers both dark and light. Their faces shocked, turning from warm desire to pained understanding in seconds. _No_... not again. He wasn't going to mess this up, Hunter wasn't going to drive them away from him again because he had this ridiculous mental stumbling block. He could have them now, he was _allowed_ to have them. Fuck! It wasn't supposed to be this difficult.

His breathing coming in heavy pants like he'd run a marathon rather than scuttled three feet like a frightened rabbit, Hunter forced his mind into a mental place it wasn't familiar with. Shaking his hair from his eyes, Hunter caught his breath in deeply and let it out in one, consensual answer to David's request. 

"Yes."

****

 _since he doesn't have to get X-rays, I don't have to go to the hotel_

Oh, of all the stupid, stubborn, simpleton...Chris couldn't come up with any more names for Adam that didn't start with S. Preparing to go to J for jackass, his mental obscenities were interrupted by Benoit levering Adam off the crate and suggesting...

 _You grab Dumb and I'll take Dumber_

"Austin no! Don't you even..." Too late. CJ hadn't even the chance to raise both hands to block Steve, when the bigger man pressed his shoulder into Chris' abdomen and he was hefted up in a fireman's carry. "God put me down you Neanderthal. Now. Dammit Steve." CJ cracked his pony-ride in the back of his disobedient bald head with an elbow. "Put me down! I am so fuckin' sick of being carted around like a sack of... oomph." The last was due to the corner Austin decided to take at an ambitious angle, causing Chris's feet to smack the wall and his place on Austin's shoulder to become precarious. Righting himself, Chris kept his injured hand safe against his collarbone. It was not lost to him, that despite Austin's exaggerated staggering and the occasional collision, he was in no danger of falling. Austin wouldn't risk hurting him, Chris knew that for a fact. He could see Benoit and Adam following them through the building, both smiling at Austin's antics and CJ verbal admonishments. "Oh yeah, laugh it up Fuzz ball, when I get down... Seriously. Put me down you Redneck or we'll both end up with fractures. My foot and your ass I mean."

Austin refrained from swatting CJ's ass although he was sorely tempted. That sort of thing was Copeland's domain now and Steve knew what boundaries were. Even if he liked to cross them every now and again just for fun... and to see what would happen. But he'd been corralling this wildcat for years and would keep his place as Best Friend no matter who the challengers.

"Shut yer mouth Kitten, yer stayin' where I put ya and it's yer own damn fault. Ya could a done this the easy way, but ya had to be all stubborn so ya get what's comin' to ya." As Chris started to protest again Steve cut him off, by leaning back a dangerous degree to kick open the door to the parking bay. "If ya say yer _fine_ once more I'm gonna gag ya and I don't think Copeland will mind one bit. He could use the peace and quiet I'm thinkin'."

Spotting the rental car Austin recognised from last night, he stomped over and sat Chris gently on the hood.

"Ya might think about getting Copeland ta that clinic at well. Those ribs could be broken fer all Sandburg's guessing."

It was that more than the threats that gave CJ pause. Sandburg had said there was just bruising and some cracks, but an X-ray would confirm the result one way or the other. Seeing Chris' mulish expression fade into thoughtful concern, Austin let a smug smile cross his face.

"Don't you smile, you smug bastard. You have a point I accept that. But it's the first one I can remember, so I wouldn't be resting on any laurels if I were you."

Adam and Benoit caught up with them just as Chris finished speaking. Leveling his eyes on his lover, CJ did his best to sound determined. Considering he was sitting on the bonnet of a car like a hood ornament probably didn't help his credibility.

"Okay, here's the deal. We go to the clinic to get _you_ X-rayed," pointing at Adam. "If there's time, I'll get my hand done... maybe. Then the hotel. Deal?" CJ knew the 'maybe' sounded petulant and childish but his hand actually _was_ starting to throb. "Oh and Adam my Sweet... no way in any hell are you driving. Steve's got an appointment so... Chris? Will Eddie spare you?"

****

Mark jumped like Jeff's touch had scorched him, green eyes shocked and repulsed by Jeff's naked presence so close to him. That shock turned into appalled understanding as the bigger man scrambled for the faucet and a towel.

 _Jeff... no....this isn't what I meant, Jeff. Not at all_

But he'd said... _this isn't_... the contract... _what I meant_. On autopilot Jeff accepted the dark blue towel being thrust at him, noticing Mark's distance with a bizarre sense of hurt. Was he really so fucked up that having his whorish behaviour rejected actually got to him. He hadn't wanted Mark in these circumstances, not as some kind of payment for services rendered. But he _had_ wanted Mark and still did. Trying to force this unexpected change of events into his stalled mind, Jeff stood staring at Mark in a horrified realisation at what he'd done. Oh no... Mark didn't. Mark really _didn't_ want him. At all. He'd misread what the dark man had said, putting an unforgivable tone to something that was entirely innocent.

God help him, he'd forgotten people could be like that.

'Taker's hand between his shoulder blades brought him out of the self-punishing daze Jeff had fallen into. The warm, wet skin a counterpoint to his own cool, slightly trembling flesh. Taking a dozen steps, Jeff knotted the towel low on his hips and wrapped his arms around his stomach while he waited for Mark to explain what Jeff had done wrong.

 _you misunderstood_

Yeah, he had. In absolutely the worst possible way imaginable. He was surprised 'Taker hadn't sent him from the shower with a clenched fist. No... he wasn't. Mark, as was becoming painfully obvious, wasn't like _that_. It was Jeff's sick head that kept putting all these crappy motives onto Undertaker and he didn't deserve that... not one bit.

 _I'm responsible for you._

Bet you're regretting that now aren't you Mark? But it didn't seem that he was. Mark seemed actually more concerned with setting Jeff straight about the contract rather than bitchin' Jeff out for being a stupid slut. He'd better accept the fact that Mark was just as admirable and perfect as Jeff always thought he was or he'd kill himself trying to guess what the man's real game was. Just that. There's wasn't one. Mark was helping him with the contract because Mark was a great guy who'd do him a favour just because he _could_. He didn't like Jeff like that, certainly didn't want him in a sexual way, so that left... friendship.

Oh hell. Jeff would beg on his knees to have a genuine friend like Mark, someone he could trust that wasn't his beloved brother. He had to admit he'd take Mark on any terms the man was willing to give him, fuck toy, mentor or friend. The first would break Jeff's heart but he wouldn't say no, the second would be fair and Jeff would do his absolute best, the third would be more than he deserved and he'd treasure the gift like the jewel it was. The fourth way... well, no point thinking those kind of thoughts Jeff, that just leads to more pain.

 _After the taping's over, we could talk about... things_

Jeff blinked at the rest of Mark's words, watching the man return to his shower in stunned silence. Yeah, they needed to get this whole thing right so Jeff didn't make another disastrous mistake like he'd just done. Despite the heat, Jeff was still feeling the cold emanating from his slowly thawing heart. Maybe he could afford to let it warm again. Mark wouldn't know.

Suddenly energised Jeff dropped the blue towel and tore into his clothes like he was freezing. He'd been given a chance, one with a WWE contract and one with Mark Calloway... his friend. Leaving his boots unlaced Jeff shot out the door, intent on giving Mark the privacy he deserved. Jeezuz. Following the man into the shower like that? What must Mark think of him now that he'd been willing to sell himself for a contract? Jeff ignored the voice that told him he wouldn't have done walked into that shower if it had been anyone other than Mark.

Sliding his back down the wall, Jeff sat beside Mark's dressing room door, and pulled his knees up to his chest, mind racing. He'd been staring at the man like a stunned mullet while 'Taker had been at pains to explain the real situation over the fantasy one Jeff had conjured. So first, he should square things with Mark. Apologise for his behaviour and actually thank him for going to Vince for him. Then he'd better swear... much as it might make his heart clench... that he'd _never_ invade Marks' personal space again. It was all very well for the bigger man to make assurances, Mark needed to know he could do the right thing for someone without fear of being sexually propositioned at every turn.

His thoughts slowing to a more manageable level, Jeff laid his hands on his upraised knees and rested his cheek against them, eyes on Mark's door. If Mark would have him, Jeff'd stay with him during the show. He could catch Ames while Mark was shooting, then go back to the hotel. Going dancing wasn't necessary any more, he had better things to do tonight... namely start a friendship.

****

He'd pushed too hard, too fast. And this time he didn't have the excuse of ignorance. His head still blissfully lethargic from his release, he'd accepted the sound from Hunter as assent. In his desire to give Hunter the same pleasure that the man had given both him and Shawn through his words, he'd pushed aside all thought of Hunter's problem beyond the asking of a question. Should he have waited for something more concrete as an answer? From Hunter's reaction, the answer to that question was yes.

Even though he'd managed to avoid his first impulse of swallowing Hunter's length in one fell swoop, keeping his touches teasing and almost tentative, it had still proven to be too much, too soon. At least that was his first guess when it registered that the focus of his attention was no longer close enough for him to focus on.

Sitting back on his heels, hands braced on his thighs, he located Hunter easily enough. Taking in the wide eyes, pale countenance, and rapid heavy breathing of the man pressed up against the wall, Dave wanted nothing more than to comfort him, protect him even if the person he was protecting Hunter from was himself. Closing his eyes and catching his lower lip between his teeth, he bowed his head for a moment, upset with himself over his own impatience. He was on the verge of apologizing from the exact position he was in when he heard one quietly spoken word.

 _"Yes."_

Raising his head much slower than it had descended, Dave opened his eyes, cocking his head to the side as he studied the man before him. Still flush with the wall, no less nervous, but there was a steely determination in his eyes. That uncompromising do-or-die attitude had been one of the first things to draw him to the man other than his obvious physical attributes.

Casting a quick look at Shawn, he saw a mixture of concern and hope in his eyes. Taking a deep yet silent breath, he turned back to Hunter and shifted his weight slowly onto his knees. Was it considered crawling if you didn't use your hands? It really didn't matter. Stopping just short of Hunter, his knees bracketing the man's feet, he realized that Hunter hadn't left himself an out this time. The wall was against his back and the only way he could move was if he went over top of Dave. Not liking the possibility that Hunter might feel trapped in any way, he gave Hunter that out if it was needed.

Shadowing his hands over the top of Hunter's thighs, he said simply, "One word is all it will take Hunter." Looking up, he saw the dawning understanding in Hunter's eyes. If Hunter was cognizant enough to notice, everything that Dave felt for _him_ was laid bare in his own eyes. Desire, respect, devotion... love, it was all on display for someone adept at looking beyond just color.

'Just keep it light to start,' he told himself. Maybe a bit of gentling was just what Hunter needed, the same as you'd do with a skittish horse. Gentle touches to establish trust rather than storming the keep. Having just compared Hunter to a horse and a castle within a heartbeat, Dave couldn't help but smile. Those thoughts he'd never confess to unless he wanted smacked upside the head. And Hunter would do it too.

Finally daring the lightest of touches, his fingers ghosted over the angular bones of Hunter's hips. Replacing his fingers on one side with a brush of his lips, he rested his forehead gently against that spot as he allowed the backs of his fingers to drift over Hunter's thighs to just below his knees. As his fingers made the return trip he lifted his head and he drew an imaginary line with the tip of his tongue from hip to hip with a short detour through Hunter's navel.

His ears attuned for any signs of panic, he absorbed the feel of those muscles shifting and twitching beneath his fingertips and tongue. He savored the clean taste of Hunter's skin, the sweat from their workout having been washed away while Hunter had whispered those erotic words in his ear. Knowing without looking that Shawn had moved closer, Dave kept his attention focused where it was for the moment. Opening his mouth over Hunter's hip, he used the bar in his tongue to draw a circle before sucking against the skin. His fingers having almost reached the tops of those muscular thighs met at the apex. Knuckles of one hand brushing against the bottom of his balls, Dave ran just the backs of his other fingers up the length of Hunter's shaft.

With a final kiss against Hunter's hip, he tilted his head back assessing Hunter's reaction as he heard _that_ sound again... the one usually proceeding Hunter's desire to escape. Listening for the one word he hoped he wouldn't hear, he wrapped his fingers loosely around the base of Hunter's shaft. After a few slow, loose-fisted strokes, he ducked his head and finally allowed himself to circle the head with his tongue. Even that small taste of his lover was like heaven. Dave closed his eyes and savored the moment, holding Hunter's cock steady as he moved slowly forward, the head breaching his lips in a slow glide.

****

 _"...I'm going back to Vince and telling him that I was wrong, since you're obviously out of your damned mind!"_

He barely managed to suppress the urge to roll his eyes again. Benoit certainly wouldn't appreciate it and with his mood right now Adam didn't want to irritate him any further. He really should have been a fortuneteller in a circus rather than a wrestler. With his record lately he could have made some serious money. Too bad he was hooked on the business too much to change professions.

Benoit pointing out that he should have X-rays as well he certainly could have done without. If by chance the X-rays proved Sandburg wrong and he actually had any broken ribs he could kiss his matches goodbye. Vince might let him skate by with fractures, but with an actual break there was the increased risk of puncturing a lung. No way would he convince Benoit or Vince to let him go out there in that case.

As soon as he was on his feet, with Benoit's arm around his waist, he scowled at the man. It was cut short by a grin as Austin slung Chris over his shoulder. Listening to the curses pouring from Chris' mouth was amusing even if he was starting to wish he'd had something a bit stronger than a couple of Advil. Surprisingly he wasn't at all jealous of Austin carting Chris off as he was doing and he actually trusted Steve not to drop Chris despite all his wiggling. Kind of weird when you considered that Austin's on-stage tag was 'Don't Trust Anyone'.

With Austin far enough ahead of them to give him a bit of padding, Adam was hoping to clear up the misconception that he'd given Benoit earlier. Hopefully the man would believe him. He also owed him for his help. "Thanks for that," he said nodding his head at the pair in front of them. "I couldn't exactly do that myself. Whether you believe me or not, I was all for going to the hospital. Granted it was more so for him than myself, but I only grabbed a crate because he insisted on going back to the hotel instead."

They'd gone a few more feet when a thought struck him. "I don't know how he thought we were going to get back to the hotel anyway. Neither of us can drive right now. I still get dizzy if I move my head too fast and as much as I love him there is no way that I'm letting him drive one-handed."

He didn't even realize what he'd said until he saw the look on Benoit's face. Directing his gaze to the floor he groaned. "Oh man. You did not hear that. I... I haven't actually told him." Lifting his head as they approached the car, he spotted Chris sitting on the hood of the vehicle.

 _"If there's time, I'll get my hand done... maybe. Then the hotel. Deal?"_

Yeah, right. Like there was any chance of _that_ flying. Chris would be getting his hand looked at whether he liked it or not. He'd wait until they got there to argue the point though.

Smirking at Chris because he'd already figured out for himself that he wouldn't be driving, he half-turned to Benoit. "We'd really appreciate the help, Benny."

Starting to feel a bit worn out from the walk to the car, he opened the backdoor and sat on the seat. A moment or two later and Chris had slid in beside him. Apparently Benoit had agreed to play baby-sitter/chauffeur for the time being. Knowing that he was facing a rather nasty car ride, short or not, he took a chance, hoping that Chris wasn't mad enough to dump him off the seat. He wiggled around until he was half-laying on the seat sideways with his head on Chris' thigh. Damn motion sickness.

****

Dave had closed his eyes, the disappointment on his face pulling at Hunter's guilt like a tug of war. At his forced assent, however, Dave's eyes slowly opened and locked with his, the worried understanding turning thoughtful. Hunt could almost see the waves of want flowing from the bronzed man on his knees, even though his own release had been achieved. Hunter was once again smote with self-anger at the trouble he was causing his lovers. Right from the start he'd been the 'problem' between them, _his_ issues, _his_ lies and self-deceit had almost torn them apart. Now his body was betraying his love for them again and Hunter really wished it would just stop.

Dave started to... oh my... crawl towards him like a supplicant. The industrial shower still coating them in lovely warm droplets, the play and shift of gorgeous muscle as Dave came to rest at his feet almost hypnotising in it's beauty. Deliberately non-threatening, Dave ran his hands a fraction of an inch above Hunter's skin, causing the fine hairs there to strain upwards as if craving the big man's touch.

 _One word is all it will take Hunter._

Hunter knew that, had known instinctively that his lovers wouldn't try to force him to keep up with their pace. It just wasn't in them to make him do anything he didn't want to. It was _Hunter_ who wanted to force the issue... to make himself just relax and enjoy the bounty he'd been offered. He'd made himself do all sorts of things so much less pleasant than accepting a _blow job_ from one of his _boyfriends_ for God's sake. How may people male and female, would kill to have Dave and Shawn for lovers and here he was constantly turning them down when they wanted to pleasure him.

The ghosting fingers and tongue touching his hipbones and legs, had Hunter catching his breath at the shock of delightful sensation twisting through him. Such sweet, sweet touches that slowed his heartbeat and settled his nerves. Having this, having Dave _was_ allowed, was permitted. He didn't have to hold back from them anymore. Dave's offer of an out coupled with Shawn's choice from earlier blended into a confidence that strangled the root of all Hunter's panic.

 _Touching_ them wasn't the problem, Hunt knew he would love touching Dave and Shawn as much as they reveled in each other. It was the thought of immersing himself in their love and then  _not_ having it again that caused his irrational fears. That if he indulged himself in them, took what they so freely offered and gave it back to them tenfold, he wouldn't survive losing it. What if he lost them? Like having ambrosia in his mouth then being denied a second taste, if he couldn't have Dave and Shawn for the rest of his life, maybe he shouldn't have them at all.

But who said he couldn't?

Just because they'd only come up with the idea this morning didn't mean they wouldn't last. He and Shawn would be friends forever and if Hunter trusted the emotions he'd seen welling in that chocolate gaze, Dave was part of that forever now, whether Hunt fought it or not.

 _Stop fighting Hunt_. Vince assured him. _Stop fighting them and you'll realise you've already won_.

Opening the hazel eyes Hunter hadn't known he'd shut, he looked deep into the dusky-blue irises of his beloved Shawn. As all those long held restraints finally fell away, Hunter felt Dave's soft lips part to accept his length deep into the hot cave of his mouth.

The words were ripped from him, uncontrolled, passionate and true.

"Oh God I love you both. So much... please. Don't stop. _Don't stop_."

One hand tangling roughly in Shawn's silken hair, the other guiding the back of Dave's head, Hunt pushed gratefully into that mouth, delighting in the feel of wet suction and warm tongue. The energised motion of his hips only stopped from hurting his lover by the now strong grip on his thighs.

Like a boiling volcano, Hunter felt his orgasm rise up inside him, released at long last from its cage of denial. Pumping in and out of Dave's welcoming heat, Hunter's only impediment to full pleasure was the thought " _don't hurt him, don't hurt him_ " screaming from the whirlpool of his mind.

It was Shawn who demolished that thought, his hands on Hunter too, pressed so close Hunt could feel Shawn's rock-hard erection rubbing against his hip. Shawn's musky smell overwhelmed him, the scent of Dave's cum and Shawn's desire sending Hunt over the edge.

White fire blinded him, the sizzling pleasure rocketing up his spine like lightning, Hunter gave everything, all his doubts, love and lust into his lovers' care. His head snapping back against the tiled wall, hard enough to bruise, was unexpectedly cushioned by sure fingers and hot lips once again on his skin.

Peace.

Purring his satisfaction, Hunter lay bonelessly against the wall. If not for the hands that held and petted him, he'd be a puddle on the floor. But it would be a happy, angst-free puddle.

Thanks to Dave and Shawn, Hunter could stop fighting.

****

Losing a stare-down with Austin was bad enough, losing one to Benoit had Chris gnashing his teeth in grumpy frustration. He’d asked the other Chris to drive them to the hospital, but hadn’t expected the immediate consent or air of smugness radiating from the Texan. As Benoit helped Adam into the back seat and then started the car, CJ turned to Austin and sent that smug grin flying.

“You better talk to Randy before I get back, or I will."

Watching Austin stomp away again, muttering to himself, Chris settled into the back seat of the rental and easily accepted Adam’s lean form cuddling into him. His lover’s pale skin and slight frown of pain drawing an answering one from Chris. Despite what they did, he hated seeing anyone hurting, especially his friends, particularly Adam. The neck surgery had been hard, desperately wanting to help but having to keep his distance. He’d missed being there for Adam because they’d both been so scared of risking the pain they knew they could cause each other. Now Adam was hurt again, but in this instance CJ was at his side. He wouldn’t be on the other side of the country this time. Being injured was never fun and even worse was getting through it alone. It was a hazard all the talent endured, but not a fun one in any sense. The difference was in the degree, sore backs, wrenched wrists they could live with, the bad stuff… not so much.

“It’s okay Babe. Not long now.” Softly running the pads of his fingers of his good hand across Adam’s temples, CJ tried to soothe the nasty headache he was sure was responsible for the wince. That Adam suffered from motion sickness wouldn't be helping either, even with Benoit doing his best to take corners as smoothly as possible. Thankfully the car ride to the clinic was mercifully short. It was typical and kinda scary that the WWE notified all wrestlers and the crew of the location of the nearest 24-hour medical clinic. They all hated emergency rooms and although the smaller clinics could be just as bad when considering fan reactions, at least they weren't as chaotic as big hospitals.

Pulling up into the temporary parking, CJ was pleased to see it wasn't busy. Trying to get in after a Sunday night PPV was a nightmare that Chris usually avoided if he could manage at all, often waiting till the following Monday for treatment.

"Okay Adam, let's get you inside." Adam was still moving under his own steam, it was the pain that seemed to be bothering him the most, not surprisingly. Finding the chairs in the waiting area, Chris settled Adam with a gentle brush to his cheek before starting to pace around the room like a fretful tiger. Chris had gone to the reception for them, so they'd be seen in all of about... an _hour_ maybe. Time that was gonna destroy CJ's small reserves of patience no doubt. "Shit." He growled, finally letting out the anger he still felt about what had happened. Time now let Chris dwell on how Adam had been hurt... and by whom.

"If the Fuckhead manages to avoid Steve, he'll end up face first with Dave. Not something he'll enjoy." CJ didn't fight the nasty smirk that crossed his face at that thought. Sure he hated his friends being hurt, but Terry had never been a friend. "That is if Mark doesn't get there first." Raising a brow enquiringly at his lover, CJ's smirk turned to a soft smile. "He's a fine man to have in your corner Babe."

When Benoit returned, Chris turned to his long-time friend and smiled his thanks, before making a sharp turn and heading past a small, bird-like woman with a hacking cough. His hand was seriously hurting now and CJ was considering chatting up a nurse to get some painkillers. He'd split them with Adam and everything.

****

 _"That was pretty harsh, Scott, considering that it is his room."_

Despite Kevin's trying to appear firm in his chastisement, the merriment was still visible in his eyes. Scott continued to smile even as Kevin shifted and Scott found himself in a familiar position, draped over Kevin's lap. He hadn't anticipated getting punished for his little prank, but was pleasantly surprised when informed he would be.

As Kevin's hand stroked slowly down his back, he shivered in anticipation. The thrill he always experienced at this point was addictive, even more so than the alcohol he'd been a slave to. He couldn't stop the half moan-half purr that welled from his throat. Automatically following the direction of Kevin's hand, Scott leaned into the gentle kiss that Kevin bestowed on him. As Kevin pulled away, tangling one hand in his hair, Scott licked his lips, impatient now for the first blow.

Even with the padding of his pants between Kevin's hands and his ass, the slap was hard enough to sting. "Oh God, Kev," he moaned hoarsely, his groin thrusting harshly against Kevin's thighs. Each successive blow drew a similar response... his back arched, his head tossed back, a look of pure pleasure etched on his face.

 _"Learned your lesson, Bad Guy?"_

Scott allowed himself another moment of petting from Kev before flipping over, moaning as his ass pressed against Kevin's thighs, his back arching slightly. As he relaxed back against the cushions, he reached for Kevin's hand, smiling lazily as he directed it towards his groin. "Oh I think I learned a lesson alright, but I'm pretty sure it's not the one you intended," he said huskily as he thrust upward into Kevin's hand. "I think there might be a few on the roster that aren't going to appreciate you having taught me this particular lesson either." Smirking, he wiggled his eyebrows at his lover.

Kevin had just pretty much guaranteed that Scott was going to annoy the hell out of Bradshaw every chance he got if that was what he could expect in return. Hell he might even go find Heyman and see if he could get the man to turn purple for Kevin's amusement. The thought suddenly entirely too appealing, he sat up and tugged on Kevin's hand to lead him out into the hallway.

****

Benoit couldn't keep the smirk off his face as he watched Austin carry CJ off, the blond spouting threats and curses. Jericho had always been a handful, but Austin could handle it. He certainly seemed to be having a grand old time "handling" him right now, anyway. He ignored the dirty look from Adam and started him down the hallway slowly.

"Whether you believe me or not, I was all for going to the hospital."

Uh-huh. Chris believed completely that Adam would've insisted on CJ getting checked out... while ignoring himself. There were definitely times that Adam's hair colour suited him. Shaking his head a little, Benoit concentrated on moving them toward the exit without jarring Adam's ribs. He wondered just what was up between the two blonds, other than the obvious. Jericho had been mooning after Copeland for a while, and although Benoit had no idea what had happened between them in the last twenty-four hours, he suspected it was a little more than just lust. He'd been Jericho's friend long enough to recognise Jericho's standard reaction when a friend was hurt... and this wasn't it.

 _"...and as much as I love him there is no way that I'm letting him drive one-handed."_

Well, now. Benoit raised an eyebrow as he gave Adam a sidelong look. _That_ was unexpected.

 _"I... I haven't actually told him."_

"Oh, for heaven's sake! I hope you're _going_ to tell him, Copeland. If you yank him around, I'm gonna have to hurt you." He managed to keep his voice low and somewhat growly. He even suppressed the roll of his eyes, although the smirk kept threatening to burst out. Couldn't ruin his rep just because one of his oldest friends had finally gotten together with someone who actually cared about him, after all. 'Bout damned time, though. Jericho had some of the worst taste in men out of anyone Benoit had ever seen... and that included Bret.

 _"Chris? Will Eddie spare you?"_

"Shit. I have to catch him..." He pulled out his cell phone as he headed around to the driver's door.

 _"We'd really appreciate the help, Benny."_

"Sure you would. You're stuck with me anyway, Copeland. I wouldn't trust you two to tell a taxi driver the right thing right now."

Dialing Eddie's number, he cursed under his breath when he got the voice mail, but left a short message for his lover. Hopefully they'd actually make it back before taping was over.

The drive was relatively short, and after he'd gotten the two casualties settled in the waiting room, Benoit went to grab the paperwork. He filled out most of it, knowing Jericho's information from having done this too many times before, but gave up on Adam's information. Heading back to the pair, he nodded at Jericho as the man headed off in search of something or other, and handed the clipboard to Adam.

"You'll have to deal with this. I don't know your info."


	42. Growls

The heat shivering through Shawn splintered as Hunter pulled away, backing up against the wall like they'd threatened his life rather than offered their love. His instinctive hurt at the seeming rejection almost immediately smoothed into concern for the man in front of them, eyes wide and face pale. He took a half a step forward before he realised it and stopped, not wanting to push any further than they already had. Casting a look down at Dave, he winced at the bowed head, guilt almost pouring off the man, and dropped a hand down to his shoulder for reassurance.

 _"Yes."_

The breathed word brought him to a standstill as his head slowly turned back to Hunter, still pale but a familiar glint in those eyes. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at Hunt, taking in the sight before him. All bronzed flesh and wide hazel eyes and dripping hair and hard throbbing _want_... A quiet groan made its way out of his throat, his own erection reminding him sharply of his own desires. He watched as Dave moved across the floor to stop in front of Hunter, his breath coming faster at the sight of Dave's fingers ghosting over Hunter's hips, that tongue sliding across Hunt's abdomen...

Without realising that he'd moved, he found himself next to the pair, wanting to join in, but half-afraid to interrupt. They'd reached such a delicate balance, and if he jarred it... Burning whiskey eyes met his and he leaned in, not able to keep from touching the men in front of him. One hand clasped Hunter's shoulder, for reassurance and support and he shuddered as Hunter's fingers tangled in his own hair. His other hand dropped to Dave's shoulder, a light touch to keep from distracting him.

 _"Oh God I love you both. So much...."_

"God..." It was nearly a moan, as caught up in the sizzling heat in those eyes as he was. "Love you, Hunt." His voice was harsh as he pressed closer, unconsciously rocking his aching length against Hunter's hip, his gaze dropping.

 _"...please. Don't stop. Don't stop."_

"Never," he promised hoarsely, not able to tear his eyes away from the sight of Hunter's cock thrusting into Dave's willing mouth. The sudden clenching of the hand in his hair warned him, and he wrapped his hands around Hunter's head as it snapped back, watching with greedy eyes as Hunter gave himself to them, losing himself in orgasm. Tilting his head, he kissed the side of Hunter's neck, one hand slipping down to caress the heaving chest as he leaned his head on Hunter's shoulder, looking down at Dave, his own eyes dark with lust.

What he wanted... god. He shuddered against Hunter's side, his cock throbbing. He wanted so desperately to  _feel_ them, to take or be taken, he didn't care which. It had been so _long_... If he couldn't convince Hunter later that night, he'd make love to Dave right in front of him, until Hunt couldn't deny him. The thought of Dave inside him made him groan and he squeezed his eyes shut. Drawing in a deep, shuddering breath, he fought to bring himself under control. They didn't have time and he knew it, but his entire body was aching for it.

****

 _"Oh God I love you both. So much... please. Don't stop. Don't stop."_

His heart skipped a beat and his hands clenched tightly on muscular bronzed thighs. Eyes drifting closed, his throat working convulsively around the hard length now buried in his throat, Dave wondered if he had really heard what he thought he'd just heard. Allowing Hunter's hand to guide him, he increased the strength of his suction, teased Hunter's length with his tongue, even as his mind was trying to wrap around Hunter's words.

He met every erratic thrust of Hunter's hips. Relishing the heavy weight of his lover's cock on his tongue, the slide of smooth skin against his lips, the ripple of muscles underneath his fingertips, he pushed his questioning thoughts aside for later examination. Right then he wanted to immerse himself in Hunter... and Shawn. He could smell Shawn's arousal. Opening his eyes he was immediately faced with the erotic sight of Shawn's hard length rubbing against Hunter's hip just a few inches away.

Following his line of sight upwards he growled in appreciation at the vision before him... a long stretch of skin on skin, Shawn pressed tightly against Hunter. Feeling Hunter's cock swell against his tongue, he braced himself for that final thrust as Hunter's back arched, his hips snapping forward. Drawing his head back slightly along the hard pulsing shaft, he caught the last of Hunter's release on his tongue. Cognizant of Shawn's continued arousal - it was kind of hard to miss with the evidence right before his eyes - Dave allowed his hands to travel gently up Hunter's thighs, over his hips, to brush against Shawn's as he stood.

As much as he wanted to express his thanks to Hunter for allowing him to taste him, he had something he needed to share first. Meeting Shawn's eyes as he gained his feet, Dave smiled at the pure lust exhibited in those blue depths. Leaving his hand to stroke soothingly over Hunter's chest, Dave lifted the other hand to nudge Shawn's chin upward, lifting Shawn's mouth to his own with a gentle pressure. Leaning his body into Hunter's lax one, the kiss he initiated with Shawn was almost animalistic in intensity. Thrusting his tongue past soft lips, he shared the last of Hunter's release with Shawn, rubbing his tongue wildly against his lover's.

Growling as Shawn shifted restlessly against Hunter and himself, he lowered his hand over Hunter's ribs and past his hip, searching for his hand. Once he found it, he clasped it gently, giving Hunter a chance to pull away if he chose to do so. As he'd done with Shawn before, he directed Hunter's hand to Shawn's straining length, wrapping his own loosely over top of Hunter's. Knowing that they hadn't much time left for playing, he guided the hand beneath his to a fast pace, allowing Hunter to dictate the tightness of his grip.

Breaking the kiss as abruptly as he had initiated it, Dave shifted slightly, pressing his mouth against Shawn's neck and rubbing his tongue over the pulse hidden beneath silky skin. Infused with an overwhelming desire to leave some evidence of their new bond, he bit down firmly on the tanned flesh where Shawn's shoulder met the curve of his neck.

****

Despite the shortness of the trip and Benoit's careful driving that had had to be one of the most uncomfortable car rides he'd had to suffer through. Laying down hadn't seemed to help, though Chris' fingers had distracted him somewhat. He'd still been able to feel the nausea creeping up on him. Discounting it as an effect of the concussion and attributing it to his normal motion sickness, he focused on the gentle touch at his temples.

Thankful that the ride hadn't been any longer, he managed to make it into the waiting room with Chris' help without the ground spinning or at least feeling as if it were. He smiled at the gentle touch to his face and relaxed against the seat. Then he was watching Chris' restless pacing and it threatened a recurrence of his dizziness. He closed his eyes, the only way he wouldn't be tempted to keep them on Chris, and left his arms curled over his ribs since it seemed to make breathing a little less painful. He knew that he'd have to keep up with deep breathing to avoid the chance of lung infection, but he'd deal with that when he wasn't suffering sitting on one of these hard-as-hell plastic chairs provided by the clinic.

 _"Shit."_

His eyes popped open again hearing Chris' curse. He tried to figure out what had inspired it, thinking maybe Chris' hand was bothering him more than he'd admitted to, but Chris didn't seem to be interested in his injury at the moment.

 _"If the Fuckhead manages to avoid Steve, he'll end up face first with Dave. Not something he'll enjoy."_

He tried processing that, he really did, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out why Dave would go after 'Fuckhead' as Chris had dubbed him. One of Chris' exes? He couldn't remember ever hearing anything of the sort, but then he preferred to make his own decisions by watching people rather than listen to gossip. Of course Chris had been watching Dave last night... Dave and Shawn. He wasn't worried about it. Just curious why Dave would have any interest in what had happened. Yep, keep telling yourself that Adam and eventually you'll actually believe it.

 _"That is if Mark doesn't get there first."_

He noticed the look that Chris gave him, but didn't reply immediately. He'd had the feeling that Mark was wrapped up in his own issues when he'd talked to him earlier. Mark might be upset over what had happened, but Adam was fully aware that Mark hadn't really involved himself in the backstage politicking for quite awhile now. With having to deal with the possibility of seeing Shawn with someone new, Mark might be more than distracted. He couldn't see him taking an active involvement in whatever might happen to Terry. Adam honestly didn't care though. He'd much prefer if he got to deal with Terry himself. He owed him. Getting caught up in his own little plots, he hadn't noticed Chris walking away.

 _"You'll have to deal with this. I don't know your info."_

He looked up and took a moment to focus on his tag partner before he realized what 'this' was. Great. Fucking paperwork. The bane of all mankind. Taking the clipboard he settled it on his lap with a sigh. He was still a little miffed at himself for having spilled the beans to Benoit earlier. So help him if Benoit said anything he'd kick the man in the ass. He knew he would tell Chris how he felt eventually, he just didn't want it to be... too soon. Would Chris even believe his feelings were genuine if less than 24 hours after they'd gotten together he professed his love for him? Most likely not. Besides, with his luck Chris would drop him slicker than shit once he had to actually deal with him being injured. He wasn't the easiest patient and he knew it. It'd be pretty pathetic to tell the man he loved him and get dumped the next week once Chris got tired of his attitude. Okay he knew he wasn't being rational at the moment, but that was part of the problem.

Turning his attention back to the clipboard, he tried to focus on the page in front of him... 'tried' being the operative word. Why the hell did they insist on using such tiny print on these damn things? He managed his name, address, and phone number with little problem. Then he lifted his head and noticed Chris' absence. Nice time to notice, Copeland. He knew that Chris was here somewhere, he'd just better not try skipping out on getting his own X-rays. Back to the stupid forms.

He stared for a moment at the spot that said birth date. It took him longer than it should have to come up with that one. God he hated concussions. Social security number? Christ, he wasn't even going to attempt it. He was reaching for his wallet before he remembered that he was still in his workout clothes and his wallet was in his bag... back at the arena. Fuck!

Flashing a quick glance at Benoit, he decided he was not going to ask him for help. He'd make some big deal out of it and that wouldn't get him any points when the man had already threatened to change his mind about what he'd said to Vince. Chris was still MIA, though he probably wouldn't have asked him either. Chris would jump on the bandwagon with Benoit the first chance he got. Adam hadn't missed the look Chris had given him when he said he was still going to wrestle both Sunday and Monday. His lover probably would have informed Steve that his brains were indeed scattered all over the arena wall if he hadn't been busy cussing the man out for throwing him over his shoulder.

Looking back at the paper, he growled quietly without even realizing it. Damn it. He'd just have to sweet-talk the lady at the registration desk into filling it out for him. If he didn't have to concentrate on reading the stupid thing maybe his head wouldn't throb so badly and he'd be able to concentrate on coming up with the answers. Slanting another glance at the Rabid Wolverine, he pushed himself out of his chair and turned towards the registration desk.

****

Closing his eyes against the hot water pounding down on him, Mark's mind called up the image that he'd seen so recently of Jeff, standing in front of him... naked. Shaking his head, he banished the thought. It would probably come back to haunt him in his dreams, but those at least he could claim he had no control over. His fingers twitched with the urge to reach out and _touch_ , but he knew better. The kid had been so frighteningly ready to do whatever he thought it took to get that contract... What the hell went on in that tie-dyed head of his?

The slowly-dawning realisation in those cold eyes, the arms wrapped around the thin stomach to ward off hurt... He just wanted to reach out and pull Jeff close and protect him.

Damn.

Opening his eyes again, Mark rushed through the rest of his shower, ignoring the low rumblings of lust that were edging his nerves. He needed to deal with Jeff as an equal, as much as he could. The kid had obviously had some bad experiences, although he hadn't thought anything had gone down in the WWE. He'd never heard anything, anyway, although that wasn't much of a guarantee anymore. Toweling himself dry, he nodded to himself. It was definitely long past time to take his place backstage again, especially if he was going to be responsible for the blur of motion that he'd left in his locker room. Jeff might want his job back pretty badly, but Mark suspected good intentions wouldn't get them very far.

Wrapping the wet towel around his waist, he gathered up his things and re-entered the main room, almost dreading what he might see... but it was empty. A feeling of disappointment welled up inside him when he realised that Jeff had fled, taking the opportunity Mark had given him to escape. He'd hoped... but no. He couldn't blame Hardy for not wanting to stick around and chat with him, not after the misunderstanding they'd had. Well... next time he saw him, he'd offer what he could. The kid looked like he needed a friend, and since any other option was pretty unthinkable at this point, that's what Mark would try to be for him.

He dressed quickly, deciding to carry his coat for the moment. He'd better hunt down Heyman, he decided reluctantly, and see what exactly the plan was for the evening. His lip curled at the name. The slimy little bastard. If Heyman made one more even slightly suggestive comment to him tonight, he was going to punch him. He'd dealt with it for the last few weeks, but his patience tonight was a little thin.

Settling his hat on his head, he opened the door and stepped out. The door swung closed behind him without him even noticing as his gaze fixed almost immediately on the figure huddled by the door. Kneeling on one leg, Mark put a tentative hand on Jeff's arm.

"Jeff? What're ya doin' out here like this?" Damn. His drawl had come out unintentionally, the worry he felt colouring his voice.

****

That strong hand once again on his shoulder caused Jeff to relax the tension that had gripped him since he'd seen the door open. 'Taker was dressed in his ring attire now, the black pants, shirt and hat giving him that glorious wild west aura he'd made an art form. The folded leather jacket just screaming at Jeff to run his fingers over it, calling like a raunchy siren. And 'Taker, whew what a look. Jeff would swear he could feel the relaxed confidence of the man through those gloved fingers.

 _What're ya doin' out here like this?_

And oh god what a voice, infused even more with that Texan drawl, going straight to some hidden spot inside Jeff that he would deny even existed. Bracing himself mentally, Jeff hushed all that kind of thinking and set his mind to the job of fixing his mistake. Not moving his cheek from its resting spot, Jeff answered Mark's question with an apology he knew was vital if he was going to regain the man's respect.

"Waitin' for you," Jeff's smile was probably odd from this angle. "A thousand times sayin' I'm sorry couldn't make up for what I just did. It was despicable of me, thinkin' you would try somethin' like that. That you'd need to, even." Because really, what had been Jeff _thinking_? That Mark would need to bribe someone into his bed? God, the man probably had a waiting room full of people just hoping on the off chance....

"I won't lie though. That you went into bat with Vince over this... it shocks the hell out of me man. The only reason I can come up with for you doing this, is that you're insane. Totally nuts. You really don't know what you're letting yourself in for being 'responsible' for me. Case in point..." Jeff lifted his head to point over his own shoulder into Mark's dressing room. "...that will not be the last time I react like an idiot to something I misunderstand, and I'll probably do worse than try and jump you in a shower."

It was difficult to read Mark's reactions to this. Jeff had no clue what was going on in that dark head and he suddenly, passionately wished he could. Hah. If wishes were horses. Still. Jeff was feeling a million times better now that Mark was listening to him and not walking off in dignified disgust. Sliding quickly to his feet in a fluid move more often performed under ladders, Jeff bounced on the balls of his feet for a moment while he watched Mark rise also. Fuckin' hell, the man was _huge_. Focus Hardy, focus. He's not in your corner yet. His usual frenetic energy returning like a torrent, Jeff was jittery with the possibilities this night could bring.

"So... I'm givin' you an out here 'Taker." _Please don't take it_. "You've got enough going on without training and watching over me for the next few months." _But if you would I'd just_... "I can try another tack with Vince when he's cooled down, make some more concessions." _That he won't consider for a second_. "I guess I'm sayin'... you don't have to do this. Not for me."

But if he did Jeff would kill himself to find a way, some way Mark _wanted_ , to repay him

****

Glen shook his head as he watched Sean bouncing down the hall ahead of him. Now that they had Terry settled in a room until Mr. McMahon could deal with him, they really should be heading to the gym. They weren't of course because Sean wanted to go "talk" to Shawn, Dave, and Hunter... in other words, he wanted to be nosy.

"I'm just going to knock on the door. If they don't answer, then I'll leave them alone."

Glen stopped next to him in front of the door and crossed his arms over his chest, obvious disbelief written on his face.

Sean scowled up at his lover. "For now," he amended.

Glen rolled his eyes and scowled right back. "Sean, if they were ready to tell you, they would have. This is obviously new... I'm guessing last night or this morning and from the looks of Dave's face it wasn't all chocolate and roses." Glen sighed over the mulish expression on Sean's face. "How long were _we_ together before you were ready to tell them all about it?"

"But that was only because..." Sean started out heatedly.

"Shh," Glen said, raising a hand to stop Sean's explanation before he got all worked up. "I know, you didn't want me to have to suffer through all their grilling when we were starting out. I understand that, but don't you think that Dave deserves the same thing?"

Sean looked down thoughtfully at his shoes for a moment before cocking his head and looking at Glen. "You know that you are part of the family now... don't you?"

Glen smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Of course, but why don't we give them a little time to work things out before we toss them in the deep end?"

"Alright, alright. Fine, I'll wait, but..."

 _"Oh god... Shawn!"_

Two heads snapped towards the door, Sean's mouth dropped open and Glen raised his brows. Next thing he knew, Sean was kneeling next to the door with his ear against it. Casting a quick look at Glen he grinned evilly. "Damn Glen, I think he might even be louder than you _and_ Shawn."

Glen smothered a laugh with his hand, his face turning slightly pink. "Are you done now?"

"Oh hell no. We haven't heard from Shawn yet and I've always kind of wondered if Hunter was noisy too." Sean said, his ear still pressed against the door.

When he got down on his hands and knees and tried to peep under the door as well, Glen wrapped an arm around his waist and lifted him off his feet. "Okay, that's enough. You are not going to spy on them. If they wanted you to see it, the door wouldn't be locked."

"Wait!" Sean said as he made a frantic grab for the doorknob, just catching it with the end of his fingertips before Glen started walking down the hall with him in tow. "How do you know the door is locked?"

"Shawn saw you giving him the eye in the hallway. Do you honestly think he'd start something like that and _not_ lock the door?" Finally reaching the locker room, Glen deposited Sean on a bench and smiled at him.

"How do you know Shawn started it?" Sean asked with a puzzled expression.

"Because he's Shawn..." Glen stated with a grin as he tossed his things into a locker.

****

Chris was running out of luck on whole drug hunt. The three nurses/doctors he'd spoken to weren't about to issue painkillers without an examination and when CJ charmingly invited them to come and do said examination they all gestured towards the waiting area with exasperated expressions. Chris wasn't being that annoying, not like he was trying to jump in first over a burn victim or anything, he'd just planned on snagging some 'not-busy' looking medic and begging for some drugs.

Giving up, he was wandering back towards the waiting area when he heard a familiar exclamation.

"Wow Y2J! Cool. I knew you guys were in town, how ya doing Man?" Feeling a satisfied smile bloom on his face, Chris swung around towards the white coated young man approaching him. He didn't watch enough television to know the difference between Doctors, Attendents, Interns and whatever, just that this guy had the white coat happening so maybe he wasn't the cleaner.

"Hey Buddy." Chris turned on the charm. "Haven't started the taping yet. You coming to the show?" Holding his hand a little more obviously than he had been, Chris indicated he wanted to walk back to waiting area.

"Nahh, rostered on all night. I'm Tom by the way. Man I didn't think we'd see anyone tonight, you guys don't really get hurt _that_ often do you?" Tom's question ended in a gape as he spotted Edge and Chris Benoit loitering amongst the plastic seats. "Shit Chris, what happened? You have a car accident or something?"

"Just a mistake during warm up that's all," Chris reassured him. No chance they were going to explain how they were injured to a chatty young doctor. Chris wasn't too sure what Tom was, but then many fans lost intelligence points when face to face with wrestlers in real life. CJ liked to think they _weren't_  dropping down to the common denominator, but with guys like Terry you couldn't blame them. "Can you hurry things up for us Tom? We really need to get back to the arena or Vince'll freak." Vince wouldn't, but letting fans think Vince was the tyrant he appeared to be on TV often gave them a great support network.

Chris spied Adam just rising from his chair with a clipboard in hand. His lover looked paler if that were possible and CJ decided if Tom couldn't help them he'd walk to an all-night drug store if he had to, just to get something stronger for Adam.

"I don't think so Jim." Chris lifted the clipboard from Adam's finger's easily with his good hand and gently pushed the blond back into his seat. "I'll take care of this shit. You and Benoit explain to Tom here how you're doing and see if he'll help us jump the queue for X-rays."

CJ grinned at Tom who now had a professional face on and was looking at a board behind the reception area. Something seemed to work in their favour for a change, because after a quick discussion with the formidable woman behind the counter, Tom came back over, a pleased grin on his face.

"A room just opened up so I snagged it for you." He crossed back towards Adam. "Hey Edge... I'm Tom Gerentz. Can you stand again? Great. Looks like you're ribs am I right? Okay... just down here... yep here. Have you been checked at the arena? Good. Just going to do the once over and I'll organise those scans."

CJ watched as Adam was shepherded into a room, normally towering over the average-heighted Tom, but less so considering the slight hunch he was adopting to comfort his ribs.

Finishing Adam's paperwork took less than a minute. Smiling at the receptionist to mollify her slightly pissed expression, CJ turned towards the cubical containing his lover to find his path blocked by one of his oldest friends. Eyeing the man who'd shared more of his life than just about anyone, Chris knew he'd never lie to the other Chris, no matter what the cause. The concern he saw in his friend's eyes was comforting, but also mildly annoying.

"I'm not going to hurt him Benny. You don't have to read me the riot act or anything."

Benoit didn't talk much, but when he did he could cut you up like ribbons if he so chose. CJ hoped there wouldn't be any ribbon cutting in his future.

****

 _"I don't think so Jim."_

Adam blinked as Chris pushed him back down into his seat. Okay... at least he didn't have to go through the process of trying to remember the rest of his info. Thank god.

Before he had a chance to think about anything else he was faced with Dr. Tom. Dr. Tom was a fan... obvious by the form of address that he used. That might actually work to his advantage, at least he hoped so.

Still guarding his ribs, he walked into the room indicated and sat on the examination table. Doing a quick scan of the doorway to make sure Benoit hadn't followed him into the room and that Chris still wasn't present, Adam eyeballed good ol' Dr. Tom.

"Before they come in here... The trainer said he's pretty sure that I only cracked my ribs. If it shows up on the X-rays as a break, I'm asking you not to say anything in front of them," he said pointing vaguely towards the door to indicate Chris and Chris. "They've got this psycho big brother thing going on right now like they're afraid I'm going to fall over dead and I've already had to argue with them about my match on Sunday. I promise I'll tell Vince about it myself if they are broken and I'll get you tickets for the show next time we're in town. They really don't hurt too badly right now... well, except when I move... and when I breathe."

"Well breathing is kind of necessary, don't you think?" Okay, he really didn't need the sarcasm.

"Obviously, but I know you can't give me anything else for the pain right now because of the concussion. Can you get me a pressure bandage for tonight? I promise I'll take it off as soon as the taping is over. We have to go back to the arena for awhile. Then I'll do the whole deep breathing, no tape, et cetera." Adam looked at him hopefully.

At least then he wouldn't have to cling to Benoit again tonight. Not that there was anything wrong with Benoit, but it was a little aggravating to have to be helped around like an invalid. The only reason he didn't mind Chris doing it was because Chris was his lover and it gave him a chance to wrap an arm around him. And despite what Chris thought they were going to have to go back to the arena. Since they had taken the car, Jay and Ty would need a ride, and he really didn't want to take the chance that they would forget his and Chris' bags, especially with his wallet inside his.

"If there isn't anything broken then I'll get you the wrap. Speaking of the concussion... why don't you tell me about that," Tom said as he jotted down some notes on a paper.

"Didn't lose consciousness that I know of, you can ask Chris for sure, but I _was_ pretty out of it immediately after. Since then... dizziness, headache which is now worse after trying to read that tiny freaking print on those forms. Uh, I think it was because of the headache, but it took me a bit to come up with some of the information for them." He might as well be completely honest. If Chris found out he didn't give the doctor all of the details, he'd catch hell. He just didn't want Chris to worry any more than he already was.

"That's normal for some people. If it gets worse though, you need to get back in to get checked. Let's do the X-rays. As long as there is no break, I'll get you the wrap and a prescription for Tylenol with codeine, but you have to stick to regular Tylenol until this time tomorrow. Follow regular procedure for a concussion. I'm sure you know the drill." Adam nodded, but only once, he did not want another repeat of the dizziness if he could help it. "So you really plan on wrestling on Sunday?"

Whoops. That didn't sound very positive of good ol' Dr. Tom. Now he was going to have to fight with him too? "I really hate missing matches and I'm not planning on any insane bumps. If I can get through the one on Sunday and the one Monday then I'll have a whole week off to lay around and do nothing and I still have four days until Sunday. If you tell me that I absolutely cannot do it... then I won't, but I'm hoping you won't say that."

"Let's see what the X-rays say first, although I should give you hell for planning on going out there with a concussion." Dr. Tom was trying to look stern, but as young as he was it was really hard to take it to heart.

Just then, Adam heard the murmur of voices outside the door. Looked like Chris had his information filled out. Turning back to Dr. Tom, he smirked. "Oh and don't let Jericho sneak off without having his hand X-rayed. He'll try it. In fact, I think you should make him go first just to make sure he doesn't."

Okay so maybe that was a little underhanded, but if it got the job done... Now all he had to do was hope that Dr. Tom agreed to do it.

****

Hunter could feel a single drop of water slide from his temple, across his cheek and down his throat. With his head against the wall, the shower spray was hitting his chest and stomach with a pleasant, relaxing heat. The tingling sensation was still running along Hunt’s limbs, leaving him lightheaded and almost high. That had been, well, with all the emotional baggage it’d bonfired, the best sex Hunter could _ever_ remember having. Opening sleepy lids to half-mast, Hunter allowed Dave, his beloved Dave, to walk his hand across to Shawn’s insistent erection. Hunter had kinda liked it pressed against his hip. In fact, Hunter was now thinking of lots of places he’d like that hard length pressed against, and into, and along.

Bubbles of bliss were beginning to form in his stomach and chest, making Hunt want to shout out with laughter or just giggle like a loon. He felt as if a heavy weight that he hadn’t known he’d been carrying was gone.

The feel of Shawn’s shudder and the slight mew of mingled lust and pain drew Hunter’s eyes away from the beautiful sight of his hands up to his lovers’ faces. Shawn’s eyes were closed, his body still pressed obscenely close to Hunter’s own, slippery form. At the junction of the blond’s shoulder, Dave’s dark head was moving, teasing, kissing and sucking on what Hunt was determining to be one of Shawn’s erogenous zones. Dave leaning up slightly to kiss again at Shawn’s flesh exposed a small red spot beginning to darken on the smooth golden curve of his friend’s shoulder. God… Dave had bitten him.

Even with a post-orgasmic lassitude now smothering his limbs, Hunter felt the eroticism of that one act shoot directly to his heart. A heart now freed from the bindings Hunter had inadvertently placed on himself.

Blinking out of his haze, Hunt became crashingly aware of his surroundings. The sharp, hot impact of water on his skin, the weight of Dave as the big man leaned against him, the echo of Shawn’s moans as his partner was brilliantly jacked off right beside him. Leaning over to catch the next moan in his mouth, Hunter softly pressed his lips to Shawn’s. At last. He could have this now, all of this. And damn… did Hunter want it.

Electrified by the passion now unleashed within him, Hunter let a small growl issue from his throat, rivaling Dave’s earlier one. Shawn had started this. His friend had suggested he could love both Hunter and Dave equally if they gave him the chance. And it had been Shawn who’d started this erotic interlude when he’d deliberately locked the outer door. So now…

“Your turn,” Hunter said against Shawn’s lips, in a voice that may have sounded angry if it hadn’t been infused with lust. Up until now, Hunter had been fairly passive in their lovemaking, only touching and stroking his lovers while they were pleasured by each other. Not anymore. Demonstrating in one move that he had as much not-so-hidden power as Dave, Hunter caught Shawn by the waist one-armed and turning, pressed the smaller man hard against the shower wall. Using his body mass along Shawn’s side to hold his lover in place, Hunter tightened his grip on the hard length in his hand. Returning to the pace Dave had set for them earlier, Hunt used his other hand at Shawn’s neck to tug that beautiful face up to his, stealing the deep blue gaze with confident, half-closed eyes. A twist and his hand was out from under Dave’s hot wet fingers. While the other man continued working that hard satin flesh, causing delightful sexy pants from the man he had trapped, Hunter rubbed his palm over the swollen sensitive head of Shawn’s shaft, deliberately causing slower sensations to counter Dave’s swift, tight strokes.

Still forcing Shawn to keep his eyes open by the intensity of his gaze, Hunter spoke once again.

“C’mon Heartbreaker,” he encouraged hotly. “Come for us Darling… show us… show us.”

****

Trembling from the pure want running through him, Shawn couldn't tear his eyes away from Dave's as the big man rose to his feet, the smile on his face promising so much... His fingers clenched briefly on Hunter's shoulder as Dave lifted his chin and kissed him, possessed him, the intensity nearly knocking him off his feet. The long dreamt-of flavour of Hunter's release exploded across his tongue as Dave shared it with him and he groaned deeply, the shivers running through him having nothing to do with being cold. Shifting against his lovers, searching for relief, the sudden pressure of fingers clasping around his aching length made him stiffen, his eyes squeezing shut as he tried frantically to control himself. Realising that there were _two_ hands on him made his eyes fly open again to lock onto the sight of those hands stroking him.

Lost in sensation, all Shawn could do was moan as Dave pulled his mouth away. The feel of those lips on his neck prompted him to tilt his head back with a whimper, offering Dave his throat. The metal bar sliding across his pulse caused another shudder and Shawn lifted his free arm to wrap around Dave's shoulder. Groaning at the play of hot tongue on one of the most sensitive spots on his body, the sudden sharp pain of his lover biting down there was almost too much. His body tensed and a strangled cry escaped almost as a mewling sound, his hips thrusting his cock frantically through his lovers' joined hands. Relaxing after an instant of strained expectation, he bit his lip as Dave continued to lick and suck along the sensitive skin of his neck, each touch sending his nerves a little higher, closer to that edge. Returning Hunter's kiss almost desperately, the growl against his lips only added to the lust singing through his body.

 _"Your turn."_

Caught off guard, Shawn found himself pressed up against the wall before he'd realised that he was moving; the cool tile made him shiver, but the chill was almost instantly forgotten as his lovers increased their efforts. A sharp cry escaped his lips as the hands on his length tightened their grasp, his hips twisting as his head fell back against the wall before being pulled back up to meet the burning amber gaze that almost impaled him with its intensity. The sudden change in touch, the dual sensations winding through him, sent his arousal skyrocketing, his breath coming in short sharp pants. His fingers tightened on Dave's shoulder as he whimpered his name, wanting to look down, to watch their efforts, but not able to tear his eyes away from Hunter's.

 _"Come for us Darling… show us… show us."_

His eyes widened at the commanding tone in Hunter's voice, but whatever Dave did with those clever fingers, combined with those words, was all it took. His body stiffened, his hips bucking under the dual touch, and a wordless wail clawed its way out of his throat as he surrendered, his release washing over him in waves.

The only thing keeping him up was the pressure from his lovers, holding him upright. He shook his head a little, trying to speak, but only a hoarse noise escaped. Great; if he'd lost his voice, wouldn't Vince just love that? After all the abuse he'd put it through today, he shouldn't be surprised, but it could be kind of interesting trying to convince the man that he'd caught a cold... after Hunter had his talk with him. Hopefully it was just temporary... Wincing at the soreness in his throat, he met each of his lovers' eyes in turn, a soft smile on his lips, trying to convey the depths of his emotion. He knew they were out of time, but he really didn't want to move just yet.


	43. Dances

They were terribly cute, Benoit decided with a smirk as he watched the little dance the blonds were performing with each other. Both of them injured and both of them acting like it was nothing while insisting that the other one get attention _now_... yeah. Somehow, what Adam had inadvertently revealed to him earlier just didn't surprise him. He'd known for a while that CJ had a thing for Copeland; he just hadn't realised how serious it could be until this evening.

 _"I'm not going to hurt him Benny. You don't have to read me the riot act or anything."_

He finally let his smile show as he shook his head slightly.

"I'd better not. He's good for you, CJ." Casting another glance over his long-time friend, he nodded to himself. Jericho was visibly happier today than he had been this same time yesterday, even with the overriding concern for Adam that he was radiating. Knowing how Adam felt made Benoit feel better about the whole thing, even being familiar with Copeland's reputation, since he was aware of at least the general reasons why that had gone down. What anyone saw in Terry, he'd never know, but he rather thought that no one would have to worry about that for too much longer anyway.

Pausing, he debated saying more, but his attention was caught by the doctor approaching them. Before they could ask anything, he handed a clipboard to Benoit and tilted his head at CJ.

"If you can fill out the paperwork for your friend here, I'll see that he gets his X-rays too."

Benoit's eyebrows lifted briefly. Was that a smile he'd glimpsed for an instant on the doctor's face? Snickering quietly, he nodded, pushing the suddenly frowning Jericho forward.

"Have at. He's a bitch of a patient, though," Benoit said in a level voice before sitting and starting on the forms. He'd done this often enough that he knew most of Jericho's info, and anything he didn't know CJ could finish when he came back out.

****

 _"Waitin' for you."_

Of all the answers he could've heard, that was probably the one he'd least expected. He'd been sure that Jeff would run like hell, having just embarrassed himself so badly... and having been so obviously tense the whole time on top of it. Mark couldn't quite hide the relief in his eyes as he allowed himself to relax a little.

 _"A thousand times sayin' I'm sorry couldn't make up for what I just did.... That you'd need to, even."_

And then that tension was back as he forced himself not to show his surprise. That Jeff was apologising was surprising but not shocking. The fact that he was apologising for _thinking_ what he had... well. That was different. The assumption Hardy had made wasn't that uncommon backstage, after all, and given what Mark had said he was perfectly justified in having taken it that way. No matter how much he might regret having phrased his words that way, though, Mark had to admit that the momentary glimpse of the young man in front of him had been amazing. Guilt welled up in him at that thought; taking enjoyment from someone else's pain and distress wasn't like him, and the incident had obviously distressed the man sitting in front of him.

As the last words penetrated his thoughts, he blinked before schooling his face to calmness again. Had Jeff _thought_ about his sex life? That would be... Mark couldn't even think of words for how that made him feel. Confused, mostly. Their angle together had been brief, their match amazing, and their respect mutual. Were other things mutual too?

No. This wasn't the time or the place to be thinking about that, especially not now that he'd taken on Jeff as his responsibility. He'd never taken advantage of someone in their weakness and he was damned if he was going to start now... especially with this tumultuous young man.

 _"You really don't know what you're letting yourself in for.... I'll probably do worse than try and jump you in a shower."_

Lord, he wished that Jeff _would_ try worse... Dammit! He shook his head, keeping his eyes on the man in front of him even as he forced back a sudden smile. He _did_ have a pretty good idea of what he was in for; he'd been through it before, after all. First thing he was going to do after talking to the slime ball was hunt down Shawn and ask him to help out. If nothing else, training with the kid would probably be fun, and any advice Heartbreaker could give him on dealing with someone like Jeff would be from first-hand knowledge of how that sort of personality worked. Standing up slowly, he wondered if he'd even be able to keep up with Jeff. His age was starting to show, after all.

 _"I guess I'm sayin'... you don't have to do this. Not for me."_

Allowing his eyebrow to raise, Mark cocked his head at Jeff, seeing more than the kid probably thought he did in those oh-so-casually said words. He thought he wasn't _worth_ Mark doing this, did he? They'd have to see about changing that.

"Why not? Sayin' you're not worth it?" He paused, seeing the badly concealed reaction to those softly drawled words, and continued before Jeff could speak. "You're wrong. You've got talent and charisma and looks, an' Vince was an idiot for lettin' you go." He stopped again as he realised what he'd just said. Hopefully Jeff wouldn't read too much into that comment; even if they didn't have this contract agreement hanging over their heads now, there was no way in hell he'd take advantage of Jeff's insecurities. Not when he wanted so much more than just a casual fling...

Clearing his throat, he said gruffly, "I keep my word, Jeff, an' I gave my word to Vince that I'd watch out for you. Two months, that's all." He turned slightly, plucking at his coat to keep from reaching out and touching the man. "I have to talk to Heyman." He couldn't quite keep the edge of disgust out of his voice. "After that, I should see if Heartbreaker's around and have a chat with him before taping starts. If you want, you can come along... maybe stop in and see Vince after to get that contract signed."

He found himself almost holding his breath, waiting for Jeff's answer, and cursed himself for an old fool. Like the whirlwind would want to follow his old ass around backstage. Surely he had more entertaining things to do... things that definitely wouldn't include him.

****

The way Shawn reacted to his love bite was so damn erotic that he wished once again that they had more time. The sound Shawn made rippled over his skin like a wave, his own shudder meshing nicely with Shawn's. He felt the surge of Shawn's hips driving his hard length wildly through their hands and teased his tongue gently over the reddening skin on Shawn's shoulder.

It took him a moment to realize that Hunter was kissing Shawn, but once he did he couldn't help the huge grin that he had to hide against Shawn's shoulder. He wasn't sure that Hunter's little problem was 100% gone, but at least for the moment it looked like it was a non-issue. And damn wasn't that growl just fucking sexy as hell? Good thing Hunter had never made that particular noise around him before now because Dave didn't know if he'd have been able to resist it... now he didn't have to.

The sudden shift in their positions distracted him not at all from the mission he was on of tasting every little inch of Shawn's neck. He felt the change in Hunter's grip beneath his hand and heard the sharp cry it reaped from Shawn. God he was close, just a little more. Then Hunter's hand shifted again and Dave picked up where Hunter had left off, his hand bumping against Hunter's where he was touching the head of Shawn's cock. Shawn's hand clenching on his shoulder, short sharp pants followed by the whimper of his name, Hunter's voice low and commanding... Dave responded by adding a little twist to his wrist as he stroked hard and fast along Shawn's length.

Shawn's wail of pleasure was a completely satisfying reward for his and Hunter's efforts. His orgasm was just as energetic and enthusiastic as everything Shawn did... completely full tilt. Despite his own incredible sense of fulfillment with his release earlier, it had taken the fulfillment of the other two to make his own complete. As he watched Shawn relax against the wall, he smiled. Of course realizing that Shawn had screamed himself hoarse was a bit amusing, but a bit worrying as well. Shawn had been rather vocal today between the fight with Hunter and the two encounters they'd all had together. The crying surely hadn't helped either. He was thankful that at least that part of the problem was over now. He couldn't stand to see Shawn crying.

Leaning in, Dave pressed a soft kiss against his lips in reply to the emotions he saw lingering in Shawn's. His eyes shifted to the mark on Shawn's shoulder and he grimaced. He hadn't really meant to bite Shawn, it had been instinctive on some level. Lifting one hand, he gingerly ran a finger over the mark. Locking his eyes with Shawn's once again, he smiled even as he blushed. Not being able to control himself was something new and he wasn't quite sure how he felt about it. "I'm sorry. If you don't kill me, I think maybe the makeup people will." Despite his other emotions regarding the matter, he couldn't help the tiny little thrill of knowing that the evidence of his feelings for Shawn would be visible to everyone.

They really didn't have more time at all, but there was something yet that he needed to say before the mad dash to get Hunter ready to go see Vince. Pulling slightly away from Shawn and letting Hunter remain to hold the man up, Dave lifted a gentle hand to Hunter's cheek, tracing over the skin with his fingertips. "And you... Thank you," he said softly before pressing his lips gently against Hunters, "…for trusting me enough to let me taste you. It was worth waiting for."

Now they really had to get moving. Wrapping an arm around Hunter's waist, he shifted and backed Hunter under the spray of water. "You need to get rinsed off and go get dressed or you're going to be late meeting Vince. I think we'd all prefer it if he wasn't ticked off by you being tardy with what you have to tell him."

****

 _"... but I'm pretty sure it's not the one you intended."_

Kevin bit back his response as Scott arched up against his hand, his lover's reaction to the teasing blows obvious even through the denim covering him. God, he wanted nothing more than to strip Scott naked, throw him down onto his hands and knees, and fuck him raw... but he couldn't. Not the lack of privacy, but his own body was conspiring against him. As much as he _wanted_ to, he just wasn't there yet. He let his eyes wander over Scott's body, taking in the growing arousal that was obvious to him... but the mischievous glint in Scotty's eyes warned him that his lover wasn't quite ready to lie back and take what was coming to him any more than he was ready to dish it out.

Groaning a little as Scott jumped to his feet, pulling at his hand, he followed Scotty out of the room and down the hall, half-afraid to think about what trouble he was plotting. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realised that he was noticeably acting out of character by docilely following Scott around like this, but he didn't give a damn. Something in their relationship had changed that morning and they were still adjusting to it; they probably would be for a while. Fuck anybody who tried to pry into that; it was nobody's business but their own and he'd make sure it stayed that way.

Preoccupied with his half-wry, half-defensive thoughts, Kevin only realised that Scott had found who he was looking for when he heard the slow drawl, the old Razor accent noticeable as Scotty greeted the man in front of them. Biting his lip to keep from laughing, Kevin made a mental note to ask Scott to use that accent more often. He'd almost forgotten what it could do to him, hearing his lover's voice go even lower, almost purring around the letters.

****

 _He's good for you, CJ._

Chris hadn’t realized how much he’d been hoping for a positive reaction from his friend till he heard the words. He’d often used Chris’ inbuilt bullshit meter to judge a few of his past conquests and while he hadn’t ended a relationship on Benoit’s say so, he’d certainly looked at his partner through fresh eyes if Chris had avoided the guy. It was almost karma really, that the man he’d fallen very hard for was a friend of Benoit’s, as well as being his current tag team partner. There was nothing like spending every moment of your work day with someone to learn their good points and more importantly their bad.

“Thanks Chris, “ CJ bumped shoulders with Benoit as they reached Adam’s room. “I’ll try not to distract him too much till your programme’s done at least.”

 _I'll see that he gets his X-rays too._

“Oh great, so it’s a conspiracy is it?” CJ demanded jokingly, with a poor attempt to hide his taped hand behind his back. Chris had thought he was the shameless hussy in this relationship, but it seemed like Adam had turned those soulful green eyes on Intern Tom here. The kid never stood a chance, CJ sure hadn’t. “Fine, let’s get this over with, then Adam right?” Chris winked at Benoit, then followed Tom down the hallway towards the rooms marked ‘Maystron Imaging’.

Enduring his sore hand being gently manipulated and posed, just made the throbbing ache become more intense. So CJ let everyone in hearing distance know, in exacting detail, what hurt, what didn’t, how much it hurt on a scale of one to ten and if it hurt less or more depending on what he was moving. Fortunately for his continued breathing, Chris gave his commentary in a lighthearted and totally unrealistic manner. He wasn’t as bad a patient as some, mostly because he possessed the bizarre talent of being able to amuse himself easily, but he was still damn annoying for Tom and the technicians. When they were finished, Chris noticed they were all smiling… probably relief but hey, they’d been quick. Very quick.

Back into the hallway to find Adam leaning against the wall ready for his turn, Chris snuck under Adam’s arm on the pretense of helping him walk. Keeping his grip gentle, but firm, CJ walked Adam into the X-ray rooms and into Tom’s professional care. It would be far worse for Adam to lie still for the procedure, that while not painful, was uncomfortable at the best of times. Chris was starting to see the lines of pain around Adam’s sweet mouth begin to deepen. The basic painkillers Sandburg had given him were obviously not doing the job, but he’d be denied anything much stronger till the concussion was no longer in the danger zone.

Well there were other pain-reducing techniques that Chris knew and as soon as he could get Adam alone, naked and in bed, he’d demonstrate all of them. Even one handed he could get Adam at least relaxed enough to sleep for a while and right now, getting his lover comfortable was his main priority.

Adam’s face when he left the room was the colour of ashes and CJ’s lips tightened at the obvious pain the blond was enduring. Damn Terry and his revolting jealousy. He’d caused this just because he’d been caught being a complete asshole and then realized subsequently what he’d been throwing away by cheating on Adam. Stupid Fuckhead. Why the hell couldn’t he act a like a grown-up and get over it? Not that Chris could blame him for being wrapped up in what the green-eyed blond said and did every day, he was the biggest sucker for Adam’s company there was. But Terry was the one who gave away heaven when he’d held it, the Fuckhead had no right to hurt Adam again just because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.

Stowing the slowly building fury he felt beginning to return, Chris once again hooked his good arm around Adam’s waist and looked knowingly at Tom when the young attendant returned. He looked quite serious, but CJ got in first.

“Let me guess. Proximal phalange base fracture of the ring and little fingers, I know.” Seeing Tom’s curious expression CJ relented. “Trust me, I can tell and this isn’t the first time I’ve seen a broken finger or two. But considering they were squashed and not bent, you’re not thinking pins or anything drastic. So it’s tape, a pretty plastic mini-cast and elevation am I right? Good. Now that I’m done, what about Adam? Are they broke Tom? Can he ride in the Grand National or not?”

****

"Hey, if it isn't Paul E.," Scott practically purred as he swaggered up next to the man, Razor Ramon persona firmly in place, before leaning his forearms against a crate. "Kev and I were just talking about you, man. See we were wondering which one of those brilliant writers came up with this storyline for you and Mark." Of course his emphasis on 'brilliant' was exaggerated, but not enough for Heyman to catch, obviously.

"Actually it was my idea. All mine." Heyman looked particularly happy to accept all the praise for the idea.

"Oh, it was you? You came up with that all on your very own? Well, damn. That's too bad, Paul E." Scott got a particular thrill out of saying Paul E., rolling the words together as if they were one. If only because the fat, balding man reminded him of Paulie, the slime bag brother-in-law from the Rocky movies, and it was an insult that Heyman would never figure out... Kev would though. "See I was just telling Kev how much this storyline... sucks."

Heyman's beady little eyes fixed on Scott in surprise. "Yeah... sucks, just like..." Scott raised one fist and made an unmistakable gesture or it was when coupled with his tongue poking obscenely against the side of his cheek.

Heyman cocked his head to the side, still not quite figuring out that he'd been insulted. "Whoa, man. Can you tilt your head back the other way? I'm catchin' the glare from the lights off the top of your head. I think I'm blind!"

Scott could see the slow progress of Heyman's color change from pasty white to pale pink. Still not good enough. He was going for purple... dark red at the very least.

"Oh and before I forget. Vince got a call from Pennzoil, they want to sponsor the next oil change for your hair."

Just then out of the corner of his eye, Scott saw Mark approaching them. His eyes showed momentary surprise at Mark's companion, but other than that Scott reacted not at all. Back for another round? Or was Hardy just visiting? 'Good god, I'm getting as nosy as Kid,' he thought to himself.

"Hey, Mark. I was just telling Paul E. here how very much I'm enjoying your current storyline," Scott said with a smirk, accompanied by an obvious roll of his eyes. Nodding to Jeff, Scott smiled. "Hey, Rainbow."

****

When Shawn came, he shouted. Like his slim form couldn't contain the ecstasy his orgasm produced, so he let it tear out of his lungs in a hoarse cry. It was that sound as much as the feel of Shawn trembling in his arms, the dusky blue of his eyes that proved to Hunter beyond a doubt that he was in love. He wanted to hear that sound as often as Shawn could manage it, along with Dave's moans and the succulent sound of their kisses. Letting the blond's tangled hair free, Hunt leaned down and placed a soft kiss on the blushing red result of Dave's bite.

"You are beautiful my Love." It was an easy compliment because it was true.

 _for trusting me enough_

Dave's soft words caused Hunter to shake his head in denial. "Not a question of trust David. I just needed something to kick my ass over that wall I'd made." Hunter leaned over till his lips were a breath away from Dave's. "Thank _you_ , for doing the kicking. That was... fantastic." And wasn't _that_ the absolute truth as well. Hunter would kick his own ass if he even thought about lying to these two men again.

 _you're going to be late meeting Vince._

Hunter was tempted to say 'Fuck Vince' but the idea was just abhorrent, considering the  spectacular thing he'd just been a part of. The hot water gently sluiced any residue of sweat from his body, while a quick borrow of Dave's soap cleaned Hunt's hair. It was getting long again he noticed absently, his mind still caught up in the sexual byplay he'd been lost in. But Dave was right. His father-in-law had asked for his presence and Hunter didn't like to keep anyone waiting, particularly Vince.

Dropping a quick kiss on Dave's cheek and then Shawn's nose, Hunter stepped out from under the water and into the dressing room, snitching the first towel he could see. Dragging it roughly over his hair, he dried off and dressed as quickly as possible. Given that he was shooting some last minute promo photos for the Bad Blood Pay-Per-View, he'd have to go shirtless later and could keep the dress clothes to a minimum. Sliding into his black trunks, Hunter tugged on his sweat pants and an Evolution T-shirt, before sitting down to put on his socks and three-hundred dollar sports shoes.

Dave and Shawn were just leaving the shower, lightly glistening with drops of water, towels held haphazardly and covering nothing whatsoever. Tearing his eyes away from the tempting sight, Hunter promised his newly awakened libido that they'd all have plenty of time to play 'lick the drop' at a later date. And a few other games Hunter was sure he could nut out the rules for pretty quickly, with the right incentive. There was a hell of a lot of incentive standing in his dressing room right now, both of them looking both horny and satisfied at the same time. It was a good look on them.

Rising, he joined his two lovers, feeling a slightly perverse sense of power, being fully clothed while they both wore only their skin. Such delicious touchable skin too. Pity he couldn't take the time to dry them off before he left.

"Off to beard the Grumpy Bear. You'll be nearby?" Hunter didn't actually think it would go badly with Vince, but he wanted to let his lovers know about any fallout as soon as it began. Waiting for their answers, Hunter leaned an arm across Shawn's shoulder in a familiar gesture known to millions and nuzzled the wet, tangled hair of his croaky Toy Boy in a gesture that no-one had _ever_ seen. Using his free hand to snag Dave's fingers, Hunter pulled the dark man close and kissed the back of his hand with warm, confident lips.

Reluctantly letting them go, Hunter unlocked the door with a wry, teasing look at Shawn and made his way down the hallway to Vince's office/dressing room with eager steps. The sooner this was over, the sooner he'd be back with Dave and Shawn.

Because, god help him, he didn't want to miss anything.

\--------

Hunter did miss the other entrant to that particular hallway by about twenty seconds. His damp blond head just out of sight when a set of slim, ruby fingernails tapped lightly on the door to the Evolution locker room, before confidently opening the unlocked door.

Three sets of eyes looked at each other with dawning horror.

"You know Boys. I really can't decide which of you I should kill first," said Stephanie.

****

 _Two months, that's all._

Okay, so Jeff was on a clock. Fine by him. He had two months to soak up Mark's presence like a sponge, to be around someone who made him feel all kinds of things, most of them good. If by the end of the two months 'Taker wanted to kick him to the curb, or more likely ask him politely to piss off,  then Jeff would take it and be grateful he'd had the man's attention in the first place. Being allowed to tag along tonight would be the perfect opportunity to learn more about the big man while having an instant excuse if anyone asked what the fuck Jeff was doing here.

"Ahhh 'Taker. You're stuck with me tonight Man, we gotta get this thing outta the gate somehow don't we? I promise I'll behave so don't wince. I won't embarrass you... much."

Hands in pockets, Jeff walked lazily beside Mark up the hallway. Then he picked up his pace when he realised he'd be left behind in about six seconds by Mark's rangy long-legged stride. Mark was built along beautiful lines, every limb and muscle in exact proportion to the rest of him, like a statue of an ancient warrior, beyond human. But this man was very human and Jeff was all set to get past the first page of this intriguing book called Mark Calloway.

He wondered if he'd be allowed to call him 'Mark' sometime.

As they walked Jeff speculated on the exact details of this 'responsibility' Mark had taken on. It couldn't just be shepherding him to the arenas or anything. It would take creative about two months to work Jeff into a storyline anyway, if Vince thought he was prepared enough to go on air in the first place. But the Boss wouldn't waste a comeback like Jeff's on a house show or Heat, so they'd have to manage something else. Hopefully another arc with Undertaker if possible. They'd had a brilliant reaction  the first time they'd worked together, even if it was ended by Jeff's increasingly erratic attitude and 'Taker's desperate need for some time off.

Maybe they could train together a couple of times a week, practice some ring work or something until Jeff was back in form. He'd been working out every other day, but he hadn't leapt off anything taller than himself for months. Jeff didn't want to get rusty.

Fuck me. Talk about statues of ancient warriors. Up ahead in the hall stood Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Heyman. Not that Heyman could pass as a god-like figure in _anyone's_ imagination but the Outsiders certainly did. Feeling like he was about four foot tall, Jeff slowed slightly before they reached the group.

 _Hey, Rainbow._

Typical. Hall knew he hated that name as much as the particularly witty Skittle, but the man liked to tease the crap out of anyone in his radius. As long as he smiled at Jeff while he did so, Jeff could take it.

"Fuck you too Gillette Boy," he replied sweetly. "You two making a big return?"

While they talked Jeff didn't hide just behind Mark. He didn't.

****

Having the X-rays done had sucked. Seriously. Although probably not as much as the walk to the radiologist's room. The nurse had offered up a wheelchair for which she'd received a polite as can be "no thanks." He had a feeling that once he actually stopped moving tonight that that was going to be the end of it, so he was staying mobile as long as he possibly could.

The return trip was easier though not only for the support Chris offered him, but just because Chris was with him. Chris was way too smug in his own diagnosis, but Adam was happy to find out that Tom agreed with it. Not that tape and mini-casts were pleasant, but it could have been worse. Chris would still be feeling it for awhile and that didn't help to alleviate Adam's anger at himself for starting the whole thing or at Terry for coming totally unhinged for god knew what reason. He still hadn't figured it out. Chris' question and the silence following it caught his attention.

Lifting his head, he eyeballed good ol' Dr. Tom and raised a brow. Tom was studying him as if debating with himself over something. He watched as the man leaned back against the table behind him and crossed his arms.

"You told me earlier that if I said you can't wrestle you won't. I won't say that, but only if you give me some guarantees," he said his face showing no real signs of what was to come either way. Adam nodded and waited to hear what those guarantees were along with what exactly he'd done to himself.

Taking a step away from the table Tom approached him. "There are no breaks. The films show fractures of 7, 8, and 9 on the left side, right here." As he ran one finger over a darkly bruised area, Adam fought to suppress a shudder in response. "They are incomplete or greenstick fractures, but you also have what look like possible stress fractures here on 8 and 9 as well. That's not even touching on muscle strain which is part of the pain you're feeling as well." He moved a finger over to an area just under Adam's arm where bruising was just starting to show up. "I want you to get another set of X-rays Sunday morning just to confirm that nothing else shows up between now and then, that's one of the guarantees. I'll get you the number for the clinic nearest the arena in Columbus."

Shit. More X-rays? But if it got him closer to doing his matches, he didn't really have a choice. "Okay. What else?"

"I'm going to give you the wrap you asked for. Wear it for the match, but that's it unless you need it for plane trips. I don't normally take this tack, but instead of wearing that I'm going to give you a local anesthetic for the ribs. It won't alter your mental state like oral meds would, so it's safe with your concussion, and from your color you need something. You said you had to go back to the arena, but I want a promise that you aren't going to do anything stupid just because it won't hurt as bad. No ring practice, no lifting, no fighting."

He'd felt Chris stiffen next to him as soon as Tom mentioned going back to the arena. They'd have to fight that out on the way to the car, but for right now... "You got it."

"Last thing... I think you are insane for wanting to do your matches, but since you are going to anyway... Try to avoid any impact moves involving the left side of your chest and of course any impact to your head. From now until Sunday morning you are on complete bed rest and I mean complete. Except for going to the bathroom and a brief shower each day you need to be on your back 24/7." Tom blushed slightly as he realized exactly how that had sounded thanks to Adam's snicker, but recovered quickly, turning to a cabinet and grabbing a syringe and a bottle.

Oh god. Adam shuddered just looking at the needle. He could handle pain, but he really hated needles of any kind and this one was about three inches long. Closing his eyes, he gripped the table tightly just so he wouldn't have the urge to punch good ol' Dr. Tom right in the nose... it had happened before.

After he loaded them up with all the goodies, including prescriptions to be filled tomorrow, Chris and Adam were finally ready to leave. They bid goodbye to Tom adding in their thanks and a promise to send him some tickets for the next time they were in town before finding Benoit in the waiting area.

His ribs did hurt a lot less at the moment, but he was fully aware that Chris still wasn't going to want to go to the arena. As they walked out to the car, he gathered his arguments in his head, though that was tough to do with his mind still refusing to concentrate on one thing for too long.

As he climbed into the back seat again he leaned back and looked at Chris. "I know you don't want to go back to the arena, but besides the fact that we took off with the car, we also left our bags in the locker room. I left my wallet in my bag," he said feeling a bit silly for not having thought of grabbing it before they left in the first place. "I really don't like relying on the off chance that Ty and Jay will remember to grab them before they leave and since it's on the way back to the hotel anyway, I'd feel a lot better if we just stopped to get them now."

It might not work, but it was worth a shot. Besides, maybe he'd be able to find out what was going on with Terry and whether or not McMahon had made a decision on the matches. If Terry was going to be hanging around, then he needed to figure out a way to keep him away from Chris even if it meant that he couldn't be around Chris either. That thought just about killed him, but if that was the only way to keep Chris from getting hurt again, then that's what he'd have to do. He just hoped if it came to that, Benoit would keep the slip up to himself and not decide to kill him. He'd explain it to the man if he had to, though he would prefer not to have to. With any luck at all, Vince would send the little bastard, Terry not Benoit, back to OVW for awhile.

****

Dave couldn't help the pleased smile on his face. He'd gladly kick Hunter over that wall anytime if he got those kind of results. He watched openly as Hunter hurried through washing his hair. He would have liked to wash it for him, but that would have necessitated yet another delay to his meeting with Vince. Too bad. The kiss to his cheek as Hunter left had him aching to pull the man back and plant a serious kiss on the man, but again... no time for what that might lead to.

Feeling a bit playful yet, he splashed water at Shawn, laughing when Shawn splashed him back. They played for a couple minutes before following Hunter out into the locker room. Dave walked in with his towel draped over his shoulder. Modesty between the three of them was pretty much out the window now from his perspective although he was pretty sure that Shawn normally didn't have much to start with. All the better from his point of view... now that he was allowing himself to look. Hunter, unfortunately, was already dressed, mores the pity. Once they got back to their hotel room he was going to correct that travesty as soon as they walked through the door.

 _"Off to beard the Grumpy Bear. You'll be nearby?"_

Dave nodded in assent. He wasn't going anywhere far until after this meeting. He'd either be right here with Shawn or if at all possible standing right outside Vince's door when Hunter emerged. His fingers tingling from the contact with Hunter's lips, he watched as Hunter slipped out the door before turning back to Shawn.

Tossing his own towel on the bench, he snagged Shawn's from his fingers and ran it gently over Shawn's chest. Making sure the terrycloth rubbed very slowly over Shawn's nipples, he bent his head to trace his tongue over the seam of Shawn's lips. They wouldn't take it far without Hunter there, this was all too new, but that didn't mean they couldn't indulge in a little bit of harmless groping and petting now did it?

He had just lowered the towel down over Shawn's abdomen with the intention of taking it further south, his tongue still teasing over Shawn's lips when the door swung open. He snapped his head to the side with the intention of telling whoever it was to get the hell out, only once he got a look at who it actually was, the only sound he seemed capable of making was a squeak.

Wrapping the towel in his hand quickly around Shawn's waist, he took a step behind him until he could grab his own towel from the bench.

 _"You know Boys. I really can't decide which of you I should kill first."_

Oh boy. She did not sound happy at all. Since to his knowledge Hunter hadn't called her yet, he wasn't sure exactly why she wanted to kill them. Dave would almost bet on it. He wasn't sure exactly what to say since, "Hi Steph. Sorry for blowing your husband in the shower," just didn't seem appropriate. So he stuck to something simple.

"Hey Stephanie. We... uh... didn't expect you." Duh... way to state the obvious there Dave.


	44. Meetings

CJ couldn’t help the sigh of relief that escaped him at hearing Adam’s diagnosis. Not breaks thank god, but some nasty damage nonetheless. Chris’ liking for the dark haired Major Tom went up quickly as he explained exactly how Adam would be allowed to act for the next few weeks. Eventually Chris hoped he’d learn to handle his stubborn lover with the smooth ability the young doctor had just demonstrated. It must come from dealing with injured people day in day out, they did what you told them to do or else.

 _You said you had to go back to the arena..._

Oh really? Did he now? Chris straightened his spine under Adam’s arm. The _plan_ , and CJ had thought it up so it was a good plan, was to go directly to the hotel so Adam could become comatose as soon as humanly possible. The plan, his plan, had nothing in it about arenas, going back or being still awake in the next forty-five minutes, at all. Slanting a look at his lover, Chris felt his hackles rise. He knew he was a bossy son of a bitch, most people let him get away with it because he was generally right, but Adam was proving to be stubborn, resistant and all too devious a person to command.

And didn’t CJ just want him even more for it?

Fuck yeah.

Not that Adam was going to get away with going over his head on this one. Oh no. Adam may not be his to control, but CJ had other ways of getting his way, he could be just as underhanded as the next man. The next man being Adam of course.

 _you need to be on your back 24/7._

Chris heartily agreed with _that_ particular statement. Even the resting part of it. But Lord Tom was blushing so cutely, that CJ manfully let the comment pass with nothing but a naughty smirk. The smirk changed into a sympathetic grimace at Adam’s reaction to the rather impressive needle Tommy was waving about. Needles didn’t bother him in the slightest, but he knew they bothered Adam, as the white-knuckled grip on the table indicated. Not really caring about the presence of Piper Tom, Chris reached up with his damaged fingers and turned Adam’s pain clenched jaw towards him.

“Not a problem Babe. Never even feel it, I swear.” Keeping his eyes locked on his lover’s, Chris hoped he’d help distract Adam a little from the never pleasant feeling of an injection. At least Tom Thumb was quick with the needle, and gentle too.

Eventually loaded back into the rental car by Benoit, Chris settled Adam before listening to his lover’s reasons for going to the hotel via the arena. True, leaving their wallets and their gear in the locker room was a concern, but even more so was the issue of trusting Bunnykins and Jay to adapt to the changed situation. Since neither of the blonds had had the chance to wrangle the ‘relationship issues’ information out of their odd couple, the other two would probably be too twisted up about each other to think of CJ and Adam’s situation.

Knowing it would throw Adam, but also because CJ acknowledged he had a point, Chris calmly agreed to Adam’s plan.

“Okay Babe, whatever you say. We’ll get our gear, leave the car for Bunnykins to drive, ‘cos letting Jay back into the driver’s seat would be criminal, and then we’ll get a taxi. That’ll let Benoit here find Eddie rather than be our chauffeur all night.” Rubbing the pads of his good fingers over Adam’s knuckles, Chris watched the setting sun cast a warm orange glow over their skin.

By the time they reached the arena car park, Adam was breathing easier, so CJ felt comfortable letting him walk almost unaided. Much as he’d have liked to snuggle up to his lover during the car ride, the painkiller hadn’t kicked in quite that much.

“Okay Babe, here’s the deal. You go find Jay and Bunnykins, see if Austin got to them or not. If not, let them know we’re leaving and why. I’ll grab the gear and arrange a taxi to the hotel. Adam… I’m fine really. Let’s just do this and go. I want you somewhere we can rest. Okay?”

At Adam’s assent Chris followed the other two into the arena, his eyes still watching Adam to make sure his lover’s pain was easing.

****

One perfectly plucked eyebrow canted slightly at Dave’s response. Not normally known for her discretion, Stephanie nevertheless stepped into the room and carefully closed the door behind her. Whether to give the two naked men some privacy or to protect any witnesses from possible fallout was anyone’s guess. Stephanie wasn’t on air these days, but as Vince’s daughter she maintained the billion dollar look whenever she was at ‘work’ The heels and designer dress complimented her new ‘super woman’ figure as well as adding to formidable physical presence.

Hands on hips, the shrill tone she’d became famous for very evident in her voice, Stephanie spoke cuttingly to the two men before her.

“No, I’m guessing you wouldn’t have expected me to come down tonight. Just as I wouldn’t have expected to have my husband call me at midnight, drunk completely out of his mind, and worry the hell out of me. There have been only two times, that I’ve heard of, that Hunt has drowned his sorrows in a bottle. The first,” Stephanie, completely ignoring all the naked man-flesh on show, stepped closer to Shawn and pointed with a red talon, “was because of YOU. The second was because of YOU.” The finger swung over to wave under Dave’s nose. “So I come down to find out what happened  and lo and behold…” Another wave at their forms. “It becomes clear. You’re getting busy with _each other_ , for god’s sake, and my Hunter is out in the cold. He shouldn’t have to be and I’m angry at both of you for not noticing how much he cares for you both. Shawn, _you_ should know better, and _you_ …” Stephanie barreled over any explanation they might try to make, by raising her impressive voice to Dave “…to be getting some in _his_ dressing room, when he could walk in any minute is the lowest. So… I repeat, who gets to suffer first?”

Hands finally coming to rest on impressive hips, Stephanie sneered at them with all the contempt she could manage.

She could manage quite a bit.

****

Hunter leaned with practiced ease against the wall inside Vince’s office door. The current ‘discussion’ taking place was really not one he wanted to be involved in, but his father-in-law had waved him into the room at his careless knock. It was the kind of discussion married couples had when they were ready to sign _those_ papers. Painfully polite, smugly patronizing and vicious as all hell. Most sentences started with. ”Yes I _know_ , I’m not stupid,” and degenerated from there. Hunt had witnessed Van Dam almost run from the room after giving his witness statement on the fight in the hallway, Taylor, the Talent Liaison, looking like she wanted to throw up, leave to find Terry and deliver a message about Vince’s level of unhappiness and Bradshaw, in _the hat_ for god’s sake, start bawling about privacy, privilege and if you can believe it, ”What kinda show are you running here McMahon?”

Hunter would really like to know what dirt the big man had over Vince to be able to cop an attitude like that and get away with it. He was having serious thoughts about postponing his own news until a later date, given the mood Vince would be in after JBL left. Exactly how he’d phrase his ‘surprise’ was still a large question and the temptation to cut and run was even larger. But it had to be done, and sooner rather than later or he’d get grief for the delay as well as the information. When it really came down to it, there was no subtle way of letting someone know you were in a relationship with two other men. Hunter would borrow a leaf out of one of his favorite people’s books and go for brutally blunt. “Damn that man is more trouble to me than he’s worth.” Vince complained to Hunter from behind his desk as the door shut behind Bradshaw.

“Liked him better before the hat,” Hunter shrugged. Pat remained silent for fear of his life, Hunt guessed.

“As if that doesn’t take the damn cake. Copeland’s gone for X-rays, but he’s planning to wrestle anyway. Benoit thinks it’d be okay, which has me so suspicious I suspect there’s money involved and our Champion wants a bodyguard while backstage.” Vince listed while he looked around his desk for his favorite pen. It was gold and engraved with his name. A fiftieth birthday gift from Linda, it was one of the most precious items the billionaire possessed. “The taping hasn’t even started. What the hell else is going to happen?”

“I’m sleeping with Shawn and Dave.”

Well, he couldn’t have asked for a better straight line than that.

Absolute silence from the other two men. Hunter smirked slightly. “Not at this very second. But later tonight I will be and probably most nights for the next twenty years. If I can talk them into it that is.”

Vince hadn’t become a strange shade of puce or anything so Hunt was hopeful. Pat looked like he was trying not to explode with laughter. Still nothing verbal though so he continued with his news, may as well get it out all at once.

“It only started this morning but it feels like we’ve been at this for months. I love Shawn and you know it Vince. I’m also nuts about Dave and here’s the kicker, they like me back. We’ll be discreet in public and I can keep a leash on Shawn backstage if it worries you.” Not really a good time to be thinking _those_ kind of thoughts Hunter. “After this I’m calling Stephanie and Linda, then Joanie. I wanted you to be one of the first to know Vince and Shawn’ll want to talk to you as well.” A careless shrug to indicate the total lack of problem anyone should have with this. “So that’s me.”

Pat finally exploded, the raucous laughter echoing around the silent office like a cathedral bell.

“Shit Hunter! I never thought you’d have the guts to take Shawn up on all his offers. You two are like sons to me you know that?” Pat asked, his large round form tugging Hunter into a paternal hug. “Just don’t hurt that Baby Girl and I’m behind you one hundred percent.” Pat even had the gall to waggle his eyebrows at the dirty pun. Hunter shook his head at the older man’s antics. Pat and his partner had been together forever, it didn’t surprise him that the Canadian’s radar had picked up Shawn and Hunter’s attraction to each other before they did.

Looking away from the jubilant Pat, Hunter tried to gauge his father-in-law’s reaction.

****

 _"You're stuck with me tonight... I promise I'll behave so don't wince. I won't embarrass you... much."_

Mark raised an eyebrow at the smaller man but hid his smile. Seeing Jeff acting much more like his normal self was a relief, after the little debacle earlier. Firmly keeping that enticing image of Jeff's nude body out of his mind, he wondered just how this was going to work out. Two months, sure... but what exactly was going to happen? He had to keep an eye on the whirlwind, make sure he showed up where and when he was supposed to be, and work with creative on a good angle for his comeback. Vince had let it go there, but had hinted that he'd like to see Mark work with the kid, to improve his attitude and get him back in ring shape. Anything else was... left up to him. And hadn't the look on Vince's face when he said _that_ just made Mark's fingers itch with the desire to wipe it right back off?

Shrugging off the lingering memory of irritation, Mark realised that Jeff was falling behind, but even as he slowed his normal ground-eating pace slightly, Jeff increased his without a word. Normally people bitched about having to keep up with him, and he tried to remember to make it possible for them to do so...

Letting his eyes flicker over Jeff's form for an instant, Mark couldn't help but wonder if the sight he'd been gifted with through a reluctant misunderstanding would ever be his to enjoy willingly. Their angle had been fairly brief, but the experience had been enough to captivate him. Shawn would laugh his ass off at him, too, if he found out... hell, _when_ he found out. As soon as Mark asked him for help getting Jeff back in shape, he'd be all over him for the gossipy details, and damned if that man wouldn't be able to pry them out of him, too. He'd always been hard-pressed to deny Shawn anything. Glancing once more at the man at his side, he suspected it would be the same with this one. At least Shawn was coming up on some time off, so the timing would work out well. Well... probably not this week, if Adam had been right about Batista. About damned time Heartbreaker found somebody that would treat him the way he deserved, too... even if it wasn't Hunter. And he'd have to ask him about _that_ , too. They might not have been lovers for years now, but they'd stayed good friends.

And dammit, he had to remember to ask Jeff to call him 'Mark'. The 'Taker' thing was really getting to him for some reason.

 _"I was just telling Paul E. here how very much I'm enjoying your current storyline."_

The quiet laugh that surprised out of him got him a glare from the slime ball in question, but he ignored it. Good for Hall, if he was antagonising the little creep. Creative genius Paul might be, but that didn't redeem him for the incredible lack of respect for anyone or anything else or his willingness to use whatever came to hand for his own purposes. Witness the storyline in question, after all. Bearer wasn't in good shape, but still... this storyline was entirely for Heyman and the Dudleys' benefit, and did nothing for the Undertaker but strip him of some of the mystique he'd managed so recently to recapture.

 _"You two making a big return?"_

The exchange between Jeff and Scott made him smile a little, but he missed the rest of the conversation as he stepped away slightly to talk to Heyman. At least they didn't have much to go over, just pacing and a few details. He managed to keep his disgust mostly off his face, but apparently didn't succeed completely, since Heyman glanced from him to Jeff, an expression on his face that Mark didn't like.

"Well, that certainly explains a few things, now doesn't it, Mark?" Heyman said, raising his voice with a smirk. Mark tilted his head with narrowed eyes, inviting him to continue. If he said the wrong thing, the man would have to get out to the ring for their spot that night in a wheelchair. "You keep failing to see all the benefits that a... partnership between us could give to you." A shudder of disgust ran down Mark's spine as Heyman's eyes moved over him, the innuendo in his words unmistakable. "But if you've recently acquired a new perk as befits your station with this company, that would explain your continuing refusal to take me up on a very tempting offer. Of course, some perks get old quickly, don't they, Mark? They're just there to be used and thrown away like the garbage they are, after all."

Mark was aware of the resounding silence surrounding them, the others' voices having trailed off into silence when Heyman started talking. He could see Scott's astounded stare but couldn't bring himself to look at Jeff as his hands clenched, his vision narrowing as his temper flared. The man's insults to himself he could stand; he'd been through far worse than some bad pick-up lines and slime ball management. It was the barely-veiled insult to Jeff that him nearly ready to tear the little fat man apart, a reaction that somewhere in the back of his mind surprised even himself.

It was Jeff's response that surprised him more.

****

 _"See I was just telling Kev how much this storyline... sucks."_

Stopping a few feet behind Scott, Kev leaned up against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched his lover put on a show. His eyes took in the scene, his lips twitching into a wide smirk, before fixing firmly on the lovely sight of Scott's ass, clearly outlined by the tightly clinging denim and in clear view due to the way he was leaning on the crate. He was tempted to amble up there and grope him, but Scott was having so much fun he hated to interrupt him. And of course, the longer Scott pulled this, the longer he'd get to "punish" him later; the thought of having his lover, warm and willing and writhing as he returned the favour from this morning, finishing what he'd started a few minutes ago in the dressing room... He bit his lip to keep back a soft moan as a warm thrill shivered through him, his body responding to his thoughts.

 _"Yeah... sucks, just like..."_

Oh God. He couldn't help the sharp breath he took, Scott's taunting twisting his nerves just a little tighter as he remembered those lips sliding down over him just last night. Straightening up, he finally took the last few steps to stand behind Scott as Heyman started to turn purple. Fortunately for Paul, Kev caught sight of Mark heading towards them and nodded at the man, his surprise at Taker's companion obvious as the two stopped beside them.

 _"Fuck you too Gillette Boy."_

Kevin couldn't help but laugh, his smile remaining as Jeff almost hid behind Mark. Could Mark have been upset earlier because...? Nah. That'd be just weird. But if Taker _did_ have something for the kid... Watching the two curiously, Kev wouldn't be surprised at all if that something were mutual, although the signs were pretty subtle.

 _"You two making a big return?"_

Shrugging, Kevin leaned against Scott, allowing himself to enjoy the feel of that well-loved rear pressing back against his groin.

"At some point. Dunno why we're here tonight, but Vince insisted... and what Vinnie Mac wants, Vinnie Mac gets," he said with a smirk, letting one arm fall across Scott's shoulder to wrap halfway around his chest. "And you? Just visiting, or is something up?"

****

The gentle touch to the throbbing mark on his neck made Shawn whine, a spark of lust shivering through his body and his eyelids flickered before he focused on Dave. Still not able to make his voice work, he managed a sort of husky moaning gasp, smiling a little both at the feeling and at the blush on Dave's face. So sweet.

 _"I'm sorry. If you don't kill me..."_

His smile widened at that and he shook his head, not wanting Dave to feel guilty about something he'd enjoyed that much. Not that he was into pain, as such, but something like that bite... just the thought of it could do things to him. During the time he'd spent with Kevin and Scott, there had been more than one time when he'd had too many bite marks for makeup to hide, much to Vince's irritation. He was definitely looking forward to that sort of experience again, and with his enforced vacation coming up, they wouldn't even have to worry about makeup. Hell, he didn't especially want makeup to try to cover the mark up even if he did have photos to shoot tonight; the fact that Dave had _marked_ him as his was something that Shawn wanted everyone to know. How practical that was remained to be seen.

 _"You need to get rinsed off and go get dressed or you're going to be late..."_

Taking advantage of the situation, Shawn pouted at the other two men for a long moment before laughing---quietly hoarse---and joining them under the spray again. Hunt's kiss to his nose made him smile again, and when Dave splashed water at him, he was feeling playful enough to splash right back. The little game ended with a nice hot kiss before they headed back into the dressing room. Shawn carried his towel loosely in his hand; even if modesty was something he was familiar with, he didn't see the point in being shy around his lovers. That thought had his lips curving even as Hunter slung an arm across his shoulders, a familiar weight, and leaned in to nuzzle his neck. The feeling of those lips and the soft scratch of beard across the sensitive mark left by Dave opened Shawn's mouth in a silent reaction. Damn this loss of his voice, anyway.

Any disappointment in Hunter's leaving was quickly forgotten as Dave began drying him. The soft, teasing touches had him swaying toward the other man in no time, one hand coming up to grasp Dave's upper arm for balance as he returned the gentle kiss. He hadn't lied to Dave earlier; he was definitely used to this already, and being parted from either man would probably kill him. Opening his heart up like that might have looked easy to them, but it had been incredibly hard for him; he'd tried too many times before only to have his emotions stomped into the ground. This time, though, he knew in his heart that neither of them would do that to him, and he knew he'd never do that to them. Looking into Dave's eyes, he wondered just what exactly he was feeling for the darker man; he knew he loved Hunter with all of his being, but he was starting to think that he might've underestimated the depth of his feeling for Dave.

The sound of the door opening had him rolling his eyes and preparing to rasp at Sean to get out; the look on Dave's face put a stop to that, and he turned around to see who their unexpected visitor was. His eyebrows raised when he saw Stephanie standing there, irritation clear on her face. Dave's wrapping the towel around his waist reminded him that they were both still naked and dripping, and his lover was obviously all too aware of that.

 _"We... uh... didn't expect you."_

But they probably should have. They were close enough to Greenwich that Steph would have driven over to see them as a matter of course. Shawn could've smacked himself for not thinking of that sooner... but from the look on her face, there was more going on here. Her next words confirmed that, even as they had Shawn cursing his lack of voice.

 _"Just as I wouldn’t have expected to have my husband call me at midnight, drunk completely out of his mind..."_

Oh, Hunt. Those simple words hurt to hear. Even knowing the pain that Hunter had inflicted on him, knowing that he'd hurt himself so badly made Shawn's heart clench for an instant. And... Hunt had done this before? Because of him? But why... oh. Oh wait. Bowing his head slightly, Shawn somehow knew exactly when Hunter had drunk himself blind because of him, and why. God, did he owe his friend an apology. It had been a stunt, a gimmick to get the rumours flying... an excuse for him to finally taste Hunt's lips, however briefly. He hadn't done too well himself later that night, from the little he could remember of it. That taste hadn't been worth the torment it had brought... to either of them.

 _"... and my Hunter is out in the cold."_

Even through the guilt suddenly weighing him down, he had to smile a little at that. It was good to know that Steph cared about Hunter that much, to know that his best friend had had someone to take care of him for the last few years, even if her infamous temper was currently pointed at them. That was a damned scary pose, too, given that even he was bigger than the Princess. But... right now he had to fix this. Had to make her realise how wrong she was.

Stepping forward, he raised his hand in a gesture for her attention, then pointed to his throat and shook his head. This could be interesting. Opening his mouth, if he forced the noise out, he could just rasp audibly at her. Hopefully this wouldn't kill his voice for the next day, too.

"Steph... you're wrong." Pausing, he cleared his throat, then glanced around. This was Evolution's dressing room, after all; there had to be bottles of water in here somewhere. Looking over his shoulder at Dave, he suppressed the smile at the red decorating the man's upper body, the towel wrapped around his waist barely covering him. "Dave... water?" he asked plaintively. Seeing his nod, Shawn turned his attention back to Steph, who seemed to be looking at him about the same as she would a bug on the sidewalk just before she stepped on it. He shook his head resignedly. Wasn't this just their luck? He'd wanted to talk to Steph, wanted to make sure that the woman who he still remembered fondly as a girl understood what was going on here... and of course she'd show up when he just physically couldn't do that. At least, not easily. But he'd lose his voice permanently to fix this mistake if he had to, before it became something they'd all regret.

"Sorry." He shrugged in a frustrated gesture, accepting a plastic bottle with a grateful smile and taking a long swig before trying again. "I do know. Dave knows. You missed Hunt." He gestured at the wet towel dropped carelessly across the bench behind them. This was going to hurt. Taking another drink and a deep breath, he said carefully, "I told Hunt last night that I loved him. He told me that he didn't love me. I didn't take it well so Dave stayed with me last night." Seeing the glint in Stephanie's eyes, he added quickly, "Nothing happened. But this morning we all talked." Deciding that he was going to gloss over the fight until she asked---and he knew she would---he searched for a way to express the situation and couldn't really find a good one. "We... we're together, Steph. The three of us. Just... Hunter just left to talk to Vince. About us."

The last word escaping in a croak, he decided that he'd pressed his luck enough and shook his head again, finishing off the water. The silence in the room was almost overwhelming. Finally, he just couldn't stand it and spoke again, trying to get someone he thought of as a little sister to stop glaring at him like she hated him.

"Still love me, Steph?" Hopefully the half-hopeful, half-teasing note had been clear through the huskiness.

****

Steve had been watching Randy for the last half an hour. The punk had strolled into the arena with a ‘you are all shit’ expression on his face, the Armani suit perfectly pressed despite the heat and so much attitude Austin thought he might drown in it. Randy had a certain nobility about him, that was for damn sure, all those genetic gifts making him almost as good as he made himself out to be. What most people failed to see, as Austin had till last night, was the young man hiding behind the ‘look’, a guy driven to asshole behavior to cope with crushing expectations. The smarmy talk, the rich boy antics were all one big pile of bullshit as far as Steve was concerned.

There hadn’t been any such attitude last night. More like trembling hands and sexy whimpers than the cold braying laugh that echoed around the locker room. Looks like the shields were back up though. It was such a good act, that Steve would almost have doubted last night ever happened, if not for the bite mark on his bicep and the pleasant sensation in his groin when he caught a slight whiff of expensive aftershave. Randy was putting on an excellent show. Although the expression on that chiseled face had become somewhat pissy at finding the door to the Evolution dressing room soundly locked. Even a five minutes' rant to Ric hadn’t changed the situation and Randy had found himself sharing a room with Kidman for the time being.

Steve went to find food, his mind recapping in glorious Technicolor the events of the previous night.

\-----

 _When Copeland had led Kitten out of the club, Austin had ordered another beer in celebration of his plan coming to fruition. He’d been pushing CJ at every available body for months now, trying to provoke some kind of reaction from the tall, lanky blond. But nothing. Nada. It seemed like Adam really didn’t care for CJ like that, which was a damn shame as Chris deserved someone better than the grunts he’d allowed to touch him in the past. Considering Michaels was so wrapped up in Helmsley he couldn’t see straight and Helmsley himself was out of the picture, Austin had been wracking his bald head to find someone to fix Chris up with._

 _Well, tonight he’d succeeded. Whatever had happened in that alley musta been good, because Kitten had used the word ‘Boyfriend’ and that was pretty damn serious even if it was a tease. Ignoring the strange, asexual person trying to cuddle up to his leg, Austin finished his beer and went to look for the femmes._

 _An hour later they were falling out of Molly’s rental like they were seventeen-year-olds rather than the sophisticated adults they actually were. Trish kept getting the word sophisticated wrong and was still stuck on so-pissed-it-catered, when Steve shoved them into the hotel elevator. He was only slightly buzzed from the beer at the club, so a sharp U-turn was in order to find the lobby bar stool with his name on it. A dozen other wrestlers were there, talking, boasting and eyeing off the various ring rats on offer for the evening. Almost nauseated by the blousy red-head who practically fell over herself trying to cross the bar to get to him, Austin rudely waved her off and put his attention on the young bartender who seemed way out of his depth._

 _“Yer not normally this busy on a Monday huh?” he guessed knowingly._

 _“Not at all,” the kid agreed, placing Austin’s beer in front of him and quickly wiping hands drenched by various spilled fluids. “It’s like this on Friday and Saturday but I’m not here alone then.” With a nod and a smile, the kid… Phillip his name tag said… hurried off to answer another drink demand._

 _Steve was on his third and last for the night, when he became aware of a body occupying the seat beside him. About to give a none-too-gentle ‘not interested’ to the offer about to come his way, Steve was struck speechless by the sight of a worn denim clad wearing Randy Orton ordering a Rum and Coke with another beer for Steve. The faded blue fabric looked fucking delicious wrapped around muscled thighs and a perfect ass, a long sleeved black tee creating a casual Orton Jnr that Austin hadn’t even know existed._

 _Catching Steve’s surprised stare, Randy picked up his drink and took a deep gulp. Placing the glass back carefully on the felt mat, he took a deep breath and returned the ice blue stare that hadn’t moved an iota._

 _“So… you come here often?”_

\-----

It had been the cheesy pick up line, mixed with the unusual casual attire that had got to Steve like nothing else. From being an arrogant little Prick that he wouldn’t think twice about fucking, but never want to spend real time with, Randy had suddenly become a warm, desirable Lover that Austin found he couldn’t stop thinking about.

Problem was, the day after the morning after, Steve for the life of him couldn’t see his dream Lover anywhere in the Prick at all. Maybe he was just a figment of his imagination after all.

****

Steph looked really good. Then again she always did when appearing backstage. Although he could certainly do without the contempt written on her face. He wondered how Hunter's meeting was going with Vince. Could it be more scary than a pissed-off Stephanie McMahon? Not likely.

He felt low as a snake and the damn thing was he wasn't even guilty of what she was accusing him of... not that she knew that. And he really did not think that the truth should come from him even if she would be happy about it. Maybe he should have blurted out his first thought after all. It certainly would have cleared up some of the anger... possibly.

 _"...call me at midnight, drunk completely out of his mind, and worry the hell out of me..."_

Oh man. If he'd had any idea at all that Hunter's bender had included a call to Stephanie, he would have insisted that Hunter call her right away, if not then certainly by now. He wondered if Hunter even remembered calling her last night. It was quite possible from the condition of his hotel room this morning that he might have been so drunk last night he didn't even realize it. Dave could certainly see why she would have hot-footed it down to the arena after a call like that and why she would have been worried.

 _"The second was because of YOU."_

He blinked... twice. For the life of him he could not think of anything that he had done that would have prompted Hunter to drink himself silly. There was certainly going to be a discussion between the two of them about that later. He wasn't sure what Shawn had done to prompt a drinking spree either, but his first thought was that it had happened when Shawn left the business. Of course he could certainly be wrong about that. Either way, he felt terrible for being the cause of Hunter being that upset and he was pretty sure that Shawn felt bad as well if the way he looked at the moment was any indication.

 _"…to be getting some in his dressing room, when he could walk in any minute is the lowest."_

Dave's mouth dropped open, closed, and dropped open again. What exactly could he say to that? If he were actually doing what Stephanie was accusing him of, he'd have been feeling guilty as all hell at the moment and not a little chagrined. The thing was... he wasn't doing what she thought he was, but he'd be damned if he just blurted that out. He was still pretty uncomfortable being as near to naked as he could get, the towel he had managed to grab barely covered him, and he knew without even looking that he was blushing like a schoolgirl. Luckily it looked as if Shawn was going to take care of the explanation, but he had to try to do so with no voice or a very weak one rather. Whoops.

 _"Steph... you're wrong."_

As soon as Shawn asked for the water, Dave nodded and turned to get him some. He felt bad for making Shawn be the one to talk, when he really couldn't, but Dave simply didn't know what to say to her to clear this up. He could tell her the truth, that they both loved Hunter and he was going to be a part of their lives, but that didn't sit well when he hadn't even told the man himself yet that he had feelings of that depth. Returning to Shawn with the water, he handed it over, the smile he received in return calming him just a bit despite the seriousness of the situation.

 _"We... we're together, Steph. The three of us. Just... Hunter just left to talk to Vince. About us."_

That pretty much summed it up. Of course with his voice failing, Shawn had given a rather abbreviated version of events, but until Stephanie asked for details that seemed like a good idea. If she did want to know more than Dave would just have to pick his mouth up off the floor and answer her or Shawn would have no voice at all left. He was supposed to have done promos tonight as well and Vince wouldn't be thrilled if he had to mime his way through them.

The thick silence in the room was making him even more uncomfortable if possible. He wasn't sure if Stephanie was stunned to find out she was wrong or trying to get past the idea that they were going to be a they... the three of them that is. He was still a little surprised by it all himself so he could imagine how she might be feeling. Just when he was about to say anything at all to break the silence, Shawn once again came through.

 _"Still love me, Steph?"_

That hadn't been what he'd expected, but it did finally draw a reaction.

****

 _"Okay Babe, whatever you say..."_

What?

Chris was agreeing with him? No argument? Well damn. He must have made more sense than he thought he had. Pretty damn good for a guy with a concussion. More likely that Chris had just let him have his way. Humor the stubborn bastard so that he won't come up with an even stupider idea. Whichever it was... it had worked. He'd track down Jay and Ty, leave them the car keys, stop by Vince's office, and then they could leave. Sure Chris hadn't said anything about stopping to see Vince, but if it happened to be on his way....

"Sure, sweetheart. I'll find the dynamic duo, give Ty the keys, and we're out of here."

He was well aware that Chris was watching him like a hawk as he climbed out of the car and entered the building. Truth was, he wasn't feeling too bad at the moment. The local had pretty much killed most of the immediate pain although he could still feel a twinge here and there. It was nothing compared to how he'd felt even half an hour ago. He could breathe a hell of a lot easier now that he wasn't guarding to minimize the pain and that in turn had helped with his dizzy spells. While he certainly wouldn't be running a marathon in the near future, or hopping right back into the ring that night, he was pretty sure walking through the arena would be a piece of cake.

Only he hadn't expected to have to hunt high and low for the Bobbsey Twins. After he and Chris had parted ways, with Chris heading to the locker room, he had asked everyone along the way if they'd seen Ty or Jay. So far no luck at all. He'd checked the gym, hadn't seen them anywhere in the main hallway, and now was on his way to catering. If they weren't there, then he would check the ring area. Maybe they were even in the locker room and had already talked to Chris.

At least it was giving him time to think about the situation as well. He'd flipped yet again from the decision he'd made... at least in his head... in the car. He was happy, no beyond happy, he was damn well ecstatic to finally have this chance with Chris. No way in hell was some idiotic overgrown jackass with a chip on his shoulder going to cost him that chance. He would do whatever the hell he had to in order to make Terry a non-issue. Hell, if he had to he would beg Mark to help him. Not that he was comfortable with begging, or asking Mark for that kind of favor, but if that's what he had to do then so be it. If that didn't work then he'd just take the little bastard out himself and Vince could do his worse.

He saw a small group ahead and considered stopping to ask if they'd seen Jay, but things weren't looking too friendly in that area. Kevin and Scott didn't look too thrilled at the moment, Mark looked like he was going to take Heyman's head off at any moment, and Jeff... whoa. He hadn't seen or talked to Jeff in awhile, which was a pity because they had been kind of close at one point. Wondering briefly if his visit was social or business, Adam skirted the group widely. No way was he going to risk getting in the middle of another fight tonight. Chris would have his head for even thinking about stopping to see what was going on.

By the time he reached catering, he was ready for a little sit-down. Still no sign of either of the guys, but he had found Austin. Maybe if he hadn't talked to them yet, he could at least point Adam in the right direction. Walking up next to the man, who seemed a tad preoccupied at the moment, Adam sank into the seat next to him, still not drawing his attention. It couldn't be helped. Hopefully Steve wouldn't pop him one just for asking.

Cheesy grin firmly in place, he poked Steve in the arm. "Hey baldy. Picked up any stunning blonds lately?"

****

Despite being considered on the small side in an industry of giants, Shawn Michaels was still a very strongly-built man. Still, receiving the impact of Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley’s body would have staggered even the biggest of WWE stars. That Steph was still completely unconcerned with his state of undress probably came from spending a lifetime among such half-naked men on a regular basis.

All previous rancor evaporated like mist, Stephanie threw her arms around Shawn’s neck in a loving but powerful hug. After a moment of intense squeezing, she began to bounce excitedly,

“Really? Really, really? Oh good, good, GOOD. Of course I still love you Shawn. You know you won my heart with that T-shirt when I was twelve and it’s been yours ever since.” Leaning back so she could read the truth in her favorite person’s eyes, Steph finally smiled her disarmingly impish grin. “I knew something had happened between you to make him so sad. I’m just glad you beat some sense into him for once. I’m a committed woman now you know. “ The impish grin took on a decidedly naughty twist. “I can’t be expected to keep everyone else off Hunt all the time. If you hadn’t put your name on him soon, I was thinking of requesting expressions of interest.”

Arms still draped around Shawn’s shoulders, Vince’s daughter blinked sweetly at Dave.

“Sorry Davey. I thought you’d shunned my Hunter and stolen Shawn. I can get a bit protective of my people when they get treated badly. Come here.” She ordered imperiously, one red nailed hand extended, fingers in a waggling/grabbing motion. Catching Dave’s wrist in a vice like grip, Stephanie pulled him into the impromptu group hug. “I love you too, you big sexy man. If Hunter tries to run away from either of you… sit on him and kiss him till he agrees to stay. He’s tried to ‘set me free’ for my own good so often my butt's getting sore from the sitting.”

Pouting, Steph released her captives to pat her curvaceous backside.

“Hunt’s with Dad? Oh that’ll be fun. I’ll go rescue him in a minute. C’mon get dressed and tell me everything. Who said what first? How much of a struggle did he put up? Did he say he loved you? ‘Cos he does you know, both of you. ShawnHoney, you really should get that throat checked, do you want me to get an EMT? Davey? If you and Shawn didn’t have sex when are you going to? Tonight?”

Sitting gracefully on the sofa, Stephanie shot questions in a rapid fire manner reminiscent of a machine gun.


	45. Threats

Seeing Kevin drape his arm so casually around his lover’s shoulders sent a small pang of envy and happiness into Jeff’s heart. It was really fucking nice to see a long-time relationship survive in the world of the WWE. Most didn’t even get off the ground before they were crushed by either money, heat or the lack of, or the insane schedules everyone maintained. Nash and Hall had experienced more than their fair share of shit over the years, but they were still together and Jeff was more than happy for them. He couldn’t stifle the flash of envy at their casual affection for each other, though either. Casual had never figured very high in Jeff’s love life. Fucking intense, wild and damned crazy were more appropriate adjectives. Affectionate cuddling just didn’t happen.

 _Just visiting, or is something up?_

“Both,” Jeff replied, one eye on Mark as he and Heyman moved slightly away to converse. “Vince has given me the chance for a contract as long as I behave and ‘Taker gives me the once over before I return to TV. It may work out, it may die the death of the eternally damned, I’ll keep you updated.” Jeff’s eyes narrowed at the salacious expression on Heyman’s face as he looked at Mark. “Is the Frogman really trying to get in Mark’s pants or am I actually on the drugs rumors say I am?”

Letting the reply to his question go unmarked, Jeff blinked a moment in the silence following Paul. E’s words.

 _acquired a new perk… and thrown away like the garbage they are_

It was instinct really. The wildhot rush of action that often accompanied foolishly dangerous jumps onto large pieces of furniture. It was a Hardy thing, the reckless, nameless ability to not just leap without looking, but to act before the concept of ‘thinking it through’ was even proposed.

Like a blur, Jeff crossed the three feet between them and had Heyman backed against the far wall before the man could fend him off. Plastering himself to the balding man like some tropical coloured limpet, Jeff leaned in so his lips were scant millimeters from Paul’s ear.

“Now Pauly-Paul, don’t knock it till you tried it. This Perk knows a few tricks even you might be surprised by,“ Keeping his hot breath on one round, red ear was almost nauseating, but Jeff needed to make his point for Mark’s sake and he needed to make it right now. “I’m hardly old by anyone’s standards, Pauly-Paul, certainly not yours. But along with my other _duties_ , this garbage is gonna make sure ‘Taker is completely free of any scandal you know? The kinda shit that _Eric_ could find out about and take to Vince so he can bury Smackdown some more. ‘Taker doesn’t want that, I don’t want that and I know you don’t want that Pauly-Paul.” Jeff was making a lot of guesses here, but if rumors were true, the on-air hatred between the two men was, if anything, a _weaker_ version of their actual mutual animosity.

Leaning back so Heyman could manage a breath, Jeff smoothed the wrinkles he’d placed in the fat man’s suit with long, sensual strokes. “I promise I won’t let any… well… dirt touch you Pauly-Paul. If Eric finds out… I’ll do my best to keep your name right out of it I swear. But ‘Taker now, he’s too high profile. Smackdown could lose him to Raw and that would ruin you… everything you’ve done here, wouldn’t it? We’ve gotta protect him Pauly-Paul. Got to keep Uncle Eric away from the Dead Man or we’re toast.  I’ll have to be around all the time to do that. Night and day you know? So that Eric doesn’t get any leverage you see?”

Not backing off one iota, Jeff stared at Heyman with his ‘way-more-fucked-up-than-you-realize’ expression. It had worked well on the management types who used to step aside when Jeff smiled at them in hallways. _They think you’re a crazy motherfucker_ , was Matt’s translation. Whether Mr. Paul E. Heyman would be thrown by a batshit Hardy was the real question. If he laughed off Jeff’s veiled threats then he was dead in the water, if he took Jeff up on his offer to play any games Mark wouldn’t, then Jeff would have to kill himself the moment Paul tried to touch him.

It was a gamble, but he’d mentally promised Mark he’d behave. If he wasn’t allowed to castrate Heyman for saying what he did about Mark, then freaking the shit outta him was his next best option.

****

Somewhat to his surprise, Shawn realised that he was holding his breath as he waited for Steph's answer. He'd watched the woman in front of him grow up over the last decade and a half, and her answer to his question was pretty damned important to him, even more so than he'd imagined when he'd almost teasingly asked it. Forcing himself to breathe, he was glad he'd taken another breath an instant later as he was nearly knocked over with the impact of Steph's body against his. God, that woman was strong! Somewhere in the back of his mind Shawn chuckled to himself at the sight they must be making; good thing he was sleeping with Steph's husband, or Hunt could draw all sorts of wrong conclusions if he walked in to see this sight. His lips curving widely at the absurd thought, he returned Stephanie's hug, knowing from long experience that he had to ride out her enthusiasm.

 _"Of course I still love you Shawn."_

Something in his heart melted a little at those words, the impish grin on Steph's face reminding him of the little girl he'd met so long ago and fallen in love with instantly. They called him the Heartbreaker, but he rather thought the appellation applied even better to Steph. Regardless of his issues with Vince, he'd always loved the man's children, and knowing that the latest twist in his relationship with them hadn't damaged that took an unrealised weight off his mind.

 _"If you hadn’t put your name on him soon, I was thinking of requesting expressions of interest."_

Raising his eyebrows briefly at her, Shawn couldn't help but wonder if everyone he knew had known how he felt about Hunter all along. Was he _that_ obvious? Well... thinking about it, he had to admit that he probably was. Subtlety was not exactly his strong point, after all. Watching Dave's pole-axed expression at her antics made Shawn's smile soften a little and he gestured at Dave as Stephanie relaxed her grip on him.

 _"I love you too, you big sexy man."_

The chuckle escaped despite his best efforts; the shocked look on Dave's face at those words was just too cute, and he wrapped his free arm around his lover, trying to soothe him a little. How quickly their roles had reversed! Shawn looked forward to a long, long time together of taking turns soothing each other, though.

 _"If Hunter tries to run away from either of you… sit on him and kiss him till he agrees to stay."_

Another husky laugh, and Shawn shook his head a little. "That's what I did," he rasped, the memory of that kiss sending a warm wave of love crashing through him. The kiss might've been the end of a not-so-happy encounter, but he wasn't about to get into that unless she point-blank asked. Once she realised what Dave's face looked like, she probably would... but at that point, he might just claim complete voice loss and let Dave fill her in. It was an evil thought, but Dave had to get used to Steph at some point, and Shawn thought it would probably happen sooner rather than later, given Steph's overwhelming personality.

 _"I'll go rescue him in a minute."_

Oh, lord. That almost tempted him into asking if he could go along to watch the fun, but that probably wouldn't be the best idea in the world. Follow behind he probably would, but actually accompanying Steph into that office to talk to her father about her husband's new relationship... that would be a cause for fireworks, and not the good kind. The spate of questions didn't surprise him, although he could see Dave's blush deepening. Of course, that might be more from the realisation that Stephanie wasn't going to leave while they dressed, too.

Maneuvering them both toward the lockers, he positioned himself so that he was in front of the big man, offering him at least the pretense of privacy while they dressed. Dropping his towel without hesitation, Shawn pulled on his clothes while trying to answer Steph's questions, discovering that while his voice wouldn't be much above a rasp anytime really soon, it was slowly getting better.

"I told him first, Steph." There were going to be lots of pauses to clear his throat, apparently. Damn. he wrapped his hair in a towel and dried it, then snagged another bottle of water and plopped on the couch next to Steph so that he wouldn't strain his voice so much. Her next question wasn't quite so easy to answer, and his face probably showed his reluctance to give her the full story. "There was a fight. I... I lost my temper. This morning."

Another drink, and then his voice softened as he remembered the bright spot of that fight... and then he cast a glance at Dave, still across the room, wondering if the big man had actually heard Hunt's words earlier. "Yeah, he did. And... he told both of us earlier. And I'm not going to see an EMT, Steph. I'm not sick, I just... strained my voice today. It'll be fine." The little grin on his face gave away the full meaning of "strained", most likely, but oh well. He and Steph had always gotten on beautifully, and having the chance to have his Princess as a full-fledged grown-up friend now was priceless.

Her last question... Shawn choked a little on his water as he laughed, casting a sultry look at Dave as he husked, "God, I hope so."

****

 _"Fuck you too Gillette Boy."_

Scott smirked upon hearing Jeff's reply. Good to know that Hardy was up to trading verbal quips with him. Especially if the vibes he was getting from Mark were anywhere close to what he was sensing. Was this the reason for Mark's cut and run earlier from the elevator? Only time would tell, but then since they had nothing to do tonight, Scott had plenty of time to be figuring it out.

Scott was distracted momentarily, but quite nicely, by the feel of Kevin's groin pressing against his ass. He nodded along with Kevin's reply to Jeff rather than try to speak himself. Kevin wasn't above retaliating by pushing Scott's buttons tonight either. Not that Scott had say an exhibitionism streak or anything... no, not at all. Moving just a hair closer when Kevin draped an arm around his shoulder, Scott was actually considering turning around and laying one on Kev just for the hell of it, but figured he'd hold off just a little bit longer. It would just make it all the sweeter in the end.

 _"And you? Just visiting, or is something up?"_

And wasn't he just a little bit curious himself as to that answer? Jeff's reply was very interesting. So Jeff's contract hinged on Mark's opinion of him. In other words, Mark wasn't going to be making a move on Jeff if he was in fact interested. Mark would never want to be accused of using a position of power to influence someone's actions. If something did happen between the two then Hardy would have to be the one to initiate it. Scott kind of hoped he would as long as it was because of genuine interest and not just to influence Mark's decision. He didn't think that would be the case, but he wanted to spend a bit more time with the kid before ruling it out. Meanwhile he was listening with one ear to Mark's conversation with Heyman as well.

 _"You keep failing to see all the benefits that a... partnership between us could give to you."_

Heyman was kidding right? He had to be. Jeff seemed to be right though Scott could hardly credit it and he would bet this wasn't the first offer either. Why in the world hadn't Mark just popped the guy? Then again, Mark had always seemed to have a much better rein on his temper than Scott had. Although that seemed to be coming seriously close to frayed after Heyman's next comments.

Scott was astounded. Heyman surely had some balls, though god knew where he kept them hidden. Scott was considering helping him find them with the aid of his own foot, when Jeff jumped into action. He watched stunned, unable to decide if Jeff was hitting on the guy in return or threatening him. Jeff's actions suggested both in some way though it was hard to tell without hearing whatever he was saying. Either way, Jeff probably did not need Heyman's ire or his attentions if he wanted to actually hang around long enough to nail his contract to the wall.

Hoping that Heyman would take the bait, since he hadn't seen the fat little bastard among the crowd earlier and couldn't think of anyone who might care to inform Heyman of what had happened, Scott tossed out a teaser for Heyman. After all Terry was one of Heyman's boys at one time and had more than likely spent quite a bit of time on his knees for the man. Scott felt absolutely no remorse about tossing the ass back into Heyman's scope of vision after what he'd done earlier.

"Hey short, balding, and ugly... shouldn't you be off rescuing your boy from Vince's wrath? He'll be lucky if Vince doesn't can his ass and just busts him down to OVW after he attacked Copeland like he did. Then whatever would you do? You wouldn't have the chance to scream 'gore' like you've got your nuts caught in a vice." Scott couldn't help the roll of his eyes that accompanied that statement. It actually sounded more like Heyman in the throes of passion, but Scott really didn't want to consider that at all. If he did, he would end up losing his lunch.

****

If Stephanie McMahon in a rage was scary, then exuberant happy Stephanie McMahon was... almost as scary. Dave had thought for sure that Shawn was going to end up on his ass when Steph threw herself at the man... and then there was the bouncing. Dave wasn't quite sure what to make of it all. Shawn seemed happy with it and it was rather touching to watch the exchange between the two of them. Shawn obviously cared a great deal for Stephanie and her opinion of him.

Once he got past the hug, there was still the hundred miles an hour chatter that spilled from her. Did she ever stop to take a breath? The words seemed to filter a few at a time threw his head and he thought he was making sense of it all, but still...

 _"If you hadn’t put your name on him soon, I was thinking of requesting expressions of interest."_

And wouldn't that have been interesting? At least then Dave would have known that Hunter and Steph weren't 'together'. He still couldn't understand why it had taken him so long to figure that out himself. Maybe he had just been scared to look too closely because if he had actually realized that Hunter was free, he would have had to work up his courage to make a move. Besides, to his way of thinking, the way things had worked out was much better. How would Shawn have felt if he and Hunter had started dating when Dave had come back from his injury? Shawn would have most likely left them to themselves and gone along completely miserable watching the two of them together. Yeah, this was much better. As long as they kept talking to each other.

Then Stephanie's attention was focused on him and he lost all rational thought. He was promptly pulled into the group hug and being confronted with more Steph chatter. Stolen Shawn, eh? That had been his intention he supposed, though he hadn't known he'd be stealing him at the time. He didn't even want to think of what might have happened if he and Shawn had gone out, as had been his plan. Being confronted with a completely enraged Stephanie would not have been pleasant.

 _"I love you too, you big sexy man."_

His eyes went wide in surprise and he damn near swallowed his tongue, not to mention the continued shade of red decorating his upper body. This was just... bizarre. If someone had told him this morning that he was going to end the day with two lovers, one of whom was married, he would have laughed. If they had told him that his lover's wife would not only be happy that he was with said lover, but had decided to add him to her happy little family, he'd have probably have been looking for men in little white coats to haul them off.

Luckily Shawn picked that moment to give him a squeeze in support. That almost took his mind off the fact that he was standing there in only a towel, which did not cover near what it should, in front of Stephanie McMahon. If he didn't manage to get some clothes on soon he was going to start fidgeting. He didn't know Steph _that_ well after all. Considering what he wore for ring attire in front of crowds of thousands, you'd have thought he would have lost this damn annoying shyness by now. Hopefully he would soon or he'd probably be this shade for the rest of his days.

Stephanie released them both at that point, although Dave wasn't sure if that was any better since it appeared that she wasn't planning to leave, but would rather stay and chat while they were supposed to be getting dressed. The questions she started shooting in their direction weren't really any help at all. At least Shawn was answering most of them though Dave was starting to get really worried about his voice.

He noticed that Shawn had directed him towards their lockers and quickly reached for his slacks. As long as he managed to get those on, he'd be just fine or so he thought. That was before Shawn dropped his towel, seeming to have no compunction at all about being completely naked in front of Steph. That didn't bother him so much as his reaction to it. Good lord.

Dropping his towel, he quickly pulled on his pants and fastened them, just before Shawn walked over to grab another bottle of water. He felt a little better now that he had some cover, although Stephanie's questions had his color turning just a bit brighter. After some of the things she asked, Dave had no question at all about Hunter's comments earlier. At least she hadn't asked for pictures... so far.

From his position at his locker as he threaded his belt and pulled on his shirt, he could tell that Shawn was answering her questions, but he couldn't really hear most of the replies because of how soft Shawn's voice was. Then again, maybe he didn't want to know exactly what Shawn was telling her. He considered some of the questions that she had asked and wondered at his own answers.

He was thankful that she was going to save Hunter from her father. Hopefully things were going well in that department though and it wouldn't be necessary, but with Vince you never could tell how he'd react to something. He'd like to be there when Hunter came out though just to offer his own support. What he'd said earlier to Hunter had been the truth. Hunter and Shawn would come first with him, no matter what and if Vince didn't like it, then he had no qualms whatsoever about having to find another job. He could hope however that even if he did have a bad initial reaction that Stephanie could help even things out. She was Vince's daughter after all.

 _"Did he say he loved you? 'Cos he does you know, both of you."_

Good thing that Hunter had said it earlier, because if he hadn't then Dave probably would have hit the floor right then. That Hunter might actually feel that way about him already and that his wife seemed pretty convinced that he did, made Dave feel like celebrating. He had had a niggle of doubt earlier when Hunter had said it, wondering if it hadn't been inspired by the moment considering what exactly had been happening right then. Maybe that was wrong of him to think that way, but he hadn't expected Hunter to love him yet. What he had expected was pretty much the same thing that Shawn had told him, that the possibility was there, not that it was a foregone conclusion. He still felt the need to ask Hunter himself. Maybe he'd have the chance later to confirm it and then he would let the thrill of excitement that he'd buried on hearing the words for the first time run free. And he still had to confess his own feelings for both of them... later tonight.

He knew that an EMT wasn't going to do Shawn much good. What he needed was rest and something soothing for his throat. Maybe later they would swing by catering and he could talk Shawn into some tea with honey. For now though it would be a good idea for Shawn to stop talking so much. Dave had to smile over that. Shawn was always talking so it would probably be rather difficult to shut him up, though Dave certainly had an idea or two on how to accomplish that.

 _"Davey? If you and Shawn didn’t have sex when are you going to? Tonight?"_

He had just finished buttoning his shirt, a nice pink one which certainly wasn't going to detract from the color in his cheeks, when that question hit. It almost had him choking on his tongue again and Shawn choking on his water. Irrepressible? Obviously. Shawn's laugh eased his embarrassment, but not by much. It was apparent that he would just have to get used to Stephanie's forthright manner... hopefully soon. He didn't miss the look that Shawn directed his way either and he could almost imagine Shawn's answer without hearing it.

Then again he was hoping for the same damn thing so it wasn't a far stretch at all. Taking a deep breath and trying not to react to that look from Shawn, he approached the couch. Maybe he could start his acclimation right now. It was worth a shot anyway. Holding a hand out to Shawn he helped him up from the couch, his lips turning up in a gentle smile.

"If you don't stop talking so much you're not going to be able to do your promos tonight and with the mood Vince is likely in from the situation earlier that's not going to help our case, sweetheart." That he hadn't hesitated with the endearment despite Steph's presence was good. He could pull this off.

Extending his other hand to help Stephanie up as well, he offered a smile to her as well. "I think we should head that way now to rescue Hunter. There was a situation earlier and Vince was certainly not happy about it. If he hadn't wanted to be sure that Vince heard about us from him personally, he probably would have waited."

Hopefully Vince was capable of separating issues and he'd cross his fingers that Vince wouldn't have a problem with their news. Hard to tell how Vince was going to react to any given situation until the exact moment he did so... at least from Dave's point of view.

And since he was on a roll...

"As far as what's going to happen tonight...I think we'll find _something_ interesting to do. Dinner, maybe a movie... we could always pick up some board games or something." Noticing the rather odd looks he was receiving from both of them, he grinned. "Of course that's only if we have time in between all that sex they're going to force on me," he said drolly, his tone leaving no doubt at all that there would be no force at all when it came to that particular activity. Dave ducked behind Steph just in case Shawn decided to retaliate for his comments. Stephanie would save him after all because he was one of her people now.

****

Mark realised dumbly that his hands had relaxed as he stared at Jeff, the sight of his whirlwind plastered against Heyman one that he couldn't bring himself to believe. Regardless of the reason why, seeing Paul E.'s hands on Jeff, even up in self-defense, made him growl. Listening to what Jeff had to say... Well, the bits that weren't outrageous lies were at the least exaggerations, except for Eric and Heyman loathing each other. The threats were unmistakable, hopefully even for Heyman.

The innuendoes of what Hardy was saying, though, nearly staggered Mark. Just what, half an hour earlier, they'd had that misunderstanding in his locker room, and now Jeff was practically announcing that he was indeed Mark's plaything? Mark just hoped that Jeff realised that everything he'd just said would make it around the locker room before the end of taping tonight... no matter how much Mark might wish otherwise. He'd hoped to spare Jeff the assumptions that would naturally get made if the unique terms of his re-signing were made public, but the man had just gone above and beyond anything he'd worried about.

Watching those slim fingers stroke down Heyman's suit with sex practically dripping off the movements, Mark couldn't help but wish that those assumptions would be true. Even with his fascination with the man, he'd never realised before just how sensual Jeff could be, especially if he was trying. And Mark suspected that he wasn't really trying very hard right now; if the full force of that attention were ever turned on him...

 _"I'll have to be around all the time to do that. Night and day you know?"_

Dear God. The images those casually-tossed off words brought to mind should get him arrested. He wondered if Jeff actually had a place to stay that night; he could always offer to share his hotel room... A shudder ran down his spine and he forced himself back to the subject at hand. If Jeff really did need a place, then he'd make that offer. And if he did, he'd damned well behave himself. He'd always prided himself on not playing certain parts of the backstage power games and on never having taken advantage of any of the younger guys that he'd watched over during his career. He wasn't about to start now.

 _"...shouldn't you be off rescuing your boy from Vince's wrath?"_

If it wouldn't have gotten him a punch in the gut from Kevin, Mark would've kissed Scott for that. Obviously his friends weren't thrilled with the occurrences in front of them either, and anything they could do to break this up before anything actually happened because of it was good.

It never dawned on him just how much he might be giving away by his reactions to the situation... until he glanced at Scott and met his friend's clearly wondering eyes. Yanking his attention back to Jeff, Mark finally smirked as Heyman practically scrambled to get away, muttering about gores and Vince and Rhyno and a few other things it was probably good that he couldn't make out.

Reaching out to Jeff, his hand fitting on the slim shoulder like it was made for it, Mark tried to disguise his jumbled thoughts as he drawled, "I think you scared the hell out of him, boy." Letting some of his worry enter his eyes as he tilted his head to look down at Jeff, he said in a softer tone, "You know he's gonna tell the locker room what you said."

Words failed him as a succession of thoughts ran through his head, all centered on the man he was looking at and the things that would probably happen backstage now... and the things that he'd like to happen. Almost frowning as he tried to regain his normal control, he added, still in that softer tone, "And you know, you can call me by my name. I do have one. It's Mark."

****

 _...shouldn't you be off rescuing your boy from Vince's wrath?_

At Scott's question, Jeff leaned back away from Heyman's worried face, but he still kept his position well inside the bulbous man's personal space. With a decidedly fearful look at Jeff, Paul E. crab-walked along the wall, trying to get as much space between him and the younger Hardy as possible. To send him off with a nice fuzzy feeling, Jeff produced his best possible impersonation of Edge's famous, 'you are fucked' smile and said, "I'll get back to you on that Pauly-Paul, don't you worry none. I'm not goin' anywhere. I promise."

Jeff hoped it was his promise and much as Scott's suggestion that had Heyman running his ass off to find Vince. He could bad mouth Jeff all he wanted, Vince would've heard worse no doubt about it, but what could he really say? That Jeff was fucked in the head? Well duh. That 'Taker was hanging with him because Jeff was putting out? Well  _he'd_ thought it was the real reason for Christ's sake! If it wasn't the first thing that occurred to most people, Jeff would be sincerely surprised. What he knew Paul. E wouldn't mention, however, was the possibility of Eric trying to poach Mark to RAW. The general fan response to the Undertaker's current storyline was lackluster to say the least. Many wouldn't blame Mark or creative, if he was traded to the 'Flagship' show. But if Smackdown lost 'Taker, the show _would_ suffer and the blame for that would be put squarely at one man's door.

Mark's warm hand was once again on his shoulder, turning Jeff around to face the three big men now all looking at him with various expressions of curiosity, surprise and sympathetic disgust. His mask of 'Maniac Fatale' dropped away the moment he wasn't affected so adversely by Heyman's negative presence. Smiling hugely at the apparent success of his performance, Jeff cleared his throat and tucked his hands defensively into the back of his pants, gripping his belt with cold fingers.

 _I think you scared the hell out of him, boy._

His smile almost hurting his cheeks, Jeff nodded. It had certainly looked liked Paul was gonna wet himself if Scott hadn't given him a timely out.

 _You know he's gonna tell the locker room what you said._

Oh shit. Jeff's smile dimmed somewhat. Typically, now that the flaw in his brilliant plan had been pointed out, he was unable to meet Mark's curious green eyes. Dammit. He'd thought confirming the implication that he was 'Taker's Bitch would simply have thrown a spanner in Paul. E's dirty little schemes to get the big man into bed. Jeff hadn't considered what the rumour would do to Mark's reputation amongst his friends and work mates. Everyone would have wondered, but now because he couldn't manage to behave for _five seconds_ , he'd just poured gasoline all over that fire.

Sneaking a glance upwards, Jeff saw the slight frown marring Mark's forehead as he looked down at the smaller man. Screwed the pooch again Jeff? Fuck. What's that? Twice in less than an hour? He'll never put up with you for two months at this rate.

 _And you know, you can call me by my name. I do have one. It's Mark._

Oh no, that would be crossing invisible lines Jeff was going to have enough trouble respecting as it was. Only friends called the Undertaker Mark, and much as he'd love to have that privilege, right now, Jeff didn't trust himself an inch. Still, a Hardy was nothing if not innovative.

"Thanks. And you can call me Jeff. Not Jeffy or Skittle or Rainbow..." A mock glare at Hall at that one. "...Freak I like to reserve for my special friends like Pauly-Paul back there. "A flick of his hair to indicate the direction Heyman had gone. "Sorry if I weirded you out just then, but I couldn't rip his nuts off for saying that shit about you, so I thought I'd mess with his head instead." Shrugging to try and indicate his lack of worry over the situation, Jeff continued. "As to him runnin' his mouth in the locker room...I'm really sorry about that. Didn't exactly think it through, surprise for me I know. But don't worry, anyone says anything I'll set them straight for you."

Following Scott and Kevin past the other locker rooms, Jeff looked around for any familiar faces, keeping his eyes away from Mark's long, long legs with an effort.

"Hey yo!"  Nudging Hall's arm with his shoulder Jeff caught the gorgeous dark man's attention. "You said Terry attacked Adam? When was this? Is he okay?" The tall Canadian was one of Jeff's few good friends back stage and he was concerned. But not just for himself. Jeff was well aware of Mark's history with the beautiful blond and was hoping to find out any information about the man's ex on his behalf.

****

 _only if we have time in between all that sex they're going to force on me._

Stephanie laughed uproariously at Dave's implication that he would be the innocent victim of Shawn's erotic advances. When the big man ducked behind her, she moved to keep herself between the two playful lovers. One hand on Shawn's chest, she teased,

"Now ShawnLove, he has a point. Davey here is obviously much more of a gentleman about the art of romance than any ordinary man. You and Hunt are such _degenerates_ , it's a miracle he stayed as pure as long as he did." Leaning back into Dave's solid, muscled torso, Stephanie grabbed his hips and shimmied them towards the doorway, keeping herself between him and Shawn the entire time. "I think you should wait a respectable period, _get the door Davey_ , before jumping into anything too quickly. Don't you think?" Batting her eyelashes innocently at Shawn's gorgeous expression, Stephanie pretended she knew nothing of her long time friend's notorious reputation.

It had been a source of some amusement between Steph and her sibling, the rumours of Shawn's antics. What little had filtered to the delicate ears of the boss's daughter had been enough to create envious blushes and more than a little heartache. Shawn had been her crush of crushes for most of her teenage years and while her sexuality had led her in a much more pleasurable direction, that child-like adoration still lingered. She'd had the luxury of loving two glorious men in her lifetime and they were as precious to her as all the jewels and privileges an adoring family could bestow.

Giggling at Dave and Shawn's antics as they walked up the hallway, Steph mentally prepared herself for whatever scene would greet her in her father's office. The McMahon family had plenty of negative traits, temper and arrogance being the least of them. But they'd never counted bigotry as one of their flaws she was proud to admit. It wouldn't be the sex of Hunter's lovers that would get a reaction out of her father, it would be Hunter's public persona and his marriage to her that might set him off.

Squaring her shoulders like the amazon she was, SMH once again threw open the door to a room to which she had not been invited and covered the three men within with her best Billion Dollar Princess stare.

"You should shut up and listen Daddy or I'll have to start yelling, and nobody wants _that_ , do they?"

****  
   
As the silence in the office continued to stretch into territory that was definitely 'uncomfortable' and gaining on 'loaded', Hunter stepped away from Pat's friendly presence and stood before his father-in-law like a marine at parade rest. If this was going to be bad, the Hunter wanted to have it out right now. His arguments were ready, he'd already covered most of Vince's possible concerns anyway, so whatever Vince threw at him, he could take. Hunt had doubted his too casual announcement would cut any ice with this man, Vince would either support this turn of events or do his level best to destroy it.

"Shawn _and_ Dave?"

Hunter smirked and nodded. Hey. He'd landed _both_ of them, he had the right to be proud.

"No."

Hunt's grin vanished in an instant. Vince had risen slowly, placing both hands, palms down, on his desk and leaning forward so that Hunter was pierced by his intense gaze. "One of them is fine and you'd _better_ be discreet with him or you'll regret it. Shawn I can understand, you are practically joined at the hip anyway. But not two. No. Dave's out of this right now. And if you even _think_ of defying me, he'll be back at OVW so fast you'll think it was yesterday." Vince's voice didn't contain even a tinge of its usual arrogant superiority. He was dead serious.

"God Vince. Don't be an ass, you know..." Pat's chiding words trailed off as he realised neither man was listening to him.

Hunter had barely moved, simply lowering his own hands to rest just near Vince's, their eyes level.

"Not this time McMahon."

Pat clenched his hands at the vicious note to Hunter's voice. Normally the young man was so sophisticated, you could almost forget just how dangerous he could be. And it had nothing to do with the size of his muscles.

"I _wasn't_ asking for permission. I _was_ paying you a courtesy. It's happening and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Touch Dave and I'll make sure you regret even letting me in the door. Are we clear?"

No-one spoke to Vince like that.

Right then Pat felt the tension in the room, cross into that dangerous territory more commonly associated with large male animals at certain times of the year, than human beings in large cities. Just then, the door swung open, but neither man looked up.

 _You should shut up and listen Daddy or I'll have to start yelling, and nobody wants that, do they?_

Pat let out a relieved breath. The alpha female had arrived.

****

The burning anger that Hunter felt coursing through him at Vince's threat to Dave was only mollified slightly by the presence of his wife. Much as he'd like to let Stephanie fight his battles for him, this was one case where _he_ had to make Vince accept his decision or Vince could go to hell.

"No Steph." Straightening up, Hunter let his hands fall to his sides even as his eyes never left those of his father in law. "No-one wants you to be upset, do they?" This last was pointed at Vince, who had yet to respond to Hunt's outrageous behaviour. Visibly letting go of the confrontation, Hunter turned to see his beloved Stephanie standing in the doorway. All glamour gal and rich bitch rolled into one. God. Would she never get tired of playing dress-ups?

"Hey Girl," he greeted her as she walked into the circle of his arms. Momentarily they held onto each other. Two warriors who'd found their kindred spirits while fighting in the war that was life in World Wrestling Entertainment. "Didn't know you were coming down, but you are a sight as always. We need to talk." Feeling the pressure of the previous conflict still resonant around the room, Hunter squeezed Steph's bare shoulders gently to indicate the current problem.

"Trust me Hunter, I'm _all over_ this situation." With a head toss much like that of a shampoo commercial, Stephanie indicated the two men who'd followed her into the office. Hunter's eyes widened at the presence of his lovers. Temporarily dumbfounded by their seeming solidarity with Stephanie, as well as how damn good they looked, Hunter dragged his gaze back to the unquestioning support he saw in his wife's chocolate orbs.

Releasing Steph, Hunter swung back around to Vince and felt his smug grin returning. With these three behind him, Hunter could do anything he pleased and Vince could just choke on it.

"So that's the situation McMahon, you can like it or not, but it's happening. Shawn, Dave and I are together, deal with it."

He still didn't remove the edge of danger from his voice, but if Vince was going to mess with him, he'd mess right back.

****

Oh yeah. Mark had it bad for Rainbow. It was more than obvious by the growly lord of the dead look he'd assumed when Jeff had plastered himself all over Heyman. It had been as much for that reason as to save Jeff from Heyman that Scott had tossed out the information about Rhyno. Mark sacrificing Heyman probably wouldn't have gone over well with Vince, then again maybe it would have. Vince wasn't going to be happy to have to deal with the little prick, especially when he was going to plead Terry's case for him.

After the way that Jeff had offered himself up to Heyman, Scott didn't have to ask how Jeff felt about Mark. His actions had spoken for him. The only problem he could see to this whole situation was Mark's head. The man wasn't going to excuse himself from his own code of ethics even if it was something he wanted... there had to be a way to work around that. It might be different if Jeff actually came out and told Mark that it was what he wanted, but somehow he didn't think Jeff would put it quite that way... unless someone else suggested that he do so. That feeling wasn't altered at all after Jeff's reaction to Mark suggesting Jeff use his real name rather than his stage name.

Smiling and nodding at Jeff's acknowledgment of Scott's nickname for him, Scott knew he'd more than likely use it again. It was just the way that he was with people... especially those he liked. He actually liked this kid for some weird reason, maybe because he reminded him so much of Shawn. Scott ignored the comments about locker room gossip. There would have been some regardless and whether Jeff denied it or not wouldn't matter. Those who were going to believe the gossip would have in any case even without Heyman's backup on the situation. Jeff would realize it in his own time.

 _"Hey yo!"_

Raising one brow, Scott turned his attention back to Jeff. Once he heard Jeff's questions, it dawned on him that Jeff and Adam had been close, most likely having bonded during those hellacious TLC matches they'd been involved in. He didn't read any more into it than concern for a friend and helpfully supplied the information he had... which unfortunately wasn't much.

"We missed the actual attack, came in on the aftermath. The trainer was saying something about a concussion and something with his ribs. I'm guessing he probably should sit out the pay per view on Sunday, but knowing how most of us are he won't do it unless Vince makes him... or Jericho. I think if Dave hadn't grabbed him, Jericho would have done some serious damage to the man-beast." Scott looked at Jeff to see how he was taking the news. Might as well let him see how Adam was doing for himself as well since Scott could have sworn he'd seen the tall blond sneaking past them during Jeff's confrontation with Heyman.

"I thought Jericho would have drug him off to the nearest hospital, but if he did, they apparently came back. I'm pretty sure I saw Adam headed towards catering a few minutes ago. We can walk that way if you want to check on him."

****

A little surprised at Dave's willingness to be affectionate in front of Steph, Shawn returned the smile as his lover helped him up. Maybe Steph wouldn't scare the man away after all; his Princess could be more than a little overwhelming, but she always meant well. Hopefully Dave would figure that out quickly... although Shawn rather hoped that he didn't get over his blushing too soon. Squeezing Dave's fingers gently, Shawn dropped a quick kiss on his cheek as he took a moment to look himself over: jeans, t-shirt... snagging the baseball cap now... yep. He was ready for any promo work they had to do, although hopefully he wouldn't need to talk. Hunter had said something about photos, so hopefully that's all it would be.

 _"I think we should head that way now to rescue Hunter."_

That brought him back to the present with a solid thump. All of his earlier worries about confronting Vince right now came back to him, and although he still thought it would be an incredibly bad idea, he was beginning to think that he might just have to. Walking in and saying, "Hey Vince... hope you don't mind that I dumped you for your son-in-law" probably wouldn't go over too well, but given the events of the evening, Vince probably wasn't going to take Hunt's news well. His thoughts were interrupted by Dave's next words, his eyes widening for a second before he realised what Dave was doing.

 _"Of course that's only if we have time in between all that sex they're going to force on me."_

Shawn's jaw almost dropped at the tone of voice before his sense of humour caught up with him. His laughter was barely audible, but he couldn't keep from chuckling. The master of incredibly obscene moves with his tongue bar was trying to act innocent? The little shiver of heat that memory brought back was washed away by indignation at Stephanie's response.

 _"You and Hunt are such_ degenerates, _it's a miracle he stayed as pure as long as he did."_

"Pure? Dave?" he rasped, his eyebrows raising at his big, bad lover... who was resolutely hiding behind Steph. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep his lips from curving at the sight of Dave pressed right up against Stephanie as the woman walked them out the door. So much for that shyness, Dave, he thought with an internal grin. If the Clique didn't get you past it, Steph sure as hell will.

And she should know all about his and Hunt's degeneracy... She'd been a friend by then, being old enough to be backstage on her own safely, and no matter how wild Shawn was, Vince knew that he'd protect his Princess more even than Vince himself would. He'd stood up for Hunt at their wedding because of who he was marrying; if it had been anyone else, he would've begged off---Hunter would've understood, even if he wouldn't have known the real reason for it. But Stephanie... he just couldn't break her heart like that, and not being there for her wedding would've done it. The girl had had him twisted around her little finger before she'd even reached puberty, and the passing years had only reinforced it.

 _"I think you should wait a respectable period... Don't you think?"_

A snort, and he was shaking his head at her angelic expression as he followed them out into the hallway. "I've never been respectable, Steph... and I'd hate to start living up to your expectations now, after all these years." His voice was actually improving a little bit, even if he did have to clear his throat after every few words, but he was hoping that any promo work tonight wouldn't include vocals.

Since his eyes were pretty much centered on Dave anyway as the big man continued to hide on Steph's other side, he noticed immediately when Dave stuck his tongue out at him. Smiling, he forced his voice loud enough to be heard in the hallway. "Don't tease, Dave... you know it's my turn next, anyway."

 _"Consider it an open-ended promise."_

His smile widened at the words, but the sharp, unexpected swat to his ass stopped his response before it left his mouth. He stopped momentarily, blinking at the sensation. It had been quite a while since he'd felt anything even remotely similar to that, and he raised a considering eyebrow at Dave. It hadn't _hurt_ , of course; Dave was obviously teasing. But it made him wonder just what sorts of things Dave had gotten up to while he was in OVW... and what he could talk him into doing now. Pushing those thoughts aside to consider later, he waited until the big man was distracted to poke him in the ribs, smirking at the startled jump.

He didn't realise they'd arrived at Vince's office until Steph threw open the door and strode in majestically, her voice carrying well out into the hallway. Following his Princess into the office, he stopped cold at the tight expression on Vince's face, the growing anger almost visibly snapping in the air. Whatever had already been said, Hunter's news obviously hadn't been taken well. Seeing Hunter and Steph embrace made him smile a little, but only momentarily. The obvious love between the two was something he'd have more time to appreciate after they'd dealt with Vince.

 _"So that's the situation McMahon, you can like it or not, but it's happening. Shawn, Dave and I are togeher, deal with it."_

God, this wasn't good. Taking in the situation quickly, Shawn didn't dare look at Dave or Hunter as he walked forward, half-sitting on the side of the desk as he leaned toward Vince. The obvious solution was right in front of him, and he knew already what his lovers' reactions would if he told them first, let alone Steph's. It was a painful thought, but even more painful was the thought of the man in front of him driving them apart when they'd barely started to build the fragile relationship that they'd fought for. Forcing his voice louder than the low rasp it wanted to be, he spoke.

"I don't know what you've said, Vince, but it's pretty damned obvious what the general gist of it was. Since you've obviously got a problem with the three of us together, I've got a solution for you." He could've heard a pin drop in the silence that followed his words. Forcing himself to look casual, because if he looked as distressed or as angry as he felt, Vince would pick up on it immediately, he bit back the words he _wanted_ to say. Damn Vince for this, anyway. He had no reason to deny them this, not now; they were well above any scandal and fuck whatever anybody else in the company thought about them.

Taking a deep breath as he leveled his gaze at Vince, he drawled, "I'm going on hiatus next week. If us being together is that big of a problem for you, Vince, then my hiatus can be permanent."


	46. Searches

And save him she did...for a little bit in any case. Dave himself hid a laugh in the back of her hair as she backed them towards the doorway, especially when he heard what she said.

 _"You and Hunt are such degenerates, it's a miracle he stayed as pure as long as he did."_

Him, pure? His thoughts preceded Shawn's voiced opinion of that by mere seconds. If she only knew what he'd gotten up to in the past she surely wouldn't have chosen that particular word to describe him, but he would go with it for the moment just because of Shawn's reaction. Simply grinning in return to Shawn's raised brows, Dave followed Steph's direction and opened the door.

 _"I think you should wait a respectable period... Don't you think?"_

That made Dave laugh all the harder though silently as he muffled it behind one hand. Wait a respectable period? Considering what had just happened in the shower, it was very unlikely that Shawn... or Dave or Hunter for that matter would be willing to wait any period past tonight's show. Unless of course things went to hell in a hand-basket with Vince. If Dave had a say, that wouldn't change anything either.

Deciding that a little teasing was in order, Dave peeked around Stephanie and stuck his tongue out at Shawn, though he was sure to keep Steph in the middle of them as they walked down the hall. He hadn't expected a verbal reply, but Shawn gave him one anyway.

 _"Don't tease, Dave... you know it's my turn next, anyway."_

Oh really? Taking turns now were they? He'd be perfectly happy himself if they just fell into one big pile on return to the hotel, never mind trying to keep track of turns. He had a solution though.

"Consider it an open-ended promise."

Open-ended meant exactly that. It might not be his turn next, but he would most certainly get another one. He'd take as many as they'd let him actually, more than happy to express his feelings for them both. Keeping in theme with his newly playful mood, Dave reached around Stephanie's back and slapped him on the ass. He hadn't expected the reaction that netted him, but he wasn't disappointed with it either. That sent him off on tangents of thought he really shouldn't be considering right now when they were so close to Vince's office. Luckily for him, Shawn poked him in the side just then, making him jump and bringing his thoughts back to the present.

Dave hesitated for just a moment on following Steph and Shawn into Vince's office, but stuffed down his worry about intruding on an explosive situation and followed them anyway, closing the door behind him. Vince didn't look happy at all and Hunter looked even less happy until he spotted Stephanie. At any other time he would have smiled over the obvious affection in the hug between Hunter and Steph, but the air was so thick in the room he didn't want to invoke Vince's ire by seeming to take this less than seriously. That didn't seem to be an issue though as Hunter drew Vince's attention back on himself with his next words.

 _"Shawn, Dave and I are together, deal with it."_

Vince didn't look happy at all about that and not even close to like he planned on just 'dealing with it.' Dave scrambled his brain for a way to defuse the situation, but came up with basically zilch. He hadn't even noticed Shawn approaching Vince until he started to speak and when Dave heard what Shawn had to say he joined the group of very unhappy people in that room.

 _"If us being together is that big of a problem for you, Vince, then my hiatus can be permanent."_

Dave ducked his head so that Vince would not see his reaction to that statement. What the hell was Shawn thinking? That his career wasn't as important as the two of them. The same thing that Dave had said during lunch... still Dave hadn't voiced it in front of Vince McMahon. While it had him feeling over the moon that Shawn cared that much for them, he hadn't expected Shawn to threaten to quit. He was angry that Vince's reaction had him even thinking about doing so and he'd be sure to let Shawn know that later, but for right now...

He couldn’t honestly say that he wasn't feeling the same way. Raising his head once again, he took in Vince's reaction to what Shawn had just said. Before Vince could actually voice his opinion on Shawn's threat, Dave decided he might as well toss in his two cents worth and get the big explosion out of the way. Then they could deal with the aftermath. If it left him jobless, so be it.

"Just in case you were wondering Vince, you can send me back to OVW and it's not going to change anything," he said with a shrug, his eyes unreadable and his arms crossed over his chest. "If you decide to hand me my contract instead, that's fine too. I'll walk out the door with no regrets. That won't stop us from being together though. I'm sure after the end of my no compete clause I could find another job, no problem. Maybe we'll all just move down to Orlando."

Okay, maybe he shouldn't have tossed in that last dig, but he meant every word he had said. Shawn and Hunter would most likely give him hell for what he'd said later as well, but he hadn't wanted them to think his words at lunch were all smoke with no substance. Now they could really have no doubt... and he could always hide behind Stephanie if they got too upset with him.

****

 _then my hiatus can be permanent._

Hunter felt his jaw drop open at Shawn's suggestion. Taking time off was one thing, giving up your career because of a personal relationship wasn't just wrong... it was downright illegal. But god, wasn't he feeling flattered that Shawn was willing to go to the wall for them, for him and Dave? Hunter knew it would be the same were the situation changed, Dave had said so earlier and Hunt knew from his own perspective that he'd tell Vince to go jump in a second if it meant giving up this once in a lifetime chance with these two men.

 _I'll walk out the door with no regrets._

Dammit, speak of the devil. Now Dave was happily offering to toss away what was going to be a brilliant career and Hunter had to stomp all over the warm fuzzy feeling their reactions caused in him. Mentally Hunter stuck his tongue out at Vince. _Not gonna work Vincent. So there._ But there would be no handing back of contracts and no permanent hiatuses, not while Hunter had anything to say about it. Vince had paled at Shawn's statement but his colour returned at Dave's suggestion. Eyes calculating, Vince ignored the presence of two of his top stars and looked at his up and coming talent with deep speculation.

"Get out all of you. You too Stephanie. Batista... _you_ stay here." The orders were issued quickly and with the confidence of instant obedience.

Nobody moved.

"Not going to happen McMahon." Hunter shook his head in denial of Vince's commands. Using his father-in-law's surname was almost the height of disrespect, but Hunt wasn't feeling respectful at the minute. Taking two quick steps, Hunt put his hands on Shawn's waist and easily lifted the smaller man away from Vince's desk. Pressing a quick kiss to his lover's lips, he made a mental note to arrange for someone to look at Shawn's throat later, Hunter placed himself between Vince and his lovers, a place he would always take, no matter what anyone said.

"Sorry Darling. You're not going to sacrifice yourself on this alter, not this time. No-one is going to OVW, no contracts are ended and Dave is certainly _not_ taking the fall for this either." Looking at his dark-haired lover, Hunter made his meaning quite clear there. Forcing his voice into a more reasonable tone, he turned back to Vince. "Jeezuz Vince, it's a _private_ relationship, that doesn't mean a blind bit of difference to ninety-nine percent of the population. No. One. Will. Care. What they _will_ care about and what they _will_ notice however, even more than Dave suddenly being demoted or Shawn going silent, is Hunter Hearst Helmsley quitting the WWE and going to TNA."

He wasn't really pleased that he'd trumped his lovers' offers. _They_ could jump as well as he could, but it would be an absolute betrayal of Vince, Linda and the entire WWE if Hunter turned on them. It wasn't a hollow threat either, Vince had taught him the ropes in this world, he shouldn't be surprised Hunter knew how to use them.

Feeling the small fingers of his wife slide into his hand, Hunter gave them a reassuring squeeze. "But I won't, because I love it here Vince." Seeing the confidence return to Vince's formerly pole-axed expression, Hunter continued. "I wouldn't do that to you. To Stephanie or Linda either. Just like I know you won't fuck with our lives like this just because you can. We know what we're doing Vince, you've trusted us before and you've never had a reason to regret that trust. Don't tame us now. Please." It wasn't begging, even if it sounded as such. It was asking for trust and if Vince couldn't give him that, then they would walk. All three of them.

Whether it was the presence of his daughter standing firm with her husband, despite what he was saying or the serious prospect of losing three incredibly talented stars and two men he considered friends, Hunter didn't know. But he spotted the acquiescence in Vince's expression before the man even spoke.

"Fine. Go ahead, do what you want then. You always will anyway. I can't stop you." throwing his hands up in the air, Vince put on a good show of 'poor me' but the look he sent Hunter let him know that Hunter's words wouldn't be forgotten any time soon. He'd just burnt a very large bridge here and Vincent McMahon wouldn't let him forget it. "Stars, Pat. What did I say huh? Who's in charge here because it isn't me obviously." The little whine was just for show and Hunter could allow Vince his power, he'd won this round.

"Thank you." Hunt's quiet words were lost in the hubbub of conversation between Vince, Pat and Stephanie as the young woman brutally dragged the conversation into new territory. It was probably best to leave now and let Stephanie smooth over her father's ruffled feathers with the skill of a master Daddy's Little Girl.

Moving towards the circle of comfort presented by Dave and Shawn's presence, Hunter wondered if he was in shock. It had been a close thing. Had he really threatened to jump ship? Not even in his worst days had he _ever_ considered that.

Just goes to show that he did have a heart, despite opinion to the contrary.

****

 _"...I couldn't rip his nuts off for saying that shit about you, so I thought I'd mess with his head instead."_

He probably looked like he'd just been hit from behind with an unexpected chair shot, but Mark couldn't stop himself from staring. Why in the world would Jeff care so much that Paul E. had been hitting on him? It wasn't unexpected, hell it wasn't even uncommon, and the only really disturbing part of it was who had been responsible for the smarm. There was no way in hell that the man in front of him could be implying anything that Mark was thinking. Most likely he was just reading his own desires into what Jeff said. That had to be it.

 _"Didn't exactly think it through, surprise for me I know. But don't worry, anyone says anything I'll set them straight for you."_

So much like Shawn ten years ago that it almost hurt. All unspoken insecurities and issues wrapped up in determinedly outrageous behavior and arrogance. It had taken extraordinary measures for Mark to break through Shawn's wall. What would it take to break through Jeff's?

Shaking his head slightly, he reminded himself that these were entirely inappropriate thoughts for him to be having about someone he was responsible for. He didn't miss Jeff's non-agreement to calling him by name, which didn't entirely surprise him but still hurt. In-built defense mechanism, probably, to keep from getting too close to anybody. He'd seen it before. Hell, he'd used it before.

And thinking of Shawn... watching as Jeff and Scott wandered into a conversation of their own, he realised that this would be the perfect time for him to hunt down Heartbreaker and have that conversation with him. He couldn't exactly do it with Jeff hanging over his shoulder, or it would give the kid all sorts of wrong impressions... and inhibit his own ability to grill Shawn about his current choice of companions.

Taking his chance, he glanced at Kevin and asked, "Seen Shawn lately? I need to talk to him about a couple of things." The big man shrugged, disengaging himself from his lover with obvious reluctance, but with a slight smile on his face.

 _"Not in the last little while, but it wouldn't surprise me at all to find him in Evolution's locker room."_

Now why did that sound like Nash was laughing to himself? What did he know that Mark didn't? Well, he'd find out soon enough. With a slight shrug, he turned to the other two members of their little group, waiting for a pause in the conversation before interrupting.

"I'm going to head that way, then. Scott, would you mind keeping Jeff company for a while? This shouldn't take too long." He really didn't want to leave Jeff alone right now, after that little encounter with Heyman, but the almost conspiratorial look that the two exchanged almost worried him. Maybe Hall wasn't the best person in the world to trust to look after his whirlwind... the man had been pretty stormy in the past himself, after all. 

****

He should be worried. He _really_ should be.

But somehow, seeing Scott acting playful rather than tense, teasing Hardy and getting the same back, brought a smile to Kevin's face rather than a frown. He'd never really been very good at denying Scotty what he wanted, and if his lover wanted to hang out with the Hardy kid for a while, that was fine with him. He hadn't missed Scott's inquisitive look at Mark and Jeff's behavior, and he hadn't missed the _interesting_ vibes that the two were putting off, either. Jeff getting all up in arms at Heyman hitting on Mark and Mark getting pissy at Heyman insulting Jeff... well. He'd been friends with the Dead Man for a long time, but the only other time he'd seen him react in quite that same growly way was when Shawn was involved.

Almost as if the thought of Shawn's name was a cue, Mark turned to him at that point.

 _"Seen Shawn lately? I need to talk to him about a couple of things."_

Well, now. This could be interesting. He wasn't about to tell Mark stories out of school, but he definitely wanted to see the man's reaction to Shawn's current situation. Maybe it was a little cruel, but his sense of humour was like that at times. Reluctantly pulling away from Scott with one final caress, he looked at Mark as he answered, not quite able to hide his amusement. "Not in the last little while, but it wouldn't surprise me at all to find him in Evolution's locker room." The Dead Man looked a little leery of the answer, but it didn't seem to faze him too badly.

 _"I'm going to head that way, then."_

Seeing Scott's nod in response to Mark's question reinforced Kev's suspicion that he should be worried about letting those two wander off on their own, but since Scotty had offered to take Jeff to see Copeland, hopefully it wouldn't be too bad. Hopefully.

"Why don't I just head along with you, then?" The look on Mark's face told Kev that his presence wouldn't be unwelcome, but could be considered a little stifling. Smiling, he clapped Mark on the shoulder. "C'mon, Mark. It's been a while since we've talked, too. Gotta catch up on the gossip, don't we?" Heading them in the appropriate direction, he winked at Scott over his shoulder before looking back at Mark. Waiting until they were some distance down the hall, he asked casually, "So, what's up with you and Jeff, anyway?"

****

 _"Hell yeah. Cute little thing, nice tight ass. It was all my pleasure I can tell ya."_

Adam laughed quietly and shook his head. He stopped as soon as he realized it was going to send his head swimming again. Damn it. The Tylenol having finally taken the edge off his headache, he hadn't given thought to the other concussion symptoms. Okay, no more shaking his head for awhile... as long as he could remember not to do it. Before he had a chance to answer Austin's other questions, Chris joined them at the table, dropping their bags at his feet. Listening to the conversation Chris was having with the taxi dispatch service, Adam rolled his eyes. Was there a point to calling for a taxi when he still hadn't found the Dynamic Duo? That reminded him that he had a question of his own to put to Austin.

He looked to Chris first and snorted at the hand signal the man was sporting. Cute. Leaning forward Adam pressed his lips against the extended finger then sat back and laughed. "Awww, sweetheart, you shouldn't be so rough on the guy after the nice compliment he just paid your ass."

Grinning he turned back to Austin in order to answer the man's questions before he asked one of his own. "They gave me a local for the ribs, unfortunately not the good stuff so the happy effect is all me thanks to the Tylenol. We came back because I left my wallet in my bag and didn't want to leave it sitting here, plus we had to bring back the keys for Batman and Robin. Once we find them and I stop to see Vince for a minute," he said, hoping that slipped right by Chris, "then we can get out of here and I'll be more than happy to stay horizontal for the next four days at 'Kitten's' mercy."

He really hoped that if Chris did happen to catch on to the bit about Vince, the fact that he was going to concede to the doctor's orders would earn him credit. If not then he was going to get _that_ look again. He wasn't quite sure what to term it...the 'you are such an idiot' look or the 'you are in so much trouble' look. Either way it meant that he had disappointed Chris and that was something he really wanted to avoid if possible.

"Speaking of... did you ever find Ty and Jay?" And with his mind wandering as it had been here in the last few hours, he thought of a few more things he wanted to say. "Did you guys know Hardy was here? Jeff that is, not Matt. Thought I was hallucinating there for a moment when I saw him with Mark. And just to be nosy... who's your 'appointment' with tonight?" Adam asked, his tone clearly indicating that said appointment was more likely a date or romantic rendezvous than an actual appointment. If he didn't stop chattering like a magpie, Steve was going to doubt his words about not having been given the 'good' drugs, but if he didn't get his questions out now, he'd likely forget them before he got them asked.

Damn Terry.

****

Chris had gone straight to the locker room when he'd arrived at the arena. Actually getting to his intended destination had been a little difficult, what with being stopped every five minutes by crew asking after Adam. It seemed the time they'd spent at the clinic was enough to spread rumours like wild fire. Correcting some of the more outrageous suggestions, he did _not_ have to give Adam mouth to mouth thank god, CJ assured them of Adam's health as best he could and agreed that Terry was a piece of shit.

Finally reaching the locker room where they'd left their gear, Chris repeated his 'concussion and cracked ribs' explanation for the twentieth time to Rob while finding their bags. He and Adam had changed for their work-out, which seemed like hours ago now, so he tossed their strewn clothes into either bag and hunted around for his cell phone. The sooner they could get out of here the better. Not that CJ didn't like his friends or his work, but right now, he really, really wanted to get somewhere safe with Adam.

Pausing a moment with the phone in one hand, Chris examined this thought carefully. Mentally walking in a circle around it, CJ poked the idea with an invisible finger to see what would happen. He was certainly protective of Adam, his desire to get the blond to the hotel a sign of that. But since when did that 'protection' become a drag back to the lair to lick their wounds in peace kinda thing? Chris was brutally honest with himself about his feelings, he didn't like to lie to himself, because he always came off the fool either way.

He'd always _really liked_ Adam, to use a schoolyard term, being in severe lust had been the natural progression from there. Since their spectacular confessions and even more spectacular lovemaking last night, Chris was going into deep adoration and probably what? Love? He'd actually had never been there before so the terrain was unfamiliar to say the least. But given that he was growly protective, angry as hell at anyone who hurt his lover and craving time for just the two of them, CJ admitted it probably was love.

Well fuck me then, Chris thought pleased.

Dialing information and being put through to a local cab company, was done in a rather happy daze that had nothing to with the painkiller he'd been given at the hospital. Shauna, the dispatch lady, was sweet voiced, even if she seemed incredibly bored with her job. At least he was calling early enough that she might, _might_  be able to help them in about thirty minutes. If he'd wanted a ride just after the taping, they'd be out of luck and Shauna told him so. She put him on hold.

Poking his head into various other locker rooms, Chris started looking for Adam. The bubble of pleasure in his stomach wanting him to lay his eyes on his lover... _love_ -er... right now. He found success in the catering area where Adam was sitting with Steve, their grins indicating a teasing edge to their conversation. Given Austin's general mode of teasing, CJ decided to retaliate to whatever Steve was grinning about. It may have had nothing to do with him, but Chris knew Austin deserved it anyway. At least his fingers didn't hurt anymore.

There was no sign of Jay or Ty near them, so Chris dumped their bags at Adam's feet, chatting to Shauna when she came back to tell him he was in luck.

 _sweetheart, you shouldn't be so rough on the guy after the nice compliment he just paid your ass._

Giving their details and the location of the arena to Shauna, Chris shook his head at Adam's admonishment. If Steve had been discussing his ass, then he certainly deserved the finger no doubt, compliment or not. One ear on the conversation between Adam and Steve and one on Shauna, CJ gratefully hung up and leaned down to drop a kiss on Adam's head.

"No sign of Bunnykins Babe?" Given the confirmation, Chris straightened up with a smile. "You stay here and bully Austin into having some balls, I'll find Jay. Then we leave." Matching his stare to his words, Chris kissed Adam again before turning to leave. Where the hell would Reso be hiding anyway?

****

 _We can walk that way if you want to check on him._

Jeff didn’t respond to Scott’s suggestion for a moment, his thoughts shifting immediately from curiosity to concern over his friend's well-being. Terry and Adam had been over forever as far as Jeff knew, so what the hell had happened? And why was Jericho figuring so largely in Adam's situation? Were the two bombshells actually going to paint move beyond the 'sorta friends' stage? They'd never managed 'just buds' in the past and while Jeff had been blind to any sexual tension between them, he'd beg his ignorance as those two having sexual tension with _everyone_.

Scott's words eventually sank in and Jeff looked up at the dark man with a faint smile. Hall was the kind of guy Jeff appreciated being in the same business with. Scott was friendly for one thing, a rarer commodity than someone might think and one of those rare people who didn't judge someone on how they looked. People like that didn't come around too often in Jeff's experience. The WWE was like any workplace, there were groups of people who hung together in common interest. Jeff didn't have a lot in common with most wrestlers, only the crazy Canadians taking Jeff and his brother under their collective wings. The Outsiders were another story entirely. They liked who they liked and hated who they hated and didn't give a shit who you were one way or the other.  Why he'd managed to be on the right side of that choice was a mystery to Jeff, but not one he wanted to complain about.

“Sure thing Raze. If Adam lost an arm, he'd still want to wrestle, but then... wouldn't we all?" Jeff saw Mark and Nash turn back towards them with lighter expressions than they'd had a moment ago. Damn Heyman anyway. That slimy little man had got under Jeff's skin way too quick for his liking, but it seemed that anyone who messed with Mark was by default messing with J Hardy. Well good. If 'Taker was supposed to be watching out so Jeff didn't get into trouble, he could return the favour, couldn't he? Keeping the Bullfrog at bay would be his little pet project while he was getting ring-ready again. Mark was just too much of a gentleman to peel Heyman's face off like he deserved. Jeff didn't think he had a gentlemanly bone in his body.

 _Scott, would you mind keeping Jeff company for a while?_

See! See! Making sure Jeff's all nicely squared away with a bodyguard while he goes hunting for his ex. How many people would bother with that? Jeff granted Mark a warm smile as it sunk in exactly the kind of man he was dealing with.

"Nahh, he doesn't mind do ya Raze?" Jeff blinked up at Scott winningly. "Scotty and I are gonna find Adam and see how many ribs he broke. We're keeping a tally, him and me." Jeff winked at 'Taker. He wasn't kidding, but Mark didn't need to know that. Jeff was winning by a mile, the Swanton Bomb being a perfectly designed move for the breaking of ribs, but Adam had a longer career and more matches so the tally was often quite close.

Feeling an inexplicable need to farewell Mark in some way, Jeff reached out and gently knocked his knuckles against the gloved ones of the man beside him. In the last hour his world had been turned upside down by this man and Jeff had a certainly liking for being on top of the world.

"I'll call in on Vince and sign that contract. Find me after?" It came out a little more flirtatiously than he'd have liked, but he couldn't change it now.

Moments later Jeff was walking with Scott down the hall towards the locker room, looking for sign of Adam or Jericho.

"I want to see Copeland’s face when I tell him about my contract. He’ll either faint or laugh his ass off, can't wait to see which." Not spotting them in any of the locker rooms, they turned for the common areas. "Jericho went batshit on Terry huh? Well that's one I didn't see coming. CJ and Adam. Hmm. Good for them. Those two together? Paints a picture that anyone would love to see... 'cos like.. wow. That would be _hot_."

****

 _Warm skin pressed against his, long, long legs around his waist, the feel of a hot heavy erection pushing into his stomach while he slowly jerked his lover off. Keeping his own hard shaft from that tempting little hole by force of will alone._

"Please Steve, c'mon man. Do you want me to beg already? I told you I want it, so fuck me dammit."

Music to Steve's ears, Randy demanding he obey, all pouty and aroused. The big, pretty cock in his hand throbbing under his gentle, teasing strokes. He'd still tortured them both a little longer, till Randy cursed him a blue streak and bit him on the arm. Steve almost came right then and there. But he managed to get himself under control and leaned down, licking at the pool of sweat on Randy's sternum, while he sank inside that glorious heat.

"Oh fuck yeah." The praise had been torn out of him like a prayer.

"MOVE old man or I'll beat the crap outta you." Randy panted, licking kiss bruised lips.

Steve happily obeyed.

\-----

Steve watched Chris leave with a small smile. The Little Napoleon was at it again, organizing everyone around him to his liking. What got Austin was, that they all obeyed like good little soldiers. Guy shouldn’t be able to get away with that shit. It was wrong, dammit, for a pretty boy like Jericho to come off as such a bully. Austin was built more like a bully than CJ, so why did he hop to whenever the guy snapped his fingers? Fucked if he knew.

Looking back at Copeland, Steve decided whether he should answer the man’s questions. Not like his private life was some big secret or anything, at least twenty people had seen him and Randy leave the bar last night, so it would become common knowledge soon enough. And while he’d never considered the tall blond a friend, if he was CJ’s ‘significant other’, then they better get used to each other, ‘cos Austin wasn’t going anywhere.

“Didn’t see the Odd Couple yet, was gonna jump on them when they came in fer food.” He shrugged. “The Punk’s here? ‘Bout time Vince dragged his skinny ass back. Not the same without that manic throwin’ himself around, trouble that kid. I like it when he’s here.”

Lowering his voice so he had an element of privacy, Steve confided the bare bones of his own situation. “Got together with someone last night. Someone from work if you get my meanin’ and I can’t decide what ta do about it. Whether I put it down to a one night stand and go beat the shit outta the guy for usin’ me like that or drag him off to my cave to make it a two night stand."

Steve never claimed he was a romantic.

****

After leaving Adam with Steve, Chris started looking for the missing ‘Dynamic Duo’ as Adam had dubbed them. Normally the two were easy to find, either lingering in the locker rooms or with either Chris or Adam. That they were no-where to be seen did not auger well for a quick end to CJ’s evening. It didn’t take that long to find Jay. With Chris and Adam at the clinic, the next person Reso would look to pester would be Trish. Making his way to the Diva’s locker room, Chris knocked politely before being allowed in.

The most irritating thing about Vince’s inability to recognize the skills of female wrestlers was the result that almost every talented woman had been either released from their contracts or placed in storylines so absurd they’d lost any of the respect they’d duly earned. It was really only Trish, Lita, Victoria and Molly that remained to hold together the female division of the WWE, and with Lita a head case these days, the girls were suffering. The Smackdown girls weren’t wrestlers and didn’t try to be.

“Good evening Ladies.” Chris called to the room in general, as Molly turned back to her locker with a small smile, after letting him in. Lita or Victoria were obviously in the shower if the cloud of steam issuing from the cubical was any indication, while Trish, ahhh target acquired, was sitting on a bench chatting with Jay. His male friend looked despondent, shoulders slumped in a way that would be murder on his injured back, eyes downcast. Trish was rubbing his shoulder in a comforting manner while speaking earnestly to Jay in a low voice.

They both looked up as Chris approached, Reso’s frown deepening as he noticed CJ’s cast. Standing, Jay came forward, concerned.

“What happened to you? Your hand? Whose blood is that? Where’s Adam? Is he okay? What happened?” The questions came one after the other without time for a response, so CJ waited till he could get a word in. Blood? Oh yeah, looking at his sleeve, Chris realized he still had smudges of Adam’s blood on his shirt cuff from his lover’s head wound.

Breaking into Jay’s babble, Trish put her hand over their friend’s mouth and with a head shake at Jay’s verbosity said, “What happened?"

“Terry picked a fight with Adam, don’t ask me why, he’s got a small dick apparently. Adam ripped his balls off verbally, so The Fuckhead gored him into the wall outside the gym. I tried to catch Adam and my fingers got sandwiched instead.” Holding up his good hand for silence when they opened their mouths, Chris continued. “He’s okay. Got a concussion and cracked ribs butwe’vebeentoaclinicsowhenIsaywe’reokay,i’mtellingthetruth.” Chris finished the last part in a rush to forestall any demands that he see a medical professional.

“Terry? God, why does everyone have to be such assholes?” Jay moaned with a lot more feeling than Terry’s behavior would credit. Exchanging a look with Trish, Chris nodded imperceptibly and made a motion to shoo Jay towards the door.

“Adam’s flying on some painkillers right now Jay. He’d in the catering area with Steve, could you go keep an eye on him for us, so he doesn’t try and do anything stupid like try to do a moonsault or something?” Nudging Reso out into the hallway, Chris winked at Trish before pushing his friend in the direction of catering. “If you’ve still got the rental keys then you’re driving tonight. I’ve ordered a taxi for us in twenty. You remember the way back to the hotel?” Chris sure didn’t, but that was probably because he’d had his eyes shut tight the entire trip over.

Hoping Adam could handle an emotional Jay in his current condition, Chris sent his lover a mental ‘I’m sorry’ and set out to find ‘Robin’.

After ten minutes of his precious twenty was chewed up, he spotted the big, tattooed individual he’d nicknamed Bunnykins. Ty was trying to avoid everybody and had hidden himself in the far corner of the gym. On the floor. Doing sit ups. It would normally be difficult for someone of Ty’s size to go unnoticed, but given his supernatural quiet, lying down was probably his only hope.

He must have just finished his run, because Tyson had a forearm over his eyes and was still panting lightly. Sitting on a piece of equipment, CJ tossed Ty’s towel onto the other man’s stomach. A grunt was his only response. Fuck, this was even harder than getting something out of Austin!

“I’m taking Adam back to the hotel, so you’re on your own with the Juvenile. That gonna be a problem?” Chris asked.

A sigh that seemed to come from the very depths of the big man’s abdomen. “Nah. We’ll be right by then.”

Chris waited a beat to see if there would be any further information coming. There wasn’t.

“Well good. Because if I chart the time between when you two have your arguments, I can have coffee and donuts waiting, just in case.” If that didn’t prompt a reaction nothing would.

A sudden sharp intake of breath and Ty lifted the towel to rub his face, voice low and, Chris realized, very tired, Tyson explained. “He won’t stop. He’s rushing about like an idiot, trying to keep things hot for me while I’m working with Trish. I’m worried he’ll make his back worse by being on the road, but he’s being an idiot and HE WON’T LISTEN!.” This last was said through gritted teeth as Ty sat up with a violent clench of stomach muscles. The towel hurtled across the room and smacked into the ‘Steroids Kill Your Libido’ poster.

Unsure if he should be pleased or not with the break down of Ty’s reserve, CJ unthinkingly reached out to pat the big man’s shoulder comfortingly. His small hiss of pain as his injured fingers touched Ty’s rock-like shoulder caused the bald man’s head to snap around in query. Chocolate eyes narrowing, Tyson took in CJ’s disheveled state and the shiny new cast on his hand.

Chris could actually see the gears turning behind Ty’s eyes as he made mental guesses about what had occurred. In complete reverse of his boyfriend, Tyson remained silent while he took in the blood on CJ’s sleeve and processed the information about Chris taking Adam to the hotel…. early. Adam rarely left the arena before a taping was over and for Chris to leave was unheard of.

“Who?” Ty demanded in a frighteningly perceptive tone.

Chris was afraid of very few things. Breaking his neck in the ring, damaging his throat so he’d never sing again and his new baby, fucking up this ‘thing’ with Adam, were some of the only things that could make him tremble. He wasn’t afraid of Tyson right then and there, but The Fuckhead sure should be.

“Terry.” Chris dobbed the bastard in happily. As far as he knew, Rhyno was hiding in a private room, so he doubted Ty would actually be able to hurt him.

S’funny, CJ thought while he jumped out of the man’s way as Bunnykins left the room with steam visibly coming from his ears, he hadn’t expected such a violent reaction from his friend on his and Adam’s behalf. Almost running to keep up with Tyson’s huge stride, Chris shook his head.


	47. Crushes

Having heard Mark's inquiry in the background, Scott was hard put to keep a straight face. Now that should be an interesting conversation. Especially if Mark happened to find Shawn with Dave and/or Hunter. He wondered for a moment how things had gone with Hunter's conversation with Vince. If that hadn't gone well then Shawn might not be in the mood for talking to anyone but Hunter or Dave, but being the person that Shawn was, he would talk to Mark anyway.

Scott picked up on the humor in Kevin's voice as he suggested checking Evolution's locker room. Oh Kev. And Kev said that he was naughty? Of course Scott wasn't going to fall all over himself to warn Mark either, so maybe Kev was right.

 _"Scott, would you mind keeping Jeff company for a while?"_

Nodding in response, Scott exchanged a smile with Jeff. He didn't miss the look on Kevin's face when he caught the exchange. Now Scott could have told Kevin that they weren't going to do any more than check up on Copeland and maybe go razz 'Shaw some more, but it'd do his lover good to sweat it out. Besides, Kev was going to have his hands full getting all the details about Mark's conversation with Shawn. He almost laughed when Kev mentioned catching up on all the gossip. An immediate picture of Kev and Mark as doddering old men sitting on a porch whittling while telling 'the man that got away' stories popped into his head and he couldn't help but laugh. He wouldn't share that thought with them though because he did like living.

Now to the mystery of Jeff Hardy...

Scott honestly didn't doubt that he and Copeland did actually have a contest going on, which in a way was kind of scary, but after the TLC matches they had been involved in it was also believable. Watching his 'subtle' goodbye to Mark, Scott hid a smile and returned Kevin's wink. A serious case of everyone seeing what these two didn't was certainly applicable here.

So Vince was giving the kid a contract and it looked like Mark was in on it in some way. Scott didn't need the details to figure out why Mark was involved, it was enough to know that he was. If Mark was going to bat for the kid, then he must believe in him and that was a good enough endorsement for Scott. They walked away from the other two and headed towards the locker rooms first. Not finding Copeland there, they headed towards catering. Scott had been mostly silent as had Jeff, but then Jeff spoke again.

He wasn't sure what Adam's reaction to Jeff getting a contract would be, though he could guess that Adam would be surprised to know that Mark was involved more than that Vince had opened talks with the younger Hardy. As far as Chris and Adam together... well yeah Scott had to agree with him. They certainly would look pretty hot together, not that he'd every really looked at either of them or anything. Yeah... right. Much as he loved Kev, he wasn't dead yet, and looking certainly wasn't a crime.

"Not sure but if that's not what set Terry off, from the way things looked when we came in. Adam and Jericho being together I mean. Jericho was all over himself to get back to Adam's side once Dave pulled him off of Terry. Either way, Terry is an idiot. If Vince doesn't handle it, you can bet there will be some in the locker room that'll pay him back in kind, though maybe in a less obvious manner. I have the feeling Hunter will be looking for his head as well and that's one man it's not good to be on the bad side of."

As they came closer to the catering area, Scott turned and looked at Jeff consideringly. "Look Rainbow," seeing the look on Jeff's face, Scott sighed and tried again. "Sorry. I'll make you a deal. I'll try to stick to Jeff if you agree to call him Mark. You may think calling him 'Taker is going to keep things simpler, but it's not. In fact, since he asked you to call him by his real name, if you stick to his stage name all you are gonna do is offend him. I'm pretty sure you don't want to do that... considering how you feel about him and everything."

It was a shot in the dark, but one that Scott felt comfortable taking a gamble on considering the dynamics between the two. He was waiting for an explosion or denial and had a feeling he might have gotten one, if Reso hadn't barreled into him just as they reached the doors to catering. Turning with a quizzical look in the blond's direction, Scott noticed his apparent agitation. "You okay Reso? Where's the fire?"

****

He stood unflinching as Vince stared at him. No flinching, no blinking, no moving. As far as anyone could tell he might as well be a statue with the way he was standing there. Even as Vince made his demand for everyone to leave, he still didn't move, showing no reaction at all. If that was how Vince wanted to deal with this, then fine. He was not going to change his mind or his decision. It took him a moment to realize that no one else had moved either.

 _"Not going to happen McMahon."_

'Oh Hunter, what are you doing?' was his first thought. Since Vince had singled him out, it was more than apparent where Vince's problem lay. Whether it was the three of them together or just him in particular, Dave wasn't sure, but it really didn't matter. Still he stood there, still as stone as Hunter threatened to leave this job that he loved. TNA would indeed snap him up in a moment, but what would it cost Hunter to do it? What had it cost him just to say those words? Opposing Vince was bad enough in itself, but to do it in front of the people present here was worse.

Despite the fact that Vince relented, in a most ungracious way, Dave had no doubt at all that someone was going to suffer his wrath... the question was who and when. Finally as Hunter approached with Shawn, Dave moved. As they stepped out into the hallway he closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath. What had happened in there, while having the desired end result, had not been good. As he was about to suggest that they head back to the locker room to regroup, a technician approached them.

"Mr. Michaels? If you could come with me, we're ready to shoot your promos now."

Great. Dave shared a look with Shawn. The three of them being together in front of an audience right now would not be the best of ideas. Too much tension, too much emotion was running rampant and others would pick up on it without having to try.

Placing one hand on Hunter's arm, he turned and smiled at Shawn. No need to air their problems in front of others... especially with Vince already on the warpath. "We'll be waiting in the locker room, Shawn. See you soon."

He wasn't at all sure that Hunter didn't want to follow Shawn, but he steered him gently towards their locker room. There were so many thoughts flying through his head from 'what the hell was up Vince's ass' to 'why the hell had Hunter and Shawn both threatened to quit', but he knew they wouldn't rehash it until Shawn came back. So he let his thoughts settle on the other big question that had been floating in his head from earlier. They were both silent as they entered the room, but after a moment or two of haphazardly playing with things in his locker, he knew that he had to ask. He approached Hunter from the side, unsure as to what the man was thinking right now.

Laying one hand on his shoulder, he spoke Hunter's name and waited for his acknowledgment. When Hunter looked at him, he raised his other hand to comb the hair back from Hunter's face, his gesture almost unconscious, so that he could see his eyes. "I know we have a lot to talk about when Shawn comes back, but before he does, there is something I need to ask you." He could see the question in Hunter's eyes and smiled, hopefully it would ease Hunter's worry about what he might be asking.

"I think... I think after what just happened that I know the answer, but... I still need to know. When we were in the shower earlier, you said..." Dave ducked his head for a moment, his insecurities welling up despite what he thought he knew. "I know that sometimes when people get swept up in the moment they say things without thinking." Dave lifted his head again. He wanted to look in Hunter's eyes when received his answer.

"You said you loved both of us and I just wanted to know... if you really meant it?"

****

 _"You stay here and bully Austin into having some balls, I'll find Jay. Then we leave."_

That stare was almost enough to make him think twice about his plans to go see Vince... almost. He knew that Chris was serious in his desire that Adam 'stay put', but Adam had never been good at doing what he was told. Luckily for him, there was the distraction of Austin to keep him busy for now, but who knows how long it would take Chris to find Mutt & Jeff so that could certainly change his plans.

 _"...and go beat the shit outta the guy for usin’ me like that or drag him off to my cave to make it a two night stand."_

He was hearing things right? Austin, king of 'I don't care what's between its legs', actually giving two cents about a one night stand? This was going to be more interesting than he thought. Later he'd blame his head injury for what he was about to do, but he was actually starting to like Steve in a way. Imagine that. He figured he could offer up some information he'd gleaned during his 'watches' without actually admitting that he was starting to warm up to the guy. Wouldn't do to actually admit to liking him after all, he'd probably give the poor guy a heart attack.

Letting his gaze linger for a moment yet on Steve's face, Adam smiled. "Ya know baldy, you used to scare the hell out of me sometimes... and I have to be one of the most fearless people I know. Of course that was before I noticed how you are with Chris. Turns out Steve Austin is just a big ol' pussycat beneath that badass roughneck exterior. I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't watched you... I watch everyone, it's just something I do." He let that sink in for a moment as he considered what to say about the other part involved in this little problem.

"Your boy... he's spoiled, arrogant, a right pain in the ass... at least that's the image he gives off. Of course if someone looks beyond the image, if you take the time, he's as different as you are to your image. He has crappy taste in friends, probably because he feels comfortable around the younger guys. He's still in awe of the 'stars' around here, despite the way he acts. He's thankful for Hunter's support, even if he doesn't always show it. He lives his character because he thinks no one will take him seriously otherwise... especially guys like Ric, Mark, and... you." Tapping his fingers on the tabletop, he considered what else... if anything he should say. This might seriously put him out on a limb as far as revealing the fact that he wasn't just tolerating Austin, but what the hell. Maybe the man would start acting like Austin was supposed to act instead of this weird moping around.

"If I were Randy, which thank god I'm not," he said, turning to stick his tongue out at Austin, "I'd be steering clear of you for the foreseeable future. Most likely because of your reputation, he'll think you just wanted a one off anyway. That he worked up the balls to be anywhere in your vicinity that he could end up in your bed... he has to be interested. He's probably thinking any old body would have done. If that's not the case, then maybe you should get him off by himself and tell him that. Might be surprised what happens if you do. Maybe he'll drop the façade and you'll get to see who Randy Orton really is."

That was it, the gist of his advice. He wasn't sure whether Austin was taking it seriously or not, but he'd done his best either way. If Steve didn't go talk to Randy, it was because he didn't really want to. If that was the case then maybe it was better off that he didn't. For all of Randy's attitude, once in awhile Adam had caught a glimpse of the vulnerable side of the younger man. Steve messing with him would have bad results, but Adam honestly didn't think that was what Steve had in mind.

About that time, Adam saw Jeff, Jay, and Scott Hall walking through the doors. Weird trio that was. And Jay looked like he was in the midst of freaking out. Oh man. Thanks Chris. He had no doubt at all that that was who he had to thank for this visit. Turning to Steve, he rolled his eyes and braced himself for the onslaught that was Jay. He loved the guy, really he did. They were great friends, but any time he so much as bruised himself, Jay over-reacted. Considering his condition and who was responsible for it? Jay would be off the hook this time. Maybe he could get Jeff to distract Jay while he got out of dodge. He doubted it though.

****

 _"Maybe we'll all just move down to Orlando."_

Shawn managed to hide most of his shock at Dave's words, but from the expression on Vince's face, he didn't have to. McMahon was still pale from his own threat---and threat it had been. While the thought of giving up the business that he loved so much was incredibly painful for him, the thought of not being with these two men was even more so. Working for Jarrett hadn't even occurred to him... and he wasn't too sure that he would, if it came down to it. He and "Double J" cordially loathed each other, and although Jarrett would suck it up if the opportunity came along, he couldn't imagine working in that kind of environment.

 _"Get out all of you... Batista..._ you _stay here."_

Oh, _hell_ no. He hadn't been able to stop Vince from making Hunter pay for the Clique breaking kayfabe back in the day; no matter what he'd offered, that particular breach had just been too huge back in the day not to suffer for. No way in hell was he going to step back and watch that happen again, especially for something that wasn't in the ring and wasn't on TV. His lips tightening as his eyes narrowed, he leaned forward slightly. Hunter's words cut him off before he could try to speak.

 _"Not going to happen McMahon."_

Before he could turn to gape at Hunter for using that tone of voice with his father-in-law, he was being lifted and moved. There were times that he hated being one of the smaller wrestlers in the company; the only thing that saved Hunt from having his head bitten off for that little maneuver was the kiss that followed it. Even as brief as it was, it made Shawn want to melt against the man, audience or not. The look on Vince's face was priceless, even if it did send a brief pang to Shawn's heart. They hadn't been friends for years now, but he'd never thrown his own relationships in Vince's face and he knew that the man _had_ changed over the last several years... but any instant of remorse was wiped out by the situation Vince had caused. No way in hell could he dictate his employees' private lives, and to the best of Shawn's knowledge, he'd never tried before. That meant that this whole scene was either because of Stephanie, or because of who they were. Shawn personally was voting for a combination of the two, combined with what had to look to Vince like his favourite "pet" throwing his formerly hidden independence in Vince's face. Hunter seemed to be thinking along the same lines... but his next words just stunned Shawn.

 _"...is Hunter Hearst Helmsley quitting the WWE and going to TNA."_

God. He knew he'd probably gone pale at those words, but he couldn't stop the reaction. If anyone hated Jarrett more than he did, besides Vince, it would be Hunter... and the feeling was definitely mutual. But for Hunter to even _say_ that... Hunter's whole life was the WWE. Even with the rocky start he'd gotten off to in the company, mostly because of Shawn and the rest of the Clique, he'd given himself to the company body and soul and nearly ended his career because he wasn't willing to throw a major televised match.

What it had cost Hunt to even say the words, Shawn could imagine... because he'd been there. He'd never quite threatened to quit outright even when Bischoff was practically offering him the moon, but after his back surgery, Vince had had to bribe him outrageously to get him to stay when all he'd wanted was to crawl into a hole and die. WCW had been a convenient excuse to get the concessions he'd wanted, since he knew all too well what Kevin, Scott, and Sean were going through there and had no desire whatsoever to share those experiences. But this... with the ties Hunt had to WWE now...

The unexpected feeling of Dave's arms closing around him brought his tumbling thoughts to a stuttering halt, and he leaned back into the comforting embrace, not missing the quick glance that Vince gave them at the movement. Screw him. No matter what he tried, they were _not_ going to bow to this pressure and they were _not_ going to be separated.

 _"Fine. Go ahead, do what you want then. You always will anyway. I can't stop you."_

Shawn saw the look that Vince directed at Hunter even as he heard the bite behind the words and felt his fingers clench. The man was absolutely right---he _couldn't_ stop them. But he'd find some way to make them pay for defying him; that was a clear message. Shawn was probably clear of any real problems since his hiatus started in less than a week, but that didn't make him feel any better. If anything, it made him feel worse. This was too close to what had happened to Hunter in 1996.

Hunter approaching with an indescribable look on his face forced Shawn into movement, stepping out of Dave's grasp to wrap an arm around Hunter's waist as they walked out of the office in silence. There was so much that he wanted to say, but the words seemed stuck in his throat as they all grappled with what had just happened.

 _"Mr. Michaels? If you could come with me, we're ready to shoot your promos now."_

Dammit. Of all times... He cast a look at Dave, his apologies written in his eyes. He wanted so badly to just huddle up in their arms... At the very least, they were leaving early. To hell with Vince's policy; he could fine them if he wanted to, but they needed to get out of here, and soon.

 _"We'll be waiting in the locker room, Shawn."_

Squeezing Hunter's waist before dropping his arm, he nodded and forced a smile to his face before following the tech down the hall. The actual shoot went surprisingly quickly, considering the state of his voice, but fortunately there wasn't much talking... mostly just dark looks into the camera as they did dramatic lighting shots to splice together for the Bad Blood ad. That brought to mind what exactly he was going to be doing at Bad Blood, and he shuddered slightly as he waved the techs on their way. He knew that they'd put on a hell of a show, a Hell in a Cell for the record books, but he hadn't been thrilled about the Cell to start with. Now that things had changed between him and Hunt...

He forced himself to stop. It was a match. A nasty match, but still just another match, and the only difference now was that he had even more motivation to be careful... as much as he could be, in the Cell. He was _not_ going to get worked up about it now. Instead, he'd enjoy the time coming up with his lovers. After all, neither him nor Hunt was really going to feel like doing more than collapsing in bed and sleeping for 18 hours Sunday night. His lips twitched slightly at the thought. For the first time in years, at least they wouldn't have to do that alone. Poor Dave. Frowning at the thought, Shawn reminded himself to try to talk to Dave sometime between now and then, to reassure him as much as he could. Ideally, he'd convince the man not to watch the match while it was going on, but he already knew he wouldn't be able to. It was worse to not know what was happening than to watch people you cared about beat the shit out of each other. He'd tried not to watch the Cell match between Hunt and Kevin the year before and had lasted about ten minutes before rushing off to find a monitor.

Shaking his head, he wondered if they'd ever get used to this. It was one thing to watch a friend in a match... it was a whole different thing to watch a lover. A genuine smile came to his lips as the thought reminded him of what exactly was waiting for him, and he hastened his steps as he headed down the hallways toward the locker rooms.

****

Hunter was still tingling with anger over what had just occurred. Damn Vince. Why oh why, did the man have to try and control everyone with such an iron fist? Didn't he know that half the roster would kill themselves in the ring just on his say-so? And that other half wished they could? Vincent K McMahon was The Man in the wrestling business, bar no-one, and every wrestler's fate was in his hands. No matter what the management said about 'creative issues', you were gone if Vince said so and that's that.

Hunter's revelation had obviously hit a delicate nerve in his father-in-law, to cause such a brutish reaction. The question was why? Was is because Hunter dared to fall in love with Shawn? Vince's feelings for his gorgeous lover weren't news to Hunter, nor Shawn's for the older man. But it hadn't been jealousy in McMahon's eyes when he'd narrowed them at Hunter, no, it had been something else. Disgust? Hardly. There wasn't any kind of relationship combination that hadn't been explored in the locker room of the WWE, under Vince's nose or not. So, his choice of partner then. Vince had been quick to target Dave as the one of them to be removed, something neither Shawn or Hunter would permit. But as far as Hunt knew, Dave was considered to be an excellent talent by both Vince and Pat, they wouldn't want to be rid of the man for any reason to do with work. Strange. And why had his father-in-law been more focused on Hunter? Because he'd been the first to challenge him? To defy the Tyrant Vince and get away with it?

The sudden, unpleasant return of his headache had Hunter almost stumble as Shawn and Dave led him from the office. Too many questions and no answers from Vince in the foreseeable future. But he'd been on Vince's shit list before, although not about such a personal subject. And the look he'd received over Stephanie's shoulder while she'd animatedly discussed merchandising with her father, had stiffened Hunt's spine even further. That look had said one thing... this isn't over.

The warm bar of Shawn's arm around his waist was a comfort that Hunter hadn't known he'd needed. But hadn't Shawn always been there for him? Been the best of best friends a man could ever want? Teasing and supportive, judgmental when he was being an asshole, but never blinking an eyelid at any of Hunter's more dubious confessions. If Shawn wasn't beside him, Hunter knew he'd be lost. Lonely and alone just like he'd resigned himself to be not twelve hours ago.

God. They hadn't even started the taping yet.

 _"Mr. Michaels? If you could come with me, we're ready to shoot your promos now."_

Hunter managed to muster a smile for Shawn as his lover was hustled away for his promo shoot. They world may be about to end emotionally for a wrestler, it didn't matter, when the crew said you needed to move, you damn well moved. Despite all appearances on TV,  the talent didn't control so much as a paper bag backstage. Mess with the running sheet at your own risk.

Dave's guiding hand led Hunter back into the Evolution dressing room. The familiar sight of their gear, wet towels draped on benches and Shawn's jeans on the floor shocked Hunter back into reality. Dave. Dammit, the man had been ready to just throw away his career because Vince was being an asshole. That he and Shawn had done the same thing, Hunter chose to ignore. Dave wouldn't be targeted no way, no how, not as long as Hunter haunted these halls.

Pulling a water bottle close, Hunter roughly twisted off the cap while they waited for Shawn. He knew he was still pissed at Vince and shouldn't take his anger out on Dave, but god, his lover being threatened like that had been just _wrong_. Dave wasn't meant to be a part of the shit that could come down on them for raising Vince's ire, yet it seemed like Vince was blaming the big man for Hunter's rebellious actions. And didn't that just make him feel worse?

His name, so softly spoken it sent hot messages to his groin, caused Hunter to look up. He'd been so caught up in having a little mental bitch-fit, he hadn't noticed Dave's silence. Of course the man would be thrown by what had just happened and Hunter should have kept him out of it, instead he'd made Dave one big target. Looking deep into curious chocolate eyes, Hunter noted that Dave's bruises weren't getting any worse. Vince hadn't commented on their presence, or the red mark on Hunter's jaw, but that might just have been postponed until later. Hunt wondered if he could blame their faces on the Jericho/Copeland/Terry debacle.

 _When we were in the shower earlier, you said... You said you loved both of us..._

He had, hadn't he? Hunter felt his anger drain away at the embarrassed determination apparent in Dave's question. God, he'd just blurted it out hadn't he? When Shawn's touches and Dave's magnificent blow job had pushed him over the hurdle of his own mental block.  Did he really mean it? Of course he did, but how to tell Dave without putting too much pressure on the man. Loving Dave was really very easy. It wasn't the angsty hell, he'd almost turned his and Shawn's love into, it was admiration, friendship, and fiendish sexual attraction all rolled into one.

There was no way he was going to lie here. He'd done that to Shawn and while he'd wanted to believe he'd survive it, Hunter doubted he would have. Now Dave deserved the truth from Hunter, as Shawn had last night. Dropping the bottle of water back on it's crisp white napkin, Hunter moved inside the arm that rested on his shoulder. For some reason he'd always thought Dave was taller than him, but they actually stood eye to eye. Maybe because Dave just exuded strength unconsciously. Maybe because beside him, Hunter always felt small... a lesser man. Tipping his head so the strands of hair Dave had shifted fell back into place across his cheek, Hunter smiled into his lover's nervous expression.

"I did say it without thinking Dave." Hunter quickly continued, trying to soothe the sudden shock of pain he saw in the man's dark eyes. "Because I was so lost in what you were doing to me, making love to me like that, that I just gave up trying to hold myself back from you. I decided, while your lips were on my cock I might add, so give me credit for having any mental capacity at that point _at all_ , that I wanted you both, you and Shawn so much that I couldn't have let you go if I allowed myself to love you. But I knew you wouldn't deny me Dave. You gave yourself to me back there. How could I not love you?"

There was a moment of silence as Dave processed Hunter's words. Fearing he'd messed up another explanation, Hunt tried again. "Yes Dave, I love you. Like I love Shawn down to my toes, I lov..."

****

At Scott's use of the dreaded 'Rainbow' nickname, Jeff leaned his head back and sent the taller man a look from under his lashes that thousands of poster's mirrored. It was his 'get fucked' look and while he didn't mean it towards Scott, it was nice to tease someone right back without worrying about the consequences for a change. Hall relented which was nice, except Jeff _could_ handle the joke, until he was told that not using Mark's first name was likely to offend the guy. Well, he didn't want to do that. No way, no how.

 _considering how you feel about him and everything._

Blink. What? Since when was Scott Hall so fuckin' perceptive? Jeff sized the other man up for a moment with narrowed eyes, trying to judge whether he actually knew anything or if he was just taking a shot in the dark. A bit of both, it seemed. Jezus, he'd only been in the man's company for twenty minutes and the guy was putting two and two together. Which was nice for Scott and his radar, but would suck to high heaven if it got back to 'Taker. Last thing that man wanted was a horny Jeff Hardy all over him. He'd play Scott's guess off as truth, but only lightly. Pulling a relaxed air around him like armour, Jeff kept his surprise at Hall's remark totally hidden.

"Fair enough Raze, I don't wanna hurt anyone, particularly not 'Taker," Seeing Hall's frown, Jeff grinned. "I'll call him Mark okay? Just kinda hard to move from that schoolboy crush every wrestler has on the guy, into being his pet reclamation project ya know?" So what if he'd said crush, rather than totally obsessive, adoring, probably-become-a-stalker type 'thing' he had going on for Mark? He hadn't actually lied.

Jay Reso ran into them like a slim freight train and Jeff moved gracefully out of the way of flailing elbows. Jason was a great wrestler in the ring, knew his moves like the back of his hand and had never, in Jeff's sight, put less than a hundred percent into his matches. Beat the hell out of him why the guy was such a spaz the rest of the time. Must be like he ground up all his talent into one excelled little ball and let it out in the squared circle, leaving him flailing when it was gone.

Scott's question was unanswered as Reso continued into the catering area with a wave that almost smacked Scott in the jaw and a "sorry, sorry" in a distracted voice. Jeff smiled at Scott's confused expression. You just had to know Jay. Joining the dark man as they followed Jay's tumble across the room, Jeff explained.

"Jay tends to freak out if Adam's hurt. Those boys have been friends since they were little and Adam used to get in all sorts of trouble so I hear. Reso developed a kinda 'red alert' thing for Adam being hurt. Adam fell out of a tree, equals freak out and run for the parents, Adam's in a shopping cart as it goes over an embankment..." and that one Jeff was sure was true, "...panic and call an ambulance. Adam takes a bad bump, Reso freaks and gets an EMT...." Jeff let his sentence trail off into a physical example of Jay's worrying natures by gesturing at the crowd of men near the corner of the room. "Adam gets jumped by Terry... you do the math."

Jay was crouching beside Adam's chair, hand on his friend's shoulder, asking what looked like a series of pseudo-medical questions. A long-suffering but fond expression on his face, Adam was answering them, while Austin was chuckling into his hand.

Arriving at the table, Jeff hooked a hand under Jay's armpit and pulled his friend to his feet.

"Dude, ya gotta give him a chance ta breathe okay? And obviously people don't get welcoming hugs in this place unless they get broken ribs huh?" Jeff teased, keeping a hurt expression on his face until Jason, mollified by Adam's smile, turned to his tropical haired friend with a guilty expression and lifted Jeff into a warm hug.

"Sorry Jeffo, just that Adam was jumped by that asshole and I had to make sure he was okay...." Jeff cut off Reso's explanation with a thwack to the side of the head.

"Just kiddin' man. I came to see what was up with the choir boy here too." Keeping an arm around Jason's waist, Jeff leaned in close to his friend's warm body and tilted his head at Adam, looking him over critically.

"Hey Adam, ya look like shit man. How many?"

Wow. Jeff realised, it was so good to be back.

****

 _"I did say it without thinking Dave."_

'So that's that. You wanted to know and now you do,' he told himself as soon as the words left Hunter's mouth. Hadn't he told himself that that was most likely what had happened? As much as the thought might hurt, it wasn't the end of the world. Hell, they'd just started their relationship... what had he expected? Miracles? He didn't react right away, because he knew Hunter was watching him. He didn't want to show how disappointed he was. Then Hunter started talking again and he listened... really listened.

 _"...that I wanted you both, you and Shawn so much that I couldn't have let you go if I allowed myself to love you."_

It took him a minute to process it and he still wasn't sure he had the right of it once he had. Didn't Hunter realize that he _never_ had to let him go? 'Of course not you idiot. It's not like you've told him how you feel either.' Dave knew that. That's why he had worked out his own little surprise for tonight, but maybe it would be better if he just came out and said it now without all the trappings. Then everything would be on the table. But saying it out loud was so daunting. He'd never said those words to anyone outside his family or his close circle of friends and this... this was completely different. There weren't any guarantees.

 _"...You gave yourself to me back there. How could I not love you?"_

Truth be told, he couldn't deny Hunter. Dave would give him anything he wanted if he asked and some things even if he didn't. How could he not... does that mean that he _does_? It sounded like it, but he was so afraid to let himself hope without Hunter actually spelling it out. His heart was beating fiercely in his chest, but he would swear it stopped for a beat when Hunter broke the silence that had enveloped them.

 _"Yes Dave, I love you."_

If he were the type to dance, he'd have danced a jig right then, but Dave didn't want his lover to think him insane so he stood there instead, his heart bursting with happiness. He let the words sink in for barely a moment. Hunter had just handed him his future with those words because Dave was never going to let him go... never. Hunter was now his. Not in the obsessive, possessive, psycho sort of way, but his to love, protect, and cherish. And even though he hadn't said the words yet, he was Hunter's as well. He'd be sure to tell him so too, just as soon as he...

 _"Like I love Shawn down to my toes, I lov..."_

Drawing Hunter into the circle of his arms, he covered Hunter's mouth with his own. Not to stop the words, but to take them into himself. From his mouth to lodge in his heart... there to stay. The kiss was gentle at first, promising all the things he hadn't yet said. Then he took it deeper, giving Hunter everything he was... heart, soul, body... passion. He knew that as soon as he pulled away, he'd give him the words as well. He couldn't withhold them anymore, plan or not.

The light knock at the door and the door swinging open behind him didn't register at all.

****

"No, Jay. I do not need a second opinion. I do not need to stay overnight at a hospital. I definitely do not want you to call my mother," Adam grimaced as he realized that he would have to call her before Sunday so she didn't have a complete freak out when she saw his ribs taped up. "I can breathe just fine, I do not need stitches, and yes I am going to wrestle on Sunday... unless you smack me in the head and give me post concussion syndrome," he said as he ducked away from Jay's wild hand gestures.

He could hear Austin trying to smother a laugh and turned to toss him a pleading look which Austin ignored, reaching out to pat him on the shoulder as he stood. After a nod, Austin was on his way out the door, passing by Jeff and Scott on his way. He was so paying Steve back for his lack of assistance later. Maybe he'd have to have a talk with Shane and Rosey again... or he could always have a nice enlightening talk with Randy. Thankfully Jeff took the initiative to distract Jay rather nicely. At least he didn't have to worry for the moment about getting belted in the head.

 _"Hey Adam, ya look like shit man. How many?"_

"Thanks Jeff, I can always count on you to cheer me up," Adam said dryly sticking his tongue out at his friend. "Can't claim any breaks this time. Three ribs, five incomplete fractures. I didn't even rate stitches," he said tilting his head and pointing at the back of it where Sandburg had glued him back together. Lifting his shirt carefully, front and back, he rolled his eyes. "Although I think my back and ribs might be a match for your hair by the time their done turning." The bruising on his ribs was now a pretty impressive array of colors. He had no clue what his back looked like, but it was tender so he assumed that it was a few nice shades of blue as well.

Noticing Scott standing in the background, he tipped his head in the man's direction before turning his attention back to Jeff. "You just visiting or playing tiddlywinks with Melrose again? And what was up in the hall earlier? Looked like someone was about to give Heyman what he deserves. Thought about checking it out, but Chris would have had my head on a platter if I'd even thought about it."

****

Chris wasn't about to put himself between Tyson and anything right then. Then intense look on the face of his normally stoic friend was a little unsettling. They were stomping up the hall at a pace that almost had CJ skipping to keep up, stopping every so often to look into various rooms along the way. Chris had to admit to himself that if Bunnykins actually found Terry, he wouldn't intercede. Even though his own rage had receded to a cold little lump in his guts and Adam wasn't too badly injured, Chris would still like to see someone break a few of Rhyno's ribs in return. He'd do it himself but furious, blinding rage wasn't Chris' revenge method of choice, he liked to be cold, psychotic and cruel about it.

Although following Ty as he searched every room in the arena would probably get a tad exhausting as for all he knew, Terry had left the building. Perhaps he should divert that rage somewhere else? He'd found Jay first after all.

"Not that this isn't fun Ty, I mean really, having a total ball here, but as Adam's in catering with Austin watching over him, I'm gonna head back there. See if he's ready to leave yet." CJ thought for a moment that his words hadn't registered until he noticed Ty didn't open the next door they came to, but was walking, blood hound like, straight towards the area set up with tables of food.

Just as they reached the door, Austin came through it, a smug smile on his normally scowling features. Chris felt his exasperation rise. Why was it that people never did what he told them too? He would hardly cop the 'Napoleon' nickname if no-one every took him seriously now would he? Letting Ty go through the door alone, Chris raised a finger and opened his mouth to chastise his friend.

A large hand covered his mouth.

"Keep yer trap shut Kitten, I'm goin' right now." Austin didn't moved his hand even when Chris sank his teeth, with gentle warning, into the flesh of his palm. "That boy a' yours gave me sumthin' ta think about so I'm gonna go think. Then I'll talk ta 'him' okay?"

Chris nodded reluctantly with the hand still covering half his face. "Good, now go save Copeland from Reso." The hand removed and a sharp swat to his ass before Steve made a break for it in the other direction.

And they called him 'bossy'.

Looking curiously into the room, Chris began to smile in a manner to match Austin's. Jay was indeed fussing over his childhood friend as usual and seemed on the verge of calling either a) Adam's mother b) an ambulance or c) the police, on his cell phone. Knowing that his lover wouldn't appreciate any of those events right now, Chris was pleased that the presence of his own lamb Tyson seemed to distract Jay from his intent dialing.

Joining the circle of people hovering over Adam, Chris raised a curious eyebrow at Scott Hall's tall form. Much as the Clique and more specifically the Outsiders, were on good terms with most of the wrestlers, he hadn't thought they knew many of the younger WWE guys that well. As far as he knew it was only his own programme with Nash that had even had them moving in the same circles. But then, Chris acknowledged, he'd never had a lot of perspective when it came to the Clique. Why shouldn't they be concerned about a fellow workmate?

The other figure standing next to Adam brought a delighted smile to CJ's face. Having no idea why he was here, but also not caring, Chris walked quietly up behind his slim, young friend. Having spent far too much time with the Brothers Hardy while traveling together, CJ had learned a thing or two about them, including some very sensitive information.

Sliding his arms around Jeff's waist, Chris leaned his body into the taller, but only by two inches!, man's back and squeezed. Resting his chin on one black clad shoulder, Chris winked at Adam past Jeff's ear.

"As I live and breath, JefferyNero is back! What trouble you in this time?" Chris asked.

He'd been given permission to get so up close and personal with the younger Hardy years ago. Not by Jeff of course, by Matt. The elder Hardy had confided a secret to CJ that he'd taken full advantage of since that moment.

Jeff was a cuddler.

****

 _you used to scare the hell out of me sometimes..._

Austin was genuinely surprised at Copeland's admission. He and Vince had spend many months cultivating Steve's fearsome reputation and had succeeded extremely well. Mostly because half of it was the truth. As Dwayne had said in his book, most modern gimmicks were just the personalities of the wrestlers... with the volume turned waaayyyy up. Even with his own dial going to eleven, Austin had often seen the result of his often intimidating presence on some of the younger guys. He didn't have the height and power of guys like the Undertaker, but a history of being a pit-bull about most things certainly worked in his favour. Till now apparently.

It had actually kinda chuffed him to know that people moved aside when he came walking down a hallway. Fear? Respect? Didn't bother him none, only the people he cared about knew he had more going on sometimes than beer, wrestling and sex. CJ had been the first in a long time to see beyond the gruff exterior to the slightly-less-gruff interior. In fact the small blond hadn't even seemed to notice Steve's reputation when they'd first met. Pretty blue eyes had laughed at him when he'd given Chris the once over and that legendarily sharp tongue had responded to his offer to go to bed with a, "Don't hold your breath Redneck. I'm gonna like you better if I never fuck you... trust me." And that had been that. The precious nature of Chris' honest regard had obliterated all desire to climb between the sheets with his Kitten. Oh and hadn't he loathed _that_ nickname the first time Steve had used it. But the likeness was true in Austin's twisted opinion. Small, compared to everyone around him at least, too cute for words with big blue eyes and soft blond hair... and claws that could slice you to the bone if you handled him wrong.

And then there was Randy. God damned stunning to look at, he'd given Steve a hard-on the moment he'd seen the kid. Then he'd opened his mouth and Austin's libido had died at the arrogant little shit's attitude. There'd been enough pain in the ass pretty boys in Steve's life, that he knew one when he saw it. If the kid lasted, they'd have another Bob Holly if they weren't careful. Putting the tall young man firmly out of his mind, Austin had moved on to other, softer conquests.

 _He lives his character because he thinks no one will take him seriously otherwise... because of your reputation, he'll think you just wanted a one off anyway... he has to be interested._

And damn him if that didn't have the ring of truth to it. Randy would be thinking he was just a momentary fancy given that Steve hadn't had a serious partner for nearly two years. So the kid tries to be Mr. Cool and act like he don't give a damn? Well fuck that! Austin gave more than a damn about Randy and he'd better go make the kid admit the same or he'd kill him. Looking at the blond who'd presented him with such great advice, Austin was seriously puzzled. Since when did Adam 'reticent is my middle name' Copeland become Dear Abby?

Must be the drugs.

"Yeah, might just do that," Steve's words were cut off by the sudden and comical arrival of Jay Reso. The gangly young man nearly fell in Austin's lap in his haste to reach Adam.

"Sorry Austin," Reso threw at him before crouching beside Copeland and shooting a series of questions at the blond that would make a worried Mama proud. Shaking his head, Austin snickered at Adam's pleading look before rising to his feet. The boy had helped him though and Steve wasn't the kind of man to take something without offering his thanks. A gentle pat to Adam's shoulder was the first part, but he'd give his gratitude in a different form later on. He and Kitten deserved a break after the nasty afternoon they'd already had.

Just about to make his escape, Steve raised a curious eyebrow at the presence of Jeff Hardy with Scott Hall just coming over to their group. He hoped the kid was back for good this time. Vince had been off his head to let talent like that go, even with the kid's attitude problem. Not like he'd be the first wrestler, or the last, to have personality clashes with members of management.

"Hey Jeff, good ta see ya." Steve greeted as they walked over to join them. Stopping by Hall, Austin grinned at the taller man. "Scotty? You and yer man back huh? Didn't I chase you two out of here year before last?"

Stopping to talk a moment with his old friend, Austin let the confidence Adam's words had generated within him spread. He'd go find Randy and tell the kid that he wanted more than one night. If he was rejected, Steve'd have a tantrum and break something. If he was accepted....

Well...

He'd try and improve on last night.

\-----

 _Randy had gasped when Steve had finally let him come. Swollen lips parting to let out one tortured breath of air as the long body beneath him tensed for a long, wonderful moment. The beautiful sight, coupled with the tight, silky flesh around his throbbing cock was enough to shoot fire directly from Austin's balls to his brain, granting him one of the most powerful orgasms of his life._

 _Still braced on shaking arms, Steve had leaned forward until his face was just over Randy's. A look of absolute peace was on Randy's flushed countenance, while his frightening talented tongue swiped across those same pouty lips that had caused Steve's climax._

 _Still locked in whatever post-orgasmic daze he was in, Steve took note of Randy's long dark eyelashes, resting on the high, sharp cheekbones like some woodland animals. God, he must have just got his rocks off. Since when did Steve Austin think a guy had lashes like a frickin' doe? Breaking his own scary mood, Austin leaned the rest of his weight on his young mattress and plunged his tongue into Randy's mouth in a brutal attempt to quash such foolish feelings._

 _Pity the kid decided that sucking on his tongue was a good idea. It just made Austin think Randy was even more perfect. With a shift of his hips, Steve separated their bodies with a regretful groan and lay beside Randy, looking him over. Chocolate orbs gone nearly black with drugged desire, returned his expression confidently. Not wanting to break the mood with talk, Steve had rubbed his hand lazily along Randy's stomach and the warm cum pooled there._

 _Twisting almost off the bed to grab his black t-shirt, Austin gently cleaned them up, Randy's dark eyes watching him all the while._

 _Feeling exhaustion overwhelm him, Steve lay back down into the dubious softness of the hotel mattress. Reaching out he gently closed Randy's eyelids with his palm._

 _"Sleep kid. We'll talk tomorrow," he'd promised. Funnily enough Randy had obeyed him this time, the eyes stayed shut, the breathing becoming slow and comforting._

 _When Steve awoke next morning, he was alone._

 _\-----_

 _A young man who'd just had more than he'd even dreamed of sat up on the bed. Forcing himself not to linger over the man tangled in the sheets behind him, he'd stepped into his jeans, making almost no sound. He'd had them for years, the jeans, fraying seems, worn knees and all. They'd traveled everywhere with him and were a sign of good luck._

 _Luck had been on his side tonight. He ignored the tight pain his gut while he pulled on his shirt and shoes. Just because he'd finally experienced a long-held fantasy, didn't mean he had the right to anything more. His life was better than he'd dreamed, even with his family's history and he wasn't a greedy man, no matter what he let people think. At the door he looked back over his shoulder, a weakness he allowed himself that he'd curse later for making it worse._

 _Steve's skin looked like marble in the diffused light from the window, the sheets twisted at his thighs due to the stifling heat. He could hear the slow repetitive breaths of deep sleep and smiled fondly at the almost snores that occasionally snuck out. Memorising every detail of the night, he turned the handle of the door and quietly moved into the hallway._


	48. Openings

Jeff looked at the impressive array of bruising across Adam's chest and back and offered a sympathetic wince. It looked like his friend had hit the wall _hard_. It was well known that the gore/spear maneuver could hurt in the ring, and that was even with a padded ring floor to land on, walls were less forgiving. But even with a three, Jeff was still in the lead on the rib fracture scale, but not by much. Funny, coming back to the WWE would probably extend his lead though.

 _playing tiddlywinks with Melrose again?_

And hadn't his friend hit that nail right on the head. Tiddlywinks indeed. Fucking schoolyard games that didn't mean a damn thing, except when it was someone's career they'd been playing with... his own.

"Yeah, Melrose is being his usual charmin' self. It was either storm out in a huff or make him eat Vince's desk, not a move guaranteed to get me a contract." Now this bit would be news, would his friends take it as badly at he had? "Mark stepped in for me with Vince." Seeing their expressions he shrugged.  "Guy's too decent for his own good, if you ask me. So I'm on a two month probation, if I make it through without fuckin' up, you're stuck with me."

Keep it casual Jeff, not like it'll be the end of your world if you lose the contract or disappoint Mark. And we know which of those would be the real killer, don't we?

 _And what was up in the hall earlier?_

"Just Heyman being a sleazy bastard." Exchanging a look with Scott who was talking to Austin, Jeff continued, "I didn't think it would be good idea to smack him one on my first day back, so I put the fear of Hardy into him. He can't decide if I want to hurt him or seduce him... ran away like a chick in a horror film." Even though he'd actually messed up the encounter in hall, 'Taker's expression showed him that very clearly, at least the man would think twice about getting to close to Mark anytime soon.

 _As I live and breathe, JefferyNero is back!_

The warm arms around his waist almost caused him to react with a sharp elbow to the intruder's ribs, till he heard the voice. CJ. Relaxing back into the comforting embrace, he sneaked a hand along his hip until it touched the smaller blond's side.

"Trouble? Oh the usual..." and then Jeff attacked, his fingers unerringly finding the sensitive skin of Chris abdomen. The sudden violent jump he felt behind him was balm to his recently fraught nerves. Even after the debacle in Mark's dressing room and his actions with Heyman in the hall, it was incredibly good to be amongst people who didn't make him feel like an idiot. Chris danced back out if the way, while Jeff turned, keeping the contact close, his fingers moving faster than CJ's feet. "...causing mayhem, tickling sassy Canadians within an inch of their lives."

Chris' laughter peeled out across the locker room, along with a desperate plea of "stop Jeff... stop it... I'll kill you." Those wrestlers that looked up, simply shook their heads and smiled at the pair. He and CJ had set a new record in the ambush prank stage, the only rival to their dual crown being the late and much-loved Owen Hart. Jeff was almost to the point of pinning Chris down and tickling him until he got the much longed for 'please' when a strong hand against his chest halted his momentum. Looking up at the person who would have stopped his fun, Jeff raised a brow at Tyson Tomko. He and Jay's lover had never met and Jeff was a big one for first impressions. If Tomko was a kill-joy then Jeff and he weren't gonna get on.

"He's hurt."

The growly words were enough to completely revise Jeff's opinion and send it straight into the kindred spirit scale. Shooting his gaze back to his friend, Jeff took in the bruising on Chris's back, revealed by the rumpled shirt as he bent over, hands on his stomach while he tried to breath. Two long slender fingers were also encased in a pale blue soft cast and Jeff had the momentary bizarre thought that someone had chosen the colour to complement Chris' eyes.

"Damn CJ, you too? How much does someone have to kill Terry for all this?" Patting Chris' hair gently, Jeff guided him back over to Adam's chair, pushing and pressing until they were seated side by side.

Hands on hips, Jeff assessed the two damaged blonds.

"The day I get back and you two are all messed up? And people say _I_ can't stay out of trouble."

****

 _"Why don't I just head along with you, then?"_

Why don't you just say that you want to pry something out of me, Nash? Mark knew his face revealed his reluctance to have Kevin accompany him, but he shrugged, knowing that Kev wouldn't take "no" for an answer. His lips twitched unwillingly at Kevin's words, but he was quickly resigning himself to having Big Sexy tag along. It _had_  been a while since they'd talked, and he couldn't deny that he'd missed the other two... but he really could've done without the company at the moment. He wasn't entirely sure how to explain his actions or his feelings toward Jeff to himself, let alone anyone else, and that was surely something Kevin would ask about. Managing not to look over his shoulder at their companions as they turned and headed the other way, caught up in his own thoughts as he was, Kev's question caught him off guard.

 _"So, what's up with you and Jeff, anyway?"_

Debating for a minute as they paused, Mark leaned against one of the crates stacked nearby, carefully avoiding meeting Nash's gaze. Settling for the casual response, he shrugged after a moment, a studied expression of nonchalance on his face as he answered. "Not a whole lot. Talked to Vince to convince him to give the kid another shot, since he was here for a contract discussion."

The snort put lie to his hope that Kevin would accept the casual answer. "Sure, Mark. I believe you, but no way in hell is that all there is to it. Why would you put yourself out on a limb for Hardy? You barely know him... unless this is your way of telling him that you'd like to know him better."

Mark's fingers clenched briefly at the cynical words before he relaxed again, realising belatedly from the smirk on Kev's face that the taller man had been looking for a reaction like that. Taking a breath, he rolled his eyes before sighing, not too happy at the thought of sharing his confused thoughts with anyone else, but hoping that it might help him sort them out a little. Maybe if he started with the basics, not the deeper things, the ones that he'd hidden for two years and tried not to look at, let alone admit to himself...

"Not that, Kevin. Anything but that." Dammit. That had been pretty brutally honest, his tone of voice revealing more than he'd intended... and Nash had caught it, from the serious expression settling over those normally playful features. He tilted his head back and crossed his arms over his chest, staring blankly at the ceiling. "I convinced Vince to give him another chance by taking responsibility for him. He's got two months to show up on time, train, get back in shape, not miss shows, improve his attitude... you know the drill." A sidelong look, and a wry expression on the blond's face. Mark knew very well that the entire Clique had had _that_ particular discussion with McMahon once or twice.

"And...? What's the catch, Mark?" The quiet question made him sigh again.

"If he screws up, I take the fall." He didn't have to look at the man next to him this time to see the half-disbelieving, half-pissed off expression. The condition hadn't thrilled him either, but it was the only thing he'd had to offer when Vince had demanded _something_ in return for an extension of his much-abused trust. At least this gave him an excuse to spend time around the fascinating whirlwind and see just how much he really was like Shawn: If all that attitude and flippancy was just a shell hiding something much deeper, or if he was merely skin-deep.

"What the _hell_ kind of deal is that?" The angry tone in Kevin's voice shifted almost immediately. "But... I shouldn't be surprised. What with how you feel for the kid and all."

Mark's head whipped around, his eyes widening. How in the _hell_ had Kevin guessed that? He hadn't been that obvious, had he? He hadn't even figured out his own emotions yet---how could Nash know? All he'd been able to tell for the last two years was that he desperately missed the flying rainbow that had somehow captured a part of him before disappearing from his life. But he couldn't possibly tell Kevin that... if he was going to tell anyone, it would be Jeff. And that was about as likely as Vince coming up and asking him to kindly take another championship reign, starting tonight. Maybe if he tried the disbelief tactic... "How I feel for him? What the hell are you talking about?"

**** 

'Schoolboy crush, my ass,' Scott thought to himself. One didn't throw oneself in Heyman's path unless it was for a better cause than a simple crush. He'd let this issue lie for the moment though. No sense pushing Hardy. The kid didn't know him and Scott could certainly understand his reluctance to admit anything to someone he didn't know. If the guy was interested in Mark, then Scott would just have to try to get to know the kid, because it was obvious, at least to Scott, that the interest was returned.

After ducking Jay's flying hand, Scott stared at the retreating figure. That one was just plain weird from what he'd seen, except in the ring. Guy was talented, sure, but Scott wondered how he managed to avoid killing himself outside of it. Jeff's explanation helped, although it did raise a brow or two. Shopping cart over an embankment? The things these youngsters got up to. Of course it wasn't like he hadn't done some rather insane things himself when he was young, but still...

In that case he could excuse Reso's hit and run with a smile of understanding. It was similar in a way to how he felt whenever Kev got hurt, or any of the other Clique members, though he certainly didn't freak out like Reso was doing... nope, not him. He left that to Kevin instead.

Following Jay across the room along with Jeff, they were stopped a moment by Austin. Scott let out an inelegant snort at Steve's question. Austin was a character that was for sure. They talked for a few moments, but Austin seemed a bit distracted. Must be catching since that seemed to be the mood of everyone these days.

After Austin left, Scott watched the antics of the younger group. He wasn't feeling old, damn it, but he certainly felt a bit out of place amongst the group. Watching as Jericho joined the group, Scott thought for a moment that they kind of reminded him of another little group that he knew of... a bunch of close knit friends that would stick up for each other no matter what. He noticed the look that Jericho sent his way, but didn't reply. What was he to say after all?

It wasn't like he was baby-sitting after all, just keeping an eye out on Jeff in case Heyman the creep showed up again. Mark had reason to ask him to keep Jeff company and he would. As far as his suggestion to check on Adam... he'd been curious about why he and Jericho were back at the arena and not laid up in some hotel somewhere. What Terry had done was completely reprehensible. Scott might sneak in a word or two about that situation when he went to talk to Vince later as well. Why not? He was already going to have the man's head spinning with everything else he wanted to talk to him about.

Scott smiled and leaned back against a table as he watched the antics of Chris and Jeff and Tomko's interception of Jeff. Yep. Sure did remind him of another bunch he knew.

****

 _"...It was either storm out in a huff or make him eat Vince's desk, not a move guaranteed to get me a contract."_

Now why didn't that surprise him? Probably because Melrose was, to put it quite plainly, a huge dick. The guy had been a complete ass when he and Jay had signed their contracts and for the renewals as well. Too bad. It would have been nice having Jeff back again.

 _"Mark stepped in for me with Vince..."_

Whoa. He hadn't seen that one coming. Mark stepping in for Jeff? And what exactly had Mark had to promise to get Jeff that second chance? Not that he wasn't thrilled that Jeff would be around, in fact he'd do his best to help make sure that Jeff made it through his probation with flying colors.

He almost missed Jeff's explanation of the incident in the hall. Sounded like a load of fun. Too bad he'd missed it. He could almost imagine the look on Heyman's face, though the idea of Heyman thinking Jeff would want anything to do with him was almost hilarious in itself. Yeah, it would be great to have Jeff back.

Watching Chris sneak up behind Jeff, Adam stifled a grin. He watched the two interacting with each other and laughed himself as Chris started laughing. He'd have to remember that Chris was just a bit ticklish and use it to his advantage later. Although Chris was hurt and he wasn't sure that things weren't getting to be a little bit too much. Despite Chris having taken painkillers his hand was probably still sore. He was just about to say something when Ty stepped in. Nodding his thanks to the big man, he watched as Jeff steered Chris into the seat next to him.

 _"The day I get back and you two are all messed up? And people say I can't stay out of trouble."_

It was almost funny... if it hadn't reminded him exactly why they were all messed up. Like he could have forgotten. It was definitely a sore subject, no pun intended, with him right now. His feelings for Terry more than evident on his face, he spoke more to the table than anyone around him. "Yeah, well Terry's a huge dick, even if he doesn't have one, so it shouldn't come as a huge shock that he tried to take me out. It wouldn't be the first time after all. I don't know what the hell crawled up his ass _this_ time, but it can stay there and rot for all I care. If Vince doesn't do him a favor and bust his ass down to OVW, then I'll even things up sooner or later." He turned to look at Chris, his features softening as he looked at the man he loved.

"If it were just me I wouldn't care..." He left his words trail off, the meaning obvious. He wasn't looking to get back at Terry for what had happened to him. It was because Chris got hurt that he wanted to even the score with his ex-lover.

Turning and slashing a look at Jeff, Adam smiled, wiping away any sign of the anger he was feeling. "And you can't stay out of trouble Hardy, or was your confrontation with Heyman because you actually _were_ trying to seduce the man?" Raising an eyebrow, he showed his doubt at that likelihood. Even Jeff wasn't insane enough to draw the man's interest unless he had a reason. And just what that reason might be was what had Adam curious as all hell.

****

Affecting a posture of casual nonchalance as he watched Mark avoid his gaze, Kevin wondered if he'd struck the right tone. He'd tried to keep it light, easygoing, so that he wouldn't scare the man off... but this awkward pause was unusual for Mark, to say the least. Maybe he'd struck too close to home? That'd be downright strange, in his opinion. If Mark really had a thing for the Hardy kid that was his business, but Kev couldn't help but wonder at the odd picture the two of them made together. He couldn't have missed the vibes the two had been putting off earlier, and Jeff's reaction to Heyman's hitting on the Dead Man had been pretty surprising... maybe he was right.

 _"Talked to Vince to convince him to give the kid another shot..."_

Raising one disbelieving eyebrow, Kevin snorted at the too-casual answer, well aware from Mark's body language that there was a lot the man was glossing over. No way had Mark just felt sorry for the kid; he never pulled those kinds of strings unless there was good reason to do so, and if all it had been was Vince being stupid, Mark wouldn't have done it. The man had made an effort for the last year or so to distance himself from the backstage politics, according to Shawn, and Kevin just couldn't see him putting himself so squarely back into the middle of it all without some better reason than "he felt like it".

"Sure, Mark. I believe you, but no way in hell is that all there is to it. Why would you put yourself out on a limb for Hardy? You barely know him... unless this is your way of telling him that you'd like to know him better." That should get a reaction, considering the growl that Heyman had gotten at a similar suggestion. Mark's clenched fists didn't miss his sharp gaze and he smirked, a little amused that the man had let himself react like that. Apparently his "big dumb blond" persona was more effective than he'd thought, if an old friend had fallen for it.

 _"Not that, Kevin. Anything but that."_

Oh _really_? Now that was interesting, to say the least. Scotty would be proud of him; he'd prodded Mark into saying more than he'd meant to, if the rueful expression on that face was anything to judge from. He nodded, a reminiscent grin pulling at his lips, as Mark explained further... very carefully avoiding mentioning anything about his own side of the deal. And knowing Vince, there had to be something. McMahon could be a great guy... but when it came to talent and backstage politicking, he was all business.

"And...? What's the catch, Mark?" His eyes narrowed at the sigh and he could feel himself tensing at the quiet answer.

 _"If he screws up, I take the fall."_

"What the _hell_ kind of deal is that?" he responded before stopping to think. But... if his suspicions were correct... then it made sense. Unfortunately. Vince had undoubtedly spotted _something_ behind Mark's request and had reached in to grab at the exposed weakness as tightly as he could. McMahon wasn't stupid enough to be thinking of having Mark retire yet... but even without the man using his backstage power, Kevin was sure that Vince wouldn't mind the obvious threat to his own control negated, and there were any number of ways to accomplish that, especially with this kind of deal involved. Mark must have it pretty bad for the kid to agree to that.

"But... I shouldn't be surprised. What with how you feel for the kid and all." The words were really more like an out-loud thought, but Mark's reaction to them was gratifying.

 _"How I feel for him? What the hell are you talking about?"_

Pushing himself up from leaning against the crate, Kevin smirked as he met Mark's outraged gaze. "Oh, nothing, really. Just... y'know. It's pretty rare for you to take that kind of personal interest in anybody... in fact, the last time I can remember, it was Shawn." Taking advantage of the Dead Man's quietly stunned silence, Kevin took a few steps down the hall before turning and cocking his head at him. Maybe it was cruel of him, maybe it was just his twisted sense of humour. Either way... "Still wanna look for him? Evolution's room is right around the corner."

****

 _"... in fact, the last time I can remember, it was Shawn."_

Blinking, Mark opened his mouth only to close it again. Dammit, Kevin was right. He'd tried so hard for so long to stay out of the backstage politics, only to stride right in and do whatever he could to help Shawn out, to try to help him through some bad times in his life. The fact that he'd fallen in love with the man had been something he'd disregarded until Shawn caught him backstage by himself and kissed him. He still remembered every second of that kiss. The uncharacteristic unsure expression on that face, the cockiness sliding towards fear, had stayed with him, too.

That expression had looked a damn lot like the look on Jeff's face earlier.

Before he could even think about trying to follow that thought, Nash was walking away. The arrogant bastard, Mark thought grumpily. And undoubtedly gloating at having thrown him like that, too. He resolutely refused to wonder what Jeff's lips would taste like or what that slight body would feel like, pressed against his. He refused. So why was that thought foremost in his mind when Kevin spoke again?

 _"Still wanna look for him? Evolution's room is right around the corner."_

Nodding sharply, Mark kept his thoughts to himself and followed Kevin down the hall and around the corner that he'd nearly missed seeing. Kevin stopped in front of the door before stepping to the side and looking at him, his expression clearly saying that Mark was the one looking for Shawn, so he should be the one to knock. Returning the look, Mark paused in front of the door, wondering for a minute why Shawn would be in Evolution's locker room... oh. Of course. If he and Batista had hooked up, there was no reason for Shawn to be in the main locker room if all he had to do tonight was shoot some promo work.

Shrugging a little, he raised his hand and knocked, waiting for a minute before trying the door. It was unlocked, so he pushed it open and stepped inside, his mouth opening to ask if Shawn was there.

The sight that greeted him took his voice away.

Batista and Hunter, arms wrapped around each other, kissing... no. Devouring each other. The intensity of the kiss was obvious even from the distance Mark was at, but his initial shock of reaction was quickly being overtaken by other emotions. Feeling like he was moving in slow motion, Mark took another step, taking in every detail. The fingers tangled in hair, hands clutching at shoulders, bodies pressed almost obscenely close together, hips cradled against hips... He was surprised by how angry he was at the sight. But dammit, Adam had said that Shawn and Batista had hooked up or were close to it, and he'd seen them earlier together, and now... this.

This betrayal. Not even aware of his hands clenched into fists at his sides, all he could see was the two men in front of him... and his Heartbreaker, thrown aside like garbage... again. He'd watched it so often before he'd made Shawn a part of his life, a part of his _heart_... and he'd seen it too often since then. Hell, he'd been guilty of the same damned thing, and even though they'd worked through that, there was a part of him that would never forgive himself for doing it. Somewhere along the line, he'd developed a protective streak for the smaller man that had never gone away, even when their relationship had. The sight of the man Adam had said Shawn was falling for, kissing the man that Mark knew Shawn had loved for nearly a decade, tore him up... and pissed him off.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" It was more than a growl, but less than a shout, and he was darkly gratified to see the surprise on their faces as they broke apart. "You're supposed to care about Shawn, and you're in here doing _this_? Did you even wait for him to leave before you stabbed him in the back?"

****

"...you."

Hunter spoke the last word into Dave's deep kiss as his lover gave him equal return of his affections. Dave hadn't said the words but the nature of his passionate kiss spoke volumes. Starting soft and gentle, like the first kiss of teenagers, Hunt leaned into the strong arms surrounding him, his own mouth hungry for more. More than the loving sweetness he was being granted, even with its undertone of reciprocal emotion. Hunter balanced on the edge of wanting to wallow in Dave's slow, deliberate pace and push for a stronger taste of the passion he could sense building in them both.

Just as he was ready to make his move, Dave changed the tenor of the kiss. Lips no longer delicate, now pressed hard and firm against his, a burning hot tongue pleading for entry into his willing mouth. Hearing a low growl come from his own throat, Hunter encouragingly stroked his hands up the curve of Dave's spine, pressing their bodies tightly together, as his lover's hands carded through his hair. Not as much of an erogenous zone for him as it was for Shawn, Hunter nevertheless like the feel of Dave's fingers around his skull. Determined but only in cradling Hunter for their kiss.

It was like being smothered, worshipped and owned all at once. A heady mixture of love and tenderness curled up from Hunter's heart. Dave was... amazing would be the word if it didn't sound so trite in Hunter's fogged brain. Just amazing. No wonder Hunt loved him, Dave was everything he didn't have in his life. The contrast to his long-time adoration of Shawn, his love for Dave was newer, unexpected and disconcerting. A series of surprises that kept rocking Hunter off his feet and fortunately, straight into Dave's welcoming arms. He'd fallen for Dave like a ton of bricks and that was _before_ he knew he could be kissed like this.

Moving his legs slightly, Hunter angled his hips against Dave's. The release they'd enjoyed not so long ago lending them a banked hot-coal burn in Hunter's groin, rather than the mighty arousal he'd felt earlier. Pleased again at their almost matching heights, Hunter tangled his tongue with Dave's questing one, pressing into the warm cavern of Dave's mouth and doing some gentle exploring of his own.

It just felt so damn good. To kiss and be kissed like this.

And no hint of panic in sight.

 _What the hell do you think you're doing?_

Hunter thanked the years of training with faster than light men like Shawn and CJ, for his own speedy reflexes. Breaking away from Dave, Hunter placed himself between his lover and the immediate threat presented by the intrusive voice. Mark Calloway stood just a few feet into the dressing room, green eyes sharp and furious, anger radiating off him in waves. Hunter felt his hackles rise like a cat spying a large dog in its territory. He and Mark had always had a relationship that teetered from cool to civil on the best of occasions. Shawn had once said in exasperation that they just operated on different wavelengths and Hunter had agreed that, even without the height difference, he and the Dead Man just didn't see eye to eye.

Given that Mark had been responsible for breaking Shawn's heart, Hunter would say his 'cool' feelings were justified. Even if he'd almost done the same thing himself not a day before. 

 _even wait for him to leave before you stabbed him in the back?_

Hunter wasn't called a mastermind for nothing and his own enmity relaxed somewhat as the cause of Mark's anger became clear. Hunt couldn't hate someone for wanting to protect Shawn, just that 'Taker's conclusions had led to two and two becoming thirty seven. Still, Hunter wasn't known for making things easy on anyone.

"Actually Mark, we _do_ care about Shawn, we _both_ do." Tilting his head at the asshole angle that sent Shawn through the roof, Hunter continued, "But since when has caring about Shawn been _your_ top priority?"

****

Chris was still panting and giggling as Jeff pushed him down onto a plastic seat. He'd known he wasn't the only one to get inside information from the eldest Hardy brother, bastard had ratted him out years ago to Jeff, but most of the time the younger man refrained from attacking Chris at his weakest point. He couldn't help being ticklish and normally guarded the secret like it was gold. Now half the locker room knew and CJ suspected there'd be 'accidental' tickling in the ring if he wasn't careful. He hoped Jeff landed a decent contract this time, CJ's payback would be a masterpiece if he had any say in the matter.

Looking up, Chris wiped the moisture from his eyes and noticed the conversation going on over his head. Jay and Ty were talking quietly, but not about anything _relevant_ from what he could hear, while Jeff and Adam exchanged recent history. Reminded of the fight, Chris felt another wave of anger sweep through him at the thought of the Fuckhead's actions. Bunnykins had been diverted from his mad rampage but Chris knew that there would be plenty of people willing to take Terry to task for hurting a co-worker, even the ones who didn't know Adam all that well, would call Rhyno a stupid bastard for almost fucking up a Pay Per View.

Remaining quiet for once, Chris just looked over his friends and felt a small secret smile cross his face. Yesterday he'd forgotten that he had this... these people in his life. He'd been about to dive into a lake of self-pity over Shawn, Hunter, the Clique and his place in the world, when Adam had snuck up behind him and turned that world right around. Sure Jay and Ty's lives, which rivaled day-time TV for endless 'drama' could be a pain, but they were also tragically amusing, even in just seeing the lessons of what _not_ to do while in a relationship.

With Jeff back, their travel and ring work would be more fun than normal, unless Hardy Junior had other places to spend his time... and wouldn't CJ be cornering him about _that_ sometime in the future, when his hand didn't feel like someone was slicing his fingers open with a hot knife! If only Matt was here and they could get Amy's head out of her ass, it would be just like it should be again. Except... Chris looked over at Adam... it would be even better.

At that precise moment Adam turned to look at CJ and the expression in his eyes caused his breath to catch in his lungs. It was a look, not just of affection, but a mixture of rage, passion and protectiveness that Chris had never been blessed to receive before. Why would Adam look at him like that? Why? What had he ever done to deserve a look like that? Other than run his mouth off and act like a five-year-old on a caffeine high? It was an expression that CJ realised had just welded his heart to Adam's for the foreseeable future. No-one could feel that way about him and get away with it. There were consequences of giving a man that kind of 'look' and Adam would have to deal with them.

 _If it were just me I wouldn't care..._

Great. Now Chris was totally smitten and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. Just his luck to find a lover who was not only gorgeous, clever, evil funny, talented, had a great ass, noble, mysterious, could fuck like a champion, crazy, affectionate, thought he had a big dick, but who cared about Chris and was all cranky because CJ couldn't get _his hand out of the way_ of a hurtling body. If he was even remotely inclined to struggle against his horrible fate, Chris knew he wouldn't last long anyway.

He'd thought falling in love would be a lot harder.

Guess not.

****

Jeff saw the look Adam sent Chris and felt that twinge of envy curl in his heart again. Two more people who had started something that could be good... or insane depending on the outcome. Although with CJ and Adam it would likely tend towards the insanely good rather than go downhill from what he knew of them. He'd been around when both of them had ended previous relationships, Adam dumping Terry not included, and could reliably report that at least they managed to stay friends with their ex's. Not a trait Jeff could share, that was for sure. Just damn bad luck that their first day together had resulted in broken fingers and cracked ribs. Usually that kind of violence was reserved for some of the more 'interesting' couples in the locker room.

 _was your confrontation with Heyman because you actually were trying to seduce the man?_

"Ah, that's just... ewww." Jeff exaggerated a full body shudder at the suggestion he might want to be in any way intimate with Paul E. "In words of one syllable... No." Seeing Adam's unrelenting curiosity coming to the fore, Jeff decided that telling at least part of the truth was in order. Mark had been right about Heyman spreading rumours so he may as well get his own version on the table first. Beat the prick to the punch so to speak.

"As I said, Frogman was being a sleaze... all over Mark." It wouldn't be news to any Smackdown boys but as far as he knew, this lot were all Raw. "Given that the guy has gone into bat for me with Vince, the least I could do was get Paul off his back... or out of his face. Problem was I couldn't actually hurt the guy or poof," a snap on his fingers, "there goes Jeff's contract." A shrug, he knew at it hadn't been his finest moment but hey. "So I freaked him out instead." Looking at Adam, Jeff tipped his head to acknowledge the Master. "You would have been proud, I almost got the smile right too."

Thinking of the confrontation brought Jeff's mind back to Mark and all the man was doing for him... just out of decency no less. He really oughtta get his ass over to Vince's office and sign the damn contract. Mark had put himself out to get it for him and there was less than no chance Jeff would renege on anything he had to promise to make it right. He didn't know what would happen if he fucked up this time and it didn't really matter. Because it _wouldn't_ happen.

"In light of that, I'll leave you crazy Canadians to put ice on each other while I go grovel to Melrose and sign my life away." Looking over at Scott, who'd remained silent during the exchange, Jeff arched an eyebrow at his watch-dog. "You coming Raze?"

It wasn't Scott who answered but Chris. Rising to his feet, the blond looked down at Adam and offered his un-bandaged hand to his lover.

"Yes Babe, I would have your head on a platter if you'd become involved in another 'situation'. And a gorgeous dish it would have been too." Linking his fingers through Adam's, CJ gently tugged his lover to his feet. "And seeing as you need to 'stop and see Vince for a minute' we may as well follow Jeff there, as it's so necessary that we do it _right now_ of course."

Ouch... Jeff winced to himself. Chris certainly had a way with words, and he didn't spare his lover from his opinion either.

****

Hunter's low growl sent shivers down his spine in opposition to the strong warm hands sliding up it. Little explosions raced along his backbone, winding through his body almost like a series of fireworks, the bloom falling into trickling fingers of pleasure spreading in an ever widening pattern. The press of Hunter's body against his own drew those fingers together lacing them in a nice little knot around his heart. Not that Hunter hadn't already had his love sewn up, but between the threat to Vince to quit the Fed, the admission he had just made, and the fact that Hunter was not running for the door... Dave was feeling pretty damn secure at the moment. Secure enough that he wanted to tell Hunter how he felt as well... right now... plan or no plan... or at least as soon as they finished this kiss.

His hands framing Hunter's head, his fingers massaging along his scalp as their mouths met over and over, Dave was lost when Hunter shifted his hips ever so slightly, the action sending another set of sparkling bright fingers towards his groin. Their tongues dueled for a moment before Dave ceded the conquest and Hunter's tongue slipped into his mouth in a gentle inquiry.

Just another moment or two he promised himself. Another moment of feeling Hunter's sexy muscular body pressed fully against his. Another moment of wallowing in the pleasure of Hunter's slow exploration of his mouth. Another moment of inhaling the lingering scent of the soap he used clinging to Hunter from their shower with the hope that next time Hunter used it that it would be applied by his hands. Just another moment...

 _"What the hell do you think you're doing?"_

His head snapped up even as Hunter moved between he and Mark. This had to be a joke right? It really had to be. After the day he'd already had, barring the lovely bits with Shawn and Hunter, he wasn't sure he could handle any more drama. Hadn't they filled their quota for the day? Obviously not... at least according to the Dead Man. Eyes burning with fire, body tensed in anger... Mark was surely an impressive and intimidating sight, except... that Dave just wasn't in the damn mood to be intimidated. Not one bit. Especially when he heard the next little bit that Mark had to impart.

 _"...Did you even wait for him to leave before you stabbed him in the back?"_

If it weren't so damn aggravating, it might have been funny. Twice! Twice in one day now he'd been accused of sneaking around behind someone's back. Twice now he'd been accused of running around on one of his lovers... with his _other_ lover. Of course if they'd had any time at all to settle into their relationship and go public with it, rather public within the confines of the locker room, then this sort of thing wouldn't have happened. The fact that their relationship had only come about in the last day pretty much precluded that.

Hell they hadn't even had a single night together yet and they already had people busting their chops. Stephanie---though that had turned out rather well if he did say so himself. Vince---he was still rather irate about that one and couldn't see his ire dying any time soon. And now Mark---and wasn't it just too bad that he was full up to his eyebrows with this shit and Mark would get the brunt of it? Not in Dave's opinion. Though Hunter cut him off a moment before he actually exploded.

 _"...But since when has caring about Shawn been your top priority?"_

Dave just couldn't let that one go. Not after what he'd been told about the split between Mark and Shawn... even if it hadn't been detailed. The fact that Mark had left Shawn after his surgery when he already had to face the fact that he could never wrestle again. Shawn had mentioned during the fight with Hunter that Mark had been the one to leave, even if Shawn had glossed over that detail when he mentioned things not working out after his retirement. Dave, who was already primed with all the other confrontations of the night, saw red and couldn't think of a reason to temper _his_ answer to Hunter's question.

His hands finding their way to Hunter's shoulders, he squeezed gently before walking around to face Mark himself. He kept a little distance between them just so he wouldn't be tempted to instigate a brawl of his own tonight. "I don't think it has _ever_ been his top priority," Dave said snidely. "At least not since he dumped Shawn while Shawn was still trying to deal with the fact that his career was over. At least that's the way I look at it. So why don't you let those of us that actually _love_ Shawn worry about Shawn?"

Crossing his arms over his chest, his stance more than obviously welcoming a confrontation, Dave wasn't quite ready to shut up yet... in fact he had quite a damn bit to say. He didn't yell---some of his momma's lessons stuck too well---instead he kept it at a deceptively even growl. "I've had it with everyone else _assuming_ that they know what the hell is going on and what the hell is best for _us_. First Stephanie walks in here and accuses me of stealing Shawn away from Hunter. Then Vince gets some goddamned bug up his ass because the three of us want to be together. Now you come in here and accuse us of stabbing Shawn in the back. As far as I'm concerned the only one that had a valid reason to stick their nose in the middle of this is Steph and since she now knows the truth she fully supports the three of us."

"I don't give a shit if _you_ like it or not, Mark. I love Shawn and I love Hunter and I don't owe _you_ or anyone else explanations for what I chose to do with either of them behind closed doors."

It may not have been the brightest thing he could have done, but he turned his back on Mark and walked back over to Hunter. His hands coming up to gently caress his hair, Dave locked his eyes with Hunter's. His voice tempered with obvious adoration, he fought and lost the battle to keep the slight blush off his face. "I didn't quite mean for it to come out that way, but I meant every word of it. Right now, if I don't get out of here I'm going to end up doing something that'll earn me another trip to Vince's office... so I'm going to get some air." Pressing a gentle kiss against Hunter's lips, Dave pulled away with a smile. Turning back towards the door, he glared at Mark as he passed him on his way into the hall.

He really did need to walk this off or he'd probably clothesline the next person that so much as looked at him funny... unless of course it happened to be Hunter or Shawn. At least this would give him a chance to hunt down the things he'd wanted to pick up for tonight, even if he had just blown part of the surprise with Hunter. He could still tell his story for them even if they knew; it just wouldn't be the first time they heard what he wanted to tell them... at least for Hunter. And didn't it just aggravate the hell out of him that the first time he ever confessed to loving someone that he'd had an unwelcome audience for it?

Making it to the end of the hall, he headed towards the other temporary offices they always set up at the shows. He just hoped like hell that someone from marketing happened to be hanging around tonight and had what he wanted. If not, he'd just have to make some insane excuse to stop at a local discount retail store.


	49. Details

Hunter was prepared for Mark's reaction, for an icy comeback about his own behaviour the past few months or even a snide remark concerning his backstage politicking. What he wasn't prepared for was his 'Animal' going postal. Dave managed to stay just out of 'Taker's personal space, and it was a good thing too, because by the look on Mark's face, the man wouldn't tolerate a step further. Hunter found his own offended anger drain away at the frustrated fury emanating from his lover.

 _First Stephanie..._

Oh great. What had the Girl said now?

 _Then Vince..._

Yeah well, that had been an uber fuckup if ever there was one.

 _Now you come in here..._

Hunter was beginning to see why Dave might be kinda pissed. Piece of straw for your camel sir?

 _I love Shawn and I love Hunter..._

Now that... well... _that_ was just cool.

When Dave rounded on him and he had those magic fingers in Hunter's hair again, Hunt could feel himself melting at the sincerity and love in Dave's gaze. Anger obliterated by his lover's passionate defense of their relationship, Hunter happily accepted Dave's hurried, soft kiss, sneakily licking Dave's full lower lip with his tongue. With a stalk that would have Stephanie applauding, Dave Batista then turned on his heel, spared a "I'm so not talking to you" glare at the other occupants of the room and left like an Emperor. If he'd had a cloak it would have swirled with a flurry... or flourish. Whatever.

A warm smile rose on Hunter's face as he absorbed both Dave's words and his actions. How'd he get this lucky? And since when had Steph barged in on them? Looking at Mark with a rueful smile, Hunter offered in a mollifying tone,

"For what it's worth, I don't think all that was directed at you personally Mark." Seeing the expression on the bigger man's face, Hunter quickly continued, "We wouldn't fuck Shawn over like that... I promise. If that means anything these days."

Looking around Mark's shoulder, Hunter could see Kevin leaning in the doorway. "Lotta help you were Big Man," Hunt thought to himself.

Not that he and Dave had really given them any chance to get a word in.

****

Adam smiled watching the shudder rack Jeff's frame. That would have been his reaction as well. Still if Jeff thought he was buying the whole 'helping Mark out because he helped me out' bit, then Jeff was off his freakin' rocker. Nope. There was definitely something else going on there and he'd be sure to keep an eye on the two of them in future. If it turned out that Jeff was interested in Mark, which was the only plausible reason that Adam could think of for what Jeff had done, then he'd be more than happy to lend a hand to that situation if possible. He knew more than most what kind of guy Mark was and honestly he thought that Jeff and Mark would do each other some good. The only thing was convincing the two of them of that.

 _"You would have been proud, I almost got the smile right too."_

Wouldn't he have loved to have seen that? Heyman seemed to have something against that particular smile too, because whenever Adam had aimed it in his direction the man had turned tail and run. It was a useful thing to have in one's repertoire.

When Jeff mentioned taking off, Adam figured they should take off as well. Chris would be getting antsy to get back to the hotel since he'd called for the cab and he still needed to figure out a way to stop by and see Vince on the way out. He watched as Scott pushed away from the table and waved Jeff towards the door, only to have his attention drawn back to Chris as he stood up.

 _"Yes Babe, I would have your head on a platter if you'd become involved in another 'situation'."_

Ha... didn't he know it. Chris probably would have kept him under lock and key for the next month if that had happened. He certainly wouldn't have been able to con his way into still doing the pay per view, that's for damn sure. Thankfully Chris was being understanding about the situation, because Adam would have hated to have to fight with Chris over the match on Sunday... but he would have. Chris would do the same exact thing in his situation. There was no doubt in Adam's mind about that.

 _"...And a gorgeous dish it would have been too."_

Now that he didn't know about. Far as he was concerned, Chris was the 'gorgeous' one in their relationship. It evened out though since he was also the insane one. That was fair... wasn't it? He shook his head as Chris pulled him to his feet.

 _"...we may as well follow Jeff there, as it's so necessary that we do it right now of course."_

Ouch. That was rather pointed. Adam however knew that Chris was concerned about him so he didn't take it to heart. Smiling, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to Chris' cheek. "I'm glad you realize the necessity, sweetheart. See if I do this _now_ , then I can be a good little boy and follow Dr. Tom's orders, which would be me staying in bed for the next four days. If I don't talk to Vince now, then I'll have to do it later and you know he doesn't like dealing with stuff like this over the phone."

Chris wouldn't like his reasoning, but maybe he'd like the fact that Adam actually planned on doing what he'd been told. Well, as long as Chris was there to keep him company that is. He'd gladly spend four days in bed with his beautiful blond angel of mercy.

Turning to Jeff, he flashed Jeff an 'I'm so getting some' smile, complete with eyebrow wiggle, before commenting, "You should practice this one as well to use on Mark later." It was a guess, but Jeff's reaction should give him some clue as to whether or not his suspicions were right or not. "And I'll help you work on the other one to use on Heyman. Practice makes perfect."

****

His eyes narrow as he watched the two men in front of him, Mark had to wonder just what the hell was going on. Shawn hadn't said anything to him about Dave, although they hadn't spoken for a while, either; but whatever was going on here, it was bound to hurt the Heartbreaker, and that was something Mark wouldn't have. The gratification Mark felt as he watched Dave and Hunter break apart was swept away with Hunter's first words.

The blond and he had never really gotten along; he'd never been able to compete with Hunter in Shawn's heart, regardless of what Shawn thought, and that had hurt. A lot. When he'd finally been able to walk away from a relationship that was killing him even as it made him happier than he'd ever been before, the timing had been abysmal... but it was because of Hunter. The Game had been able to be with Shawn when he wasn't, to offer the support that Shawn needed so badly when he couldn't... and that had been the eye-opener. He knew Shawn loved him... but he loved Hunter more.

So Mark had left him. And although the leaving had been bitter and harsh, the friendship they'd managed to work out afterward had been close... but Shawn had never told Hunter why it had happened. Undoubtedly because he couldn't work up the courage to tell Hunt that he loved him, but it had damaged the working relationship between them. Every time he'd had to deal with Hunter since that fateful day in the summer of 1998, there had been a cold disdain in those amber eyes... and he was hard pressed to find a reason why it shouldn't be there.

 _"Actually Mark, we do care about Shawn, we_ both _do."_

That sent a cool silence blasting through hot angry thoughts swirling in his mind, and he blinked once, staring at the two of them before really _looking_ at the room: Towels and clothing scattered around from earlier, draped over benches and on the floor... some of it obviously too small for it to belong to the men in front of him. They _both_ cared about Shawn? Could Hunt possibly mean...

 _"But since when has caring about Shawn been_ your _top priority?"_

 _Since I walked away from him so that he could be with the man he really loved._  The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he choked them back. From the way things looked, neither man would want to hear them, let alone believe them, especially if they both only knew the basic story. The expression on Hunter's face made his fingers itch to wipe it right off, but he knew that was the intent; that expression was reserved for in-ring promos and backstage morons who rubbed Hunt the wrong way. Just his luck to have always ended up in the latter category.

 _"I don't think it has_ ever _been his top priority... At least not since he dumped Shawn while Shawn was still trying to deal with the fact that his career was over."_

He could feel himself tensing, feel the indignant anger rising up again, and he choked it back. Dave wasn't saying anything that he hadn't accused himself of countless times already... and it was true, from a certain point of view. It just wasn't the whole story... but neither he nor Shawn had ever told anyone what the whole truth was, so what did he expect? His initial anger was long gone, replaced by regret. He hadn't meant to break in on them like that, let alone get all pissed when there was obviously more going on than was obvious.

 _"So why don't you let those of us that actually_ love _Shawn worry about Shawn?"_

Eyes widening, Mark stared at Dave as the man planted himself directly in front of him, practically daring him to start something. Not that he would... not with someone who loved Shawn. Loved Shawn. That was... unexpected. And comforting, somehow. He'd always love the man, but he'd long since moved on from being _in_ love with him, and watching him pull further and further into himself and away from others while trying to act like everything was fine had hurt to see. If these two loved him and made him happy, and Mark didn't doubt, looking at them, that they did, then he would do anything in his power to help... including staying the hell away from them, if necessary. It would hurt to lose a close friend, but he'd rather sacrifice his friendship with Shawn than interfere in something like this.

 _"I don't give a shit if_ you _like it or not, Mark. I love Shawn and I love Hunter and I don't owe_ you _or anyone else explanations for what I chose to do with either of them behind closed doors."_

All he could really do was shake his head, speechless at the depths of the emotion he'd so inadvertently forced them to show. The kiss between Dave and Hunter spoke volumes to him... as did Dave's following words to Hunt. So, he hadn't told them how he felt before? Well, damned if he would say anything to Shawn about it. It wasn't his business, and he wasn't about to blunder around doing even more damage by repeating things that he had no business hearing in the first place. The glare from Dave didn't surprise him at all; the fact that the man had walked away rather than do anything else did, since very few people had that kind of self-restraint. The only reason he hadn't punched Heyman for saying things about Jeff was his pure shock at the words, after all.

Oh. That was... not what he needed to be thinking about right now.

Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted Kevin standing in the doorway, an expression of mixed surprise and regret on his face. Damn Nash, anyway. If he hadn't told Mark that Shawn would be in here... wait a minute. Did Kevin _know_ about this little arrangement beforehand? Drawing in a breath, he carefully pushed away the anger that threatened at that thought. He wouldn't have said anything to anyone either, and still wouldn't, so he had no right to get pissed off at Kev for actually being discreet for once.

 _"For what it's worth, I don't think all that was directed at you personally Mark."_

One eyebrow raised in disbelief at Hunter's mollifying tone. Mark suspected that himself, given what Dave had said about Stephanie and Vince, but for Hunter, of all people, to be trying to apologise to _him_... that was just weird. If Dave had told the truth, and Mark fully believed that he had been, then these three had been through a hellacious day and he'd probably gotten the extra-short version.

 _"We wouldn't fuck Shawn over like that... I promise. If that means anything these days."_

Another breath and he allowed his lips to curl in a slight, rueful smile.

"It does, Hunter. It always has, but especially for Shawn..." He trailed off, shaking his head again as he dropped his eyes to the floor. His voice softening, he slowly revealed more emotion than he'd allowed himself to in longer than he could remember. "I'm sorry. I just... I've seen Shawn hurt too often by people he cared about... including me. If you two feel like that about him, then I'm happy to hear it. He's a good man, Hunt, and he deserves to be loved by someone who can give him what he needs. I couldn't do that, so... I had to let him go."

The memory of wetness streaked down sharp cheekbones, clear blue eyes drowning in tears even as they showed nothing but understanding... that image would never cease to haunt him. His own words were bringing old pains back to life, and he struggled to push them away. It was all in the past now, and he had other things to think about now. The image of rainbow-streaked hair came to mind, a pale face showing forced determination, and he wondered for an instant if really, anything had actually changed.

Raising his eyes to meet Hunter's hazel ones again, he said in a slightly lighter tone of voice as he changed the subject, "I actually needed to talk to him about something... that's why I came over here in the first place." Hearing a throat clearing pointedly behind him, he rolled his eyes. Damn Nash, anyway. "I'm going to be working with Jeff Hardy for a couple of months, and since Shawn has time off coming up, I was wondering if he'd be interested in helping out. Do you know where he is?"

****

Hanging in the doorway as he watched the scene in front of him unfold, Kevin felt like kicking himself. When he'd teased Mark into checking Evolution's locker room, he'd really thought that the worst they'd find was a nice hot kiss between Shawn and one of the others, if the door was unlocked. But this... as hot as the kiss had been, the explosion afterward had made it seem icy.

Watching the byplay, waiting to step in if things seemed like they were getting out of hand, Kevin indulged himself in listening and observing. Scott would probably be surprised, but he did have his moments, and this seemed like a good one to practice those little-used skills.

Hunter was more than willing to say that they were a trio; that was an excellent step forward from the incredible awkwardness he'd seen earlier this morning. Apparently they'd been able to hash out some of their difficulties... and Hunt seemed to have gotten over that "no touching" problem quite nicely, if that kiss were anything to judge by. Dave's tirade was eye-opening, and he resolved to let Scott know about Vince's apparently bad reaction to the news. He'd half-suspected that would be the result, for whatever reason... Vince had never quite seemed to get over Shawn, although that would be kind of strange to come into play now, of all times. Shawn had been involved with people before, after all, and Vince hadn't even blinked. So that couldn't be the reason. And knowing how Dave felt about Shawn and Hunter wasn't surprising, after watching them today, but it was nice to hear... and no way in hell was Kev going to say word one to Shawn, since Dave would probably beat the hell out of him for ruining the obvious surprise.

Stepping out of the way as Dave brushed by him, Kevin watched the other two closely. Hunter and Mark had never really gotten along, and although he suspected he knew why, he didn't want to see them come to blows. Shawn loved both of them, in his own way, and he really didn't need them to be fighting over this. Damn; how was he going to explain this to Scott, anyway?

Mark's softly-spoken words astonished him. The Dead Man rarely revealed any part of himself to others, and for him to offer up this sort of emotion to someone he'd always had problems dealing with... Kevin shook his head even as he smiled. Shawn did seem to have a way of getting people to open up, even when he wasn't actually present. Hearing the pause as Mark obviously debated over telling Hunter why he was looking for Shawn, he cleared his throat loudly, grinning at the reaction. At least that way Hunt wouldn't be wondering why the hell his lover's ex-lover was looking for him. That would be bad, at this point.

He missed Hunter's reply as a hand on his arm caught his attention, and he turned to find himself looking down at Benoit, who looked exasperated.

"Nash, Vince wants to see you and Scott in his office ASAP. Something about the tag match at Bad Blood, I don't know what, but probably because of Adam's ribs." Nodding, Kevin could certainly understand the irritation if Benny had just come from Vince's office. McMahon was undoubtedly not in a great mood, after the incident with Terry followed by Hunter's news.

Glancing back into the locker room, he raised his voice loud enough to be heard. "Gotta go see Vinnie Mac, guys. If you need me, I'll be up there for a while, I'm betting." He turned to go, then paused and looked back with a smile. "Play nice, now!"

He didn't quite catch the comment that floated out of the room after him, but the tone of voice turned his smile into a grin. If he'd managed to deflect even a little part of the tension in that room, he'd succeeded. Moving quickly, he realised that he desperately wanted to find Scott anyway. Much like Scotty last night, he just wanted to know that he was still loved, even after he'd fucked up. Scott would understand, though. He hoped.

Stopping at the corner near Vince's office, his eyebrows shot up at the sight of the small crowd outside the door. What the _hell_ was going on here tonight, anyway? And where... ah. There he was. Spotting his lover standing off to the side, behind Jeff, he changed his heading and slid up behind him, sliding an arm around Scott's waist as he leaned his chin on his shoulder. The relief that swept over him at the touch lightened his mood considerably.

"So glad to see you, Scott," he said quietly. "That did _not_ go well. Guess we have to go talk to Vince about the pay-per-view, too." Settling for a hug from behind since he didn't want to further inflame their boss if Vince was still upset, he gently steered Scott toward the doorway, pausing just outside until Vince acknowledged them.

****

Hunter blinked at Mark's conciliatory tone. After being read the riot act by Dave, he wouldn't have been surprised if 'Taker had been fuming. But then Calloway was known for his particularly even temper, the very few bursts of rage Hunter had been witness to were both irregular and only on another's behalf. You couldn't pick a fight with Mark by getting in his face, the man just didn't _pick_.

 _loved by someone who can give him what he needs. I couldn't do that, so... I had to let him go._

Keeping his jaw from dropping by main force, Hunter listened as Mark made his startling confession. He'd always known there was more to the man's breaking up with Shawn than had seemed to be on the surface. Naturally, the more personal details of the relationship were kept between the two men involved, but as Hunt's cherished position as Shawn's friend, he'd been granted most of the gory details. Shawn had told him what had happened with Mark, often in choked, tear-stained whispers, when a day of agonising rehab had broken down Shawn's wall of invulnerability.

He'd immediately taken Shawn's side in the break-up. Of course. Not that Shawn had held any animosity towards Mark, strangely just the opposite. Even though he'd been dumped, Hunter's choice of word not Shawn's, his beautiful friend had been drenched in nothing but sadness and an inexplicable guilt. What Shawn had been guilty of Hunter could never guess. For all his flirting, Shawn was as faithful as... as... as a really faithful man could be. There'd been no cheating from either lover from what Hunt knew. So that had simply left him with Mark being unhappy about something Shawn did and ending it...at about the _worst_ possible time, Hunter's inner bitch added.

But now, with years of clean time between then and the present, Hunter could pull his head out of his ass and actually look at the situation from Mark's point of view. Had 'Taker suspected Shawn's feelings for Hunter? Had the man he'd spent a lot of months envying and hating with alternate breaths done the honourable thing and stepped out of Shawn's life for the blond's own good? An act Hunter had tried and failed to complete himself just last night, to do what was best for Shawn even though it had hurt his lover more than he could say?

And wasn't it telling, Hunter thought with a stomach-curling guilt, that Shawn had never broken down _Mark's_ door to beat the truth out of him?

Dammit.

Hunter really sucked at apologising.

He was fortunate that Mark didn't give him the chance.

 _I'm going to be working with Jeff Hardy for a couple of months..._

Well, now wasn't _that_ interesting news? Hunter knew that Mark had a soft spot for the crazy punk kids who were so frighteningly talented they could make you gape, but whose brains were messed up in equal proportion. _Insert picture of Shawn here,_ Hunter thought to himself. Well, if Jeff was the lucky one to have Mark Calloway as a mentor, then the kid probably had half a chance. Although Vince had practically relegated Jeff to the 'lost cause' basket, so Mark would have had a grand old time convincing his father-in-law to come to the party.

No.

Not thinking of McMahon right now. No.

"Hardy Junior back on the books is he? Good. That didn't set well with anyone, despite the 'lateness' thing. If Stone Cold ever turned up on time for his matches I'd paint myself blue." Picking up his bottle of water from the floor where he'd dropped it in his haste to get to the shower earlier... Hunter quickly stifled a smug smile at the memory of _that_ encounter... he gestured with a hand politely to the door. "No idea where Shawn is I'm afraid. Probably still doing his final promo shots for Sunday. I'm next so I'll walk there with you, if you don't mind."

Following Mark out the door, Hunter thought on his previous feelings towards the big man. Shawn had always nursed a real affection for Mark after the blistering pain of the break-up faded. His lover actually had very good taste when it came to choosing his friends, his love for Hunter being the only deviation that Hunt could tell. So if he couldn't hate Mark for hurting Shawn, maybe he could start to like him for caring so much about Shawn that he'd let him go.

Not like he couldn't relate.

Deciding that a heavy emotional confession was out of the question, Hunter planned on not being an asshole to the man as his way of saying 'sorry'.

It would have been really uncomfortable for the both of them anyway.

****

 _then I can be a good little boy and follow Dr. Tom's orders_

Chris snorted. Yeah right. Adam would be doing as he was ordered, no doubt about that, CJ would make certain of it. But being good, nahhh, Chris knew he'd probably have to coax, cajole and hopefully bribe Adam with sex to get his lover to stay in bed for a few hours, let alone four days. And Chris wouldn't describe a single bit of his newly discovered beloved as 'little'.

"It's not Dr. Tom's orders I expect you to follow Babe." Chris murmured into Adam's shoulder and they walked towards Vince's office. CJ had casually draped an arm across Adam's lower back to keep his lover close. It was a far more intimate embrace that 'just friends' but was hardly anywhere near the 'WE ARE A COUPLE' physical declarations that often went on back stage. Why just last week he'd seen Maven and one of the wannabe Divas in a position that had left him stumbling and screaming 'I'm blind, I'm blind' as he backed across the locker room.

But Chris, for all his own uninhibited behaviour, wanted to let his lover call the shots as to how far he was allowed to go. The discreet touching and looks they'd exchanged would be obvious to their friends, but after the Fuckhead's actions, many eyes would be watching them for the next while. Adam hadn't been with a co-worker in any of the capacities that 'with' could cover since he'd demonstrated his belated good taste by dumping the Fuckhead. While Chris knew this was because his lover had been bitten and bitten _hard_ , he wasn't going to bulldoze over Adam's feelings by jumping him in public.

At least not while they both had fractures. What could start in fun would definitely end in tears at this juncture.

Arriving at Vince's door, Chris turned and grinned at the other two men. "As we're all fighting to get in to see Vince, I'll claim first go for Adam as he's the most damaged." Seeing the very unenthusiastic expression on Jeff's face, Chris offered a sympathetic smile. "Want us to hang around while you beard the lion Junior?"

Dipping is head in an obvious sign of nerves, Jeff looked at Chris, his expression one of thanks and hope. But... _"Nahh, thanks but I'm good. Just got to make sure I don't go mental on him again. Hope Melrose isn't there though."_

"Tell you what," CJ smiled as Adam knocked and was granted admission to Vince's office, "I'll do reconnaissance for you. Back in a tick."

Chris followed his lover into the make-shift office and managed to catch the beginning of the conversation.

****

Jeff caught Adam's smug 'cat's gonna get some cream smile' and upgraded his opinion on the Adam and Chris in bed visual from hot to _seriously hot_. Not that he was actually attracted to either of the blonds, no matter how pretty a picture they made together. Jeff's taste tended towards bigger and darker than his friends, which was probably a blessing considering most people he had relationships with ended up as blood enemies or worse. Making a move on either of the blonds had just never occurred to him, they were his _friends_ after all, they fell into the same category as his brother, guys he loved... he just didn't _love_ them that's all.

'Cos that would be just eeewww.

Seeing the byplay between them didn't stop him from feeling evilly pleased at the new relationship developing before him. As far as Jeff was concerned, Chris had screwed around far too much, with far too many caveman for his own good. Being with Adam would be a fresh change that may indicate his friend getting a clue about deserving better than being someone's sex toy. As for Adam... that the taller man was fucking someone he liked and cared about for a change was definitely a plus. Knowing the guy's name made a difference too.

He let Adam's comment about Mark roll off him like water. What his friend thought he knew and what he actually knew, were two completely different things.

"Ahh no, don't think I'll be trying any come hither looks on Mark anytime soon," Jeff confided in a whisper as he moved out of the way of Adam's slow rise from his seat. "Would go down like a ton of bricks, if you know what I mean?" And he hadn't meant the pun in that at all.

Following the blonds into the hall, Jeff fell in step beside Scott, who was still hovering around him like a silent bodyguard. It was nice... weird but nice, to have someone watching his back for a change, even if it was more of a favour to Mark than for any affection for Jeff. But it was still nice. Not that anyone would get in his face here, for all that Terry had attacked Adam, that shit just didn't really happen back stage. He'd only been here a couple of hours after all, so no-one who had it in for him would be even aware that he'd darkened the WWE's halls again.

"Thanks for the back-up here Raze, but I'm fine really. I may have been persona non grata for a while, but no-one here holds grudges for _that_ long do they?" He kept the sarcasm in his voice to a tolerable level, he knew who he was talking to after all. Scott Hall could probably tell him a thing or two about long held grudges that would turn even _his_ hair white.

 _Want us to hang around while you beard the lion Junior?_

Oh and wouldn't he just love to take Chris up on that offer? To go into Vince's office and sign that contract with CJ and Adam backing him up, like seconds in a duel. But wouldn't that be just another sign of Jeff's own lack of self-reliance, self-control? That he needed other people to hold his hand while he signed a contract for his _own fucking career_? It was bad enough... _bad_?... that he was only here because Mark had put his ass on the line for him, he didn't want to put Adam and Chris in the same boat.

"Naahh thanks, but I'm good. Just got to make sure I don't go mental on him again. Hope Melrose isn't there though." And he really, really did. Because if Melrose did that thing where he sniffed at Jeff while rolling his eyes, he was gonna have a serious time controlling his 'kick the asshole in the head' reflex. Fortunately Chris saved him from that situation by going in with Adam to check out the landscape of the office. While the two Canadians were closeted with Vince, Jeff looked down at his boots, wrapping his arms around himself while he contemplated what he wanted to say.

"Scott? Why is Mark helping me like this? I've got a few ideas but the obvious ones aren't true," and wasn't that a killer, in more ways than one. "Is he just being a great guy, giving me a chance 'cos no-one else will? Or because..." No, he wasn't going there... not yet. "...or is he doing this for another reason?"

Waiting for Scott's answer, Jeff didn't look up at the sound of incoming footsteps. But he recognised the presence of Kevin Nash easily.

Would either of them know why Mark was helping him? Or would he just have to continue wondering until he summoned the courage to ask the man directly?

****

 _"It's not Dr. Tom's orders I expect you to follow Babe."_

Like he was going to mind following Chris' orders? Not... especially if they included some of his favorite words... like more, right there, and harder. He was such a horndog. Jeff's reply to his comment drew his mind from baser thoughts.

 _"Would go down like a ton of bricks, if you know what I mean?"_

Interesting wasn't it. That while Jeff wasn't planning to use those come hither looks on Mark, he'd qualified it. So... Jeff didn't think Mark would be interested. Yet Mark had taken enough of an interest to step into the backstage political arena and give him a chance at a contract... something that Mark hadn't done in a long, long while. He would definitely be keeping an eye on developments there.

After knocking on the door to Vince's office, Adam ducked and kissed the top of Chris' head while he waited for a summons to enter. Raising his brows over the muffled 'What now?', he turned the knob and stuck his head through the door. Vince didn't look happy. He looked even less happy when he saw who had knocked on the door.

"What in the hell are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be getting X-rays or something? And I'm pretty sure I know what happened in the hall from witness statements, but do you have anything to add before I decide what to do about Terry?"

Ouch. Hoping that Vince's ire wasn't all for his benefit, Adam walked into the office. "Been for X-rays already and we are leaving, but I wanted to let you know what the doctor had to say." Vince's expectant look begged him to continue, so he did so. "No breaks. A few fractures. The doctor said as long as I wrap my ribs I can work." Okay so maybe that wasn't 'exactly' what he had said, but it was close enough. He knew Chris was listening though and if he didn't spill all then Chris would. "I'll have to guard my left side and try not to get dropped on my head, but with the match we had planned I'll only have to be out there for a few minutes before Glen makes his appearance. No need to cancel the match for my benefit. As far as Terry... not much to tell. He said some things, I said some things, he didn't like what I had to say and he let me have it. End of story."

He could have added details, but what was the point. He was sure Vince had already heard them if he had witnesses. In a way, he almost hoped Terry wouldn't get sent to OVW so he had a chance to get back some of his own, but it would be better for Chris if Terry did go.

"Fine, Adam. I won't pull the match, but I am going to make a few changes. We're going to add another team to the match. I know it isn't what we had planned, but since the whole incident happened I've been thinking about it and that's what I've decided to do. Terry's going to be sent down to OVW. I can't have people going off half-cocked and costing us pay per view matches, even if that didn't happen in this case."

Adam raised a brow. Another team? And just how the hell were they going to introduce the other team to the match when the pay per view was on Sunday? "Okay Vince. I have no problems with that, just let me know what you want to do. I'm planning on working Monday as well, then if it's not a problem I'll take the rest of the week off. I just don't want to cause any problems with the schedule." He didn't address the issue with Terry. Vince had already made up his mind and it was for the best.

It was Vince's turn to raise a brow. "You still want to do the six-man on Monday? Okay. Whatever. As long as you're cleared for it, then we'll go with it. I've already sent someone to find Nash and Hall. You and Jericho get out of here and don't let me see you before Sunday. I'll have someone call you with the details for the match." Nash and Hall as the other team? Damn. That sounded like fun. Too bad he and Chris were going to get taken out early.

"Yes, sir. Hall is outside... in the hall." Didn't that just sound weird? "Jeff's waiting out there as well. I'll send him in on my way out."

Vince rolled his eyes as if he weren't really in the mood to deal with Hardy at the moment, but nodded anyway. "Okay, send him in so we can get this over with. Tell Hall as soon as Nash gets here I want them in here."

"I'll do that. Bye, Vince." Ducking out the door, he turned to Scott and nodded. "I take it you heard that?" After Scott's nod in return, Adam turned to Jeff. "Looks like you're up. Good luck."

As Jeff ducked into the office, Adam turned to Chris and smiled. "I'm all yours now, sweetheart. Ready to go tuck me in?"

****

 _"I may have been persona non grata for a while, but no-one here holds grudges for that long do they?"_

Scott snorted quietly in response to the sarcastic comment. Grudges? He could probably come up with a few stories to convince Jeff of just how right he was. Stories that would have him running from the world of wrestling if he had any brain cells... nah, on second thought, Hardy wasn't the type to quit with the odds against him. Scott wasn't sure if that made him brave... or insane.

At least they hadn't run into Heyman again since the earlier encounter. He wondered how Kev was doing with the whole Mark/Shawn/Hunter/Dave situation. If he knew Kev, which he most certainly did, then Kevin would find him in a little while all laughs and smiles. Unless something went wrong... but how likely was that to happen?

Done with his own mental wandering for the moment, he caught the tail end of Jeff's reply to Chris. Scott determined to hang around for awhile yet, just in case the slimy little rodent was present. Scott had had a few interesting encounters with Melrose himself, including one where he had thought Kev was going to rip the man's head off for referring to Scott's past. Scott had circumvented an incident that day, but the man was still on his shit list.

 _"...Or is he doing this for another reason?"_

Wow. That was a hell of a loaded question. How exactly should he answer it? He had his own suspicions of course, but nothing that Mark had confirmed verbally. Scott wasn't one to visit supposition as it always led him into trouble. Witness his error in judgment with the whole Dave situation yesterday although it seemed as if that might have ended up working out for the best. He wouldn't take that kind of chance with the Mark/Jeff situation. Mark would string him up by his toes if he were by chance wrong. He didn't think he was though. All he could do is go with what he knew of Mark in the past and work from there.

"Jeff, I could speculate all day on why Mark does the things he does and still not come up with the right answer. I think you should ask the man himself why he did it, but if you want my opinion..." Scott studied his boots as he considered how to phrase his thoughts without taking a step over the mental ledge he was standing beside. "Sometimes the most obvious explanation is close to the truth without being close enough. Think about what you know personally of the man," Scott said, his eyes flicking towards the office where Adam was ensconced with CJ and Vince in a broad hint.

Adam's relationship with Mark had been surprising while at the same time not. Mark wasn't one for brief flings. That was obvious by the relationships he'd had in the past. That he and Adam had been together so long, even with the deeper feelings not present was clue enough of that. Scott couldn't remember hearing any gossip about who Mark had been seeing since he'd split with Adam and Scott had to wonder who it was that Mark had been with since then. From the Dead Man's reactions earlier, Scott would guess that whomever might have been receiving his attentions... it wasn't serious. Mark wasn't the type to run around behind someone else's back. That and the fact that Mark had been antsy when Scott had asked who he was staying with led him to the conclusion that Mark hadn't been seeing anyone, at least recently.

"If you really messed up as badly with Melrose as what you implied, then it's obvious Mark had to give one hell of a concession to Vince to pull you out of the mud. While Mark is generous to a fault for those he cares about, I can't see him doing it on a lark." He was an inch from that proverbial ledge. Luckily for him, Kevin showed up before he could toss himself over it. Mark would already want to kill him.

 _"That did not go well. Guess we have to go talk to Vince about the pay-per-view, too."_

Scott leaned back into Kevin's touch. The fact that things didn't go well... well damn, how wrong could he be? He should have figured it, considering their luck lately. He would most certainly pry the details out of Kevin later, but for now...

It was Jeff's turn to face Vince. As the blonds exited and sent Jeff into the depths of Hell, otherwise known as Vince's office, Scott allowed Kevin to steer him to the door of the office as well. He'd keep an ear out, just in case Jeff needed the help. Turning his head slightly so that his breath blew gently against Kevin's cheek, Scott whispered, "Missed you too, babe. So what the hell happened with Mark and the boys? I thought the way the wind was blowing that Mark would have been okay with Shawn getting together with Dave and Hunter. Did they say anything about Vince's reaction?"

Scott watched Jeff talking to Vince with vague interest. Everything seemed okay at the moment and he really wanted to know what had happened with Shawn, Dave, Hunter, and Mark.

****

Chris wasn't surprised at Adam's quick recitation of events or the total lock of detail he offered Vince over the fight in the hall. Telling your boss you got attacked by your ex because you said he had a small dick wasn't exactly a story Adam seemed aching to tell. And no... CJ didn't delude himself that it was that little comment of Adam's that caused the Fuckhead's violent reaction. There was a lot more to Terry's feelings for CJ's boyfriend than just bitchiness over getting caught screwing around and Chris meant to keep his eye on the Hornless Rhyno, just to be on the safe side.

 _Fine, Adam. I won't pull the match, but I am going to make a few changes._

Well, what had he been expecting? That Vince would overrule Adam and Dr. Tom and forbid his lover to wrestle on Sunday? Vince could and often did, order his employees to stay out of the ring, his ears deaf to demands and pleas of 'I'm fine really'. But in some cases, most notably those of his headline talent, Vince could be persuaded to let a wrestler perform in spite of medical opinions to the contrary. Adam had made his best possible case here, presenting Vince with all the medical evidence on his condition and making his arguments clearly and with a minimum of fuss. There was no doubt Vince was a very busy man, he really, really didn't like fuss.

 _Terry's going to be sent down to OVW._

There. See? Fuss-causer just got canned and good riddance too. Pity though... CJ really would have liked to try and break a couple more of the guy's fingers. Just to keep them on even ground. While Adam and Vince worked out the Raw match, Chris leaned his head back out the door of the office.

"All clear Junior, Melrose must be off signing someone else's soul to the devil."

Jeff nodded absently at Chris' information, arms across his middle and eyes on his boots in a pose that could be kindly called 'subdued', but given that CJ wasn't noted for being kind, he'd call it 'defensive'. Whatever his multi-coloured haired friend was discussing with Scott was obviously something personal to cause such a change in Jeff's demeanour. Chris turned back into the room, just catching the end of Scott Hall's quiet words.

 _...about, I can't see him doing it on a lark._

Ahhh. So Calloway was stepping up to bat for Jeff with Vince on the contract issue. The massive 'Why?' in that equation was one CJ would like answered himself, his protective instincts coming to the fore in regard to his favorite Hardy. Mark may be an ultimate gentleman with sterling taste, dating Adam was certainly an indicator of _that_ , but Chris was still going to subtly bring Mark's possible motives up with his lover sometime in the near future. Sometime.

When they were at the hotel.

When they actually _left_ the arena.

And didn't come back again.

And talk to some more people.

Suppressing an urge to drum his fingers on the door frame, Chris smiled with false cheerfulness at Vince when his boss looked at him with a wary expression. CJ had no intention of mentioning the condition of his hand to the man on the other side of the desk. Just like he hadn't mentioned the nasty bruising he'd received after impacting with several monitors when Tyson had tossed him through the announce table. Chris acknowledged the fact that he didn't have a medical degree, but he also knew that he didn't care. When he could and couldn't work was something he was quite capable of determining for himself. He didn't need Vince to be 'fussed' by him as well.

 _I'm all yours now, sweetheart. Ready to go tuck me in?_

Chris stifled his tart response of "Really? You sure now? Don't wanna chat with ten other people just because we're here?" Adam didn't need heavy sarcasm right now, what he needed was a bed, some low lighting and Chris' talented hands. And Chris meant him to have them.

"Willing and able Babe. You don't know what you've been missing till you've been put to bed by yours truly. My tucking is legendary so I've been told." And if you couldn't guess which word he emphasised in that sentence, then you didn't know Chris Jericho. "Ty's taken our bags to the car park and is gonna sit on the taxi if it's early... let's go."

Returning his arm to its former position at Adam's lower back, Chris guided his lover as swiftly as Adam's drug-soothed ribs would allow, through the backstage corridors. Nodding and smiling at the few crew members who tried to stop them to ask how they were, CJ ruthlessly propelled them away from any such encounters, his hand slipping to grasp Adam's belt with a firm grip. Ignoring images of himself as a bullet-like tug boat nudging a long sea liner into port, Chris breathed a sigh of relief as they finally emerged back into the dubious fresh air of the car park.

Tyson was just loading their bags into the back of a cab, while Jay tried to give the driver directions.

"He lives here Jay, I don't think the main hotels will be too difficult to find." Chris smiled at the slightly perplexed cab-driver, who had been nodding at Jay with a uncertain look on his face. "We'll see you two in the morning okay? I promise not to interrupt anything important again." In truth, Chris kinda wished something would be happening between his two friends, not that he really wanted the visual or anything. But make-up sex was always good no matter who the participants were. Nevertheless, Chris wasn't going to let them off easy. Checking to make sure Adam was still in a pain-free place, Chris climbed into the back seat beside his lover and rolled down the window.

"Oh Jay? Slow the fuck down with the managing 'thing'. It's driving us all nuts and you're going to wreck your back again if you don't quit it."

Grinning at his startled friends, Chris gave them the royal wave as the driver finally found a gear higher than first and they moved out into traffic.

Lolling his head around to look at Adam, Chris asked his lover,

"So. How was your evening?"


	50. Resolutions

_Think about what you know personally of the man,_

Oh yeah, Jeff was thinking about Mark in a personal sense. In a far too personal sense to be comfortable really. But as he'd told Adam, he wasn't going to ruin their agreement and potential friendship with any of that stuff... not again. But as to Mark's reasons? Scott had shed a little light on the subject for him and Jeff absolutely agreed that the big man's actions wouldn't be for fun or just because he could. Maybe his other suspicion was the truth then? And would that be such a bad thing?

 _Looks like you're up. Good luck._

Jeff looked up at Adam's sympathetic words, at least meeting with Vince this evening had gone well for someone.

"Thanks Adam. Now get lost the both of you, go make some sweat together." Sure it wasn't the most romantic of blessings, but hey. Smiling at their eye rolling, Jeff braced himself for what was coming next. He had pride... okay, okay, he had a helluva lot of pride, but this time he'd have to adopt some humility or it wouldn't just be his ass on the floor. It would be Mark's as well.

There was no way Jeff was gonna let Mark be hurt by this.

Vince was writing something and didn't look up as Jeff  came into his office. Taking on what he imagined was a military parade rest, Jeff straightened his shoulders, dropped his hands to his side and stared intently at the print behind Vince's head. Fruit. Why was the generic decoration in arenas always fruit? Probably supposed to be soothing.

"Did Mark tell you what he's asked for?" Vince was leaning back in his chair now, fingers twisting a gold pen around and around. At least he wasn't red with anger at just the sight of Jeff.

"Yeah... he did." Just keep your tongue between your teeth Hardy and maybe you'll survive this yet. "I appreciate you giving me a last chance Mr. McMahon." Best to keep it formal and Jeff had no idea what would push Vince's buttons tonight.

"Hmmmm." Vince seemed to be considering something unpleasant. "Here," he reached out and pushed a clipped sheaf of papers across his desk towards Jeff. "Melrose had them made up this week, all they need is your signature. My deal with Mark isn't on them because although it's about you, it has, frankly, nothing to do with you Jeff. Yes..." Vince nodded at the younger man's shocked face. "We were ready to sign you up earlier till…" Vince had the grace to look a little abashed. "I know Melrose is an asshole, but that's why he's here. He's on no-one's side except mine and he gets the reactions I want to see. Yours left plenty to be desired Hardy." This time it was Jeff's turn to feel like a three year old who'd chucked a tantrum. "But I appreciate you not hurting him, some people haven't demonstrated the same control in the past."

That said, Vince returned to his paper work for a few minutes before looking up at Jeff's still frozen form. "Hurry up and sign Hardy then get out. I don't want to see you for any reason except in the ring getting your ass kicked by 'Taker, you hear me?"

Jumping as if he'd been shot, Jeff quickly scribbled his name on the lines marked by red labels and sorted the contract and its attendant copies neatly back into order. Knowing he should leave, Jeff couldn't resist giving Vince the promise he should have not two hours ago.

"I'm not going to let you down this time Vince. Mark or not, I'm gonna be straight as a die for you I promise."

Vince didn't say a word, just stared into Jeff's eyes for a long moment before nodding slowly in acceptance.

Not about to push his luck any further, Jeff darted out the door. Waving Scott and Kev into the office, he made his way down a random corridor at the fastest walk his legs would grant him.

Thoughts swirling, Jeff stopped at a dead end full of big, black electrical cases and rested his hand on one. Wow, so he was officially back with the WWE.

He was having a moment here.

****

What he wasn't expecting was to run almost literally into the Rattlesnake. Jerking to a halt only inches away from Steve, Shawn frowned at the other man. They'd been friends, to varying degrees, for years now... but this was an expression he didn't recognise. And why wasn't Austin snarling at him for almost running into him? Strange.

"Everything okay, Steve?" He raised an eyebrow at the oddly reluctant look on the other man's face as Steve met his eyes. The man looked almost... embarrassed. That couldn't be right.

"Jus' fine, Shawn, thanks. I just... I gotta... I'm lookin'..." Austin stumbled through his words, looking more flustered with every failed attempt at an intelligible sentence. "Gotta go. Talk to ya later, okay?"

Blinking, Shawn watched him hurry away, not quite sure if he'd ever seen the Rattlesnake _blush_ before. That was damned weird. If he didn't know better, he'd suspect Austin of being distracted by someone... hmmm. And he hadn't even made a crack about Shawn's voice.

Shrugging slightly in bemusement, Shawn started back down the hall, his lips curved slightly as he remembered just why his voice sounded like it did. He'd never look at locker room showers quite the same way again, that was for sure. Resolutely avoiding any thoughts of Vince or the earlier confrontation, he set his mind firmly on the beguiling thought of what awaited him. He felt lighter, he realised. Now that the miasma of depression and loneliness that had haunted him for years was gone, abolished by the two men who'd so unexpectedly granted him one of his dearest dreams.

Caught up in his thoughts, he did run into someone. Someone tall. Not that that told him a hell of a lot, all things considered; he was about the normal height of the cruiserweights, after all. Backing up, his mouth opening in an apology, he realised who it was at the same time that he saw the man standing beside them.

"I'm sorry... Hunt? What are you doing here?" It almost sounded rude, but as Shawn stared at the sight of his lover standing next to his ex-lover, he had to wonder what was going on. Last time he'd checked, Hunter barely tolerated Mark. Now here they were, together... right in front of him. And they looked... well, not friendly, but companionable. What the _hell_ was going on around here today?

****

Hunter had resolved that his previous animosity with Mark could be put down to two things. The first was Hunter's basic jealousy of Mark, the big man had had something Hunter'd never dreamed of being allowed... Shawn's love. It wasn't an admirable thing to be so envious and Hunt had tried to suppress his feelings by focusing on being happy that Shawn was happy. Unfortunately, he succeeded quite well in the whole 'I'm genuinely pleased you two are having sex' thing. Unfortunate, because when Mark had seemingly left Shawn at his darkest hour, Hunter had felt severely pissed off at the man. Not just for hurting Shawn, although that had been the at the top of his Mark-Is-An-Asshole mountain, but because Hunt had let go of his envy and replaced it with affection for the couple. An affection then turned to intense dislike at Mark's selfish behaviour.

Now that Hunter had let go of his dislike... funny how looking at something from another's point of view gave you an insight into their actions, duh... he couldn't really dwell on the whole envy issue, because... well, _he_ was the one granted Shawn's love now. But what do you do when, not only has your world been turned upside down by your dream lover who is now your actual lover and the man you had been pissy with for the last few years turns out to be a pretty decent guy?

If Hunter was a man in touch with his softer side, he might engage Mark in conversation about the issue. Own up to his feelings of jealousy and resentment then try and discuss a way for them to interact with each during the beginnings of Hunter, Shawn and Dave's relationship.

Or...

They could just not talk about it and pretend it never happened.

Works for Hunter.

Seeing his lover strolling down the hall with a bemused expression on his handsome face, Hunter had little doubt as to the cause of Shawn's dream state. It must be nice, after all the emotional slog Shawn had been through today with him and Dave, to be able to contemplate a future for the three of them. Vince's opinion not withstanding.

Hunter didn't move aside as Shawn kept walking towards them, gaze locked far off into the distance. The impact of his lover's body smacking into him was minor, but the shiver of awareness that rippled through Hunt as their skin made contact, wasn't. The almost comical double take by Shawn as he spotted Hunt's companion bought a smile to the taller blond's lips.

 _I'm sorry... Hunt? What are you doing here?_

Oh now, is that a hint of nervousness I hear in your voice Darling? The idea of Mark and I having a chat bring a blush to your cheeks? Although, Hunter had to admit, it was probably the sight of he and Mark within ten feet of each other that was causing Shawn's wide-eyed look of surprise.

Sliding an arm around Shawn's waist, Hunter pulled his slight lover up against his front, keeping the pressure on until Shawn was almost on tip toes.

"Just coming to do my 'Angry and Full of Vengeance' thing Darling, now that you're done I see." Catching Shawn's lips in a hot, quick kiss, Hunter let the blond back down with a grin. "Mark came to see where you were and walked in on Dave and I having a moment. Tell him we're not messing with your head, only your body, so he doesn't feel the need to take _my_ head off at the neck. I'm gone."

With a quick slap to Shawn's sexy-boy ass, Hunter continued down the hallway, leaving both his lover and his nemesis looking after him with expressions Hunter could only guess at.

"Hey boys," Hunter greeted the film and camera crew set up in its own well lit stage area. He felt in a remarkably good mood, despite Vince's actions and Dave's previous rage. Speaking of which... "Let's get this done, quickly if we can. I have some business to do that is very time sensitive... thanks guys."

Stripping of his sweat top and t-shirt, Hunter poured a bottle of water over his head and shook off the excess drops like a wet dog.

"Let's get angry."

****

Raising an eyebrow as he caught the tail end of Scott's conversation with Jeff, Kevin resolved to ask his lover just what exactly he'd been saying once they were alone again. Mark had been a good friend for a long time, but if they tried to interfere in his personal life, even in a good way, Kev suspected the shit would hit the fan. The Dead Man was an intensely private person, and didn't take too kindly to outside interference from _anybody_.

 _"So what the hell happened with Mark and the boys?…. Did they say anything about Vince's reaction?"_

Letting his breath out in a long sigh, Kevin leaned his head against Scott's, half-listening to the muffled voices in the office in front of them. He answered in an undertone that only Scott would be able to hear.

"Well... let's just say that Mark didn't find Shawn in Evolution's locker room... but he did find Hunter and Dave. Kissing." His voice turned a little wry at the end and he met Scott's eyes with a small smile. "And yes, the sight was just as nice as we'd thought it would be. Looks like the trio's more serious than we thought, too."

Tightening his hold on Scott, Kev paused before admitting, "Mark didn't take it well... he thought they were screwing with Shawn. Dave said some stuff, Mark said some stuff... they seem to be okay now. At least, Hunter and Mark are talking, which is a good thing in and of itself. And Vince... Dave said something about Vince not taking the news well, but he wasn't specific, and I wasn't about to ask." He shrugged slightly, his eyebrows raising a little as he caught Jeff's promise to Vince.

Before they could say anything else, Jeff was waving them into the office as he went by, and they stepped forward into the room. Kevin refused to drop his arm; no matter how pissy Vince was about the trio, he'd better not say word one about his relationship to Scott, even indirectly.

Vince finished glancing over the papers in front of him before looking up, and for an instant, Kevin almost felt sorry for him. The man looked incredibly stressed, and with everything that had gone down tonight, Kev really couldn't blame him. Maybe they should try to keep this short.

"You wanted to talk to us about the pay-per-view?" Kevin asked, tilting his head a little. Hopefully about adding them in somewhere; it was nice to be back, but boring as hell to be wandering around backstage with nothing to do. Hell, they hadn't even cut a promo yet, and he'd expected to do that much at least last night, since it was their first night in.

Vince nodded, eyeing them with a slight frown as his gaze fastened on Kevin's arm around Scott before pulling back up to look at him. "I'm adding you two to the tag-team match, since Adam's hurt. We'll shorten the time before Kane comes out, and then once he's finished off Benoit and Adam, Eric will announce that due to the outside interference, there's been a last-minute change to the match... and you'll come out. It'll be a complete surprise for everybody that way."

Kevin was nodding even as Vince spoke, his smile returning. "That'd be perfect. What do you think, Scott?"

****

Thank goodness for Maggie. She'd just manage to save him a trip to the nearest all-night Wal-Mart. Not that he had anything against shopping per se, but you always met the weirdest fans there after midnight. She'd even managed to find a bag for him to hide his necessaries in, since he'd forgotten that necessity when he'd escaped from the locker room.

He really should head back there and check to make sure things were okay with Hunter and Mark, but he still wasn't in any frame of mind to deal with Mark and he was a little nervous about facing Hunter again. Not only had he gone off on Mark, for which he'd most likely apologize later, but he'd dropped one hell of a bombshell on Hunter and then fled like a scalded dog... to borrow from JR's repertoire.

No... he hadn't wanted to really leave the room right then, but he honestly had been furious with Mark's assumptions after everything that had gone on so far that day. As Dave headed into the upper echelons of the arena, his version of 'going to get some air', he recognized that it wasn't necessarily a stupid assumption that Mark had made. The thing that confused him was how Mark had a clue that either of them were involved with Shawn. Shawn hadn't told him or he'd have known about both of them and as far as he knew Shawn hadn't spoken to Mark yet tonight. He was pretty sure that despite Kevin's presence with Mark, he hadn't been the one to spill the beans. Kevin just didn't seem the gossiping type and Kevin knew about the three of them so he wouldn't have purposely misled Mark.

In all honesty, he supposed it didn't really matter who had brought the subject to Mark's attention. The point was that Mark had been aware of one of them being involved with Shawn to some extent and he'd misread the situation. Damn. He'd have to apologize for blowing up. It wasn't Mark's fault that he was on edge. If it had happened say tomorrow or a week from now he would have handled it much better. He could see now that Mark's anger had been based in concern for Shawn and he couldn't really fault the man for that. Double damn. He really hated apologizing. But he would do it.

Tired of thinking about all the bad things that had come up in the last day, he decided to settle on some of the good things... that being Shawn and Hunter. As he looked over the railing of the upper tier and absentmindedly noted a couple of the cruiserweights in the ring, he thought about the contents of the bag he was holding. While it was true that he'd already let the cat out of the bag with Hunter, he still wanted to elaborate on what he'd said and he was hoping that Shawn wouldn't find out about what he'd said by word of mouth. His idea was still solid, even if it did happen, but he'd rather it be a surprise.

After spending another moment or two thinking about his plan, he took one last look at the men in the ring. The maneuvers that they were performing were not the type that Dave would ever be trying to use. He was pretty sure that he couldn't get his ass that high in the air for one thing, even with the assistance of the ropes. Still, it never hurt to keep an eye on new moves just in case he had to face one of the lighter guys.

Turning, he headed back to the locker room. Maybe Hunt or Shawn would be in there. Maybe they were both down with the cameras taping their promos. If that were the case, he'd be able to hide his little bundle before either of them noticed it. Actually... he was hoping that he'd have at least a moment or two alone to hide his goods.

Reaching the locker room, he opened the door and peeked inside. The coast was clear, at least for the moment. Dave walked inside and stashed his bag inside his gear bag. At least something was going right for a change. Maybe while he was at it he should pay another visit to Vince...

Nah.

****

 _"...My tucking is legendary so I've been told."_

Eek!

Adam managed to smash down the unreasonable flash of jealousy that comment begged to inspire. He was nuts. It's not like he hadn't had his own personal throng of groupies, so why should some allusion to Chris' romantic past phase him?

'Maybe because you're in love with him, you idiot.'

Well, yeah. There was that. That didn't mean he needed to turn into a psychotic raving lunatic like say... Terry. Not that he thought Terry had ever been in love with him. Not by any stretch of the imagination considering what he'd done to him in the past as well as today. Lord was his mind wandering again. The last person he wanted to think about right now was his ex.

Chris was with him now and that's all that should matter. Maybe sometime during their time off he'd even get up the nerve to tell him how he felt about him... maybe.

He was well aware of Chris' hand hooked in his belt. He almost laughed. There wasn't anyone else he planned on stopping to talk to... well, okay... maybe he'd have liked to pick Mark's brain to see what was up with the whole Jeff situation, but it was unlikely that he'd get anything out of the man. It could definitely wait until next week. They passed Mark in the hallway with Shawn and Hunter. Some odd vibrations coming off there. Of course with what he'd found out earlier in the gym, that wasn't surprising.

Oh lord. He'd never had a chance to tell Mark about the vibes from Shawn, Hunter, and Dave. He really hoped Mark had heard about it from someone else by now. He still wasn't sure exactly how he'd missed Hunter in that whole situation. Maybe because it hadn't been common knowledge that Hunter swung that way. Oh well. He had a feeling he'd be doing a lot less watching in the future anyway, unless Chris decided to join him in his whole fading into the wall gimmick. That wasn't likely. Chris just wasn't the type to fade into a wall.

Realizing that they'd finally reached the cab, Adam slipped into the back seat with nary a protest. He had a feeling if he even thought about it, Chris would string him from the rafters of the arena. Damn. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Jay tonight either. Fuck Terry for screwing up all his plans.

Actually... he'd rather not. He had a much more pleasing prospect on the horizon.

He snickered quietly over Chris calling Jay on his actions lately. Good. At least someone got the chance to bring it to his attention tonight. Hopefully that would take care of the problem. With Jay though? Not likely. He'd have to make it a point to call him sometime this week.

 _"So . How was your evening?"_

How to answer that? It definitely hadn't gone as planned. That was for sure. Taking stock of his injuries, he realized that his ribs were still pretty much numb, his back was a little achy but nothing he couldn't deal with, and his head was tolerable though more Tylenol sounded like a blessing.

"I'd have to say... totally heinous, dude," he said with a smirk. "I have great hopes for the rest of the evening, though... and it did get us out of hanging around for the taping. I think I'll send Terry a thank you card, since I get to spend more time alone with you. I could just imagine his reaction to reading it."

Was he really that evil? Oh hell yeah. Shit. He was starting to sound like Steve. Scary that.

Reaching across the seat, he took Chris' hand in his. "Thanks for sticking around while I got my shots. I know it's stupid, but I've had a problem with them since I was little. I am probably the worst patient ever, especially after having my surgery, but I promise that I'll try to follow orders."

Lifting Chris' hand, he kissed the back of his knuckles. He honestly would try, even if he'd be stir-crazy after the first day. Right now the only thing he wanted was some time alone with Chris, another couple Tylenol, and sleep... in that order. With any luck at all... he'd get it.

****

 _I am probably the worst patient ever,_

The soft brush of lips against his undamaged knuckles brought a tired smile to Chris's lips. Damn him, if he hadn't realised not thirty minutes ago that he was in love with this man, then that gentle caress and his reaction to it would have sent up neon signals. The slow burn in his heart had only very little to do with sexual desire and far more to do with a deep sense of underlying happiness. Chris realised that even when Adam had been lying hurt beside him, while _he_ had been lost in that furious cold rage, he'd still felt underneath the worry and anger... good. Just good.

An easy happiness that needed no effort on his part. It came from what they'd had the night before, it came from the friendship they'd developed over the past few years that had only suffered a hiccup through their mutual denial of the other's interest.

"Gods Babe, didn't mind in the slightest. We all have things that we loathe. Give you ten guesses what mine is?" Chris turned their joined hand and placed his own kiss on the back of Adam's hand. "And yes, send Terry a thank you. Perhaps describe how many extra hours we get to spend together because of him. I'd suggest you give details but the Fuckhead would probably like it too much."

The taxi ride to the hotel was mercifully brief. Chris was even more anxious to get into the building when he noticed Adam's badly concealed wince as a sharp turn caused their heads to bump into the cushioned head-rest behind them. Looked like Dr. Tom's happy drug wasn't going to be helping with a nasty headache anytime soon.

So, let's get moving.

It took seven minutes to get from the lobby to their floor. Another four to drop their bags at the end of the bed and finally two minutes to gently push Adam down till he was seated on the neutrally beige bedspread with two painkillers and a glass of water in his hand.

"Okay Babe. First order is take those pills and drink that, then lie down while I get us some food. You'll feel even worse with medication on an empty stomach and I think it's a bit early in our relationship for me to be holding your hair while you bring your lunch up." Teasingly Chris dropped a kiss onto Adam's forehead, the skin smooth and warm but not too hot. Snatching up the phone, CJ ordered a light meal of chicken salad with fruit juice, to try and tempt Adam's likely non-existent appetite. Going into the bathroom, where Adam had put their toiletries earlier, a quick search found the bottle Chris was looking for.

Seeing Adam had fallen back onto the bed, Chris tossed the bottle down beside them and went for his lover's shoes. Cursing his damaged fingers, CJ loosened the laces enough to tug Adam's shoes off, quickly followed by the socks. Crawling up onto the bed, Chris tugged at the tie on the front of Adam's sweat pants, a sharp memory of last night coming to the fore. Adam had stripped for him, his own hands removing the clothes with far less pleasure than Chris's were experiencing. He done it, even though it had made him uncomfortable, just because Chris had told him to.

And now...

Now Adam was broken and bruised. His obedient, glorious lover from the night before taken from him tonight by a stupid, fucking, jealous Fuckhead. Chris looked at his hands, shaking slightly from the sudden burst of rage he'd just felt course through him. Firmly putting those ugly feelings aside, CJ focused his attention back onto Adam, finding the 'good' that he'd discovered in this man's presence. His beautiful lover who needed his affection right now, not his rage.

"Hips up." Chris pulled off Adam's pants as his lover complied, then dealt with the t-shirt with plenty of care to the fantastically colouring torso. "Why Adam. You're going to be such a pretty range of colours in the morning. Can't wait to see them go all yellow."

CJ kept up a soft mindless babble of compliments and observations while he finished stripping Adam and pushing him firmly into bed. Tossing his own shirt and shoes off into a random corner, Chris snared one of Adam's feet out from under the sheets and settled crossed legged at the end of the bed, the captured foot in his lap.

"Shut your eyes Babe, while I do my magic."

Beginning with slow, firm strokes, Chris cradled Adam's heel in his bandaged hand then began to find the pressure points on the sensitive sole that could alleviate pain somewhat. The big toe represented the head, the delicate arch the ribcage and waist. Also a foot massage was a great way to get someone to relax without letting them fall into too deep a sleep. He'd have to wake Adam up every hour anyway because of the concussion and certain pressures could do that too.

"Don't sleep yet Adam," a gentle tug of a middle toe to get those sexy green eyes back open. "Food first."

****

Jeff had finally calmed down a little, the back of his neck didn't feel itchy anymore and he wasn't tapping his foot to an inaudible beat. The surprising adrenalin rush signing the contract had caused was ebbing now and stark reality had settled in. He was back. The WWE now owned him for the next three years, whether they would do anything with that ownership was up to Mark and creative now.

Jeff's mind jumped from rehashing the fight with Melrose, seeing Mark stunningly wet and naked in the shower, to his possible Raw return when they let him on TV again. Spinning in a circle, he battered back and forth from one wall to the other. The corridor was exactly four paces wide. Probably three for Mark. Long, long legs covered a lot of ground. Hmm. Really should stop thinking about Mark's legs and start thinking about seeing Amy. Checking that she was okay. Asking her questions... questions....

God.

Leaning his forehead against the wall, Jeff was suddenly reminded of Mark's face when he'd been found like this not two hours ago. Hazed over by Jeff's anger at Melrose and the crushing sense of disappointment he'd felt in himself, Mark's concern hadn't registered straight away. Now it did. What got him was why Mark would take the trouble out of the blue like that.

Why would Mar....?

"Thought that was your crazy pretty head I saw Jeffy. Back for good this time Baby?"

The voice was saturated with what its owner thought was sexy huskiness but what Jeff liked to call Lounge Lizard Sleaze. 'Just can't catch a break tonight can you Hardy?' Except for Mark, that was one hell of a catch. Not even looking up, Jeff took a deep breath and tried to calm his jangling nerves.

"Couldn't stay away Richard, you're just too damned magnetic." The sarcasm in Jeff's voice practically flowed down the hall.

"Yeah well," the WWE driver was slouching against the wall, smelling of stale cigarettes and bourbon. "I always knew you wanted some of me Baby." Jeff snorted at Richard obviously missing the true intent of his insult. Richard 'Feel Me Baby' Fealty had three years on Jeff, but looked like he was much older. A crew cut, wannabe army pants and a beer belly completed a look that left most sane people wanting to do the exact opposite of Richard's hopeful nickname.

When it came to Richard, Jeff felt he could claim some sanity.

"So...Dom know yer back Baby?" Oh and wasn't _that_ a thought Jeff could've done without. "'Cause he sure would like to know, probably like to come over for a visit. Come you know... come... har."

Jeff acknowledged that right now if he had to spend another moment with Fealty, he might just offer to go back into Vince's office. Even Melrose was looking appealing by comparison. The driver had done a fine job of killing Jeff's adrenalin rush... nausea was now the issue. Heaving a sigh, Jeff moved from the support of the wall and made to walk past Richard. But being Jeff, he had trouble keeping his mouth shut.

"I don't give a flying fuck if Dom knows I'm back or not." It was actually true. "You can go kiss his ass if you want Rick, I know you always wanted to." _That_ was true as well.

"Well word is you're all over Heyman _and_ Calloway, Jeffy, and you only be back five minutes. Dom's not gonna like that Baby."

It was the reference to Mark and Paul.E in the same sentence that caused Jeff's flash of anger as much as the snide insinuation. Spinning around, Jeff pointed a sharp finger into Richard's face.

"Fuck YOU and Fuck DOM! I don't give a shit what he likes and you can tell him I said _that_!"

Unfortunately aside from the beer gut, Richard was in pretty good physical shape. Good enough that when he caught Jeff's wrist in a bruising grip, it hurt.

Fuck.

****

 _"I'm next so I'll walk there with you, if you don't mind."_

Shrugging, Mark inclined his head at Hunter before heading out of the locker room. Seeing the pained understanding flash across Hunter's face at his words a few moments ago made him wonder just what exactly had happened between the blond walking next to him and the one he was looking for. Hopefully Hunt hadn't done anything stupid... of course, there was a fading mark still on his face, only noticeable if you were looking, that made Mark suspect that his first instinct was correct. Shawn probably just hadn't let Hunter get away with it. He suppressed the smile that wanted to appear at the thought of Shawn taking it to Hunter; despite the size difference, his Heartbreaker was a spitfire who could probably take down _anybody_ if he felt it was necessary. In earlier years, he'd had to hold Shawn back more than once from throwing the first punch at somebody who'd said the wrong thing to him, and it had never been easy.

It was nice to see Shawn finally grown up, Mark mused with a sidelong look at the man pacing him. As terrible as the back injury and forced retirement had been for him, it had allowed the man hiding behind the insecurities and the arrogance to finally make himself known. Still, as well as Mark knew him, Hunter knew Shawn better than he did anymore, having spent the time to help him through that period in his life. The thought still brought a pang to his heart, but he realised this time that it was alleviated by knowing that Shawn wasn't alone anymore. In fact, Heartbreaker had outdone himself, with Hunter _and_ Dave---but didn't he always?

There was a difference in Hunter, too. Even just the companionable silence that surrounded them as they walked down the hallway was new. They'd never been companionable, not since 1998. There had been unspoken resentment and anger on both sides, but with the wall of Shawn's feelings for Hunter blocking their communication, they hadn't been able to get past that. Apparently now they had.

Mark wasn't one for emotional displays any more than Hunter was, was probably less so in actuality, and knew that they'd never sit down and have a heart-to-heart about the man they'd both loved. The thought of doing so was embarrassing in and of itself. But there was something... understanding, Mark suspected. Hunter was a smart guy; he'd undoubtedly put two and two together and come up with a resounding "FOUR!" regarding Mark's treatment of Shawn. All for the better, since Mark had always harboured a liking for The Game... even during his irritating snooty blueblood days with the ridiculous robes.

Dave... well. He respected The Animal, and he suspected that he'd have to hunt him down to apologise to him at some point. Hopefully the fact that he'd been upset on Shawn's behalf would be a point in his favour, at least. He'd seen enough of Batista to know that if the man said he loved Shawn, he'd do anything he could for him, and that was a good thing in Mark's books. It'd be interesting to sit back and watch the relationship between these three develop.

He spotted Shawn heading towards them and pulled his mind out of the musing it had fallen into. Time to deal with the here and now. His eyebrows raised briefly when he realised that Shawn was too distracted to even notice them, and couldn't quite keep back the soft chuckle when Shawn ran full-tilt into Hunter. The reaction that brought to both of the blonds didn't escape him either, and his expression softened slightly at the almost visible emotions flowing between the two of them. The kiss and the unexpected endearment from Hunter made him smile a little even as some of the old pain at hurting Shawn the way he had eased at the sight.

 _"Tell him we're not messing with your head, only your body, so he doesn't feel the need to take my head off at the neck. I'm gone."_

And he was. Would Mark have been able to kiss his new lover and then leave him alone with an ex? Probably not. He gained a little more respect for Hunter in that instant. The man hadn't done any of that for Mark's benefit, no marking his territory or possessive muscle flexing... just an honest expression of affection to his lover. Catching Shawn's bemused expression, Mark smiled.

"Hey, Heartbreaker." Sweeping the man into a hug, Mark squeezed slightly before releasing him and stepping back, looking him over as he noted the relaxed air and the happiness hovering in the back of the blue eyes. Catching sight of a darkening mark on Shawn's neck, he chuckled again. "Not wasting any time, are you?"

****

The grip on his waist distracted Shawn completely from their audience, little shivers running through him as Hunter pressed their bodies together. The intensity of his reaction from the fairly casual contact surprised him, but he didn't care. He'd waited so long to be able to have this that he wasn't about to shy away from it now just because there happened to be a witness. And... Hunt started it. All things considered, that meant the world right now.

 _"Just coming ..."_

Biting his lip, Shawn just managed to keep back the laugh that wanted to escape. He heard what Hunter actually said, but his mind promptly supplied images concerning the first two words that had nothing to do with the rest of the sentence. He melted promptly into the kiss, as short as it was, the almost harsh pressure of Hunt's lips demanding a response from him. As Hunt allowed him to slide back to the floor, he shook his head; so much for worrying about Hunt being able to touch.

 _"Tell him we're not messing with your head, only your body, so he doesn't feel the need to take my head off at the neck."_

Raising an eyebrow at Mark, the slap to his ass caught him by surprise even as his body responded favourably to the teasing blow. Shaking his head as Hunt walked away, he looked back at the Dead Man in time to see a rare smile on his face. That reassured him; Hunt's easy words had had him worried for a minute, but even if there had been some sort of scene---all too likely, with the people involved---there had also obviously been some sort of resolution, with the new ease hovering between Mark and Hunter.

Before he could ask about it, Mark was sweeping him off the ground in a hug and he laughed even as he wrapped his arms around the bigger man in turn. Such a familiar sensation, but one that he hadn't felt for years. Even though they'd remained friends, Mark had backed away from casual touches in order not to create the wrong impression with others, and not to further enflame emotions between the two of them. It reassured him; no matter what had gone down in the locker room, Mark obviously approved of the three of them, and that meant the world to Shawn. The Dead Man had done so much for him, meant so much to him, that his opinion was still high up on the list of those that mattered.

 _"Not wasting any time, are you?"_

Shawn's hand flew to his neck, and he smiled ruefully at his former lover.

"Can you blame me?" Letting a hint of seriousness creep into his still-rough voice, he lowered his hand as he stepped to the side of the hall, leaning against the wall. "It's new, Mark, very new. This morning new, actually. And it hasn't been too easy yet." He paused, his mind running a fast succession of images past him, encompassing the last twenty-four hours, and he sighed a little. "Hopefully it'll get better. We three are fine, now, but Vince came unglued. It took all three of us threatening to quit and Hunter standing him down to get him to back off."

The looming presence by his side made him feel better even as a hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed gently. "Vince is a dick. He's probably just jealous that he's not involved." Shawn smiled a little, but refrained from replying. He suspected there was a lot more to it than that, but he didn't want to dwell on it anymore tonight. His next words were soft, spoken almost without intending to say them out loud.

"All I want, honestly, is to get the hell out of here and spend the night wrapped up in their arms, without any more distractions."

Mark nodded in response, hesitating even though he obviously wanted to say something. Shawn tilted his head up at the man, his curiosity piqued by the uncharacteristic behavior. Before he could say anything, Mark said quietly, "If they make you happy, Shawn, then I'm behind you all the way. That's all I ever wanted for you."

A poignant silence, and Shawn had to blink hard to clear his eyes before sliding an arm around Mark's waist, daring to take the moment and take his chance to regain his former closeness with the man.

"They do. Thank you, Mark," he said softly. He cleared his throat, wincing a little as the soreness there started to make itself felt, and said, "That means a lot to me." Louder, in an attempt to keep the conversation from getting too emotional, he added with a smile, "Hunt said you were looking for me. What's up?"


	51. News

_"...But he did find Hunter and Dave. Kissing."_

Scott didn't immediately see the problem with that. It certainly wasn't a sight that he'd disdain at all. In fact, he'd probably be very appreciative of such a sight. And he'd missed it... damn.

As far as the three of them being serious... he certainly hoped so. Shawn had had enough people jerking him around in this lifetime. He deserved something more than just a fling. Hunter would certainly be more than that for Shawn and he had little doubt that Dave's feelings ran deep considering the reaction he'd had to Scott's little faux pas the night before. The three of them would be good together, as long as everyone else managed to keep their damn noses out of it. Yes he did realize that included him as well, but that was only valid as long as no one got hurt.

Scott winced over Mark's reaction. Yeah, he could certainly see the Deadman arriving at the wrong conclusion given the information that Mark had... that being that Shawn was in love with Hunter, but he'd known that for a long time. Certainly he'd known before Hunter had married Stephanie, so why had Dave being with Hunter set him off? Unless someone had informed Mark that Shawn was interested in Dave as well, but who would have done that? Meh. It really didn't matter. At least things seemed to have been straightened out.

Scott frowned at Kevin's comments about Vince. Surely the man wasn't going to try to stop them from being together. It couldn't be jealousy... at least not only jealousy. Vince had never said a word when Shawn was with him and Kevin. There had to be something else provoking Vince's reaction and Scott aimed to figure out what it was. They were heading into the man's office after all. Might as well pick his brain while they were there since they were bound to be here for awhile. Scott still had his apologizing to do, his request to submit, and a few other things to discuss with the man besides the pay per view. Might as well get it all over with at once... right?

When Vince looked up at them, Scott smiled. He had no hard feelings towards the man, though he wasn't sure that Vince was aware of that fact. Scott's mom had told him once upon a time that you could catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Scott wasn't real good at spreading honey, at least in regards to anyone but Kevin. Still... he could try to avoid antagonizing the man too much. Couldn't he?

The frown directed at them when Vince noticed Kev's arm around him phased Scott not at all. In fact, he smiled all the more. He listened as Vince explained the situation. It made sense. It was a good way to get them in front of the camera. It was almost too good to be true, considering what had happened the night before. Scott was wary of things that seemed to be too good to be true.

 _"That'd be perfect. What do you think, Scott?"_

What did he think? He wasn't quite sure yet, but he'd figure it out. At least he'd had sense enough to push the door closed behind them on the way in. This was between him and Vince... and Kev in a way, but it didn't need to be fodder for every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the company. This way he and Vince could be honest with each other and that was something that Scott had always demanded from Vince... honesty.

He pulled a toothpick from his hip pocket and tucked it between his teeth as he studied Vince. Vince wouldn't take it as disrespect, he was well aware that Scott preferred the old habit when he was thinking about something important. "I think it sounds great." He noticed that Vince visibly relaxed at least for a second or two. It might not last any longer than that though. Vince had left out an important piece of the puzzle... Scott crossed his arms over his chest and kept his eyes on 'the man'.

"I have to wonder though how you plan to end this match Vince?" He ignored the raising of Vince's brows. "In other words, Vinnie, I was wondering if this is my punishment for jumping on your boy last night. I'll apologize to you for the fact that he'll have to visit makeup, but I will not apologize to that little prick. He deserved everything he got. So what I want to know is... am I taking a dive in this match as retribution for my actions?"

Vince's eyebrows lingered somewhere near his hairline for another moment. "No." Vince sat back in his seat and pressed his hands together in a temple as he leaned back in his seat. "Actually I'd completely forgotten about the incident with everything that has gone on tonight. And in any case, I can't stand the little snitch myself. I'm sure he probably did deserve it. I would greatly appreciate it however if you could try to limit those kind of incidents though now that you're back."

That seemed fair. Actually more than fair, but it hadn't answered his question completely. What did Vince have planned for the match?

"Certainly, Vince. You know me." He had to grin. Vince did know him... as witnessed by the almost uncharacteristic rolling of his eyes. "Look, Vince... we both know that my last stay in this fed didn't end well. I take full responsibility for that. I know that you had no choice but to let me go and I have no beef with you over that." There went those eyebrows again. So he was pandering a little bit. It was the truth after all. "I can't promise there won't be other incidents, but I promise that I'll at least have a valid reason if there are any."

Vince nodded shortly. He couldn't really ask for more because that was all the guarantee that Scott was going to give him. Even during his drinking days, Scott hadn't hurt anyone to where they couldn't perform. Boys would be boys and there would be the occasional scuffle. As long as it didn't interfere with the show then Vince could live with it.

"I want him in a dark match." Now that Vince hadn't been expecting. "I'm pretty sure the reason he came running to you about the fight earlier was because he was hoping to get Shawn, Dave, or Hunter in trouble with you because of what happened yesterday. He's messing with family Vince. He needs a lesson. At least in the ring it will be an honest fight and I promise not to hurt him... too much."

Vince occasionally used dark matches to settle disputes. This seemed as good a reason as any and just maybe Nitro would learn a thing or two besides the lesson that Scott so obviously wanted him to learn. "Okay, fine. You can have the match as long as it's a regular match. No insane stips."

"Of course, Vince. So what about the pay per view? You still haven't said what's going to happen with that."

Vince finally managed a grin. "Actually I've decided that the Outsiders should return in spectacular fashion. How about another run with the tag team belts?"

Now that was the kind of ending that Scott could live with. "I think that sounds like the perfect ending, Vince." Scott unfolded his arms from his chest and reached out with one hand. He waited until Vince was shaking his hand before he dropped his bombshell.

Maybe he should have waited.

Maybe he should have minded his own business.

Yeah... like that would ever happen.

"That leaves us just one last thing to talk about boss. Why do you have a bug up your ass about Hunter, Shawn, and Dave? Enquiring minds want to know."

****

The feeling of Shawn's arm around his waist brought back memories, but for the first time in years, they weren't painful. Instead, Mark could remember the happiness of the time they'd had together. Knowing that Shawn was happy, finally, brought some sort of closure to the long-standing wound he'd caused himself by walking away from the man. He found himself looking forward to spending time with Shawn and his new... partners? It'd been a long time since he'd had good friends to simply spend time with, and Glen had been awfully busy lately with Sean's return.

 _"Hunt said you were looking for me. What's up?"_

Glad for the change of topic and tone, Mark pulled away from Shawn in order to face him, leaning back against a stack of crates as he crossed his arms. He needed to concentrate on keeping his emotions from showing so that Shawn didn't end up pulling more out of him than he wanted... but he wasn't holding his breath for success. He wondered briefly just why Shawn's voice was so rough, then decided that he was probably better off not knowing.

"Well... I'm going to be spending the next couple of months working with Jeff Hardy." The look on Shawn's face almost made Mark smile, but he forced it back as he continued. "Since he needs some time to shake off the ring rust, and you're not going to be too busy for the next few months---at least as far as the ring goes---I thought I'd ask if you'd be interested in giving me a hand. You have more in common with his in-ring style than I do, so you'd be good to help him smooth off any rough edges on his moves."

Shawn smirked at him, a knowing expression on his face. "Uh huh. And you're working with Jeff why, exactly? Last I heard, Vince fired him and swore up and down he wouldn't take him back. What have you got to do with it, Mark?"

Well, shit. So much for keeping this on a purely business level. He knew better, though, he really did. Shawn always did have a way of looking right past his masks and seeing what he was trying to avoid saying. He exhaled, shrugging, as he said, "Ran into Hardy backstage." Using his last name as a way to distance himself from the kid should've helped. It should've. "He was pretty upset 'cause he'd been having talks with Vince for the last couple weeks, but Melrose was being his normal dickhead self and he lost it. Thought he'd screwed himself over. I had a chat with Vince and we made an agreement: I'll work with the kid, and he's got a new contract." Hoping that Shawn would let it lie, he waited for a response.

Laughter wasn't what he was expecting.

"That's it, huh? You felt sorry for the kid? Give me a break." The grin on Shawn's face told Mark that he'd failed miserably in sounding casual about things, and Shawn's next words proved him right. "I'm sure you went to Vince, and I believe that you see the possibilities in Jeff... they're overwhelming, and Vince let his own prejudices blind him to them." A brief string of bitterness in Shawn's voice there, and Mark knew why. Vince had turned a blind eye to Shawn's talents too, until Shawn gave in to the pressure and followed the traditional way of moving up in the world of wrestling. "What I don't understand is why you give a damn. You've distanced yourself from the politics backstage for years, Mark. Why get involved now, especially for somebody like Jeff? The kid's a hot head, all attitude, even considering his talent. What's your interest in him?"

Heaving a mental sigh, Mark thought that he should've known better. If anyone was going to see right through him, it would be Shawn. Time for the truth, apparently.

"Yeah, he is all attitude and ego, isn't he? Reminds me of someone... someone I knew quite a while ago." Raising an eyebrow as he looked pointedly at Shawn, he was gratified to see a rueful look cross the smaller man's face. "And considering how that person turned out, I thought I'd like to give this hothead kid a shot, too."

"Really? So it's just business? You just want to see an up-and-coming talent get the recognition he deserves?" Shawn shook his head, smirking. "C'mon, Mark, I know you better than that. If you're comparing Jeff to me, you're not the first to do so, but you're probably the best qualified. Is it just his talent that's attracting you... or is it just him?"

Those knowing eyes did it. He slumped back against the crates as he dropped his eyes, not quite able to face that look. "Both," he muttered. "I want to see him get to the top---if I didn't think he could, I never would've agreed to that angle with him back in 2002."

"But...?" Shawn prompted, his voice softer.

"But... I haven't been able to stop thinking about him since then," Mark admittedly softly. Jeff had haunted him after that angle, especially after Vince fired him. No way in hell was a kid like that going to return his interest, not at his age, but... there were times when he'd catch the strangest looks on Jeff's face. When he'd asked Jeff to _look_ at him during their work together in the ring, he'd been straight up about needing to see his eyes to help coordinate their matches... but he'd mainly just wanted to see those eyes. What the hell was wrong with him, anyway? Cradle-robber, that's what he felt like, and after Jeff's misunderstanding earlier...

"What misunderstanding?" Shawn's quiet voice brought him out of his thoughts, and he was almost mortified to realise he'd been speaking them out loud. Only the understanding in those blue eyes made him continue, and he related the events in his locker room in a quiet voice that was nearly steady. Shawn listened without interruption, his expression thoughtful. When Mark finished, Shawn shook his head.

"I know you never even considered that possibility, Mark, but I don't blame him for thinking what he did." A moment's pause, and then Shawn's hand was on his arm, drawing his attention back to those eyes. "If you want my help, you've got it. You didn't even have to ask. Give me the week after Hell in a Cell to recover, and then I'll work out with you two as much as you can stand it, since I'll still be on the road. I'm not about to spend two months away from Hunter and Dave right after we've gotten this thing figured out, after all."

That surprised a quiet laugh out of Mark, and Shawn smiled at him, patting him on the arm as he stepped back. "Speaking of whom, I need to get back to the locker room and find them." A pause, and Shawn added before turning away, "I think your whirlwind is going to have just as much attraction to you as the last punk kid that caught your interest did."

By the time Mark had processed those words, Shawn was disappearing around the corner at the end of the hall. _Just as much attraction as..._ A small smile crept over his face. He wasn't quite ready to believe that, but it gave him some hope. He wouldn't push Jeff, would try his damnedest not to even show his interest, but if there was any sign that that interest was returned...

Pushing himself away from the wall, Mark followed Shawn's earlier path down to the locker rooms. It was time to find that wandering storm and see what was going to happen next.

****

His hand tingled. It wasn't a reaction to his injuries, he was sure of that. Nope. That delightful little tingle was all due to the brush of Chris' lips against the back of his hand. Lord he was a sap. He loved it.

He also loved having Chris to see him through the healing period. How he'd missed that during his rehab time with his neck. Not necessarily Chris' presence, but the presence of anyone that actually cared about how he was doing and if he was hurting. Not that Jay hadn't stopped by and Chris almost as often. Even his mom had managed to stop by regularly once he'd been allowed to be on his own. It wasn't the same. Not the same at all. That year had been one of the loneliest times in his life, especially after the incident with Terry. Chris seemed ready to stick by him through this and he couldn't have been more thankful. He just hoped that Chris wouldn't regret it... he really was an awful patient.

 _"I'd suggest you give details but the Fuckhead would probably like it too much."_

Adam almost snorted. Somehow he doubted that Terry would be thrilled with details. He was still at a loss as to why Terry had reacted the way he had. It's not like the man hadn't seen him with other people... obvious from his snarky comments... so why had being with Chris set the man off? Maybe Terry had sensed that he was actually going to be happy for a change and that had been what had set him off. Who knew? Who cared? Adam didn't particularly. Thinking about it was just making his head hurt worse.

Luckily the trip was brief. Chris rushed them through the lobby and into the room. Before Adam knew what was what, Chris had him sitting on the bed and was handing him some Tylenol and water with orders that he was going to have to eat something. He didn't want to eat, but he realized that Chris was right. Meds on an empty stomach was not a good idea. He still didn't want to eat. He would try though if it made Chris happy.

Despite his headache, the sweet kiss pressed to his forehead had him grinning like an idiot. He promptly swallowed the Tylenol and set the water glass on the nightstand. While Chris wandered into the bathroom, he decided that he wanted to lay down. His ribs still weren't hurting yet, but at least if he laid down he could close his eyes and relax for a few minutes.

He hadn't given a thought to taking anything off. Chris had given it thought though. That was obvious as he followed orders so that Chris could strip him naked. He greatly enjoyed the nice words Chris was saying though. Chris was way too generous with his compliments, but he'd wait to argue with him later... when his head didn't hurt quite so much. Then he was naked, but Chris wasn't. That was hardly fair, was it? Chris should be naked as well.

Before he could make that observation, Chris had his foot in his hands and started doing all kinds of wonderful things with it. Acupressure or something similar most likely. Alternative medicine was good... as long as Chris didn't start pulling out needles to poke into odd parts of his body. That would have Adam flying down the hall in the altogether despite the love he held for the man.

 _"Don't sleep yet Adam."_

He'd been very close to it. He'd been on the very cusp of dropping off to sleep. That wasn't part of his plan. So he forced his eyes back open. He needed to keep talking or something or there would be no stopping the visit of the sandman.

"Yes, daddy." Sporting his evil grin, he tilted his head so that he could look at Chris. "If I eat my dinner like a good boy, do I get dessert?" He even managed a wiggle of his eyebrows. "I think something sweet and sassy would be the perfect end to my meal."

****

Forcing himself to keep from whistling, Shawn couldn't quite keep the smile off his face. That conversation had been... enlightening. Sure, he and Mark hadn't spent much time talking about Shawn's new relationship... relationships?... but then, that wasn't the point, either. At least not after he'd reassured Mark that he was happy with them. A warm feeling centered low in his belly at the knowledge that Mark still cared so much about him. The last thing in the world that either of them wanted at this point was to resume their old relationship, but knowing that the depth of emotion was still there, and still accessible... that was nice. That was beyond nice. Mark was the only ex he could claim that with besides Kev and Scott, and they were an exception anyway.

And Mark's new pet project... _that_ was interesting. Jeff Hardy. Of all people. Of course, knowing Mark's fascination with arrogant punk kids first-hand, it didn't surprise Shawn as much as it probably should have. It was unexpected, but looking at it from a distance, he could see it. In fact, looking at it from a distance, he had to wonder if Mark had as little chance as he thought he did. Shawn doubted it, considering all the looks Jeff had cast at the Dead Man over the last four years or so, let alone the body language, but then, Mark had his own insecurities, and his age was definitely one of them. Maybe Jeff would be able to convince the man that he only got better as he got older; Shawn had never quite been able to. And if he managed to have a few chats with Jeff while working with him, well, he certainly wouldn't feel too guilty about dropping a few bugs in the kid's ear.

Pausing in front of the door to Evolution's locker room, Shawn raised his hand to knock before reconsidering. His smile widening just a bit, he pushed the door open and walked in, his eyes falling immediately on Dave. The big man was dozing on the couch... hadn't heard him come in, either. Catching the door as it swung shut behind him, Shawn let it latch with as little noise as possible.

Advancing across the room, he shed his torn t-shirt, letting it join the other discarded clothes by the benches. He stopped in front of Dave, his expression softening as he took in the sight. The man was slumped in the corner of the couch, his shirt partially unbuttoned and revealing a tantalising swath of skin, one arm draped along the arm of the couch. The closed eyes and gentle rhythmic breathing assured Shawn that he was still asleep, and he tilted his head in thought, considering his options.

After a moment, he gave in to the more tempting option and carefully lowered himself on to the couch next to his sleeping lover, turning onto his side and leaning his head against Dave's shoulder as he draped his arm across Dave's waist, his fingers resting against his hip. One leg rested gently on top of Dave's, and he inhaled the warm scent of his lover with a smile, letting his eyes drift shut. It had been so long since he'd had anyone to wrap himself up in, and last night had been so awkward due to the circumstances... he was definitely looking forward to that night. But for now, he'd be more than pleased to cuddle up to Dave right here on the couch until Hunter got back.

****

Hunter's hair was almost dry by the time the promo shoot was done, causing him to look longingly at the empty bottle of water he'd brought for his extensive physical 'preparations'. It had become synonymous with Hunter's look... the water thing... and he wasn't about to stop doing it. Besides, it was a great habit to have during really hot summers. Unfortunately, although pouring a bottle of water on his head gave him a sleek, meaner appearance it also had a definite disadvantage... he absolutely hated that he became Mr. Fluffy by the end of any long matches or shoots.

When he'd hacked most of his hair off after the end of DX, Hunt thought he'd perhaps solved the 'Fluffy' problem, instead he'd made it worse. Growing his hair long again was out of the question. While the blond bombshell look worked for the gorgeous like Shawn and Jericho, it didn't exactly go with the BastardHHH character he'd spent the better part of six years cultivating. Fluffy blonds just weren't that menacing, besides, if it got too long his hair tended to curl. He was The Game, not Goldilocks.

Raking his fingers through the damp mane to try and keep it under control, Hunter slipped out his cell phone and dialed Greg to see how his plans for tonight were coming along. There were only a few last minute things to check, he wasn't going overboard after all despite what he knew Dave and Shawn thought. Hunt wasn't known for flamboyance in any arena of his life, more for the understated nature of his taste. Limousines and jet planes were all very well, spending money was all about 'where', not how much.

Using the phone at his ear as an excuse not to chat, Hunter made his way quickly back towards the locker rooms. His brief contact with Shawn had not been long enough by any stretch of the imagination and Hunt found himself eager to be in the personal space of his lovers once again. Considering the fact that not two hours ago the action of getting all personal with Shawn would have been impossible, Hunter was pleased with his progress. He knew that he wasn't completely over his 'thing' despite the spectacular shower scene they'd created between the three of them. It was just that he'd finally allowed himself to accept Shawn and Dave's touches as if he deserved them, something he wasn't absolutely convinced of, but he was working on it. Now that he felt more comfortable touching them, he just had to deal with a small urge to bolt the moment they turned their attention to him.

Tonight would certainly be 'interesting' in more ways than one.

Greg's voice on the cell brought Hunt's thoughts back to the present, or more accurately, an hour from now. "No luck hey?... Okay, try Bolton-Levy, they're Steph's lawyers and have an office here in Uniondale... Oh come on Greg, it's not _that_ late, all you need is a phone call from someone high enough to get the door... Yes... I know you can.... You are the best P.A in the world... universe even... Okay, I am your slave forever even though I pay you more than most Vice-Presidents. Sure, sure, I get my money's worth. Now stop talking to me and call Bolton-Levy, I'm relying on you Greg. Bye."

Nodding politely to the few crew members he spotted on the way, Hunter felt a great sigh of relief wash though him as he turned the handle to Evolution's dressing room. Not that Ric or Orton Jnr had seen the inside of the space for more than five seconds tonight, Hunter judged. Making a mental note to track down Randy and find out why the kid wasn't in their room, Hunt stopped short at the sight that greeted him beyond the door frame.

Now wasn't that the fucking prettiest thing he'd ever seen?

Quietly closing the door behind him, Hunter deftly turned the lock and walked across the room to settle on the floor, one leg bent so he could rest an elbow on his upraised knee. Flicking the little red phone on his cell, Hunter put the dying device into the pocket of his gear bag before leaning back against the wall, keeping a nice distance from the couch so he wouldn't have to crane his neck.

If he had the time, he'd watch them all night. Dave looked more relaxed than Hunter had ever seen him, sprawled comfortably across the bigger than normal couch with his blond lover in his arms. Dressed only in jeans, the Heartbreaker was draped across the bigger man like a boneless kitten, the tempting skin of Shawn's back and side looking so smooth even under the harsh flourescent light of the room. _'He'd glow in candlelight,'_ was Hunt's random thought, unfortunately still in Vince's voice. Ruthlessly pulling his mind from _that_ unpleasantness and turning to other far more lovely things, Hunt felt his own tensions ease as he soaked up the simple presence of the two men who owned his heart. Hunter hadn't realised how long Dave's lashes were, their midnight beauty only revealed when the intense dark eyes were closed.

He wanted to count them.

They looked so good together, light and dark, blond and brunet. Looking down at his bare forearm, Hunter realised his own tanned skin seemed to fit the middle ground between them. Maybe it was meant to be? Their appearances like their personalities complementing and contrasting each other so well, becoming something more attractive than their component parts? Not that that was really possible, considering the good looks of the two men before him. Or maybe it was just that Hunt spent too long sunbathing. He felt a brief flash of his earlier doubts about his place in this magnificent threesome they were attempting. The lovers, lying so perfectly in each other's arms, were obviously meant for each other. Shawn and Dave, Dave and Shawn... it even had a poetic ring to it, the husky 'shhh' mixing with a low purring 'vvvvv' in a very attractive way. 'Hunter' threw in a sharp 't' that seemed an odd chord. If he didn't know better he'd try and convince them to just be with each other and leave him to watch safely from the sidelines.

He might even have tried... if he wasn't certain one of them would hit him with something repeatedly for even having the thought.

Hunter smiled to himself, _'and this time it would probably be Dave.'_ What Dave had done, what he'd _said_ , had been such a balm to Hunter's weary spirit that he hadn't even allowed himself the luxury of accepting those words. He'd been too distracted by the imminent presence of Mark to fully process what he'd heard, but now he had the time and the opportunity to indulge his eyes and his thoughts. While watching his lovers, he could dwell on his love for them and the fortunate reciprocation of that feeling.

Plans upon plans circled Hunter's mind as he gazed happily at Shawn's feet not a yard away from him. Cute feet. Oh yes, tonight was going to be fun, given that Hunter felt it was his duty to sit on Dave till the dark man repeated those amazing words from earlier.

And after he'd said them... Hunter would do something else while sitting on Dave.

****

 _"I think something sweet and sassy would be the perfect end to my meal."_

CJ cocked an amused eyebrow at Adam's flirtatious reply. So his invalid lover wasn't dead below the belt from pain and painkillers quite yet? Even more fun then, from Chris point of view anyway, although he'd make sure Adam was well and truly 'tucked in' by the time he was finished with him.

"Sassy huh?" A too-light trail of his fingertips up the arch of Adam's sole caused the ankle in his hand to jerk suddenly. "That can be arranged if..." Chris leaned down, kissing the top of his lover's foot, "...you _do_ eat everything and never..." letting laughter seep into his voice making it deeper and husky, "...eevvvveerrrr, call me Daddy...again."

A polite knock at the door interrupted any reply Adam might have had. Dropping another kiss on an exposed knee, CJ climbed off the bed and collected their room service. Thinking that it was the second night in a row they'd ordered in food at weird hours in the night, Chris hoped Adam still wanted to go back to his place tomorrow. Being able to cook something in a real kitchen and actually having a table to sit at was a rare and pleasant luxury. Restaurants were fine, room service was fine... dinner at home was priceless.

Putting the trays on the small coffee table, Chris bought the whole lot over beside the bed. After quickly washing all the massage oil off his fingers and settling back into place cross-legged by Adam's side, CJ put a plate in his lap and pulled off the foil cover. Brilliant. The pieces of chicken were crumbed and slightly warm, the salad in large crisp chunks. Perfect finger food. Leaning forward with enough care that he didn't touch fractured ribs or topple the plate, Chris kissed Adam gently before sneaking a piece of the chicken between his lover's sexily parted lips. Closing Adam's mouth with another kiss, "Chew," Chris ordered, then let his smile go naughty, "then swallow."

Adam's hands had come to rest on his hips but, Chris was pleased to note, made no move to take over the feeding process themselves. Snaring his own share of the meat and salad, CJ made a determined effort to get his delicious lover to eat everything on the tray. It wasn't that hard, Adam seemed to be compliant for the moment, but that could just be the drugs talking.

Licking crumbs from his fingers, Chris put the plate back onto the safety of the table and twisted so that he was resting against Adam's hip, one arm bracing his torso across his lover's middle. Looking down at still-sleepy emerald eyes and tangled streaked hair, CJ decided he could get used to this. Not Adam being hurt of course, no way in hell would he _ever_ like that. But he could love this closeness, this permission to take care of someone else like he really wanted to.

Adam's lips were slick from the chicken grease and CJ just _had_ to lean in and clean that up for him. He was the care-giver here after all and he took his duties very seriously. With Adam's lips clean, Chris went to work catching any stray crumb that may have escaped his eagle-like notice.

"I may have missed a spot here Babe, better look." Chris murmured into his lover's ear, nipping lightly at the soft lobe.

He checked Adam's jaw line and collarbone, but his questing tongue found no sign of escaped food stuffs. Being only diligent, he sought deeper territory, moving the sheet down in case anything was cowering under the cotton. 'Something' was indeed under there, but it sure wasn't hiding. Lips tracing over each rib and muscle, Chris had to concede he may have done his job too well, there seemed to be no further need for his search and seizure mission.

But he was nothing if not thorough. Dipping his tongue into his lover's belly button, Chris smiled into the warm skin as Adam's breath caught and the fingers on his hips twitched. Feeling a hard, hot push against his side, CJ moved again, so his hip didn't dig into Adam's leg as much and lifted a hand from its place on the mattress. Chris ran his palm across the smooth, starched cotton over Adam's thighs before stroking back and forth across his lover's very interested erection.

"Hmmm, I think I've found something," God Adam smelled good, like chicken and soap and the musk of arousal. The hint of blood and sweat from the battle was mostly gone with their clothes, but enough remained to keep him grounded and real. This was Adam, alive but hurt. Not a fantasy, but the genuine article here now with him.

And Chris had always acknowledged how much the real-life Adam meant to him. Adam mattered.

Shaking off his momentarily serious thoughts, Chris pushed the sheet lower with his slightly bristled chin. He keep his hand right where it was, moving only fractionally with Adam's hitched breathing. "Have to make sure there aren't any crumbs down here too Babe or you'll never sleep." Chris sucked gently on the sharp jut of Adam's hipbone and shifted his legs enough so the pressure of his pants on his own hardening sex eased somewhat.

Finding Adam's shaft with his lips, Chris checked every inch very thoroughly with his tongue.

Crumbs here would be really uncomfortable.

****

He'd fallen asleep. The hours he'd stayed awake after Shawn had fallen asleep last night in combination with his fitful sleep due to the prophetic dream he'd had having taken their toll. He hadn't planned to close his eyes when he'd stretched out on the couch, but apparently the darn thing was comfortable enough that he'd managed to nod off. As he woke, he felt the warm body pressed closely to his own.

Shawn.

He didn't have to look to know who it was. The weight of Shawn's body pressed to his seemed so familiar after just one night. His lips turned up into a gentle smile as he simply absorbed the feel of Shawn cuddled up to him. He knew that someone was watching him, feeling the weight of their stare.

Hunter.

Why he hadn't joined their little pile on the couch, Dave wasn't sure, but he'd remedy that soon enough. Slowly opening his eyes, the smile still on his lips, he took in the sight of his lover leaned against the wall. Hunter was apparently deep in thought. Dave wasn't sure that was a good thing until he looked Hunter over. Just what was Hunter thinking about right now with that smoldering look burning in his eyes? He was determined to find out.

"Hey, darlin'." Speaking quietly so he wouldn't as yet wake Shawn, Dave waited for Hunter to acknowledge him. Hunter didn't jump upon hearing his voice, just calmly focused on him. Crooking a finger, he waited for Hunter to come closer.

Once he was within reach, Dave snagged his wrist and pulled him gently onto one knee so as not to wake the sleeping blond cuddled against him. Running a hand up Hunter's back until he reached the slightly damp tendrils of his hair, Dave gently tangled his fingers in the silky locks. Lifting his head, he pressed teasing kisses along Hunter's jaw until he reached his lips. He wasn't caught up in a rush of lust at the moment, just his tender feelings for the man seated on his lap. The kiss was tender, sweet.

He pulled away just enough to look into Hunter's eyes. "Missed you," he said as his fingers left Hunter's hair to smooth across his cheek. And he had. He didn't want to be parted from either of the men in his company for the rest of the night. They needed some time alone... time to themselves so that they could cement this relationship between them. They needed time without curious friends, raging bosses, and nosy co-workers. Hopefully they'd be able to leave soon and not be forced into staying for the entire taping.

He could always hope so anyway. He had a few important things to talk to them about after all. Dave just hoped that Hunter didn't mention what he'd said earlier until he had a chance to bring it up himself.

****

Years of training in the art of physical combat...real or imagined, had honed Jeff's reactions to the split-second timing needed for his most dangerous moves. Even his recent 'holiday' still hadn't stopped his daily workout and practice sessions, they just didn't have the usual intensity Jeff was known for bringing to the ring. Still, a big guy with his fat fingers around your wrist was a big guy with your arm in his control and Jeff wasn't a hundred percent sure he'd come out on top if he used strength to try and break the grip.

"Still gotta a foul mouth don't ya Baby?" Rick asked as his fingers around Jeff's wrist tightened enough to leave bruises. A quick glance up the hall showed the coast was clear, so the big man turned to look down at his beautiful captured prey. "Dom knew how to shut that mouth a' yours. Why don't we see if I can get the same result, huh?"

"Not fucking likely!" Jeff cursed with said foul mouth, digging his boot heels into the linoleum in an attempt to pull himself further up the hallway. For all his threats and bluster Richard wasn't going to try and force Jeff into doing something... not here in the arena for fuck's sake. But he just might get rough enough to cause Jeff some damage and the smaller man had enough of a self-preservation instinct not to want that kind of trouble. He did take his shirt off while he worked after all. But ending this without anyone getting bruised was looking less and less likely as Rick tried to tug Jeff into his arms. Before he resorted to the 'foot in the balls' maneuver though, he'd better give reasoning a try.

The Jeff Hardy way.

"Don't be complete idiot Rick. What are you gonna do? Try and grope me in a hallway for Christ's sake?!" Maybe a bit less insult and a bit more reason could do the trick. "Fucking let go!" Maybe not.

"Why not huh?" Richard was successfully pulling Jeff further away from any occupied areas of the arena. "I'll take Dom's leavings any day. We share a liking for pretty little guys like you Baby."

Jeff wasn't sure if it was the 'pretty' or the 'little' comment that sent his temper skyrocketing. Screw not getting into trouble, screw Vince and screw the contract... Richard was gonna bleed in a minute. "I'll give you 'little' Dickhead."

 _"Yeah, and little means weak Junior? Tell that to Jet Li or Ricky Steamboat why don't you? I'd love to watch."_ CJ's words and the subsequent three-hour lesson came instantly to Jeff's mind as Richard used the leverage he had on the slighter man's arm to back him further down the hall towards the dead end. Moving his feet so that he maintained his arm length distance and Rick couldn't pull him close, Jeff seemed to give way before the bulk of the big man, all the while his fingers were struggling vainly at the digits currently grinding the delicate bones of his wrist together.

Hoping he had the element of surprise, Jeff's trembling hands dropped their convincing display of panic and with cool precision darted to grip Rick's pinkie-finger. Just like CJ had shown him. The weakest of the five, it was also the most vulnerable and Jeff used that to his advantage, bending the small finger in on itself and then squeezing with all the strength _he_ possessed.

Rick let go.

Rick also backhanded Jeff across the face.

Feeling his spine impact with the edge of a black packing case, Jeff refrained from touching the small cut he was fairly sure was going to appear on his lower lip. At least Rick wasn't holding him anymore. Now the question was how to keep it that way and make it past the asshole standing between Jeff and freedom. Clenching his fists, he readied himself for a bull rush and looked up through his hair to be certain of Richard's position.

Oh.

****

Hunter watched as Dave's eyelashes fluttered, the lids lifting to reveal deep chocolate pools softened with sleep and a gentle smile. It amazed him that he'd never been able to read the expression in Dave's eyes before, they'd been too calm, had to much control for Hunter to interpret. Now? Now, it was like looking at a clearly written page, he could see the words as if in his own hand. Dave was feeling relaxed, comfortable and almost, but not-quite, horny. Hunter sensed that gentle burn of affection reach him across the room, sending his heart-rate up just a little in response.

 _Hey, darlin'_

The honey tone and 'come here' gesture hit Hunter in the balls like Dave was stroking them with his hand. He wanted to crawl across the carpet and nuzzle into his lover's fingers like a big tiger, arching up for the petting every part of his body was demanding. Resisting that urge, Hunt smoothly rose to his feet and crossed the space between them, his fingers tangling with Dave's outstretched ones. Fingers that moved up and encircled his wrist, the confidant pressure luring him into Dave's warm embrace.

Given that they were matched in size, Hunter leaned most of his weight onto the couch's arm-rest and looped one knee over Dave's outstretched leg. Not having spoken a word, Hunter hoped Dave could read the love in his eyes the same way he could in Dave's. Leaning over the entwined men, Hunter moved with the gentle pressure of fingers in his hair to rest his forehead against Dave's. But his lover shifted and gentle kisses adorned his cheeks and lips.

 _Missed you,_

Oh yeah, Hunter could agree with that. He hadn't realised  how much he was relying on their constant presence since this morning, until he'd come into this room to find them sleeping. His best friend inhabited such a huge part of Hunter's consciousness that when he'd forced him away last night, he'd left a frightening Shawn-shaped hole in his heart. Now Hunter knew that the space would be even more tragic if he lost Dave's affections as well. 

Thinking of his best friend and new lover, Hunter looked down Dave's torso to the sleeping man in his arms. In sleep Shawn looked ten years younger, the small lines at the corner of his eyes, generated from the agony of back-surgery, smoothed out by a contented expression on his amazing bone structure. Cocking an enquiring eyebrow at Dave, Hunter smiled when he got permission to wake their bombshell.

Moving back onto the floor, Hunt knelt beside the couch and leaned over his drowsing lover. Conveniently his face was almost perfectly lined up with Dave's groin, so Hunter sent him a hot look, just to let him know he was thinking about it. But back to Shawn, and Hunter licked his lips lightly before dropping a soft kiss onto Shawn's pouty mouth. When his lover's lips parted at the contact, Hunter delved deeper into the hot, silky depths exposed to him.

Sitting back from the drugging kiss, Hunt pressed his lips to Shawn's eyelids before murmuring softly,

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty."

****

His fingers twitched as a quiet sound escaped him, the response of his body slowly pulling him back to reality as he became aware that the mouth devouring his in a sweet, deep kiss wasn't just part of his dream. Moaning quietly as that wonderful sensation ended, Shawn smiled as he felt the light feathery sensation of kisses on his eyelids, the loved voice next to him waking him up fully.

 _"Good morning Sleeping Beauty."_

"Mornin'," he half-whispered, his voice stolen away again by sleep. Reaching up, he stroked his fingers across Hunt's cheek in a short caress before turning his head to look at the man he was still draped across. Warm dark eyes met his, contentment equally obvious in both pairs, and he lifted his head to press a kiss to Dave's lips before letting himself slump back against his lover. This had to be the best wake up that he'd ever had, he thought. Just a catnap in the locker room, maybe, but he'd never before been able to wake up and find himself surrounded so thoroughly and so firmly in this sort of emotion. He was beyond happy, a deep contented warmth filling him at the simple awareness that the other two men were here.

Reaching out, he pulled at Hunter, wanting the man to join them on the couch. It was big enough to hold the three of them, and although he knew that they'd have to get up soon for _something_ , he didn't want to face reality quite yet. Lassitude keeping him planted firmly on the couch, he smiled again as he felt Hunter settle next to him and turned to face him without moving away from Dave.

"Can't be Sleeping Beauty, Hunt," he finally protested. "Don't have a castle." Resisting the urge to stick his tongue out at the man, since he wasn't feeling energetic enough to follow through with that temptation just yet, he settled for a hand on Hunter's thigh.


	52. Explanations

It wasn't fair. It really wasn't. He was supposed to be doling out Chris' punishment tonight and instead he was the one being tortured. Not that it wasn't very pleasant torture, but it wasn't at all what he'd had planned for tonight. Damn Terry.

He couldn't really complain too much though. Chris was taking very good care of him. Giving him his Tylenol, a foot massage, and making sure he was going to eat. Being pampered by a lover was one of the things he'd missed during his year out. If only he'd had a bit more fortitude then maybe Chris could have been there with him for it. It was too late for regrets. He had the here and now to think about.

 _"...And never... eevvvveerrrr, call me Daddy... again."_

Adam swallowed harshly. At least Chris hadn't quite figured out how he reacted whenever he fell into Y2J speak. He couldn't explain it, but it was true. No. Actually he probably could explain it. It all went back to the promo that Chris had cut on him before a match in 2000.

 _I know you want to be on the cover of Tiger Beat magazine. And as far as I’m concerned, you’re a shoe-in because let's face it, who knows more about ‘beating’ than you, Tiger._

Was it at all sad that he remember that promo word for word? Was it at all ironic that after that match, he'd gone back to the locker room to do exactly what Chris had accused him of with Chris as the focus material? Probably. Ever since that night he'd been a sucker for any promo that Chris cut. Pathetic.

Luckily he was saved from Chris' observation by a knock on the door. The irritation of having to lay here in bed like a slug while Chris was doing everything for him was only mitigated by the fact that it was Chris that was taking care of him. He hated having to lie still for any length of time, but he had a feeling that Chris was enjoying this. He might have to play the lazy slug once in awhile to make his lover happy. Chris feeding him turned out to be a pleasant distraction and one that he happily allowed.

 _"Chew, then swallow."_

He barely retained manners enough not to reply with his own naughty comment. Chris might be telling him to chew first now... but he certainly wouldn't be saying that at other times he was requesting Adam to swallow. The chicken salad tasted good, but not nearly as good as Chris tasted, Adam had decided within seconds after the meal was finished. It looked like he was going to get his 'sweet and sassy' treat for being such a good boy.

By the time Chris reached his navel, he was fully hard from Chris' teasing touches. Adam sucked in a breath as his fingers clenched on Chris' hips. He wasn't used to taking a passive stance when it came to sexual matters. He wanted to move, tease Chris as Chris was teasing him, but he knew he wasn't really up to moving much. He knew he was breathing heavier and wondered for one fleeting second if this would count as deep breathing exercises. Doubtful.

Chris had certainly turned the tables on his flirtation earlier. Adam closed his eyes as Chris' tongue stroked over his shaft. His voice heavy with arousal, he made one salient point. "Hey, I thought I was getting dessert, not becoming dessert." Tangling his fingers through Chris' mane of hair, he lifted just enough to pull Chris' talented tongue from his flesh. Raising his head enough to look down the length of his body into his lover's eyes, he wet his suddenly dry lips. He wasn't one to ask for what he wanted, more likely to act than request, but knew unless he made Chris aware of what he wanted, he'd end up satisfied and Chris would most likely hold his own passion until he was feeling more the thing. No way. Terry wasn't going to take that from him as well.

"I need you, Chris." His hand drifted slowly from the golden locks to stroke over the warm tanned skin of Chris' jaw, his thumb drawing slowly along his lower lip. "Want to feel you inside me again, sweetheart."

****

As he made his way back toward Vince's office, Mark thought about his relationship with the man. He'd never been caught up in anything with McMahon the way Shawn had, and that was probably one of the reasons why Vince had always resented him. There was plenty of mutual respect between the two of them, but there was an underlying resentment from Vince that had been present practically since day one. Not that Mark hadn't had to bow to time-honoured tradition, but by the time he'd made it to the WWF, that was mostly behind him. The few times it had happened afterward had ended with him taking the title from Hogan a year after his introduction.

What made it awkward was that he'd always been a major figure backstage. He didn't speak up often, but when he did, he commanded attention, and Vince had always taken advantage of that by having him act as the spokesman in the locker room. He hadn't minded; in fact, he'd enjoyed it. Getting everybody hyped up and excited about their jobs wasn't a bad thing, and working with the newer guys to help polish them up so that no one got hurt was almost an honour. He was proud of his record for not having hurt anybody he worked with.

The problem of course was that even while McMahon pushed him as a major "power" backstage, he'd resented that power. And the more trust and respect he gathered from the guys backstage, the less Vince felt that _he_ had, no matter how untrue that was. There weren't many people in WWE who could say that they really liked their boss, but they _all_ respected him. Vince was a genius at the business, regardless of what anybody thought about specific decisions or his attitude, and no one was going to deny that. His own insecurities made it difficult for him to see that, though.

Mark was pretty sure that those mixed feelings were what had led to their little "deal" earlier. Vince had seen a weakness and hadn't hesitated in grabbing that opening, and Mark really hadn't been able to deny him doing so. If Jeff fucked up this time, Mark was going down with him, and that wasn't a pretty thought. But... somehow, Mark just couldn't see Jeff doing that, even though he didn't know the details. If it were up to him, Jeff never would, either. For some reason, the Storm Hardy had his trust... and his belief. He believed in the kid, even if the people in power didn't, and something inside him told him that his belief would be justified.

Snapping himself out of his thoughts as he neared Vince's office, he realised that the halls were empty. Well, as empty as they could be, with crew and other people bustling about doing their jobs. But no one that he was looking for was present, and Vince's door was closed, so he must be seeing somebody. Hmm. Pausing, he glanced around to see if there was any clue to where his whirlwind might've stormed off to when there was one of those rare instants of silence, when everything seemed to quiet down all at once. And floating through that silence came clear, if distant-sounding, words.

 _"Fuck YOU and Fuck DOM!"_

Jeff.

The anger and upset in that voice had Mark reacting before he realised he was moving. Picking up his pace, he headed in the direction that the voice had come from, pausing at each hall intersection long enough to make sure that it was empty before moving on. He was on the fourth one when he heard the impact of flesh against unyielding mass. An indescribable wave of emotion flashed through him as he stopped at the corner, his eyes narrowing at what he saw.

One glance was all it took, and he knew that the sight would forever be imprinted in his memory. Jeff, just picking himself up with one hand on a packing case as the other hovered near his lower back, was looking up. Mark took in almost absent-mindedly the blood at the edge of Jeff's mouth, but his focus was mainly on the man between him and Jeff. A crew member, apparently; he looked vaguely familiar, but Mark dismissed that. The important thing was the threatening posture he was in as he advanced on Jeff, an oily smirk on his face.

"I wouldn't do that, if I was you," Mark drawled in a low voice as he stepped forward, dropping the coat he was still carrying. The man's head snapped up, the smirk sliding away to be replaced by alarm as he turned toward Mark, his entire posture changing from threatening to cowering as he opened his mouth.

The impact of Mark's fist on his jaw prevented any speech, and as the man cried out, Mark's boot in the soft flesh a little south of his gut had him on the floor, whimpering. A flash of controlled movement, and Mark was kneeling with his knee in the small of the guy's back as he twisted an arm up and around, holding it a hair's-breadth from snapping. The soft terrified sounds made him smile thinly as he leaned forward, his hair brushing against his cheeks as he spoke.

"I would suggest that you leave, son. Permanently." Twisting the arm just a little tighter as he spoke, hearing footsteps rushing up behind him. "Because if I ever see your sorry ass around here again, I might hurt you."

Releasing his grip with a vicious twist, he reached down to snag the crew pass from around the man's neck and wrenched it off as he stood up, turning to face the security guards who were hovering uncertainly a few feet back. Letting his face smooth into calmness, he stepped away from the moaning heap on the floor and gestured them forward, handing the pass to the guard nearest him.

"I do believe this gentleman has just quit. Why don't you escort him to the parking lot... and make sure that he leaves." The guard looked from him to the man on the floor, to Jeff, before looking back at him with hardened eyes and nodding sharply in understanding.

"Yes, sir. We'll make sure he gets there in one piece." Mark's lips curved in an unamused smile at the unspoken understanding in the guard's voice and he nodded. The little bastard would get there in one piece... but undoubtedly with a few more bruises. He'd have to remember to talk to Pat later about this. As the guards dragged the man to his feet, Mark turned his focus to the person remaining.

He was angry, he realised with some surprise. The emotion had taken second stage to his immediate need to hurt the person who'd hurt Jeff, and only now did he realise that his heart was racing, his breathing fast, his hands shaking. Taking a deep breath, he tried to release most of the rage, knowing that it wouldn't help at this point. The problem had been taken care of. Now he had other things to worry about.

"Jeff?" Keeping his tone quiet, he took a few steps closer, letting his eyes linger this time, his anger returning as he saw the reddening hand print on Jeff's face. Pushing it away again to be dealt with later, he stopped a few feet away, not wanting to invade Jeff's personal space without knowing what his reaction would be. No... to be honest, all he wanted to do was invade that space, but Jeff wasn't Shawn, and dragging the man into his arms was definitely out of the question. He hesitated, then extended a hand, for Jeff to accept or not, as he chose.

"You okay, darlin'?" Damn it. The drawl was back, unsurprisingly as he fought with his emotions, but that endearment had been purely accidental. Hopefully it would be overlooked.

****

Kevin watched the interaction between Vince and Scott with thinly-disguised amusement. Scott always bemoaned how badly he handled things, but he was hands-down one of the smoothest people Kevin had ever known when it came to interpersonal communication, and this was a beautiful example of it. His lover had been so worried about Vince's reaction to the events of the previous evening, but here he was working things out without a single hesitation.

Maybe he'd have to start his own list of things that he loved about Scott. Confidence would be number one, even if Scotty didn't seem to believe that he had any.

 _"How about another run with the tag team belts?"_

Now _that_ , he hadn't been expecting. He couldn't have stopped the grin that leapt onto his face anymore than he could've stopped breathing. Of all things for Vince to do, having them run as champs was just about the last thing he would've thought would happen. Between the last time they'd worked for him, and the lingering resentment from their initial jump to WCW, this was beyond shocking. It was downright amazing. It might very well be their last run as champs and Kev knew they would make damned sure that they made it an outstanding one.

Caught up in sudden plans, he was taken completely by surprise by Scott's last question.

 _"Why do you have a bug up your ass about Hunter, Shawn, and Dave? Enquiring minds want to know."_

Oh, dear lord. Scott... what are you _doing_? Kev's mental groan went unspoken, but his arm tightened around his lover's waist as Vince stared at him. Watching their boss gape like a fish out of water before turning red was... Okay, it was funny as hell, but Kevin was in no state to appreciate the humour of it at the moment. Even as much of a businessman as Vince was, Scott's question was very likely pushing way too much, and Kev could suddenly see their contracts getting ripped in half.

"Not that it's any of your damned business... but that's never stopped the Clique before, has it?" Vince's voice was the strangest mixture of anger, embarrassment, and amusement that Kevin had ever heard, and hearing it from Vince cleared away the vision, to leave him looking at a Vince who was... embarrassed? He blinked, not quite believing his eyes.

"Hunter and Shawn... I've expected that for years," Vince admitted, leaning back in his chair, not quite meeting their eyes. "We all knew that Hunt and Steph's marriage was a cover, and not just for her. I don't know what the problem was between him and Shawn, and I don't want to know, but... I'm almost glad they resolved it. I know he's been alone since the wedding, and probably for quite a while before it."

Shock was not the word. _Vince_ was being... understanding? He actually cared about Hunter as more than just his biggest star? Kevin glanced at Scott, his surprise showing clearly in his eyes.

"But... Dave." Shaking his head, Vince finally looked at them, his own face almost back to normal as he regained control of himself. "I can't say that the idea of _three_ of them doesn't bother me. It does. But if that's what they want... I just don't like the third one being Batista. He's power-hungry, and what better way to climb the ladder than be with my two biggest stars?" There were other emotions in Vince's voice there, emotions that Kevin wasn't about to even try to identify, although he did wonder briefly if _anyone_ who was involved with Shawn was ever the same afterward.

But he was shaking his head even before Vince stopped talking. "You've got him wrong, Vince." The narrow-eyed look he got didn't faze him, and he kept talking. "Dave's an up-front guy, and he obviously cares a whole hell of a lot about both Hunt and Shawn. If you don't believe me... talk to them. Just... talk." He didn't want to tell Vince what he'd overheard; it wasn't his place, and if Vince needed to hear that kind of thing to believe the truth, then he needed to hear it from them. Pausing, he cast another look at his lover and decided that the better part of valor was called for at this point.

"I think we're done, right? Probably better that we get going... go do some ring work or something before the show." Vince refocused his gaze on Kevin long enough to nod, and Kev maneuvered the two of them out the door, sighing in relief when it closed behind them.

"Scott, you have got to quit giving me heart attacks like that," he admonished softly, turning Scott to face him.

****

Kevin should have suspected that he'd ask, but he hadn't. That was obvious by the arm tightening at his waist. Seemed that Scott could still pull the unexpected sometimes after all. He refused to so much as flinch at Vince's reaction. He'd asked the question and he really wanted the answer. The trick was not to let Vince know how much he actually wanted to know. Cocky smile fixed on his face, toothpick clenched firmly behind his teeth, he stared down the man sitting in front of him.

 _"Not that it's any of your damned business... but that's never stopped the Clique before, has it?"_

Scott shrugged in response to the question. He suspected that Vince wasn't actually looking for an answer to that question because he already knew the answer... a resounding no. As he listened to Vince's explanation, Scott was surprised by what he heard. He'd expected to hear that Hunter shouldn't be involved with Shawn. It wouldn't be the first time that jealousy had provoked a reaction from Vince. At one point, unbeknownst to either Kevin or Shawn, Vince had pulled him aside to question him about the relationship between the three of them. The fact that Vince's problem was with Dave rather than Shawn seemed strange until he elaborated.

Obviously Vince hadn't had any time at all to observe the three of them together. There was no way that Dave would use either Shawn or Hunter. He listened to Kevin deny Dave's hunger for power being the reason behind his involvement with them. It was a nice try, really it was, but Scott knew Vince wouldn't believe it unless he saw proof with his very own eyes. Hopefully Dave would give him that proof. Knowing Hunter and knowing Shawn as well, he could see plenty of opportunities in the future for him to do so. Shawn and Hunter would obviously want to help Dave advance in the company because they cared about him. Scott didn't know Dave all that well, but he couldn't see the big man accepting interference like that on his behalf. Scott just hoped he was right.

Scott kept silent as Kevin made their excuses to leave the office. Ring work? That could be interesting. Now who could they get to come out and play with them? He suspected that Adam was well gone for the night, so hooking up with him and Benoit was out of the question. Working out with Grenier and Conway sounded dull as dirt, even though they were supposed to be wrestling against the two on Sunday. They'd find someone.

And he still needed to prod Kevin on the details about what had happened with Mark.

 _"Scott, you have got to quit giving me heart attacks like that."_

Scott raised a brow as he smiled up at his lover. "After what you said just before we went in there, you should have expected it, Kev. And I think you need to have just a bit more faith in me, babe. I wouldn't have risked it if I'd thought he wouldn't answer it or if I'd thought he'd take it out on you. Vince and I... we have a strange sort of understanding between us... always have had."

Hoping that Kev would forgive him for that little scare, Scott stretched up enough to give him a gentle kiss. "The worst he was going to do was yell at me to mind my own business and he didn't. I just hope that Dave gets the chance to prove him wrong."

"Speaking of Dave," Scott started with an inquiring look, "Why don't you fill me in on the rest of what happened at the locker room while we search out someone to work out with. From what you said to Vince, you owe me lots of details." Wiggling his brows at Kev, Scott waited for him to spill his guts. It might take a bit, but eventually he'd pry all the details out of Kev... the big ol' crème puff.

****

 _Want to feel you inside me again, sweetheart._

Chris couldn't stop a small frown from creasing his forehead at Adam's words. Looking down at the glorious sight of his nude lover, he wondered if that really would be the best idea on the table. Not that he didn't want to... CJ couldn't actually think of any place his dick would rather be at that precise moment than to be buried deeply inside the delicious body beneath him. Wanting to wasn't the problem, hurting Adam in any shape or form was the big no-no here. _But then,_ Chris's dick argued with Chris's conscience, _he's hardly crippled or anything, just a bit knocked around, we'll be careful. I promise._ CJ's conscience couldn't be swayed however and still retained enough blood from Chris's body to exert control over his dick.

"Sorry Babe. Not tonight I think... _you_ have a headache."

Chris's saw his joke falling flat as Adam's expression changed from sexy pleading to frustration with a hint of anger. Anger? CJ doubted it was directed at him, he'd hardly caused nearly enough trouble to get Adam pissy at him on their first day. The only person Adam would be angry with was... oh. Right.

Doing a quick mental back flip, Chris gently rubbed the pads of his fingers along the backs of Adam's calves, up under the sensitive knee, towards his lover's hipbones. Adam was tired, hurt and horny. The last one Chris was responsible for and it wouldn't be fair to deny his lover the release he craved. He had no doubt Adam would have loved to take a far more energetic role in their lovemaking tonight, his promises and threats earlier made that certain, but the Fuckhead had denied them that and it seemed like Adam wasn't going to let an absent man with penis envy take any more from them.

That left Chris to put the Fuckhead as far out of his mind as possible, because that man had no place whatsoever near his and Adam's bed, to give Adam exactly what he wanted, no actual hardship there and not break any bones in the process. Well, he was certainly up for the challenge... pun intended. Ignoring the _nah, nah, nah, nahhh, nahh_ his dick was yelling at his conscience, Chris' expression became serious as he leaned up over Adam, putting all of his weight on his hands and knees.

"But... since I can't deny you anything Babe, especially when you look at me all bruised and pathetic like that, then I'll give in.... just..." a soft kiss, "...this..." the barest whisper of touch, "...once." Seeing the anger fade from Adam's emerald eyes to be replaced by a needy smugness, Chris shook his head as he sat up. Adam hadn't manipulated him really, CJ had more or less manipulated himself on this one. He'd just have to get used to the fact that he'd do almost anything Adam asked of him... guess that's love too.

As Adam shifted slightly to move into a better position, Chris reached out and pressed a gentle finger against one unbruised shoulder. "Nah-ahh Lover. You are _not_ running this show, no matter how sex... stop licking your lips like that!... sexy you are." Tilting his head, CJ assessed the damage to Adam's body while trailing his finger down towards one perky, very interested nipple. He came to a decision. "Okay."

Rising smoothly from his knees, Chris stood on the bed, legs either side of Adams. He was still tempted to ignore Adam's plea and take his lover's sex back into his mouth, but that wasn't fair and right now what Adam wanted still overruled CJ's worrying. Loosening the drawstring on his sweats, Chris slid them down his hips and wiggled slightly on one foot, to toss them onto the floor. He had no doubt his impromptu strip show would distract Adam from any lingering anger about the Fuckhead and focus his attention on the matter at hand... so to speak.

Lifting one foot, Chris ran his toes across the hard muscle of Adam's abdomen and gently teased his lover's demanding erection.

"I'll give you a barefoot shiatsu one day Babe. When I know for sure I can't hurt you that is." There was no way he was gonna go anywhere near Adam's spine till he'd checked with a doctor. Lifting a finger in a twirling motion, Chris indicated what he wanted Adam to do, "Turn onto your front Adam. Cuddle the pillow for me Babe... and... lift one leg up so there's.... room." CJ ordered in a deep decisive voice, that he hoped would get the kind of shiver he'd seen last night.

When Adam complied, Chris dropped back to his knees between long, long legs. Reaching for the tube of lube he'd placed on the bed stand earlier that afternoon, Chris tucked it conveniently to one side and leaned down so he was breathing on the back of Adam's neck. Moving the silky blond locks to once side, Chris murdered into warm skin.

"This time you're just going to have to lie there and take it. So don't help." It was another order and not one Chris really expected his lover to follow, but the less he had Adam trying to do the better. "Tell me if it hurts."

Chris began to check over every inch on skin on the reverse of Adam's body, and this time he didn't even need the excuse of crumb hunting. Keeping his weight entirely on his knees and off Adam's ribs, CJ was thankful to have a job that granted him good balance. Tasting all of Adam's back, Chris headed south and began a gentle massage of his lover's lower back and tailbone. Kissing the hard nub at the base of Adam's spine he gave the small indent of skin beneath it a kiss.

"You feeling good Babe?" 

****

 _"And I think you need to have just a bit more faith in me, babe."_

Kevin winced at the casual words, knowing that there was more to them than it sounded like. He hadn't _meant_ to sound like he was upset with Scott, because he wasn't. Scott was right, after all; if he'd been thinking about it, he would've expected Scotty to pull something like that just because he was Scott. But after all his resolutions, all their talking, all his inner discussions and promises... to realise that he _still_ didn't have full confidence in his lover, after everything they'd gone through, was almost like a sucker punch to his own jaw. Biting his lip, he raised his hand to caress the back of Scott's neck as he listened to the rest of what Scott had to say, hoping to convey his apology through the touch so as not to interrupt him.

 _"Vince and I… we have a strange sort of understanding between us... always have had."_

That was just too much. His own eyebrows raised as he cast an openly startled look at Scott. Before saying anything in return, though, they really needed to have more privacy than the middle of the main hallway backstage. Careful not to push, knowing that Scott had a tendency to just instinctually resist that sort of handling, he maneuvered them to the side and around a corner, keeping it slow and casual looking. Interruptions for this conversation they could definitely do without, even if there wasn't anyone else around that Kevin could see. Running his hand through the dark curls, he thought for a minute on the relationship between Scott and Vince; they always _had_ had some sort of odd... understanding, Scott had called it. But for some reason, Kev had never realised just how it worked, even with all of their confrontations and arguments and discussions with the man. Looking back, he could clearly see that Vince held some sort of respect for his lover, even if he didn't show it except in the most subtle of ways, so he really shouldn't have been surprised by Scott's willingness to ask the provocative question.

So why had he been?

The answer was clear even as Scott kissed him and he responded, the soft touch sending the customary shiver through him.

Because he'd still underestimated Scott.

That hurt. And as much as it hurt him, how much did it hurt Scott, who so obviously knew it, even if he wasn't about to come out and say so directly? Resisting the temptation to apologise, knowing that the words would mean nothing if his actions and reactions kept contradicting them, he kept silent.

 _"From what you said to Vince, you owe me lots of details."_

"Details, huh?" A smile curved his lips as he shook his head, knowing that he should've expected it. If he hadn't been knocked for a loop by his distressing realisation of moments ago, he would have. Shrugging a little, he glanced around, stepping back only enough to sink down onto a nearby packing crate with a sigh of relief as his knees bent. Definitely not as young as he used to be. "Well... there's _something_ going on with Mark and Jeff, or at least, I think Mark wishes there was. He didn't actually say anything, but his reactions were pretty telling... as is the deal he made with Vince to get Jeff re-signed. If Hardy screws up, Mark's taking the fall for it." Pausing, he couldn't help but let his distaste for that particular deal show on his face again. Whatever Mark wasn't talking about, it was more than a casual interest for him to take that sort of risk.

"But you wanted details. We chatted for a minute, but there wasn't much I really got out of him. He did have a pretty emotional denial that he was just after the kid's ass, and for him, that's really saying something. He went all speechless when I told him that the last time I'd seen him this way with somebody, it was Shawn..." Trailing off, he nodded at the look on Scott's face. "Yeah. He didn't deny that, either."

"So, we get to the room and he knocks on the door and opens it, since it wasn't locked. Maybe it should've been, since we obviously interrupted _something_ between Hunt and Dave. They were locked at the lips like they were trying to breathe for each other." Kevin's eyes closed briefly as he pictured that scene again. "They were fucking gorgeous together, too." Shaking his head a little to clear it, he tilted his head at Scott with a small smile. "As much as I'd love to see those three together, I suspect it'll be a helluva long time before we even get a chance to see anything beyond the casual. Hunt's obviously gotten past part of his problem, but Dave seems like a pretty private guy, and Hunt's probably going to be led by that. Shawn'll even try to be discreet, I think... he'll just suck at it. Anyway, Mark lost it, got all upset on Shawn's behalf, which is kinda weird, since I don't know how he even knew that Shawn and Dave were making eyes at each other. But Hunter said some stuff, and Dave said some stuff... not too nice, but it sounds like they've had a hell of a day, too. He mentioned Stephanie, so we'll probably run into her at some point, too."

Leaning his head back against the wall as he paused again, Kev raised an eyebrow at Scott and held out his hands. "Why are you still standing, anyway? Get your ass over here where it belongs, old man." The smirk was unmistakable, but so were the softer, unspoken emotions that he knew was showing in his eyes. Fifteen years ago, when they'd met for the first time in WCW, they hadn't even been friends. Ten years ago, they'd been lovers. But even five years ago, Kev had been too afraid of the future to imagine growing old with this man, too sure that he'd wind up burying him to want to risk dreaming of a future so precious he'd cut off his right arm for the chance to have it. Now... now, as much as he loved his job and as much as he was enjoying being back with his friends and family, he yearned for the time when he and Scott would be able to retire and spend all their time together, without having to hide behind public faces and personas anymore.

The weight of Scott settling onto his lap brought him firmly back to the present, and he draped his arms around his lover, burying his face in Scott's hair for a minute, just breathing in his scent. It was almost new to him; for so long, that scent had been buried beneath the smells of whiskey and illness... Taking a long, deep breath, he forced back the old pains and worries. They didn't apply anymore, and they weren't going to intrude on them now. Not now, not ever again. His voice unexpectedly soft, he looked into Scott's eyes and whispered, "Love you, Scotty."

****

 _"Sorry Babe. Not tonight I think... you have a headache."_

That hadn't been the answer he was hoping for, obviously. He felt his anger at Rhyno flare again. Damn the man for being such an asshole. He and Chris hadn't even made it to 'Day 2' before the man had interfered in their budding relationship in one of the worst ways. Not that he wasn't capable of spending time with Chris without being consumed by matters of the flesh, but it was only the second day, damn it. They had a hell of a lot of time to make up for and it had gotten derailed by that obnoxious spiteful bitch.

But... Adam couldn't actually be upset with Chris for denying him when he was looking out for Adam's own welfare. Wasn't life a bitch?

He had resigned himself, with a pout, to taking whatever Chris would give him, when Chris reared over him and gave into his previous plea with some gentle kisses. Couldn't deny him anything, eh? That was surely nice to know. Adam was sure that would be tested greatly in the near future. For now, he just wanted to test this particular instance. He hadn't moved more than an inch or two when Chris gracefully cut him off.

 _"Nah-ahh Lover. You are not running this show..."_

Okay. He could be a lump, really he could. Chris could do whatever he wanted with said lump. He honestly couldn't stop himself from licking his lips at that thought. It was instinctive.

 _"...No matter how sex... stop licking your lips like that!.. .sexy you are."_

Wide, innocent eyes, he simply grinned at his lover. Chris' little striptease had his full attention. The man standing above him... all blond, golden, and hard as a rock... would have commanded anyone's attention. Blissfully, he indulged himself in just looking for the moment. He was tempted to reach a hand to those golden thighs, but mindful of his lump status, he laid still as Chris teased his foot along the twitching muscles of his abdomen.

 _"Turn onto your front Adam. Cuddle the pillow for me Babe... and... lift one leg up so there's.... room."_

Using his movements to hide the instinctive shiver of arousal, Adam readily complied with Chris' directions. It didn't help much since he shivered once again when he was cuddled up to the pillow. It almost scared him, the intensity with which he wanted this, but he couldn't deny it. He loved Chris, he'd already admitted that to himself even if he hadn't admitted it to Chris yet, and this wanting would probably be a constant companion to him now.

The warm breath blowing against his neck drew yet another shiver from him. He wanted to help, despite Chris' admonishment, but he'd try his best to lie still if that's what Chris wanted.

 _"Tell me if it hurts."_

His breath hitched slightly, but not due to any kind of pain. There was still a dull ache in his head, a twinge here and there with the bruising on his back, but his ribs were still blessedly numb from the injections. Even if he had felt any pain, Chris' gently wandering tongue and lips would have distracted him from it. He could feel the warm, moist trail down his spine even moments later as Chris reached the base of it.

 _"You feeling good Babe?"_

His hips shifted instinctively with the warm air blowing against the base of his spine, forcing his swollen flesh against the sheets beneath him. He moaned quietly against the pillow and nodded his head before lifting it to toss a low-lidded look over his shoulder.

"Perfect. Beyond perfect. It would probably reach blissful in a rather short amount of time, if you could find just a tiny bit of pity inside you and give me what I want." Switching from sensual to teasing in the blink of an eye with a shameful grin, he laughed. "After all, I did give you a rather nice compliment earlier and I'd appreciate you making me scream like a little fangirl about right now."

****

The only word Jeff could conjure in his adrenalin addled brain was... magnificent.

Mark was just... magnificent.

When Jeff had spotted Mark coming down the hall behind Richard, he'd been flooded with first relief, here was someone who'd help him, then shame that it was Mark who'd found him and Richard in such a nasty little scene. An hour ago his head had been so full of plans to prove to Mark he was worthy of the big man's friendship and now he was seeing Jeff embroiled in some _spat_ with an ugly echo from his recent past. Despite the embarrassment of Mark, of all people, being his saviour, Jeff couldn't help but feast his eyes on the spectacle of the gorgeous, growly man intimidating Rick with only a few words. The smarmy bastard had gone from Mr. Testosterone to cringing schoolgirl when a man with more balls and class than he'd ever hope to have, made his presence known.

Watching Mark put Richard's teeth through the back of his skull gave Jeff an unholy thrill of satisfaction that he didn't even try to suppress. His friend had moved so quickly, Jeff had barely managed to blink before Richard was on the ground at his feet, whimpering, while Mark said something that caused the fat man to go even whiter than he had when that wicked arm-lock was first applied. Feeling curiously detached from the scene in front of him, Jeff observed the security guys coming up behind Mark and the expressions on their faces. Expressions that had Jeff instantly straightening up and trying to tuck his hair into some semblance of order. That freak Hardy in some trouble again. Typical. He missed the change in those faces to anger and disgust on his behalf, a little too preoccupied with not looking like a victim in front of people he had a lot of respect for.

Whatever Mark said to the other men was lost as Jeff tried to pull his frayed nerves back together. The word 'quit' penetrated and caused a slight frission of laughter to course along his spine, Dom would _not_ be happy to have his eyes and ears thrown out of the WWE backstage area, not happy at all. As far as Jeff was concerned Dom could eat shit and die, but he really didn't want any fallout from this little encounter to touch Mark. No way. He'd keep the big man clear of this, no matter the cost.

 _You okay, darlin'?_

The warm honey surrounding those gentle words pulled him slowly from his contemplation of Dom's outraged face and back into the now empty corridor. Mark was looking at him with so much concern in his eyes that Jeff's heart wanted to shatter. His instinctive urge was to walk into those strong, strong arms and howl with both laughter and agony. Damn Richard to the Nine Hells for bringing _this_ into his time with Mark. The man already knew Jeff was walking on some sort of emotional tightrope, now he'd wonder if Jeff had any more baggage waiting to fall on them.

But he'd come looking for Jeff. Come down that endless hallway and put the man who'd threatened him to the ground at Jeff's feet. Mark was still here. Standing in front of him, hand out like he was asking Jeff to trust _him_.

A slow blink. Another.

Nope, nothing had changed. Jeff realised that Mark actually _was_ still standing there and more fantastically... _had just called Jeff 'Darlin''_.

Jeff looked at Mark's proffered hand for a moment before taking the small step to allow him into the big man's personal space. Threading his fingers through Mark's longer ones, he curled his other hand around a strong forearm and rested his head against one beautifully tattooed shoulder. Jeff doubted Mark would mind him leaning on him like this, he'd offered his hand after all. Just maybe hadn't expected Jeff to take the whole arm as well.

But he'd only be a minute. Not even that. Just a few moments to soak up Mark's presence like a sponge, to refuel his flagging batteries so that he'd have the courage to step back and look Mark in the eye and explain just who _that_ was.

He doubted that after he explained, he'd ever get to touch Mark again.

Feeling the bicep muscle beneath his forehead bunch as Mark began to move, Jeff sighed softly and stepped away, giving the man his arm back. Or at least he tried to, but his hand wasn't co-operating. It insisted on staying in Mark's despite his mental commands to let go. Oh well. Since when had his body _ever_ obeyed his brain when Mark was around? Better get it over with.

The coward in him kept his eyes on their linked hands, but at least his mouth had more guts.

"I'm fine, had worse in the ring. He..." dammit just spit it out already, "...his name's Rick and he's buddies with my ex. Me and Dom... ah... 'it didn't end well', would be the polite way of putting it and Rick thought he'd get some back for his friend. Mark I'm..." This time he _did_ look up into those bottomless green eyes, "...so very sorry you had to get involved in that. You shouldn't be in this... not you."

He'd said the last as an unconscious whisper, but from the change in Mark's eyes he hadn't been quiet enough. Still, it was true. Mark didn't need the drama of Jeff's old fucked up love life coming into his world and he held too much of Jeff's heart to let him risk his friendship with the man over something as trivial as Richard's octopus hands.

Looking away, Jeff tried his tug-boat impersonation again, pulling Mark back up the hall towards his fallen coat.

But Mark wasn't moving.

****

Shawn looked so cute when he woke that Hunter was inclined to kiss his nose again and tell him so. Except he doubted his lover would respond well to the ‘cute’ comment even if it was true. That he also looked adorable, sweet and incredibly beautiful would probably send him through the roof, so Hunt refrained from unloading his heart like that. God, he just had to be in love didn’t he? To be so fucking soft and poetic about a man who could kick his ass from here to next Tuesday, had to be a sign of love… or a severe disorder. One or the other.

His lover was also strong and pushy if his actions to get Hunter on the couch were any indication of his personality. Giving in with grace, Hunter eyed the dubious stability of the piece of furniture with an eyebrow that would make Rocky proud. If they ended up in the level below them in a cloud of plaster, then he’d blame Shawn. Toeing off his shoes Hunter thought about the probability of disaster if he too tried to drape himself across Dave and ruled out that option as hazardous to their health. Deciding not to put too much pressure on one side, Hunter settled himself at the far end of the couch to his lovers and tangled their legs together in a way guaranteed to start something.

Not that he wanted to finish it here, Hunt had much better plans for that later, but starting was always good. Chilling on the couch while they waited to be released for the night would be fun, as long as no-one accidentally managed to kick another in the balls that is. Tucking one foot under Shawn’s hip, Hunter wriggled his toes until he got a reaction from his lover. Grinning unrepentantly, he trailed his other sock coated heel up the inside of Dave’s thigh, watching with unabashed pleasure as the dress pants bunched and moved with his ministrations. Draping his arms across the back and side of the couch as if he were in a hot tub, Hunter rested his temple on his fist and ignored what his feet were doing.

 _Don't have a castle._

Shawn’s words and the hand on his thigh still didn’t quash Hunt’s roving toes. He almost... _almost_ said, ‘I’ll buy one for you Darling.’ But he knew exactly the kind of reaction _that_ kind of comment would get him from his best friend. One of their few real fights as friends, this morning’s monstrous debacle not included, had taken place when Hunter had bought Shawn an extravagantly expensive present, a Ducati motorcycle, for no reason other than Shawn had admired one at a motor show they’d been attending. Hunt hadn’t thought it was an issue. Shawn did. He had let Hunter know, in no uncertain terms, that much as he appreciated the sentiment, if he ever did anything so impulsive with his money for Shawn again, he’d find himself with said motorcycle shoved where the sun most definitely did _not_ shine. Hunter had been bewildered by Shawn’s vehemence, but he’d let the subject go and been very careful to only buy his friend appropriate gifts on his birthday and Christmas. Still, he’d consoled himself some months later when he’d visited Shawn at his home in Texas to find the bike, in pristine condition, in pride of place in Shawn’s garage.

Hunter wondered if now that he was Shawn’s lover, he’d be allowed to buy him things. Dave too. The man liked vintage cars and Hunter knew several people who specialized in… Dave’s dark eyes were fixed on him in a freakishly knowing way, so Hunter quickly suppressed any notion of big gifts for the next few weeks… well days at least. Thinking of something to divert that intense chocolate stare, Hunter looked at his watch.

”We should only be here for another hour. They’re almost finished with the taping and I’ve ruled out any more meetings till Friday.”

It was his typical managing style to make that decision for the three of them, but hey, he wanted to spend time with Shawn and Dave without the worry of work getting between them. Beside, he really, really needed to stay away from his father-in-law for a few days or there would be violence and mayhem and it wouldn’t be confined to the ring. Thoughts of Vince inevitably led to thoughts of Stephanie and her words from last night came to haunt him. Hunt doubted very much the family dinner she’d organized for tomorrow night would still be on the cards. What with her father and husband at odds over his _lovers_ , even Steph couldn’t make that a happy affair. Speaking of Steph…

”What did you mean about Steph earlier Dave? Did she say something to piss you off too?” Because if she did Hunter and she would be having words. Well, he’d be having words, Steph would be listening and then telling him off for something or other that would have nothing to do with his anger in the first place. They didn’t argue like normal people.

****

Watching as Hunt slid down to the floor next to Shawn so that he could wake him up, Dave noticed the heated look that Hunter shot in his direction. Oh lord. He barely restrained himself from reaching down and stroking his hand over the extremely interested bulge that look had produced for him. Ruthlessly pushing away that reaction, he was hoping for their next encounter to include something much more comfortable like say a bed, Dave watched as Hunt kissed Shawn awake.

 _"Good morning Sleeping Beauty."_

Dave couldn't stop the grin that lit his face. Sleeping Beauty? Shawn most certainly was that. Dave returned Shawn's kiss and smiled as Shawn prodded Hunter to join them on the couch. He wanted to laugh at the way Hunter was looking at the piece of furniture, but didn't. Surely the thing was sturdy enough to hold all three of them. If it wasn't, then they'd shortly be sitting on a much shorter couch. Hunter settled in without incident, at least as far as the couch was concerned, though Dave couldn't say the same about his own personal condition. Hunt had just about flattened him with the voyage his foot was making up his thigh. And Hunter had adapted an almost bored look. So not fair.

 _"Don't have a castle."_

Dave could almost hear Hunter saying that he'd buy Shawn one though it went unsaid. The way he had looked at Shawn though, he suspected that the thought had occurred. Hunter had better not plan on buying him a 'castle' or anything nearly that costly. Dave had nothing against gifts, but there were better things for Hunter to spend his money on than some extravagant, too costly gift for him.

 _"We should only be here for another hour. They’re almost finished with the taping and I’ve ruled out any more meetings till Friday."_

Thank god. Dave gave up any thoughts of gifts or what not and instead concentrated on the fact that in another hour he could be alone with Hunt and Shawn. He was just a tad nervous about whatever Hunter might have in store for them, but he wouldn't dwell on that either. Instead he would try to suppress his nervousness over the confession he had yet to make to Shawn. He also had to reaffirm his words to Hunter earlier. He didn't want Hunter thinking it was all a line, that he hadn't meant it.

 _"What did you mean about Steph earlier Dave? Did she say something to piss you off too?"_

Whoops! He'd almost forgotten about that. Hopefully Hunter would keep the rest of the comments he'd made to Mark to himself. "No," he said right away. He didn't want Hunter to get worked up and yell at Steph. "She walked in here earlier and caught Shawn and I in pretty much the same position that Mark caught you and I in, only we were still in our towels." He couldn't control the blush brought on by the memory of that particular moment. "She was a little incensed over the possibility that you might walk in on the two of us because she thought it would upset you. She gave us both hell, then Shawn explained to her that you wouldn't be at all upset about it. Then she, um, kind of bounced around like a rubber ball and wanted all the details. Everything's cool. I owe Mark an apology for taking everything out on him though."


	53. Innuendos

_you making me scream like a little fangirl about right now._

Chris chuckled against the warm curve of muscle beneath his chin. "Yes Babe, you certainly did pay me a 'huge' compliment and shall be justly rewarded." Smiling at the gorgeous arc of Adam’s back, Chris gave into temptation and licked again at the satiny skin which had produced such a fine reaction in the man lying beneath him. He hadn't failed to notice the aborted shift and play of Adam's hips during his sensual tasting spree and was almost unnerved by his lover's response to Chris' playful orders. Just because CJ had a knack for directing traffic in _any_ circumstances didn't mean he wanted Adam to give into him all the time. But then... wasn't it Chris who planned things to go differently not five minutes ago? Maybe he was the one in danger of giving in to his delicious Adam? After a moment of contemplation, Chris decided he could think of worse things to experience. Adam made some muttered comment that Chris didn't quite hear, but he decided the general gist of it was "get on with it."

“Huh. Impatient aren’t we? I though that was my gig Babe, but I’m glad to know you share it.”

CJ slowly let himself become lost in bringing them to mutual, satisfying ...but not too dangerous... pleasure. He licked and teased with slicked fingers his way into his lover's body. Judging his pressure by the muffled groans and curses coming from the pillow beneath Adam's face. He wasn't deliberately torturing them both, just playing with Adam's limits and more especially his own. But eventually all the touching, stretching and licking in the world was soon subsumed by his cock's insistent desire to be inside the warm heat of Adam's body. Given that his dick had been the subject of such a recent and public discussion, CJ decided it deserved to have some say in the proceedings.

Incongruously Chris though of Trish as he stroked the warm oil onto himself. Not with any sexual pleasure of course, no way anyone would fantasise about someone else with a naked and needy Adam Copeland before them, just that she'd shake her head at the direction of his thoughts and say 'you men always think with your dicks.'

Well yeah.

Letting Trish flit out of his thoughts with a toss of her hair, Chris focused his complete and undivided attention on the sexiest blond Canadian he'd ever had the chance to love. Cuddling up behind his shiny, new boyfriend, Chris leaned down onto his elbow giving him access to the back of Adam's neck and his earlobe. Nibbling at the small, soft nub of flesh, Chris began to whisper softly into the silky hair while he lined his hardened shaft up with Adam's welcoming heat.

"Relax Babe. I'm almost... Oh god that's good... that's soo good Lover. You feel... feel... There... my god you feel so good. So tight Babe. I wanna stay here inside you, feeling you around me... so hot Babe..."

Unable to leash his sex-foolish lips, Chris continued his whispered commentary while rocking so slowly and gently into Adam that he was buried balls-deep before he even realised it. To soothe the slight tension he felt in Adam's shoulders and bring them both a moment or two to relax, he began drawing small patterns on Adam's hip with his fingers. An exhalation from the lovely man in his arms brought Chris' hand around to cup and stroke the proud erection resting heavily on the smooth cotton sheets. Drawing his fingers over the pearl of moisture on the tip, Chris pulled his hips back slightly before pushing forward again.

The warm, tight flesh that embraced his sex was getting harder and harder to resist. With each push, Chris felt the hot, pulses of lightning sizzle from his cock to his brain and knew he wouldn't be able to keep up this agonising pace indefinitely. Good thing he and Adam seemed to be on the same page if the sounds of his lover in a passion were any indication of happiness.

It was a continuation of the slow tease from earlier, but it seemed right that after last night's sexy love-play, tonight he could create a slow, hard burn that would leave them breathless. Feeling the cock in his hand jump as he circled his hips in a slow grinding motion, Chris did it again, getting another twitch and a definite whimper as his response. God, his Adam was so responsive to his touch, such a sensual, physical man that CJ sincerely doubted his own control would hold up under such a reaction. But he was determined to bring Adam to pleasure before he allowed himself to sate his own hunger. Tightening his fist, Chris pulled at the velvet shaft in his hand just a fraction harder, timing his movements to the thrust of his hips.

"Yes... Babe... good, so good. Urgh... ahhh. Just like that... yes... just like that."

Of course, he couldn't stop talking either.

**** 

Even squirming from Hunter's teasing with his toes, Shawn wasn't blind to the look on Hunter's face at his castle comment, and shook his head with a slight smile. His friend-slash-lover hadn't even had to say anything; his thoughts had been clear on his face, at least to Shawn, and if Hunter _had_ offered to buy him a castle, he would've been smacked, very firmly. Shawn had made his fair share of impetuous purchases, but he'd never been as bad as Hunter could be at throwing his money away on expensive objects purely for the sake of owning them.

He was terribly fond of the Ducati motorcycle, however.

 _”We should only be here for another hour."_

Thank god. Much more of this teasing, or any more unexpected interruptions, yelling, or any other type of over-the-top scene would have Shawn screaming... regardless of the fact that doing so would kill his voice for at least another day. He loved Steph dearly, cordially loathed Vince, loved Mark as a best friend, and was concerned about Adam and Chris... but if _any_ of them walked through that door, he'd superkick them. Well... maybe not Steph. But only because she'd picked up a wicked right hook somewhere along the line and wasn't afraid to use it.

 _"... and caught Shawn and I in pretty much the same position that Mark caught you and I in..."_

Dave was just too cute when he blushed. Shawn found himself hoping that the "Animal" wouldn't lose that habit any time soon, because he'd miss it if he did. But... his eyebrow went up at Dave's mention of an apology. He'd talked to Mark, but Mark hadn't said anything that would lead Shawn to think an apology was needed for anything. Cocking his head at Dave, he allowed his hand to drift slowly up Hunter's thigh in a soft massage, hiding his laughter at the little twitches the teasing touch provoked.

"What happened with you and Mark? He didn't say anything to me... other than being happy if you two made me happy, that is." He couldn't resist repeating those words, his lips curving in a small smile. Hopefully whatever had happened could be easily worked out, since Mark was his closest friend outside the Clique and he'd very much like the Dead Man to be friends, or at least on friendly terms, with his lovers.

That smile turned into a slight frown as he listened to Dave's reply, but any answer was forestalled by a light knock at the door.

****

Mark found himself nearly holding his breath as he waited, not daring to move as Jeff stared almost unblinkingly at his extended hand. The look on the younger man's face was a mixture of shock and disbelief and... some things that Mark couldn't identify. Something inside him told him not to try too hard, at least not right now; even if the emotions Jeff was exuding did have anything to do with him---and who was to say that they did?---this wasn't the time or place to pursue them. Right now, Jeff needed support.

As Mark was taking breath to speak again, although he wasn't sure what to say, Jeff moved. Those slender fingers twining with his, the unexpected touch on his arm as Jeff leaned against him, his body still trembling... Mark had to bite back an urge to pull the smaller man into his arms and rock him. They stayed frozen in that tableau for a long moment or two before Mark couldn't stand the feeling of those fine tremours anymore and lifted his other hand, not quite sure what he was going to do: stroke Jeff's hair or back, _something_ to help stop that shaking.

The sensation was sending mixed feelings of anger and helplessness through him; anger at the unknown man who'd provoked this sort of reaction in the first place, and helplessness at not knowing how to help, what to do to calm Jeff down. If it were Shawn, he'd have had the man in his arms immediately, petting his hair and whispering into his ear... kissing him...

The sudden thought of kissing Jeff nearly blindsided Mark and he twitched in an immediate effort to keep from doing just that. Whatever was going on with his whirlwind, the last thing Jeff needed right now was another unexpected emotional upset... if he didn't just punch Mark in the first place for daring to do something like that.

The soft sigh drew Mark's gaze down to Jeff and he wished that he could see the other man's eyes. Jeff had always hidden them from him, for some reason Mark had never figured out. If he could see them now, maybe he'd get a hint as to what to do here. Comfort had never been his strong suit; scaring the shit out of people, he was good at, but following through after he'd scared the bad guys away... that was a different story.

His own feelings were running high right now, though, and he had to try to keep them under control. God, he didn't even _know_ what he felt for the man standing in front of him, fingers still tightly gripping his own. He just knew that _something_ kept drawing him toward Jeff, something that had hit him the first time they'd worked directly together and that hadn't let go yet.

At least Jeff hadn't let go of his hand.

 _"I'm fine, had worse in the ring."_

That, Mark didn't doubt for a second. So had he. But this wasn't the ring, was it? And outside the ring, injuries were something else altogether... especially when they were caused by dickheads who just liked to hurt people, as far as Mark could tell. But he bit back the words, knowing that whatever Jeff was trying to say, it wasn't easy for him... and knowing that whatever he was told, it wouldn't be everything. That was a given.

 _"... 'it didn't end well', would be the polite way of putting it and Rick thought he'd get some back for his friend."_

All of his vaunted control, his legendary lack of temper... and all that he could think of as those softly-spoken words penetrated was how much he wished he'd hurt the bastard more. His jaw clenched as those mysterious eyes finally met his, unspoken emotions swirling in them in a storm to match their owner's personality. The pain was obvious, but so was fear, and whatever else was in there was just adding to the strangely damaged look that Jeff was wearing. His fingers twitched in Jeff's grasp but he tightened his hold before the other man could try to pull away. He knew he was up for his spot soon, he knew that he had to be heading for the stage soon, he knew that Heyman would be looking for him any minute... he didn't care.

This was more important. Whatever was happening here, it was going to affect the both of them,

 _"You shouldn't be in this... not you."_

Swallowing harshly as something flickered in Jeff's eyes, he felt the change immediately as the younger man looked away. Jeff hadn't meant to say that last part, at least not out loud, that was obvious. Whatever Jeff _had_ meant, Mark didn't know and didn't even really care; if it was actually as important as the back of his mind was screaming at him that it was, he'd find it out eventually. Right now, he cared about the man tugging at him in a vain effort to get him to move back toward the hallway, away from the scene... away from those whispered words.

Turning slightly, he took his chance when Jeff paused to cast a frustrated look back at him and _pulled_ , spreading his feet slightly for additional balance. He staggered slightly as Jeff's mass hit him, but shifted his grasp, finally giving in to his earlier impulse and wrapping both of his arms around the smaller man, his breath escaping in a sigh of his own at the feeling.

Damning himself even as he memorised the feel of Jeff in his arms, he tilted his head downward, meeting Jeff's wide eyes. Memories of other times, holding another young man like this when he'd needed it, brought out unexpected words from his depths, words that surprised him even as they brought back memories of pained blue eyes that the startled ones looking up at him reminded him of. But the feelings that they provoked were new, and Mark wondered where they would lead him even as he spoke, his drawl long and deep and his tone almost matter-of-fact.

"You need me."

Almost.

****

 _"What happened with you and Mark? He didn't say anything to me..."_

Dave groaned and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, the other still wrapped around Shawn. "When Mark came in, let's just say that he interrupted a... moment, and I wasn't too thrilled with the interruption. When he blasted us for stabbing you in the back, I wasn't too awful polite when I explained that the three of us were together and I didn't really care if he liked it or not." Dave winced as he recalled the other things he'd said to Mark. He really did owe the man an apology if for no other reason than the comments he'd made about Shawn and Mark's previous relationship ending.

"Even if what I said was true, I could have been nicer about it. He just got the brunt of my temper because of the timing." That was basically what it boiled down to. The particular memory that he'd been making with Hunter had been tainted because of Mark's appearance. It wasn't a spectacularly wonderful reason to excuse his reaction, but it was at least understandable... wasn't it?

Hopefully Shawn wouldn't be too upset with him as long as he delivered the apology he planned on. He wasn't to find out at the moment though because of the knock on the door. Dave sighed, his head dropping against the back of the couch. "Knowing our luck, that's Cena prepared to deliver a rap on why we shouldn't be involved together. If it is, I'm taping his mouth shut and locking him in the closet, main event or no main event." With that, Dave gently untangled himself from Shawn and walked over to unlock the door.

Pulling the door open, he spotted the person on the other side. "It's not Cena," he said with a grin before tossing opening the door the rest of the way. "Are you here to save me? These two were torturing me... doing unmentionable things to me. Will you protect me?"

****

 _"...If Hardy screws up, Mark's taking the fall for it."_

What the hell? What kind of deal was that? Scott frowned wondering what Vince was up to. He hadn't heard of any beef between Vince and Mark, at least not anything recent. Scott would be keeping an eye on Hardy as well in case he ran into any trouble because he would be less than happy if Mark had to bow to whatever Vince had planned.

When Kev mentioned Shawn in connection with Jeff, Scott's brows rose almost to his hairline. He'd noticed the tension between the two, had questioned Jeff about his interest in fact, but he hadn't suspected that Mark's feelings ran that deep. Wasn't really surprising he hadn't caught on though, Mark was a very hard person to read when he was trying to keep his feelings private. He was truly surprised that Mark hadn't tried to deny it, truth or not.

 _"...Since we obviously interrupted something between Hunt and Dave. They were locked at the lips like they were trying to breathe for each other."_

Scott sucked in a deep breath. He could almost imagine that, even without seeing it. Sounds like things were going okay in that department for the moment. Once again he was thankful that his interference last night hadn't had any permanently damaging effects. Scott winced over the mention of how bad a day they seemed to be having. Their boys didn't really need any more interference from anyone else. Hopefully they'd filled their quota for the day or someone might end up losing their head. He didn't see Steph as being a problem and actually hoped they ran into her sometime that night. He'd missed teasing her... in a nice way, of course.

 _"Why are you still standing, anyway? Get your ass over here where it belongs, old man."_

Scott rolled his eyes. Of course Kev would bring _that_ up again. Still, he wasn't about to argue against sitting with Kev especially with the way Kev was looking at him at the moment. He was almost overwhelmed by the emotion in Kev's eyes. Still... he'd make him pay for the old man comment later. Settling himself in Kevin's lap, he leaned into him even as Kevin buried his head in Scott's hair.

 _"Love you, Scotty."_

Canting his head slightly, Scott lost himself for a moment in the depths of Kevin's eyes, wondering just a bit what had prompted the slightly emotional tone to Kevin's voice. Draping one arm over his lover's shoulder, he gently tangled his fingers in the silky strands of Kevin's hair as he flashed a brilliant smile. "Love you too... crème puff." Before Kev could object to his endearment, Scott pressed his lips gently against Kev's. He kept the pressure light interspersing gentle flicks of his tongue along the seam of his lips without going deeper. After a moment he broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against Kevin's.

"I know I worried you when we were in with Vince, but he wasn't surprised in the least that I stuck my nose into his business. I've done it for years, Kev. Sometimes he'll tell me to piss off and not answer him, but nothing I do will ever surprise that man. He knows that I'll do anything to protect the people I care about. We've definitely had our moments... when he fired me the last time being one of them... but we respect each other." Carding his fingers through Kevin's hair, he smiled.

"When I first started here, way back in the day, I caught Vince in a lie. I told him that day that if I ever caught him lying to me again, I'd kick his ass and thoroughly enjoy it. I earned his respect by standing up to him even though he could have canned my ass on the spot. I'm not saying that Vince won't fire me again if he has just cause, but he's not going to go ballistic over me asking about my family. So no more near heart attacks, babe." Leaning in he pressed another gentle kiss against Kevin's mouth.

"So... tag team champs again. Damn that sounds good. We'll have to figure out whose belt goes where again," he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Damn, the memories that thought evoked almost had him rock hard. Too bad that they were hardly in a place conducive to enjoying it. Not that Scott would mind at all if they did do something about it, but he was pretty sure Kevin wasn't going to go for it. They'd just have to tease a little bit longer, until they were released from the taping. They needed a distraction.

"Hardy wasn't nearly as forthcoming. He tried to play off what is going on with him as a schoolboy crush. I didn't believe a word of it, but I didn't call him on it. I can't see him throwing himself at Heyman over something so simple, though," Scott said with a wry smirk.

"Maybe we should go check on Dave, Hunt, and Shawn. Do you think we should say anything to them about what Vince had to say? I'm sure Dave would be just a little ticked off to find out that Vince thinks he's trying to fuck his way to the top of the food chain." Scott thought for just a moment and then said with a frown, "Maybe we shouldn't say anything. Dave would probably go kill the little bastard. That wouldn't be at all good for his career."

****

Hunter listened to Dave's explanation about Steph finding his two lovers, but relaxed completely at the words _kind of bounced around like a rubber ball_. That definitely sounded the like the kind of reaction his wife would have when hearing about Dave and Shawn. Instead of those hard words he'd imagined being for Steph's ears, Hunter was pretty certain he'd be on the receiving end of a reverse diatribe about _not calling immediately_ and letting her know what was going on. His formidable spouse disliked being at a disadvantage anywhere and hated being wrong even more. He'd also have to give her another huge hug, not just for having his back against Vince earlier, but also for going into mama-bear mode when she thought Dave and Shawn were ignoring him. Having Stephanie McMahon in your corner was a force to be reckoned with, no doubt about it. You just had to survive her attentions in the first place to get to the good side of being one of her people.

Well as long as everything was cool between Shawn and Stephanie, Hunter was happy. Steph had a huge soft spot in her heart for the Toy Boy and would've hated to be mad at him over Hunter. And Shawn would be disconsolate to lose the Princess's regard, the Heartbreaker had just as big a soft heart as his wife did. Imagining Stephanie's beyond pleased reaction bought an amused grin to Hunter's face, but it fell slightly at the discussion of Dave's words to Mark.

Halting the teasing his foot was indulging in, Hunter set his toes to a comforting stroke over Dave's knee. He'd witnessed Dave's rather glorious explosion and knew the big man was regretting the personal accusations he'd thrown at 'Taker. It wasn't Hunter's job to let Dave know that Mark wouldn't take that kind of thing to heart, that was up to Mark or Shawn, but he knew for a fact that as far as Mark was concerned, it would be forgotten. In fact Hunter suspected the Dead Man also wanted to apologise for interrupting what he'd learned was a 'moment' between Hunter and Dave. Maybe his lover would get the chance to say 'sorry' at the hotel sometime, because Hunt really, really, _really_ didn't want to have another scene of any kind tonight.

Another look at his watch... they only had forty minutes to go before freedom.

 _Cena prepared to deliver a rap on why we shouldn't be involved together_

Hunter chuckled at the comment and shook his head in sympathy. Given the state of his karma since last night, he wouldn't be surprised if that _was_ actually the case. Either Cena, or Austin with his guitar and god-awful singing voice. Maybe Bradshaw... no way was Hunter calling the man JBL... wanted to come and recite a speech over the evils of inter-office relationships. In a bizarre 'I didn't get enough sleep' kinda way, Hunt could handle that one... he'd been hanging to make that man eat his hat for months now.

 _These two were torturing me...doing unmentionable things to me. Will you protect me?_

The look on Ric Flair's face was enough to send Hunter into more paroxysms of chuckling. The neon-blond was obviously torn between salacious curiosity over what he and Shawn had been doing and the remote chance of him actually being able to protect Dave from them. Much as the Legend was a brilliant performer, Hunter was a generation younger and if he wanted to torture Dave with his feet then Ric would be hard-pressed to stop him. Plus Shawn could be a mean little fucker if you crossed him. Visibly making the decision to stay, Ric waltzed past the bigger man and took in Hunt and Shawn, legs still entangled on the couch.

"Oh Dave, Big Man. These guys giving you some grief? Well you can take 'em, I know you can." Ric went into 'chief advisor' mode in an instant. "Whattya gotta do is keep The Champ off his feet, keep him down so he can't use his strength on ya," Hunter's chuckling took on a decidedly sensual tone at the thought of Dave holding him down so he couldn't do anything. "And don't try and chase HBK, that'll just leave ya angry and with sore feet, no way, ya gotta lure him in. Get him thinking he's got ya beat, then bam!" Ric smacked a fist into him palm, "you're on top."

Hunter buried his face in his hand. He should have known Ric giving any kind of advice would sound like the running sheet for a porno. Although, to give the man his due, it had been a fairly reasonable estimate of Hunt and Shawn's weaknesses in the ring. He wasn't at his best when on the mat and Shawn could be teased into striking too soon, his impatience often getting the best of him. Just shows that Ric Flair had more reasons than his history to justify being called a Legend.

"Thanks Ric, I'm sure we'll all take that on board." Maybe later though, when they finally were within three feet of a bed. "What's happening out there? Anyone kill Bradshaw yet?"

****

Mark wasn't moving even an inch, wasn't going to let Jeff pull him away from the scene of Richard's actions or the echo of Jeff's revealing words. He didn't know the man well enough to presume that stubborn was a strong character trait, but then, he'd never heard of Mark backing down from a position either. Jeff just felt the imperative need to move, move Mark, move them both away from here and back into the world where his tongue had its safety on and his rampant emotions were under a semblance of control. Amongst other people he could avoid the piercing green stare that seemed to look into his black little soul and the towering body he just wanted to curl up against. Being alone with Mark was too dangerous.

 _Oh god._

Being in Mark's arms was deadly.

Pure surprise held him immobile for several seconds while Mark shifted his grip until Jeff was held so securely he knew that he'd never fall. Not while Mark held him. Overwhelmed by the blistering heat of the form so temptingly wrapped around his, Jeff literally melted into Mark, his spine releasing the tension he hadn't known knotted it. Looking up into those piercing green eyes, hands sliding up long, beautiful arms to rest upon broad shoulders, Jeff responded to the touch of Mark instinctively, their flesh only separated by the minuscule barrier of cloth. Cloth for which Jeff knew he'd soon develop a deep and abiding hatred. 

 _You need me._

If possible Mark's accent had deepened even more and some small part of Jeff's brain that wasn't screaming hysterically at him, took note of that fact for later examination. 'Of course I need you,' was the honest, painful reply that pushed up from somewhere deep inside Jeff, smacking straight into his heart. But there was still enough of the bruised fool within him to close his mouth before the words came out. Just because Jeff needed Mark like a part of his soul, didn't mean the big man was saying anything of the sort in return. He could just be stating an obvious fact of their working relationship. Jeff needed Mark's support or his career with the WWE was shot, it was that simple.

Didn't explain the heart-stopping embrace he was currently privilege to though.

So what... what did he mean? Trying to get his sluggish, proximity fogged brain to focus on Mark's meaning, Jeff shut his eyes against the handsome face so unfairly close to his. He needed Mark... as an emotional crutch? A rock to lean on when life smacked him in the face just like Richard just had? Did Mark deserve to be that for Jeff with nothing in return save Jeff's own company? Was that what Mark meant? Apparently so. 

But that still didn't give Jeff a reply to that brain-baking statement. What could he say? How could he respond to Mark's words when the truth was too much to contemplate and to lie would seem like blasphemy? He couldn't do either. Instead he just went with instinct.

Lifting up on tip-toes, Jeff rubbed his temple against the warm skin of Mark's cheek like a cat, the faint bristle of his sideburn catching at midnight red goatee. The scent of the skin so close to his was enough to cause a tingle of pleasure in Jeff's stomach and a tingle of something else much lower. Parting his lips just a fraction, Jeff grazed Mark's jaw with slow breath. Keeping his eyes closed in case he woke himself up, he pressed the corner of his mouth against Mark's ear.

"You're mad, you have to be." Jeff kept his voice quiet, breathing the words into Mark's skin where they'd stay... for a moment.  "Don't cause yourself even more trouble over me Mark."

His voice had almost disappeared by end of the pronunciation of Mark's name.

****

 _"Yes Babe, you certainly did pay me a 'huge' compliment and shall be justly rewarded."_

Justly rewarded? He liked the sound of that. Adam sighed as he turned back into his pillow, the teasing of Chris' tongue at the base of his spine prompting a quiet moan. Then he waited for something else. A touch, words, anything at all... and still he waited. Knowing that Chris would just take that much longer to torture him if he heard him clearly, he muffled his complaint against the pillow. "Some point within the next century would be nice."

 _"Huh. Impatient aren’t we?"_

Impatient? Of course he was impatient. Who the hell in his position wouldn't be? Okay, so maybe if he wasn't achy all over and so tired he felt like he was going to simply drift into oblivion he would be a little more patient with this slow play. Maybe if he weren't trying to block out the extreme violence that had interrupted the best 24 hours of his life then he could wait. Maybe if he weren't so desperate to feel Chris inside him again then he would tease right back.

Luckily, Chris had given in relatively quickly. His fingers and tongue teased endlessly, but every touch brought a reaction. It didn't take long for Chris to bring him to the point of begging, though with it being muffled by the pillow he'd buried his face in it most likely sounded more like broken pleas. He tried to stay still, he really did, but was unable to keep his hips from thrusting in a search for more. The cotton of the sheets felt almost rough against the sensitized skin of his hardened shaft. If he hadn't been so determined to hold out until Chris was inside him, he could have easily carried himself over with all of Chris' exploring touches.

The warm comforting weight of Chris against his back brought him sharply back from the pleasure-induced cloud he'd been floating on. Beyond ready to repeat the amazing experience from last night of having Chris inside him, he tilted his head back a bit to give Chris clearer access to his neck. He bit his lip as Chris breached the ring of muscle, not in pain, but to stifle the impatient plea for Chris to bury himself fast and deep. He was on the verge of having what he wanted - Chris' length buried fully inside him - and if Chris wanted slow rather than fast, then Adam wouldn't rush him.

Chris' velvet words washed over him like breakers on a beach, pulling him under the spell that Chris was weaving around him. Once Chris was fully embedded in him, he held his breath for a moment, just absorbing the feelings flitting through him. This was what he'd wanted, feeling as if Chris were a part of him, held so deep inside him, stretching him with the thickness of his hot hard shaft. He could happily stay just like this for... at least the next five minutes. Insane he wasn't. He did want Chris to move, just not right at this moment.

The touch of Chris' fingers sliding over his hip coupled with his inciting commentary added to the feeling of completeness. His 'yes' in answer to the unspoken question was so quiet it was more a puff of air and then Chris' hand wrapped around his length in reply. He moaned low and deep as Chris withdrew and slowly thrust back inside him, every nerve ending alight with the motion. Shuddering slightly as Chris kept up the slow gentle pace, Adam held back his instantaneous need to explode on the spot by sheer will. He wasn't ready yet to give into the demands of his body, wanting to extend the time that Chris possessed him.

Within no time at all, his incoherent responses rivaled Chris' quiet words. He left off the pillow to clutch the sheets beneath him, his head resting against Chris' shoulder. The slow grinding of Chris' hips brought him right to the cusp of falling headlong into his orgasm. Insensible to the whimper drawn from him, he had finally reached the limits of his promise not to move. Despite the small pulling ache from his bruised body, he lifted his hand and threaded it in Chris' hair when Chris' hand tightened on his shaft, arching his body against the man that held him in thrall.

"Oh god... Chris, so good... can't..." Even as he felt the edges of reality begin to blur leading him towards that bright explosion, he clutched at the pervading feeling buried deep inside him, the feeling that meant he belonged solely to the man possessing him. "Chris... I... oh god... love you." So soft. So quiet. Barely a murmur. Surely he hadn't said that out loud, had he? The slight worry was pushed from his thoughts by the inevitable release that rushed up to claim him. The loud wail drawn from deep inside rushed out as his release was drawn from his body by Chris' hand stroking his length.

****

 _"...he interrupted a... moment... Even if what I said was true, I could have been nicer about it."_

Shawn raised an eyebrow at his lover's almost embarrassed words. Even knowing that Mark was a very forgiving person, he wondered about Dave and Hunter's reactions to his question, considering Mark's almost complete non-reaction when they'd talked. His ex had been nothing but supportive of the three of them in the brief time they'd talked about it... of course, it had been _very_ brief. In fact, now that he thought about it, Mark had seemed pretty preoccupied... with the question of Jeff Hardy.

A slight smile played on his lips at that thought as he watched Dave answer the door. A more unlikely pair he couldn't think of off the top of his head, but if his instincts were right, Mark had it pretty bad for the wild-haired kid. Of course, one could probably make a case for the Dead Man having a thing for arrogant young men with attitude problems, given his history.

A snort of laughter escaped him at Dave's greeting; the look on Ric's face turned that into an ongoing chuckle. It had been a long time since anyone had seen Ric Flair nonplussed, but it looked like they'd just succeeded.

Not for long, of course.

 _"Well you can take 'em, I know you can."_

He clapped a hand over his mouth before he could blurt out what he was thinking: _God, please, yes!_ Not that it would shock anyone present in the room, but even as shameless as Shawn was, at this point he really didn't want anyone else knowing anything more about their relationship than the simple fact that it existed. In fact, he'd be thrilled if the entire locker room knew that particular fact... to head off any more interruptions or explosions, if nothing else. Knowing that Dave was a private person, and that Hunter had at least never gone out of his way to flaunt any of his relationships to _anyone_ , Shawn resolved to try to keep the details of their new understanding as much to himself as possible. He doubted that he'd succeed as well as he should, but at least he was going to try. Between the smirk on Ric's face and Hunter's quiet laugher next to him, though, he might just break.

 _"then bam!... you're on top."_

It was just too much. Before Ric could answer Hunt's question, Shawn leaned up, resting part of his weight on his arm. Putting on as honest and earnest an expression as he could muster while keeping a straight face, he looked at Dave and said in an almost even tone, "I think we should practice that, Dave. It's not quite as easy to get me to go down as Ric here is making it sound... although I'm not sure about Hunt. I've never had the experience of getting him down under me for too long. God knows I've tried, but he's always ended up as the dominant one."

Letting out a dramatic sigh, he let his eyes wander slowly down Dave's body, feeling heat begin to drip down his spine again as his mind supplied wonderfully explicit images to go with his teasing words. Shifting his weight, he allowed his hand to "accidentally" slide up Hunter's thigh and turned that heavy-lidded gaze on his friend as he turned to lean back against him.

****

Even as he melted into Scott's gentle kiss, Kevin filed away the "crème puff" comment for later reference. That was the second time today... even if he was keeping even with his "old man" teasing, Scott was going to have some serious payback coming his way later. His lover seemed to have picked up on his reflective mood and Kev was perfectly happy to sit in this somewhat private corner and cuddle him just as long as he wanted. Shifting underneath Scotty's weight, he bit his lip as his body responded to his lover's presence, his body letting him know in no uncertain terms that there had been quite enough recovery time and would be more than happy to move on to better things. Scott's quiet voice broke in, washing across his thoughts like a calming wave, and Kevin forced himself to relax, letting Scott's mere presence soak into him.

 _"...but we respect each other."_

His immediate incredulous reaction was side-swiped by those knowing fingers threading through his hair and his eyes fluttered shut as Scott smiled at him. It was still a serious conversation, but the gentle touches were definitely helping him move past his upset of moments earlier. The explanation of Scott and Vince's relationship---and didn't that just sound like an act against nature!---soothed the moderate current of worry that had been lingering in the back of his mind, and he managed to open his eyes in time to see Scott giving him a Look.

 _"We'll have to figure out whose belt goes where again."_

The teasing tone made him smile even as the memories the words brought back sent another flare of heat through his body, and he knew that Scott would be able to feel his reaction now. All it took was Scotty. His voice, his eyes, his scent... Kev would know when he was dead: that would be the first and only time that he didn't have that kind of response to the man in his arms. His voice rough, he said, "That'll be quite a debate, Scott... but I'll be looking forward to it all day Sunday." If they just had somewhere they could be alone together without the threat of getting walked in on, he'd have had Scott bent over in front of him five minutes ago. But even as much as he didn't care about audiences, he didn't especially want to put on that kind of show for everyone, either. Not with what was likely to happen.

He agreed totally with Scott's assessment of Jeff's denial, but his lover's next suggestion almost shocked him.

 _"Maybe we should go check on Dave, Hunt, and Shawn."_

Pulling back slightly, he frowned at Scott. "Or maybe we should leave them alone tonight. Dave went over the edge earlier about one too many interruptions... even if everyone's calm right now, I sincerely doubt that they want anyone else looking over their shoulder for the rest of the night. Or for the next few days, for that matter. I won't be surprised one bit if we don't see or hear anything of them from tonight until Sunday morning." Stroking a hand down Scott's face to take any possible sting out of his words, he smiled a bit. "And we _definitely_ don't need to tell Dave anything about what Vince said. If it looks like it's still a problem by the pay-per-view, we might want to mention it to Shawn or Hunter... but I think you're absolutely right about Dave's reaction. Not good. Definitely not good."

Raising his wrist so that he could glance at his watch, he grinned. "Taping's over in less than an hour. Let's not worry about _anyone_ else tonight, Scott." Pausing, he met Scott's eyes, his own clearly showing everything that he was feeling right then. His voice low, he continued, "What would you say to blowing off the rest of the show, going back to the hotel, and taking advantage of having a lock on that door?"


	54. Rushes

_"Oh Dave, Big Man. These guys giving you some grief? Well you can take 'em, I know you can."_

Dave covered his mouth with his hand in a show of considering Ric's comments. What he was really doing was hiding his laughter. Good lord. He was sure Ric was actually discussing in-ring weaknesses and it was only in their lust-laden minds that everything seemed to carry sexual overtones. Considering what had happened in this locker room earlier, he really shouldn't be this hard up right now, literally. Then again, considering who they were discussing, he couldn't imagine a time he wouldn't be hard up.

Trying not to get lost in mental images of 'keeping Hunter off his feet' and 'being on top of Shawn', Dave leaned against the wall. He was pretty sure his lovers were aware of exactly what he was thinking. Hunter tried to distract them with mention of Bradshaw, but Shawn quickly landed them right back in the sensual pool with his comments.

 _"I think we should practice that, Dave. It's not quite as easy to get me to go down as Ric here is making it sound..."_

Dave simply raised one brow. Shawn had 'gone down' rather easily earlier and he'd been the one to instigate things on the plane, even if it had been a reaction to Dave's innocent offer to brush his hair. Now Heartbreaker was trying to play innocent himself? Yeah. Not in this lifetime.

 _"...But he's always ended up as the dominant one."_

Dave barely managed to hide the shudder threatening to rack his large frame, but he was sure his thoughts were visible in the burning stare he leveled on the two of them. The thought of a dominant Hunter in bed was not the least displeasing. That thought mixed with the way Shawn's eyes caressed his body had him ready to grab both of them and bolt for the exit. He was seriously in trouble here. If he didn't get his mind on something else, he'd be politely escorting Ric out the door and jumping on Shawn and Hunter. While it wasn't a bad idea, he would much rather wait until they were somewhere with guaranteed privacy.

"I just realized that Randy hasn't been in here at all tonight. Not that I've missed the obnoxious brat, but I can't see him voluntarily hanging out in the communal locker room. Is he even here tonight?" He turned the question on Ric being as the man usually knew where all his protégés were at any given time. Randy seriously needed to get laid or something. Maybe if he were involved with someone it would improve his character. Of course changing the people he hung out with might be an improvement as well. Dave wondered briefly how Randy would react to the new dynamics in the Evolution locker room. If he said even one word that implied that Dave was using Hunter and Shawn to advance his career, something that Randy would probably see as a given with his attitude, Dave would squash him.

****

Adam was moving, writhing in Chris' arms like a long-limbed animal, the silken skin of his back rubbing against CJ's nipples and pulling forth a deep throated moan that he couldn't hold back even if he'd wanted to. Adam felt so fantastically _good_ , the tight sheath of his lover's body tightening around his cock until Chris lost all pretense of control and began fucking in earnest. A small voice kept yelling at him not to hurt the precious man so vulnerable beneath him, but Adam's own reactions put paid to that idea. Even with Chris' arms braced, his lover's movements kept bringing them into hard contact with each other and CJ could only reassure that concerned voice that it wouldn't be this energetic for much longer. Not much longer at all, with Adam's sudden cascade of words silencing Chris vocal mastery with ease.

Chris didn't care, he was loving Adam, holding and fucking Adam and by Christ they were about to get there together and Chris couldn't stop, wouldn't stop because he was almost there and Adam was... Adam was...

Feeling his lover tense suddenly below him, the muscled grip on his cock became almost painfully tight, ripping Chris' climax from him in a shower of rippling pulses.

 _Chris... I... oh god... love you._

Lost in the white-hot shock of pleasure soaring through him, Chris could only groan his ecstatic response. The words hit him on some instinctive level and struck an identical cord in response. Love... yes... love... Adam.

\----

A gentle sound brought Chris back to his senses, the feel of warm skin and the intoxicating smell of musk granting Chris a time-honoured luxury of basking in the afterglow. Seeing black when there had only been fireworks, CJ realised his eyes were closed and he was still holding onto Adam like he was afraid the other blond would disappear the moment his grip relaxed. Trusting that Adam wasn't a figment of his imagination, Chris loosened his hold and shifted so his weight wasn't smothering the man beneath him.

He couldn't bear to leave Adam's body. Not just yet.

Opening his eyes, CJ looked at an extreme close-up of honey hair. One rippling lock was arching past his nose, the strand caught on Adam's sweat-dewed shoulder. In that moment, the fine twist was truly fascinating to Chris, the intricate whorls holding his eyes while the words echoing in his ears bought his brain to a stuttering halt.

He wanted to run screaming down the hall, he wanted to jump about like a fool or ring someone and say 'Guess what Adam said?". But most of all he just wanted to curl himself around the beautiful man in his arms and revel in the sound of their breathing. Chris didn't doubt his hearing for a second. Adam had said 'I love you' and, get this Junior, had actually meant _Chris_ when he was saying it. Now being that CJ'd discovered that he was in love at 'first day after six months of unrequited desire then one night of brilliantly, fantastic sex'  just this afternoon, he wasn't going to cast aspersions on Adam's declaration, no way.

Just... people said a lot of things when they were on the brink of an orgasm and maybe... maybe Adam just said it because he was caught up in the wildfire that had taken them both by the balls and pulled out their hearts. But Chris had never told anyone he loved them when he didn't, not even in the heat of passion and deep down in his soul he knew Adam hadn't either. Of course Chris had never told _anyone_ , ever, that he loved them. Which was just suddenly striking CJ as being extremely sad.

The only problem facing Chris at this moment, while embracing his lover in post-coital bliss, was whether Adam was alert enough to hear his reply. If he wasn't, CJ would just have to wake him up and tell him.

Giving into temptation, Chris licked at the small beads of perspiration on the point of Adam's shoulder blade. He was inclined to bite, to leave a mark of propriety so that anyone with eyes could see what they'd been up to. But so much more than that, he wanted to make his own vow before anything could interrupt him.

Chris rested his chin on Adam's shoulder and gently blew the lock of hair from before his nose.

"I hope you aren't just playing with my poor heart here Babe, because..." Chris leaned back, pulling his softening cock from Adam's body and pressing his lover to lay on his back, until he could tumble down into emerald depths, "...I love you so much my soul aches with it." Dropping his tone to almost a whisper, Chris sought for something... anything... in those expressive green eyes that would grant him the truth of that earlier, broken utterance. "I think I have for the last six months, but I only just 'caught the clue bus' today. Maybe it was you being hurt like that, maybe just that we finally stopped being scared of each other and took a risk. But if you mean what you said... god Babe... if you _mean_ it..." His voice cracked on that last words, "...then I do too. Even if you don't mean it... I still love you... I do..." And Chris couldn't hold anymore, his emotional fingers slipped from the precipice of calm, sending him rocketing into feelings that were far more powerful and heart-breaking than orgasm. Involuntarily closing his eyes, Chris didn't even try to get a grip. Or try and stop the physical response his own words and the expression in Adam's eyes were creating. Didn't try to hide the hint of moisture in his eyes or the trembling of his hands.

"Adam..." He was broken and he really didn't care.

****

 _"...I won't be surprised one bit if we don't see or hear anything of them from tonight until Sunday morning."_

Well, damn. That was no fun at all. Though he could understand their reluctance to share time with anyone else right now. They had just gotten together and hadn't really had time to themselves as of yet. He still chafed at having to share Kevin with anyone else since they'd gotten back together. They had a lot of lost time to make up for and Scott wasn't sure when he'd be in sharing mode again... maybe after they had their time alone this weekend. Besides, he wanted Kevin to himself tonight as well. While he had appreciated Mark's offer earlier to do something, Scott had his plan to implement later. He would convince Kev that he was beautiful or die trying. Speaking of which, he was still debating on which part of Kevin to laud next, though he had a few definite ideas.

 _"...But I think you're absolutely right about Dave's reaction. Not good. Definitely not good."_

Scott grimaced. He could almost picture Dave with his hands around Vince's neck, Vince's eyes bulging out. While it made for an almost comical picture in his mind, the reality would be anything but funny. Threatening to hurt Vince and actually doing it were two different things. Dave would be out the door before he could blink and that would certainly not be good. Routing the information through Shawn or Hunter seemed to make sense. He wasn't sure they should wait because he couldn't see Vince actually taking the time to talk to the guys, but he'd take Kevin's advice in this instance anyway.

 _"Taping's over in less than an hour. Let's not worry about anyone else tonight, Scott."_

Scott swallowed harshly at the look in Kevin's eyes. He might not be allowed any more teasing tonight if the way Kev was looking at him, like he were a particularly tasty delight on the dessert cart, was any indication.

 _"... going back to the hotel, and taking advantage of having a lock on that door?"_

His smile particularly wicked, he tugged lightly on the strands of hair still twined in his fingers. "I'd say... what are we waiting for, Chico." With a quick lick over Kevin's lips, Scott slipped from Kevin's lap and off the crate, offering a hand to his lover. They must have looked like a couple of high school kids trying to skip out for the day as they raced down the hall towards the parking garage, with occasional furtive looks over their shoulders to make sure they wouldn't get caught.

They would have plenty of time before Sunday to get in some ring practice. Maybe if the boys were feeling more sociable by then, they could talk Shawn, Dave, or Hunter into going through a few paces. None of that mattered to Scott right now, his only desire to be alone with his lover. They did have the drive back to the hotel to get through though, and Scott knew he wouldn't be able to handle Kev's wandering hands and manage to keep the car on the road as well. As they fastened seat belts and Scott pulled the car out into traffic he asked the question that had been lingering since Kevin had told him about the whole Mark/Hunter/Dave debacle.

"So how 'bout a few more details on what Hunter and Dave had to say? I just can't imagine Dave going off on Mark. He always seems so controlled. That had to be interesting as hell."

****

He felt absolutely no pain at the moment, his body still twitching with the strength of his release. He purred quietly, content with the weight of Chris' body against him, the feeling of Chris still lodged inside him. His breath hitched in his throat as he recalled blurting out the words he'd not intended to say just yet. Had he really said them or had he only thought them so loudly in his mind that it had seemed as if he'd uttered them? Either way, Chris hadn't as yet acknowledged them. Not surprising really though since he wasn't sure if he could speak at all himself.

He felt Chris shift yet his lover didn't immediately withdraw from his body. Despite the worry over what he'd said, he smiled, happy with the physical connection between them, wanting it for just a bit longer. He could hear the uneven breathing of the man behind him, feel the wisps of air blowing against his shoulder as Chris tried to recover. Adam would be completely content to stay right here in Chris' arms forever, warm body wrapped around him and quiet breaths puffing against him.

Then again... he shivered as the warmth of Chris' tongue brushed against his shoulder blade. The slight scratching of stubble along his shoulder drew a similar response.

 _"I hope you aren't just playing with my poor heart here Babe, because..."_

Oh god. He _had_ said it out loud. Chris had heard it. He stuffed down the momentary flare of panic and readied himself to object vociferously to the hint that he would ever toy with Chris' emotions, only he didn't get the chance. He felt Chris withdraw from him and turn him to his back, but it was almost surreal. His eyes locked with those beautiful pools of blue that he'd dreamt about for so long. His breath caught at the emotion there even as the words tumbled from Chris' lips.

 _"...I love you so much my soul aches with it."_

Even seeing it shining in Chris' eyes, he hadn't expected it. Chris loved him. He'd fallen asleep and was dreaming. It was an aftereffect of his concussion. Chris might just have to take him to the hospital because he was having hallucinations. He knew it wasn't any of those things, but he was almost scared to death to believe that this was real.

 _"...Then I do too. Even if you don't mean it... I still love you... I do..."_

But it was real. He'd said it not once, but twice. He'd said it and Adam could tell just by looking at him that he meant it... really meant it. Chris loved him. He wanted to run out on the balcony and shout it for the whole damn city to hear and if he wasn't sore and hadn't promised to keep his ass in bed, he just might have. Chris loved him. He wanted to call all their friends and tell them that he'd finally found 'the one', but he supposed that he should probably tell Chris first. Especially since the man seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown while waiting for his reply.

Did he mean it?

Hell fucking yes, he'd meant it.

 _"Adam..."_

Whoops. It would actually help if he said it out loud. Not that he was going to put it that way, no sir.

"Shhh..." He lifted his hand, running his fingers over the curve of Chris' cheek. "I meant it. God, yes, I meant it." He blinked back the moisture in his own eyes. "I wasn't going to say anything yet because I didn't want to scare you off, but I do love you Chris. I have for so long. I didn't think..." He swallowed down all the old fears. He needed to say this and Chris needed to hear it. "I didn't think you could ever feel that way about me. It was another excuse I used to keep my distance. I knew if I tried being with you and it didn't work out, it would kill me."

He smiled almost shyly even as his thumb traced Chris' lower lip. "I remember the day that I knew for sure. It was while I was sitting at home. I was feeling pretty damn sorry for myself with everything that had happened and I was missing everyone. You stopped by to see me while you were home and I was in pretty bad shape that day. I'd overdone my rehab and could barely move and you yelled at me for it. I think you spent an hour giving me hell in-between trips to the kitchen to get ice for me and the only thing I could think about was how blue your eyes are and how much I'd missed looking at them." Adam just couldn't resist it anymore. He lifted his head enough to press a sweet gentle kiss against Chris' mouth.

"I fell asleep while you were still yelling at me and when I woke up, you were still there. You did that sexy little growl thing that you do and started yelling all over again. I was half-awake and I remember making a comment about how cute you are when you are angry. Then you yelled at me for not paying attention to you when you were yelling at me." He couldn't help the quiet laugh the memory evoked. "Right then... right exactly then, I thought that I could listen to you yell at me forever and I would be quite happy doing it. Except that I'd already decided I wasn't going to get involved with anyone from the Fed again. And there was the fact that I didn't want to risk losing you as a friend when you couldn't possibly feel the same way about me. At least as your friend, I could have some small part of you."

"I said it last night even if I couldn't say it out loud. I accidentally blurted it out to Benoit earlier and almost gave the poor guy a heart attack. I was going to wait until this weekend to actually tell you so that you'd have time to get used to all my quirks and you'd have the chance to run if they scared you. Tonight... making love with you... I just couldn't hold it back anymore. I most definitely mean it. I love you, Chris."

****

God, what was he doing? Even for himself, Mark didn't have an answer. The brief glimpse of overwhelmed green eyes before they'd shut again, Jeff's hands on his shoulders, the weight of Jeff's body against his... it was too much. Too much temptation, too much unspoken emotion. The problem was, he didn't have any idea what emotion he was feeling---protective, hell yes. Possessive. Definitely lust for the younger man plastered against him. But he cared, cared that Jeff had been hurt, apparently in more ways than just physically, by this Richard guy and by the "Dom" that he'd mentioned in passing. How much did he care?

He really wasn't ready to examine that question too closely.

Instead, he focused on Jeff. The tiny tremours had stopped. That was good. His own anger was mostly gone, replaced by that weird, almost frightening mix of emotions. The prolonged silence was starting to worry him, though. Had he revealed too much with his unintentional statement? Or had he just confused the hell out of Hardy? Or maybe Jeff was interpreting it in a way he hadn't meant. Of course, he didn't _know_ how he'd meant it. It had slipped out of him before he realised it.

His own eyes drifted shut for a minute as he imprinted this moment in his memory. Just the two of them, alone and momentarily relaxed, Jeff in his arms... As he allowed himself to focus on that, Jeff moved.

The soft rub of Jeff's face against his was so unexpected. Mark's eyes snapped open again as he stared at the man in his arms who was rubbing against him almost like a cat. He was close enough to smell Jeff's hair, the odd mixture of shampoo and natural scent and something else that Mark couldn't quite identify sending a small shiver through his own body. The puff of breath against his jaw made him release a quiet sigh in return. The teasing almost-touch of lips against his ear added to the shiver he was feeling running down his spine and his arms tightened around Jeff as the softly breathed words threaded their way through the emotional maze he was caught in.

 _"You're mad, you have to be."_

Mad? Definitely. He had to be insane to be contemplating the things he was about the man in his arms; beside the huge age difference, this was the first time that Jeff had ever shown anything besides indifference and an odd reluctance to be too close to him. And it was so out of character for him to _be_ contemplating these sorts of things! He didn't do one-night stands or flings, and even if he did, Jeff had obviously been hurt by somebody in the fairly recent past; he couldn't be the one to add to that. But he couldn't seem to stop himself from thinking...

 _"Don't cause yourself even more trouble over me Mark."_

Was that Jeff's way of telling him to back off, that Jeff wasn't interested in him as anything but a mentor? But... the position they were in was so much closer than that of a trainer and trainee... Mark sucked in a breath as the realisation of the almost soundless syllable of his own name penetrated. That was the third time Jeff had said his name tonight. The first had been angry, defiant; the second, regretful. But this one...

Before he realised what he was doing, he'd raised one hand from the relative safety of Jeff's waist to run his fingers through the brightly-coloured hair, almost surprised at the softness of the dyed locks as he met those eyes again, almost wanting to lose himself in their depths. His voice was still deep as he spoke, not even knowing what he was going to say.

"Jeff..."

And he never would know, he reflected seconds later.

"Mark? Where the hell are you?" The nauseating voice carried down the hall, and Mark's head snapped up to see Heyman bending over at the end of the hall, picking up his discarded coat with a curious look. Dammit! With a regretful look at Jeff and one last caress to that oddly fascinating hair, he allowed the younger man to pull away, not any more eager than Jeff to have Heyman see them in that particular pose and draw all the wrong conclusions about them. Not that he gave a damn about _Heyman's_ opinion, but the entire locker room would know within minutes, and Mark wanted to spare Jeff as much trouble as he could. Stopping Jeff before he could get too far away, Mark locked eyes with him one more time.

"I'm sorry." For the attack, for the hurt Jeff had suffered, for his own confusing actions, for the interruption... Biting his tongue against those words, he said instead, "I have to go do my spot. Will you... wait for me?" He found himself almost holding his breath as he waited for the reply.

****

Benoit couldn't keep the grin off his face as he watched the monitors. Eddie hadn't been fond of the idea for this segment to start with, and watching the havoc he was wreaking by not following his instructions at all was one of the more entertaining things Chris had seen lately. Groaning as Eddie barely missed a couple of crew members when he came tearing through the back, crashing into a few more things on his way to the ring, Chris had to bite his lip when JBL was revealed in all his salad-covered glory on the ramp. This almost made up for his having to be at the Smackdown taping in the first place... almost.

Of course, if he hadn't been here, God only knows what Adam would've tried to get away with. He definitely would've skipped out on those X-rays at the very least... and Benoit would've been beside himself with worry once he found out what happened. So maybe it was better that he was here, even as boring as it was while he waited for his lover to make his reappearance and for the taping to end so that they could get the hell out of here. They had two entire days off together coming; precious time together that had been very rare lately to say the least, and they'd had to promise Vince some extra appearances in the upcoming weeks to get that much time off at the same time.

Benoit was looking forward to getting Eddie home alone, and not just for the sex. Just being able to be together, _at home_ , would be a wonderfully luxurious experience and he intended to enjoy every single minute of it. There were times that he couldn't wait until later in the summer when he'd be dropping the title, even as bitter as the thought was, considering the uphill battle he'd had to fight to get it in the first place. But without it, he'd have so much more time to himself... and more time to spend with Eddie, who'd be in the same situation by then.

Catching Orlando glaring at him from the sidelines as he waited by the monitors next to the gorilla position almost did make him laugh, but he caught himself in time and returned the glare with an amused gaze. His smile widened as Orlando dropped his gaze and hurried away. The kid had potential, but putting him into this long-term angle with Bradshaw was giving him a horrendous personality.

" _Mi corazon_!" The exuberant greeting and arm wrapping around his waist from behind caught him by surprise and he jumped, glaring at Eddie in a self-conscious response. The grin on his lover's face wiped his embarrassed annoyance away, though. Eddie rarely called him that in public, and he was obviously in a great mood; Chris wasn't about to let his own self-consciousness interfere with that. That grin had been too rare in the past few months for him to make Eddie feel bad about it now.

Forcing himself to ignore the semi-curious eyes of the other guys in the hall, he turned and awkwardly put his arm around Eddie's waist in return. The surprised look his lover gave him only served to make him feel bad; if that simple gesture was that out of character, he obviously needed to work on his issues with PDAs. Everyone backstage knew about them, after all; there was nothing to hide. Smiling crookedly at Eddie, Chris let himself lean into the other man's heat.

"Had fun, huh?"

The loud laugh in response made him chuckle, and Eddie nodded.

"Hell yeah. That stupid _pendejo_ had more than that coming to him, but at least I shook him up. I don't care about dropping the belt, but to _him_?" The disgust in his voice was evident, and Chris tightened his arm in sympathy. Eddie's fight to get that title had been even worse than his, and although Chris knew that Eddie cared about dropping the belt as little as he did, knowing that it would be to Bradshaw made it hard to swallow.

Edging them away from the center of the hallway, Chris cocked his head at Eddie and asked, "Well... let's not think about him tonight. What do you say to the thought of a private dinner, just the two of us?"

Eddie raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down with a salacious leer, waggling his eyebrows as he replied, "Sounds good, _ese_... if I get to choose my dessert afterward. I think I'm in the mood for something from a little farther north tonight. Canadian, actually. What do you say?"

His body responding to the tease even after long years of familiarity with Eddie's bad jokes, Chris shook his head, smiling a little. "Sounds good... as long as my dessert involves something from south of the border."

"Works for me. What say we go get a head start on our... plans... and get out of here early? I'll even pay the fine this time."

Their shared quiet laughter trailed after them as they headed down the hall, Chris for once not caring who saw them.

****

Chris felt the trembling in his hands suddenly get a hell of a lot worse as he waited for Adam's reply. He was probably gob-smacked that CJ had just gone off an emotional edge all over him... pun most definitely intended. Chris wasn't really worried, the man he loved hadn't just shoved him off the bed or anything so he was guessing that Adam still liked the idea of being naked in bed together. Just whether he really had meant those sexily gasped words from earlier was the real question, one-sided relationships could work... they just didn't often work very well, that's all.

About to open his mouth to continue babbling into the 'about to become painful' silence, Chris was stopped by the gentle touch of Adam's fingers on his cheekbone.

 _Shhh... I meant it. God, yes, I meant it._

With a deep sigh of relief he felt rise up from his very soul, Chris nuzzled his face into the warm, strong hands caressing him. Adam's sweet confession of doubt and denial he put mentally aside to be examined later, for just a moment he wanted to wallow in three simple words... he _meant_ it. Chris hadn't realised that he'd feel so dependent on Adam for his affection. Most of the time he was completely isolated from other people opinions and feelings about him, he took the adoration with the loathing as just part of life, it didn't matter because they didn't matter. Maybe that was the reason he'd taken so long to try something... anything... with the man beside him. Right from the start he'd been unable to ignore Adam's opinion of him, Adam's reaction. The tall, blond had got into CJ's heart without him even noticing, till last night's confessions in a hot alley and this evening's massive understatement of 'oh yeah... I love him'. He should have seen it coming, all along Chris had known that to become close to Mr. A. Copeland could be damaging... it could hurt.

Because Adam did _matter_ to Chris. He always had.

He guessed he was just damn lucky that he seemed to matter to Adam right back.

 _an hour giving me hell in-between trips to the kitchen to get ice for me_

Oh yeah, Chris remembered that little visit with not so fond memories. His little freak-out had started when Adam hadn't answered the door, even though his manager had said he'd be home all weekend. Chris had practically had to break into the place to find his friend in bed, pale and glaze-eyed, unable to move from the pain in his back and limbs. He'd been so scared that Adam had ruined his recovery that, of course, he been an angry little bastard for about nine hours. Chris didn't manage fear well.

Adam's gentle kiss mollified his remembered upset somewhat, so Chris shifted their positions slightly, while Adam explained what CJ had figured was some bizarre drug-induced mania, when his platonic friend of the time had told him he was cute. So Adam really had thought he was 'cute', most people thought he was psychotic when he was angry and they tended to step back several feet. Typical of the man called Edge that he'd think Chris spitting fire and insults was 'cute'.

 _I most definitely mean it. I love you Chris._

Thank God, thank God, thank God. Chris kissed Adam's fingers as they stroked his lower lip, then leaned in for another taste of his lover's sweet-hot mouth. Stroking his tongue over the ridge of Adam's teeth, Chris plunged in further, trying to grab every sensation of this moment, from the flavour of Adam's own exploring tongue, to the feel of their sweat and come streaked bodies sliding against each other. This was raw and hot and real and Chris was so gone in love with Adam, he knew he'd never want to get out.

Pulling back after long, languid minutes, Chris sat up slightly and began to tidy the minor wreck they'd made of the bed. It wasn't as bad as this morning's effort, Adam was injured after all, but CJ knew they had a long night ahead of them and wanted his lover to be as comfortable as possible.

Putting the caps back on the bottles of lube and oil respectively, Chris nudged them onto the floor, used a small, damp towel to clean off the residue of their lovemaking and tugged the sheets into a semblance of order. Dimming the bed-side light, Chris slid back into bed, pulled a pillow onto his lap and gentle maneuvered Adam's head onto the pillow. Letting his lover get as comfortable as possible with his bruising, CJ set the alarm on his mobile phone and began to comb his fingers through Adam's long, streaked hair. He kept his voice deep and soothing.

"Yeah Babe, I remember some total nit-wit deciding to add another two weeks to his down time by doing _three_ wasn't it? extra hours of rehab." Chris curled forward and dropped gentle kisses on Adam's closed eyelids. "Stupid, stupid fucker with less brains than a ring post, was my favorite expression that night, I think." Fingers caught a small knot, so Chris began to gently loosen the snarl. "Or maybe it was 'dumb sonofabitch who doesn't deserve to have people getting you ice unless you'd like me to stick it up your ass as a reminder how stupid you really are'." He finished with the tangle and returned to his gentle combing. "Although I grant you, I may have been channeling Steve at that point. He does grumpy bastard way better than me and that's saying something."

Chris sent his fingers into a light massage of Adam's scalp. "But I was so worried that you'd really hurt yourself Babe. When you fell asleep, I almost called your doctor to come over and check up on you, you were so wrecked." If Adam hadn't been almost asleep, Chris would have flicked a finger into his ear to remind him how stupid he'd been. "I was so worried because seeing you hurt like that shook me down to my bones Adam. Made me want to shake you for being an idiot but also wrap you in cotton wool and tie you to the bed till you got better. I should have known right then that I loved you Adam. I _never_ want to protect other people from their own idiocy, they can suffer for being stupid as far as I'm concerned. I must have been falling for you... I didn't want you to suffer my Love." Chris sat back and continued stroking Adam's brow, watching as his lover's breathing evened out.

"Even if you were a fucking idiot."

****

 _It's not quite as easy to get me to go down as..._

Hunter didn't even try to stop his disbelieving snort at _that_ statement. Not that he'd had any personal experience of trying to persuade his new lover into any sexual act... yet. But Shawn had a sufficient reputation that if even one tenth of it was true, he and Dave would be treated to an incredibly willing and fearless lover in the Heartbreaker. Hunt doubted he'd have to push Shawn into anything, from today's experiences it would seem to be the other way around. Hunt never thought _he'd_ be the shy one in a relationship. God help him.

 _I've never had the experience of getting him down under me for too long. God knows I've tried, but he's always ended up as the dominant one._

His chortling stopped in surprise at the words tumbling so confidently from Shawn's lips. Oh really? Since when had Shawn been trying to get on top of Hunter? Had he missed it? Most of their 'battles' of recent years did usually result in Hunter as victor, but that was because of creative, not any actual skill on Hunter's part. The few times they'd 'tussled' in a play fight had come out a draw. Normally with both of them too paralyzed with laughter to move, despite the encouragement they got from the sidelines. It was almost an urban myth back stage, the question that was on every rookie's lips when they looked at Shawn and Hunter goofing around, "Who's better?" Ask Hunt and he'd say 'Shawn' without hesitation. The thing was, he was pretty sure the reverse would be true if you asked HBK.

One day they'd have to get Benoit and Kurt to act as judges and just go to town during a practice session. Unfortunately Hunter would probably have to tie his dick down to survive an extended rumble with his lover without revealing the nature of their relationship in a _very_ obvious way. Sports cups could only manage so much after all.

The concept of being 'the dominant one' with Shawn sure as hell held a lot of appeal to Hunt right now though. Even if it was only because his lover let him do it, Hunter could certainly get into the role of Big Bad with the poor helpless Sexy Boy at his mercy. Hunt would find out if Shawn really did have those handcuffs he'd been teasing him about earlier and maybe he'd dig up a pair of those vinyl pants CJ had bought him as a joke. Hunter could do it... really. If he could just control his tendency to giggle-fits, he'd do just fine. 

Giggling was the last thing on Hunter's mind though, when Shawn shot him 'HBK Seduction Look No. 4' and squirmed around till he lounged back against Hunter like the bigger man was a comfortable arm chair. The hand on his thigh was a burning hot weight against his skin and Shawn's rump pushing into his groin as the man got settled was giving Hunter more ideas than just handcuffs and uncomfortable pants.

Blowing away a stray lock of honey hair that was attempting to become one with his eyelashes, Hunter squirmed a bit himself, pushing his hips against Shawn in a small thrust as he curled a arm around his lover's slim waist and pulled him closer. Wandering fingers found the hem of Shawn's t-shirt and delved under to stroke at the warm skin across Shawn's hip bone. He may not be as skilled at flirtation as his closest friend but Hunter wasn't a shy virgin either. Despite what his earlier 'issue' might have led them to believe.

Waiting for Shawn's next move, Hunter looked up at the third member of their trio and stifled a small growl at the hot, chocolate eyes trained on him. Did Dave also want to find out if Hunter could be kept down? Or was he picturing him as being as much a managing bully between the sheets as Hunt was in most other aspects of his life. He wasn't going to deny the definite thrill he felt at the idea of having Dave doing exactly as Hunter ordered. To have the power, beauty and nobility of the 'Animal' at his beck and call would be anyone's favorite sexual fantasy, let alone an actual possibility if Hunt played his cards right.

God, he seriously needed to have a conversation with Kevin if he was reading the situation right. Shawn and Dave... all his, to do with as he wanted. Damn. Now it wasn't just Shawn's ass getting attention from Hunter's groin, if his brain was going to keep acting as cheerleader then that hour couldn't pass soon enough.

 _Not that I've missed the obnoxious brat,_

Words in defense of Randy quickly sprang to Hunter's lips, but he didn't let them fall. Really, Dave's opinion was pretty spot on when it came to the behaviour of their young fourth. His arrogance and condescending attitude had created more than one headache for Hunter over the past year, but Hunt just knew in his gut there was more to the dumb punk than the guy let on. Randy had managed to get half the locker room off side and treated the rest like his personal servants. That some of the other young bucks though Randy was King of the 'It' crowd only served to lower most other opinions of the boy even further. He really wanted to smack Randy around the head a few times or lock him in a room with someone who he'd actually listen to for an hour. Pity was, the only one who could get him to act like a grown up was Ric, he was too intimidated by Dave to listen to the sense his lover spoke and far too in awe and obligated to Hunter to get near enough for a well-meaning lecture.

Maybe he could ask Shawn to talk to him... nahh. Shawn wouldn't have the patience to put up with Randy when he was being his usual arrogant prick self. And honestly... Hunter didn't like to inflict Randy on anybody, certainly not someone he loved. He doubted any man had the ability to get past Randy's ten-foot thick shields and see if there was anyone worth knowing underneath. The man would have to have a hide like a Rhinoceros to even get a genuine smile from the kid.

 _Is he even here tonight?_

Burying his nose in Shawn's hair, Hunter nuzzled his lover's warm skin.

"He's here." Shawn smelled all sweet and sleepy. "I saw him while doing my promo, he's hanging with Maven and acting like the devil himself was after him. Randy doesn't know many Smackdown guys so I'm guessing he pissed someone off and is playing least in sight. You know what?" Hunter looked back up and Dave and saw the same frustration the three of them must be feeling looking right back at him. "That's a fantastic idea, screw Vince, let's go."

Lifting Shawn easily up from the couch, Hunter playfully bit his lover's jeans clad ass as it passed his nose. Not hard of course. Just a little nip between friends. Ignoring the smaller blond's reaction, Hunter slid from the couch and went into packing mode. In about four minutes he had them ready to leave the arena.

"Greg'll have a car waiting and I have a surprise for us to get to." Handing Ric a small pile of paper's Hunter ran through anything that might come up that he'd be expected to handle. "Thanks Ric. If Vince asks, tell him I said I needed some time to think over his proposition. He'll know what I mean." And wouldn't he just wonder if Hunter was still as mad as he'd been in the office earlier. "Tell Steph she can reach me on the cell and we'll catch up tomorrow." Looking to his lovers for confirmation they wouldn't mind another visit with Stephanie, Hunt shouldered his gear bag and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Shall we?"

****

Glen growled and nodded at the technician that was giving him a look of sympathy. He and Sean had spent an hour or so in the guise of 'working out', though neither one of them had accomplished much of anything. Glen wasn't sure how he was supposed to bench press weights with Sean sitting on his stomach laughing at him. He'd retaliated by bench pressing Sean instead, his hands in very interesting positions. After their time in the gym, they'd once again stopped by the Evolution locker room at Sean's insistence only to find the door unlocked and the room empty. Sean had been pouting ever since. And now... Vince wanted to see him.

As they headed down the hallway from the monitor, where they'd been watching the segment with Eddie and 'Shaw, Glen noticed the concerned way that Sean was looking at him. Forcing a smile, though that was the last thing he felt like doing when he was heading to see Vince, Glen cuffed Sean lightly on the arm.

"Don't worry Sean. I'm sure it's something to do with the match Sunday. Maybe Adam can't work it and they're going to have to change the whole thing."

Sean grimaced and punched Glen back. "Terry is such a fuckup. I wonder if Vince canned his ass yet."

They walked the rest of the way without a word, each of them lost in thoughts of the incident in the afternoon. It had been surprising. It just wasn't something that happened in their business. Despite frequent brawls resulting in bruises and the occasional broken nose, there were few incidents where serious injuries occurred. Everyone was too mindful that another wrestler would be waiting to replace them if they caused problems backstage. Someone was always waiting to take a step up and injuring a co-worker was one of the quickest ways to get sent down. Pay per views were too important to risk losing a match because someone had a temper tantrum. Terry had either lost his mind or there was a much more serious issue between Adam and Terry than a few insults.

Glen knocked on Vince's door and heard a bellow in response. Poking his head around the door, he waited until Vince acknowledged him with a short nod. He walked in, Sean trailing slowly behind him.

"You wanted to see me, Vince?"

Vince hung up the phone he'd had pressed to his ear and turned, a scowl on his face when he realized that Glen wasn't alone. "Great! Just what I needed tonight... _another_ Clique member to deal with. What do you want Sean? Hunter and Shawn already threatened to quit tonight, Kevin and Scott were in here poking their noses in my business, and now you're here. So what is it? You want a title shot at the pay-per-view? You want to re-write the entire show? Maybe you'd just like me to hand my job over to you because you think you can do it better. Tell me Sean. I'd really like to know what I can do for you."

Sean stood for a moment with his mouth hanging open. What the hell was up Vince's ass tonight? Though he could see where Vince might be in a bad mood, considering what he'd just spilled. If Glen hadn't started growling just then, Sean might have burst into laughter.

"Dude, the only thing you can do for me is chill out. Here... to make that tough job easier, you deserve M&M candy." Sean grinned shamelessly as he tossed a bag of M&M's on Vince's desk.

Glen was looking at him like he was insane and Vince looked fit to burst. Sean had never seen him quite that shade of red before. Before Vince could start screaming, Glen's look of astonishment changed to a glare.

"I thought you put those back." Sean ducked his head and pouted.

"Are you both insane?" Vince yelled. He really wasn't looking a very healthy color at that moment. "What the hell do you two want?"

Glen turned to Vince and cocked his head to the side. "I don't want anything. You wanted to see me, at least that's what your lackey said. Sean just came along to keep me company."

As if someone had flipped a switch, Vince sank down in his seat and let out a loud sigh. "I'm sorry. Tonight's been... difficult." Vince rubbed his hands over his eyes. "I did want to see you about the match on Sunday. Adam has fractured ribs and a concussion, but he's insisting he can do the match. You're a safe worker Glen. What I need to know is... can you choke slam him and not aggravate his injuries or do I need to pull him from the match? I've already shortened the time he'll be in the ring. You'll come out earlier than planned for the interference and then Kevin and Scott will be introduced into the match as another team. He has the tag matches with Jericho coming up and then he's got the program with the IC title coming up. I can't afford to have him out long-term."

"I don't see a problem with the concussion. He can take the impact on his back, but depending on where the fractures are, it's probably going to hurt like hell. I'll do my best to plant him like a feather, Vince." Glen shrugged. He thought Adam was nuts for wanting to do the spot with fractured ribs, but he couldn't really blame him either... he'd do the same thing.

"Okay. We'll have the new sheets for you guys early Sunday then. You can go back to doing whatever it was that you two were doing," Vince said in dismissal, already turning to the papers on his desk.

"Hey, Vince?" Vince's head snapped up at Sean's words. "Are you going to..." Vince scowled when he noticed Sean pointing at the bag of candy on his desk, but Sean was interrupted by Glen grabbing his collar and dragging him towards the door.

Once the door closed, Vince reached for the yellow bag on the edge of the desk. "Yes, Sean. Yes I am," he said with a smile as he ripped open the bag. Popping a green candy into his mouth, Vince wondered what else could possibly happen yet tonight.

****

His name on Mark's lips, the deep smoky voice sending a delicious sizzle down to Jeff's toes, had him leaning even closer. To catch the words...to catch just the faintest touch....

 _Mark? Where the hell are you?_

"Oh fuck!" Jeff breathed into Mark's shoulder. But he wasn't sure if there wasn't equal portions relief and anger in his tone. He couldn't see Paul.E beyond 'Taker's massive shoulder, but Jeff was certain he couldn't let the horrible ToadMan see him all over Mark like this. That would be granting him too much ammunition against a man that Jeff was making it his personal mission in life to protect from Paul.E's lecherous advances.

And how exactly will you protect him from your own advances Jeffy Boy?

Ruthlessly ignoring his conscience for the moment, Jeff stepped back and away from Mark's comforting embrace. He couldn't allow himself to get too used to that touch, it would make him far more vulnerable than he was willing to admit. Tugging habitually at his cuffs and raking his fingers through his hair pulled Jeff back into a semblance of normality. Wiping away the smear of blood from his mouth and trying not to poke his tongue at his bruised lip probably didn't help much, but he was halfway there if Paul.E's nervous look was anything to go by.

 _I'm sorry._

Jeff shrugged like it didn't matter. So Undertaker was turning him down, it was only _the second time tonight_ for crying out loud. Although Jeff had to admit that offering himself up like some kind of job perk hadn't exactly been his natural mode of come-on. Normally he just checked to see if his 'possibility' was eyeing him up, then Jeff would climb into their lap and say 'where and when'. If he tried that with Mark he'd probably get his slutty little ass shoved across the room, but he was almost, _almost_  tempted. Just having those few brief moments in Mark's arms had given Jeff ideas he really shouldn't be contemplating... not if he wanted to earn the man's respect rather than his disdain.

But with 'Taker's apologetic words, Jeff figured that goose was certainly cooked and he better keep his nuzzling and groping to himself in the future. Mark had been more than polite both times Jeff had responded to him like a bitch in heat, but that might change. Might not, of course. Mark was still polite to Paul.E and that man was about as subtle as a train wreck. Jeff swore he'd kill himself before he ever drove 'Taker that far.

 _I have to go do my spot. Will you... wait for me?_

Yet still the man offered his hand to Jeff like he was someone worth saving! Oh no way was this Man Hardy going to be letting one Mark Calloway down any time soon. He'd smack his own mouth again before he let that happen.

Catlike, Jeff narrowed his eyes at the pudgy man hovering impatiently about ten feet from them. Their proximity to each other wasn't anything someone could raise an eyebrow over, but Paul.E had a sewer for a mind and Jeff didn't trust him an inch. Keeping his gaze on Heyman, as it seemed to freak him out just a little, Jeff replied to Mark with the cool air of someone who was readying for battle.

"Not just _wait_ for you 'Taker," No way was Paul.E gonna hear Jeff's use Mark's name. He couldn't say it without it having too much meaning for Jeff, witnesses just made him more vulnerable. "I'll be your _bodyguard_ , because you really, really need one Big Man." Shooting Mark a quick look to show his understanding of Mark's actions and his question, Jeff left the warmth of the tall man's presence and stomped over to Heyman.

He'd watched Stone Cold over the years, Jeff knew how to say 'Fuck You' with a walk.

"Hey Paul.E. You better be careful you don't get fingerprints on that," Jeff pulled Mark's coat from Heyman's hands with a fake, saccharine smile. "Undertaker's coat can't be all smudged now can it?" Without looking over his shoulder, Jeff handed the heavy black leather to Mark, knowing where the big man was by internal radar.

"You're on tonight aren't you Paul.E? That'll be good to see, you bring something to TV that's just never been there before. Don't you think so 'Taker?"

All the way to the black-out curtain Jeff kept up a stream of too-friendly comments and obscure insults that seemed to throw Paul.E right off his game. Good. The more rattled he was, the less likely he'd be to make any propositions to Mark while Jeff was there.

Reaching the curtain Jeff could hear the roar of the crowd in the arena. They knew Mark was about to show and were becoming more and more excited at the prospect. Jeff could sympathise. When Mark came into a room, he shared the fans' tendency to want to jump up and roar like an idiot.

But it wasn't Mark that caused Jeff's sudden stop and the faint tinge of red to climb his sharp cheekbones. That roar. The deafening noise of thousands of people yelling and screaming for the performers in the ring. It would be weeks, if not months, before Vince would allow him to step past the heavy black curtain in front of him, but that still didn't stop his reaction. Jeff hadn't realised how much he'd forgotten it...the feeling of being in the ring, the adrenalin rush that he'd get when he put his foot on the lower rung of a ladder and heard his name called by a thousand voices.

God, he missed it.


	55. Moods

  
Randy Orton wasn't the kind of young man that people messed with. But not because he was particularly street tough or dangerous looking, in fact his GQ style look was probably the least aggressive thing about him. People weren't even really intimidated by his height, nor his cut muscle build, certainly not in this business anyway. No. People, meaning other wrestlers and crew, tended to stay out of Randy's line of vision because he'd developed at a very tender age the ability to look at another human being like they were a small piece of dirt.

It was all about the tilt of the head, the almost-raised brow and an expression of such contempt, that he'd found more often than not made his victim want to smack his teeth in. When he'd been thirteen, he'd used it on the bully at school who'd teased Leslie for being fat. Randy had been a 'husky' boy himself at that age, but he'd learned enough about wrestling that when the bully had swung at him, Randy had kicked his feet out from under him and sat on his back till the older boy cried. It hadn't made Randy feel good to put the bully's face in the dirt, but when Leslie had gone with him to his Prom years later, he'd felt it had been worth the effort.

Two weeks after joining the WWE Randy had pulled out the 'Look' from storage and had welded it to his face. Not every one in the locker room was a bully by any stretch of the imagination, but his youth, last name and Vince's push had caused him enough grief in fourteen days that the 'Look' became his only defense. Give them a false reason to hate you and they won't pick one that's real, had been Randy's twisted logic. It worked with just about everyone. Randy Orton, Third Generation Superstar, Legend Killer, the next Rock was an arrogant prick and proud of it. Men like Benoit and Batista might hate his guts, but he was wrestling mid card at twenty-three for fuck's sake, so they could all just drop dead from jealousy for all he cared.

Sure... not like their opinions meant anything. Not really.

The only people willing to put up with his smug bastard routine were the guys on the food chain much lower than he was. They didn't care that he was mean to them, or that they didn't actually have any fun when they went out to a night club. Randy was one of the 'Beautiful People' and they were hanging on his coat tails to see how far he'd go. If they pulled him back to earth with them in the meantime well, there was always another young superstar looking for sycophants.

Even with his entourage of hangers-on, Randy still wasn't afforded any better treatment than most wrestlers. Only the miraculous patronage of Hunter had given him any cred backstage, and hadn't _that_ caused plenty of questioning looks from amongst those in the know. Mostly Randy's own eyes were wide with shock at Hunter's unexpected intervention on his part, becoming the third member of Evolution was something he'd never even hoped for, yet it had happened, giving credit to Randy's decision to play the prick while he was young enough to make something of it. Not like the great HBK hadn't pissed off a lot of people when he was the rising star, although, then there were people like Dwayne who were the definition of the word 'courtesy'.

Being courteous hadn't worked for him two years ago, why would it work now?

Did Randy regret his choice? Regret being perceived as an arrogant prat with an ego the size of California, rather than the half-way decent human being his beloved family still loved with all their massive hearts? Maybe, but he was stuck now. Lost in the person he'd become and unable to find a way to come out without risking everything he'd achieved. It was the calls home every other night that kept him sane these days, hearing his mother's voice discussing ordinary things like her cat's taunting of the neighbour's dog, that showed Randy he really was someone other than RKO.

Randy was playing 'asshole' right now as he watched Maven try and chat up Dawn Marie. The chick was having none of his bald friend and Randy was being silent witness to his friend's humiliation by not helping in the slightest. Sliding back the cuff of his outrageously expensive suit, Randy checked his watch through even more expensive sunglasses and inwardly cursed Hunter black and blue. He hadn't done anything in recent weeks to have warranted being locked out of the Evolution locker room, yet now he was. Three times he'd tried to put his gear in their shared room, and three times he'd found the door soundly bolted. Unable to find Ric, he'd dumped his gear back in his rental so no one would ask why he still had his bag, and tracked down Maven.

Keeping his glasses on, Randy worked on hiding his worry and hurt behind the tinted lenses. Why now would Hunt suddenly decide that Randy was _persona non grata_? Had someone finally pointed out that the son of Cowboy Bob wasn't worth the tarnish he was surely taking? Randy could think of no better explanation for Hunter's actions... except for... oh... last night...

What if he'd...Steve had said something... to Hunter and... and...

Feeling his iron-shod heart suddenly plunge to his shoes, Randy turned away from Maven's impending doom and made a beeline for the arena exit. Getting away was the only course left to him now. Without Hunter's protection there was very little Randy could put claim to in the WWE locker room. No real friends and a lot of people who wished him ill, no-one but Hunt and Ric had ever tried to reach Randy and now without them, no-one _ever_ would. A bed of his own making no doubt, and one it seemed he would just have to lie in.

'At least I had last night,' Randy thought at he walked away from his career. Despite the outcome, he still couldn't doubt it was worth walking across that bar and taking the biggest risk of his life.

Oh hell yeah, had it been worth it.

****

Chris' kiss was intoxicating. Akin to quaffing a shot of Crown Royal... smooth, sweet, warming with just a bit of bite at the end. No longer worried about the possibility of rejection, Adam took everything that Chris offered him with that slow passionate embrace. His senses were reeling as he lost himself in the sweet taste of Chris's mouth, the press of Chris' angular hip against his side, the warmth of his skin, and the scent of their lovemaking. As Chris finally pulled away, he listened to the rapid breaths blowing gently against his face.

He could have cared less about the mess they'd made, not wanting to let Chris leave the bed, but he held silent as Chris straightened the sheets and cleaned the mess. His ribs were starting to ache just a bit and he knew he'd prefer to be asleep once the pain medicine wore off. Truthfully he was feeling rather sleepy in any case.

Once Chris came back to the bed, Adam happily cuddled up to the pillow on Chris' lap. He smiled as Chris' fingers started combing through his hair. The actions were soothing, tugging him slowly towards sleep, as he listened to Chris' quiet words. The kisses to his eyelids he considered exceptionally sweet, even if the words Chris was speaking were less so. He remembered Chris' raging at him that day and even that brought a smile. Despite Chris' claim that he may have been channeling Austin, Adam knew that Chris had a unique talent when it came to giving someone a verbal ass chewing. He'd almost felt worse because Chris was upset with him that day than due to the pain he'd inflicted on himself. Granted the extra work hadn't been worth the misery he'd suffered, but having Chris stay with him that day had been.

 _"...When you fell asleep, I almost called your doctor to come over and check up on you, you were so wrecked."_

He'd had no clue at all that Chris had been that worried about his condition. Thankfully Chris hadn't called the doctor that day, though Adam had called himself the next day and rescheduled an earlier appointment. When the doctor told him he'd set back his recovery time, he'd called himself even worse names than Chris had. It had still been worth it though with the knowledge he'd gained that day.

As Chris' magical fingers led him even closer to the edge of sleep, he heard something about Chris wanting to tie him to the bed that day. Now wouldn't that have led to something interesting? At that point... most likely not. But now... maybe he'd suggest just that sometime in the future.

\----

Adam groaned as the insistent beep of an alarm rang through his aching head. Damn. That had to be worse torture than his actual injuries. He knew he needed to wake up every hour though he was sincerely unhappy about it. He turned his head and cursed into the pillow for a moment until his hand brushed warm skin and he remembered exactly where he was.

The beeping finally stopped and he heard a loud yawn. Turning onto his back once again, he peered up at Chris in the dimmed light of the room. "This really sucks," he said slowly as his eyes finally focused on Chris' sleepy face. "Adam Copeland, June 8th or 9th depending on what time it is, 2004, and we're in... Uniondale, New York. If I swear not to go comatose on you, do we _really_ have to do this every single hour?" With a sleepy yawn, he buried his face in the pillow and in essence in Chris' groin, but he was too aggravated to take advantage of that fact at the moment.

Yes he was acting like a complete grouch and he was well aware of it. How the hell did doctors expect a person to get any rest when they had to wake up every hour on the hour, be aware enough to answer stupid questions, and then try to fall back to sleep? It was absurd. He really hadn't been joking when he said that he made an awful patient. Hopefully Chris wouldn't want to dump him on his head.

****

Hunter's teasing little touches were unexpected, to say the least. Between the hip thrust that had Shawn very aware of Hunter's interest and the fingers rubbing caressingly against sensitive skin, Shawn could feel his temperature rising practically by the second. Judging from the expression on Dave's face, he wasn't the only one being affected, either.

 _"I just realized that Randy hasn't been in here at all tonight."_

Oops. Somehow, Shawn suspected that his locking of the door might've had something to do with it... and hadn't Dave unlocked the door to let Ric in? Hunt must've locked it behind him. He should probably feel bad for the kid... but the little prick was just so obnoxious that he really couldn't.

That thought really did make him feel bad for a minute; Randy was no worse than he had been in his younger years, and probably for similar reasons. Insecurities were nasty things that would come up and bite you on the ass at the worst possible moments, after all. Look at himself, earlier that afternoon. No matter how hard he tried, he'd always be insecure about his relationships. With his track record, who could blame him? Marty, Bret, Vince, Mark... and others. All had ended badly, most through his own actions.

Hunter's voice brought him out of his self-pitying thoughts before he could get buried in the familiar morass and he shook his head a little. Really, he should know better by now... and why dwell on thoughts of past failures when his future was looking him in the face?

 _"That's a fantastic idea, screw Vince, let's go."_

Biting his tongue against the totally inappropriate response that leapt to his lips, Shawn couldn't quite hide the yelp that escaped as Hunt's teeth nipped him in a very sensitive spot. He settled for a pouty glare as he turned around, rubbing his posterior, finding himself resenting Hunt's manhandling less as he recalled his lover's reaction to his "dominant" comment only moments earlier. He'd never thought Hunter would have any interest that way, but maybe...

Having learned early on to keep out of Hunter's way when he went into his turbo-mode, Shawn moved over to lean against Dave, settling back with a smile. Watching Hunter pack his clothes away was almost funny; the last time he'd witnessed Hunt doing this sort of thing for him had been during the DX days, and those memories always made him smile. Finally having Hunter within his grasp made the bittersweet overtones of most of those memories fade away. Although that reminded him... he needed to corner Hunter later about that drinking thing that Steph had mentioned. He was nearly positive that it had been in response to the infamous kiss, but he wanted to know for sure. That way he could make sure that it never happened again.

He nodded absently in response to Hunter's half-question about Stephanie; Dave might feel a little awkward around her, but the Billion Dollar Princess was close to Shawn's heart and he definitely wanted to spend some time catching up with her.

Just not tonight.

 _"Shall we?"_

"I'm ready whenever you are," Shawn answered immediately, taking a half-step away from Dave, still close enough to enjoy the contact when he slid an arm around the man's waist. Waving at Ric with a grin, he laughed out loud at the leer and wink that Flair gave him as they left.

Almost totally ignoring everyone else backstage, Shawn did take in the images of the expressions on their co-workers' faces as the three of them walked down the hallway, their body language probably screaming "RELATIONSHIP RIGHT HERE". The little half-smile just didn't seem to want to leave his lips, and he was just drawing breath to ask Hunter where they were actually heading when something interrupted his thoughts.

Or rather, someone.

Almost incredulously, Shawn watched Randy walk by at a fast pace, his head down, shoulders slumped... the newest Third Generation Superstar just _radiating_ depression. That wouldn't do. No matter how obnoxious he might find the kid, there was obviously something wrong here.

"Orton? Hey... Randy!" Shawn left the warm comfort of his lovers' arms with mild regret, but dropped a hand on Randy's shoulder to stop him. Orton spun around in surprise, his eyes wide and momentarily showing far more expression than Shawn could remember ever having seen in that face before. Taken aback by the upset and depression he saw there, he slipped almost instinctively into comfort mode.

"Hey... just wanted to apologise to you." The depression slid away, to be replaced by surprise.

"What for?" The almost surly response made Shawn's teeth grind, but he forced himself not to snap back.

"It's my fault you were locked out of Evolution's room tonight. At least, mostly mine," he amended with a glance back at Hunter, that little smile hovering on his lips again as he turned back to Randy. He'd promised himself to be discreet... here was his first chance to practice. "We had some things to... work out, tonight, and we needed the privacy. I'm afraid I completely forgot that there were two other people who were supposed to be sharing the room. Hence, my fault. I'm sorry."

He held out a hand to the younger man, rather impressed with his phrasing, and waited for a response. Hopefully the kid would stop looking quite so pissy, at least. Whatever was up, he obviously needed _someone_ to shake him out of it.

****

 _"...He's hanging with Maven and acting like the devil himself was after him."_

Dave rolled his eyes at this bit of information. Case in point... Randy hanging with Maven was for the benefit of one person only... Randy. Spending time with little toads that would kiss his ass seemed to be a habit for the youngest member of Evolution. Dave's immediate response to Hunter's next comment was who hadn't Randy pissed off with his attitude? He had thought on occasion about trying to talk to the kid, maybe trying to get him to tone down his arrogance, but Dave was pretty sure that Randy would ignore any advice he sought to give. Having been on the receiving end of more than one sneer when they'd first started working together, he had pretty much written Randy off as a lost cause.

 _"That's a fantastic idea, screw Vince, let's go."_

Dave couldn't help the fleeting grimace from crossing his face. The last thing in the world he wanted to think about was screwing Vince, in any context. The next moment he was covering his mouth to smother a snort of laughter at the indignant look on Shawn's face. Luckily Dave had already packed his bags upon his return earlier... the last thing he needed was Hunter poking his nose in them and discovering his own surprise for later. Watching as Hunter flew around the room packing any stray belongings, Dave smiled when Shawn leaned against him and gently settled an arm over Shawn's shoulder. He was more than ready to leave and spend a little bit of time with Shawn and Hunter... alone.

Ignoring the bit of color that flooded his cheeks upon mention of Stephanie, Dave nodded in response to Hunter's hint of a visit from the Princess. The only way he was going to get used to her forthright manner of asking personal details of their relationship was by proximity. He knew both Hunter and Shawn were crazy about her and he had a feeling if he could get past his embarrassment then he would be joining the Stephanie McMahon fan club as well. She already had his respect for standing up for Hunter and more so for what staying at Hunter's side during the confrontation with Vince had meant.

Dave didn’t miss the exchange between Shawn and Ric. Shaking his head, he pulled his sunglasses from the strap of his bag and slipped them on as they left the room. A rather silly grin on his face, he tossed his arm around Shawn's shoulders and ignored the reactions as they walked down the hall. He could hear the murmurs as they passed, but he found that he honestly didn't care. A look at Shawn showed he felt pretty much the same way. Hunter's expression wasn't as easy to interpret, but Dave hoped it wasn't going to be a problem. After what had happened with Vince tonight, he was half tempted to make a general announcement right there in the middle of the hall as a sort of huge FU to the boss.

Who ever would have thought that it would be thanks to Randy Orton that he didn't do so?

Dave honestly didn't notice him until Shawn was pulling away and calling Randy's name, but once he was aware of Orton's presence, he did notice that things weren't quite normal with 'Randall'. Hearing the beginning of Shawn's apology, Dave was almost to the point of seconding it until Randy's snide response. That had him bracing to knock Randy's teeth down his throat for taking that tone with Shawn, but he hid his annoyance behind a mask of bland indifference. Dave waited to see if Randy would accept the apology. If so then maybe he'd add his own. If he smarted off again, well then Dave might just be tempted to give him a small attitude adjustment

****

Randy had just reached the exit and stepped through when he heard a voice calling his name. Tensing instinctively, he calculated the likelihood of reaching his car before he was faced with his first little session of payback. Not that he couldn't handle anything physical they might throw at him, Randy doubted anyone would try something like that right here in the halls of the arena. The news of the furor caused by Rhyno had filtered to his ears an hour ago and the fallout from that was still rattling everyone's nerves. No. The first sign that he'd lost Hunter's favour would be purely verbal, likely designed to get Randy to throw the first punch. He knew exactly the kind of thing they'd say too. Not much could get that reaction from him, but he had one massive weakness where other wrestlers were concerned, he knew exactly what they would say.

 _just wanted to apologise to you_

Wha...?

The words struck Randy as particularly cruel considering the man who was speaking them to him and the company he was in. It was his first sighting of Batista and Hunter all night and he wasn't in the least surprised at the look on Batista's face. He didn't enjoy being regarded as something that would be scraped off the bottom of one's shoe, but Randy had honestly never had the balls to confront Dave face to face. Something about the man just screamed 'you are dirt' at Randy, so he did his absolute fucking best to live down to the expectation.

Then there was Shawn, beautiful golden HBK, who'd given Randy one of the greatest honours in his young life by feuding with him and treating it seriously. Shawn he could look in the eyes because he'd never try and impress Shawn, some things just weren't possible and Randy knew it.

Hunter... well... right now he had to pretend Hunt wasn't even there. He was Randy Freakin' Orton... he wasn't going to beg.

"What for?" His defensive asshole voice coming to the for to hide his sudden case of nerves and confusion. Seeing the expression on Batista's face darken even further, Randy almost regretted the tone. His mother had raised him better than _that_ , it was a slight to her for him to speak to Shawn with such rudeness. Before he could qualify his words, the other man continued,

 _I completely forgot that there were two other people who were supposed to be sharing the room. Hence, my fault. I'm sorry._

So it wasn't that Hunter had dropped him like a sack of shit after all? It had been personal stuff that Shawn had been dealing with and they'd just forgotten Randy existed. Okay. Randy was at a brief loss for words at the change in his world perspective. He'd been all ready to run home crying into his family's arms and now Shawn was saying it had nothing to do with him and... oh Jesus... was offering his hand like he wanted to be friends or something.

Somewhat in a daze, Randy pushed his sunglasses back on his short-cropped hair and took the older man's hand carefully. Batista still looked ready to rip out his lungs as use them as a hat, so he kept the grip short and as polite as humanly possible.

"That's okay Michaels, you don't have to..." shut up, shut up, "...it wasn't like I was hanging to get in anyway." Pretending he didn't see the irritated look the other brunet was shooting him, Randy dug his keys from his suit pocket and risked an assessing glance at Hunter.

"There's nothing for me here Hunt," and wasn't _that_ so tragically true. "I'm going back to the hotel to make a few calls. Should I come in before the Sunday run-through?" Randy hated the slight tinge of nerves he could hear in his voice, but he still didn't have his head round that fact that he wasn't being booted from Evolution. He'd arrange a meeting with the other guys in his match later that week, but other than that he was on his own for a few days. As usual.

Falling in step beside Helmsley, Randy sorted through anything else he'd wanted to ask his mentor tonight. With the locked door debacle and his nerves still simmering from last night, he'd forgotten anything he was supposed to be doing during this taping anyway. Lucky thing Vince didn't have him cutting a promo or he'd have been stuttering like a two-year old. Hunter's answer completely flew from his mind at the sight of the man leaning against his car.

Heavy duty boots, denim shorts, black t-shirt and ice blue eyes that could kill Randy with a look.

Austin.

****

He sat on a bench in a room in the back half of the arena. Hunched over, his elbows on his knees, and his fingers steepled in front of him, someone might almost think he was praying. Glancing through strands of the black hair hanging in his face towards the door where Patterson had just exited, praying was the last thing on his mind. Pat had suggested that delivering an apology to Adam might mitigate some of the wrath that had landed on his head. Terry'd be damned before he uttered so much as one word that might be construed as an apology. After all... this was all Adam's fault.

He knew that Vince was irate, had had to listen to the man yell at him for close to half an hour before the boss had stormed from the room after informing him that he would be informed of his punishment before the night was over. The punishment, Pat had told him just moments ago, would involve him being sent down to OVW for an undetermined amount of time. He'd been scheduled for TV time in the near future, plenty of it, but it had disappeared in the blink of an eye. That was Adam's fault as well.

He knew what people were thinking... Heyman had been more than happy to tell him during his diatribe that his co-workers thought it was a retaliation for the comments that Adam had made casting doubt on his manhood. They were wrong. So wrong. It went so much deeper than those snide little barbs that Adam had thrown at him. He'd heard the laughter, known they were laughing at him. And that was Adam's fault too.

Half the locker room was aware of what had happened during their breakup so many months ago, but none of them knew the truth. None of them knew how he'd suffered during their relationship. He'd known that Adam was enamored of Chris Jericho when they first got together. He'd even heard that Jericho was the reason Adam had severed his long standing relationship with 'Taker. But then Jericho had gone to Raw and he had figured he'd finally have a chance to have Adam. Sure enough they'd hooked up, but Adam had never looked at him as anything but a friend he fucked.

Terry had kept things light, never pushing for what he really wanted because he had hoped that Adam would realize he was meant to be with him and him alone. That hadn't happened.

When Adam had heard about the need for surgery, Terry had been there for him. He'd offered comfort, but where had it gotten him? Nowhere. They'd left the doctor's office and Adam had told him he needed some time alone. Terry understood that. The problem was that Adam hadn't spent that time alone. Terry had come back from a matinee movie to find Jay and that damned Chris Jericho at Adam's house. Chris had had his arm around Adam, whispering in his ear while Jay looked on. Despite the anger he'd felt at finding _him_ there, Terry had hidden it well, saying all the right things. Then two weeks later he'd stopped by Adam's once again after flying home from a show and found Chris there yet again, the two men sitting way too close together on the couch.

He'd slipped back out the door unseen and gone home to tear his living room apart. Somehow he'd just known that Adam was sleeping with Jericho. He hadn't let on when Adam had called and asked why he hadn't stopped by that night, just blamed his absence on fatigue. Inside he was raging. Why couldn't Adam see that Chris wasn't the one for him? Why couldn't Adam see how much he loved him?

He'd made the mistake of hooking up with Brock the next week. At first it had seemed like a good idea, a way to get back at Adam for cheating on him. He didn't find out until after the explosion at the show when Adam had shown up in his soft collar that Adam hadn't been with Chris in that way at all. That night he'd been angry with Adam for coming without warning him. He hadn't intended to get caught with Brock, despite the fact that it was his way of paying Adam back for Chris. That night he had wanted Adam to hurt like he'd been hurting.

When he'd found out that the affair between Chris and Adam hadn't been a fact but just an assumption on his part, it was too late. Adam wouldn't return his calls. Terry had given him time to get over his anger with the hope that Adam would take him back... someday.

Then they'd both been assigned to Raw. Terry tried gaining Adam's attention. Granted it was a schoolyard method, like the bully pulling the little girl's pigtails, but he kept hoping that Adam would break down and talk to him if he kept throwing himself out there. Internally he fumed at the fact that Adam would rather spend his nights with complete strangers than give him another chance, but he still hadn't lost hope. Until tonight. That was something else to lay at Adam's feet.

As soon as he'd seen the two of them together, he'd known. Adam had finally gotten the courage to go after the little hussy. And for that Adam had to pay. He had wanted to take out Jericho... something that he knew would cause Adam the most pain, pain like he was suffering... but he'd known that Adam wasn't making idle threats. If he'd gone after Jericho, Adam would have flat out killed him.

That Adam cared that much for someone else instead of Terry was the reason he'd had to pay. And it wasn't over yet. Regardless of the fact that he couldn't inflict more pain on Adam himself, he would find a way to do it. He'd have liked to go after Jericho, but Terry knew that the men working with Chris in the near future wouldn't fall in with his plans. Oh no. Dave and Glen were beyond his means and neither would agree to help him. He needed someone he could get to, someone he could find something on.

His smile would have scared anyone who chanced to see it. He knew just who he could get to. All he needed was to find one of the kid's little lackeys and get his phone number. He knew that security was waiting for him right outside the doorway. If luck were on his side, he'd be able to find Maven in the locker room when he went in to pick up his gear. Maven... he was scared of the man known as Rhyno.

****

Hunter had spotted Randy at the same moment as Shawn and was truly shocked at the dejected air radiating from the youth. When Hunt had seem him earlier, Randy was looking a bit harried, but not this all-pervading gloom that was, he could see, pulling Shawn in a like a magnet. While his lover explained the dressing room situation, Hunter hung back a little. He wasn't unaware of the affect he had on the younger man, Randy's deferential behaviour being the most obvious clue, but Hunter had hoped he could nudge the kid into thinking of him as a friend rather than some kind of protector in the locker room.

Problem was, Hunt had filled the 'protector' roll far more often than he might have liked. When it all boiled down to it, Hunter blamed himself for Randy's attitude. He'd been such a friendly kid when they'd first been introduced and Hunter had been pleased to see such a talented son from the Orton blood. Unfortunately, Hunter had then lived through two weeks of hell with other issues and by the time he'd looked up Randy had been lost in the garbage of back-stage politics. The quiet dinner he'd had with Bob Orton had made Hunter feel worse then the heel he played on TV. The man's worry for his son's sudden attitude shift reminding Hunter of his own first weeks in a pro locker room and the friendships he'd found with a certain group of men that probably kept him sane.

Never physical, oh no, Shawn, Steve, Mick, Hunter and Mark had firmly destroyed any remnant of _that_ kind of backstage shit. Rumours of casting couches and 'pet' wrestlers were a thing of the awful past, but that hadn't stopped Randy 'Golden Boy' Orton getting his own form of hazing when he'd first moved up into the big leagues. By the time Hunter had waded in and pulled Randy under his wing it was too late. That friendly kid who'd addressed everyone as 'Sir' was gone, swallowed by the sneering, arrogant punk who treated everyone, even the decent guys like Jericho and Angle, who'd never looked twice at him, like dirt.

While a gilded place as the new WWE Golden Boy was a hell of a better start than most kids his age got, it had its major share of drawbacks too. Hunter had squashed every rumour he'd heard with an iron heel but it hadn't stopped the general opinion on the younger Orton being one of intense nepotistic favouritism. Sometimes Hunt just wanted to yell at them all 'give the kid a fuckin' chance' but he knew it would fall on deaf ears. No one had more than _one_ real chance at the WWE; it was just a pity that most of the guys thought Randy didn't even deserve that one.

Well Hunter had certainly given his personal FU to the hordes with his future plans, hadn't he? Falling in nicely with Brock's usual metal capacity, he'd been able to push Randy's title chance as an actual possibility rather than some 'yeah right' fancy of Hunter's imagination. Hell, no-one, not even Hunter, thought Orton could handle being on top of the mountain for a long run. But to give him a taste, a reward for being unashamed to learn, well, it certainly wasn't a _bad_ idea. If he could just convince his father-in-law and 'creative' to hold their collective bladders for more than five minutes then he'd be proved right. The only problem would be if they all ran scared and pulled the title off Randy too soon.

Still, Hunter had persisted, bringing Ric into the situation as someone who could get away with just about any kind of behaviour and still be loved for it. If anyone could get Randy to lighten up and forgive people their stupid pranks, then it would be Ric. Recently Hunter had thought there was a break in the supercilious mask that even he found he wanted to smack at times. But if the unhappy young man walking past them was any indication, then Hunt just had another set-back with his personal reclamation project.

God, it would be so much easier if he had some help. But Randy had just about pissed off every human being in the WWE, so there would likely be no-one stepping up to the plate any time soon. Except maybe Shawn, who was being nicer to the kid than Randy probably deserved, given his tone.

 _Should I come in before the Sunday run-through?_

Well Hunter certainly wasn't. But then, he had the luxury of spending the next five days with his opponent, he'd have hours and hours to talk with Shawn about their little gore fest on Sunday, Randy wasn't so gifted. But this time Hunt would leave it up to the kid to decide if he wanted to do extra work. The guy hardly needed any more time in the gym, good way for him to let out his frustration that it was, but maybe the company of people other than his cronies was a good idea.

"Nah, don't bother. But I'd set up a meeting with the guys from Sunday and Monday though. Pay per views always need more talk than just a TV match." It was a direct quote from Bret Hart that one and there was a man who definitely knew his craft.

Although Hunter doubted Randy had heard his words given the pole-axed expression on his face. Following his gaze Hunter looked at the man leaning against what looked like Randy's rental car.

Now _there_ was someone who could straighten the youth out.

If Randy wasn't killed in the process.

****

Steve was almost chewing his own hand off in frustration by the time he finally gave up and headed for the car park. He'd looked in literally forty rooms while stalking the back stage area and found his erstwhile lover of last night in exactly none of them. He'd catch little echoes of Randy's presence like a scent on a breeze, or more accurately, a peeved expression and some cursing, but the theory was sound. What he didn't get was why the kid was racing around the back stage area like some demon was after him. Austin didn't consider himself _that_  mean looking, or that his performance last night had been so bad that the kid was actually hiding from him. But ya never know.

He'd even tried to talk to Maven twice, the guy being the closest thing to a friend Steve could see Randy had. Each time the bald, young Tough Enough winner had been trying to get Dawn Marie into the sack and had tried to avoid conversation with Austin as being a cramp to his style. Steve would have suggested that staring at something other than her tits might have improved his chances with the beautiful Diva somewhat, but nahhh... Maven hadn't helped him with _his_ love life any, answering Austin's demands about Orton's whereabouts with a careless wave and the words 'Somewhere around, I guess.'

Austin had refrained from beating Maven's teeth in, but only by a degree, instead directing his frustration against several plastic plants that someone in Arena Management had decided were appropriate at a sports venue. 'Cos most pro athletes went in for some foliage when they were feeling cranky... shyeah right. Staring at the handful of completely unrealistic leaves in his hand, Steve felt like giving up and going home.

Despite what Copeland had said, he really had no evidence to think that Randy wanted more from Steve than a hot fuck and his non-existent pull back stage. He should probably have someone tell the kid that Vince had stopped listening to him years ago and the best he'd get from dating Stone Cold was a constant demand for sex and an unlimited supply of beer. Okay. He had one idea left and if it didn't work out he'd head back to the hotel and sulk. And drink.

Pushing open the door to the staff car park, Steve looked over the array of vehicles and tried to guess the make and model Randy would rent. Despite his initial sexual attraction to the kid, Steve knew very little about Randy's taste except that it seemed to be a lot like a mini Hunter.

Ahhh... yeah. That would be it.

Lifting one butt cheek to rest on the hood of a stylish champagne-coloured sedan, Austin crossed his arms across his chest and began to rehearse what he say in his head. Randy had to leave the arena sometime and when he did, Austin would pounce.

He just hoped he had the right car.

\----

Thirty seven minutes later, the object of Steve's lust finally walked out the exit. Hip coming off the car, Austin was stunned by Randy's slumped shoulders and morose expression. Randy never slumped. He must have mastered the 'cocky sonofabitch' walk at the age of five for fuck's sake and Steve had to suppress the very real urge to find the person responsible for that slump and tear them a new one.

His ass returned to the car, however, when he saw the three men following immediately on Randy's tail. Stopping to watch the conversation taking place, Steve was amused by the look of total shock on the kid's face at whatever Michaels had to be saying to him. The handshake caused Steve's eyebrows to climb but not the almost sympathetic look on Shawn's face. Batista's expression was identical to one of many he'd seen tonight in Randy's wake, while Hunt looked like he was torn between hugging the kid and ringing his neck.

He saw the moment when Randy spotted him. The look of absolute horror on the handsome features was enough to send a disappointed pang through Steve's heart. Okay well. He'd come out here to have his say and Randy was just gonna have to listen to him if Steve had to tie him to the car to do it.

Strolling over to the group, Austin exchanged a nod with Shawn and Dave, then took a solid grip on Randy's elbow and looked Hunter in the eye.

"Don't mind if I borrow this do ya Hunt? I won't break him."

****

 _"So how 'bout a few more details on what Hunter and Dave had to say?"_

Reclining his seat a few degrees, Kev shook his head at his lover's curiousity. He should've known that Scott wouldn't be satisfied with the brief rundown he'd given him earlier, but he'd almost been hoping to avoid the details. Walking in on that particular scene wouldn't have been his first choice if he'd known ahead of time what they'd be interrupting.

"Well... interesting is one word for it. I really wish I hadn't teased Mark into going to the locker room, though." Tilting his head back against the seat, Kevin let his eyes drift shut for a minute, remembering the scene. "Mark knocked and then opened the door, since it wasn't locked. I should remember to tell Hunt to lock the door from now on, I think, if they can't tone it down," he added almost as an afterthought. "Hunt and Dave were kissing... god, Scotty, you should've seen 'em. Mark... well, I always knew he still cared about Shawn, and he definitely showed that tonight."

Opening his eyes again, he turned to look at Scott, letting one hand fall on Scott's knee. He had no intentions of teasing Scotty too much on the drive back to the hotel; his lover was at least as wound up as he was, after the day they'd spent teasing each other, but he couldn't _not_ touch him, either. Letting his fingers gently knead Scott's leg, he frowned a little as he remembered the look on Mark's face.

"So, Mark sees them and just loses it. For him, anyway. Demands to know what they're doing, and they practically jump apart, Hunt putting himself in between Dave and Mark like he's going to protect him. Mark made some comment about whether or not they'd waited for Shawn to leave before stabbing him in the back... I still wonder how he had any clue about Shawn and Dave, too.

"Anyway, him and Hunt had some rather not-so-nice words about who actually cared for Shawn, and then Dave started in. After he made some snarky comments about Mark dumping Shawn---him and Shawn must've talked about some interesting things themselves last night, for him to know that---he said that he loved Shawn. Well, actually, he said that _they_ loved Shawn. Went off about people interrupting them and assuming things, and then declared that he loved Shawn and Hunter... then turned around and said it to Hunter directly." Kevin sighed. "He'd pretty obviously not said anything about it before, which just makes me feel like a heel for interrupting a moment that pretty obviously meant a lot to both of them."

"So... that's pretty much it for details, Scott. Dave walked out after that and then Benoit came to get me to go talk to Vince. Hopefully Hunter and Mark managed to actually play nice, which, since I didn't hear any further explosions tonight, I'll assume is what happened. I'm sure Shawn'll appreciate if they did, since they've always had issues with each other." Because of him, Kevin carefully didn't add. Both he and Scott knew most of that story, but neither of them had all the details and probably never would, given the natures of the two men involved.

Glancing out the window, he smiled and pulled his seat up straight up again as they pulled into the hotel parking lot. He was almost grateful, since if he had to beat himself up over interrupting that moment any more, he'd give himself a headache. Besides, he had better things to think about at this point. Giving Scott a sultry look as they parked, he asked, "So, Bad Guy... got any plans for tonight?"

****

Biting back his urge to break Heyman in half, Mark ignored the greasy little jackass as he watched Jeff's face. He could see the withdrawal, the normal cocky attitude sliding back into place over that momentary glimpse of vulnerability and... something else that Mark couldn't put his finger on. Watching the cool mask fall over Jeff's expressive face made something inside hurt a little, but he forced the feeling back. He had no right. Not to care for the man in front of him, and certainly not to assume---or even hope---that the caring might be returned. Certainly the business-like man he was looking at now gave no hint of any such feeling.

 _"Not just_ wait _for you 'Taker..."_

Back to his stage name. Back to counting on one hand the number of times Jeff had called him by his real name. That last time, though... there'd been something... Huffing a little at himself, he brought his mind back to the present, not letting his thoughts dwell on the odd undertones of promise in Jeff's voice. 

 _"I'll be your_ bodyguard, _because you really, really need one Big Man."_

Bodyguard? Hah. The images his mind kept throwing at him had nothing to do with Jeff being a bodyguard... although quite a bit to do with bodies. Watching with some amusement this time as Jeff played his little game with Heyman, he understood at least the idea of what Hardy was doing. Trying to act like nothing was wrong, like the "deal" they had was that he watch Mark's back against any possible spot of controversy or scandal... well, if it kept Heyman off his back and Jeff around, he could live with it. The next two months were going to be hell, though, if tonight was any indication. They had to learn to communicate with each other at least a little bit, and it was pretty damned obvious that somewhere along the line their wires had gotten crossed.

Stepping up behind Jeff, he wasn't surprised somehow when Jeff handed him his coat without even looking. His own sensitivity to the other man's presence had gone up tonight, and apparently it was mutual. What that might mean was something he'd have to worry about later. Right now, he had a job to do.

 _"Don't you think so 'Taker?"_

He smiled a little, his hand lingering against Jeff's for a brief moment before he shrugged the coat on, following a step behind Jeff and Heyman as they walked to the curtains. Heyman's pace was quick, nervous; Jeff's confusion tactics seemed to be working on him. Too bad they were working on Mark, too. Stopping as Heyman went out, he looked at Jeff, wanting to say _something_... but found the words stuck as he took in the slight flush and almost longing expression on the younger man's face. He recognised the look. He'd felt the same way, more than once.

Allowing himself the moment of weakness, he put a hand on Jeff's shoulder, feeling uncharacteristically awkward as he spoke. "It'll be yours again, Jeff. I promise." Squeezing slightly before letting his hand slide away with almost a caressing motion, he cursed himself at the look on Jeff's face. He could hear Heyman's voice squeaking in the background as they looked at each other, and heard the first cue.

Shrugging slightly, hoping Jeff would understand---but how could he, when Mark didn't understand himself, tonight?---he stepped back, his eyes closing for a minute as he let The Undertaker come out, flow through him. His back straightened slightly, his eyes drifted open, and he twitched his coat into straight lines as he turned toward the curtain. The gong struck. Counting the beats, he nodded slightly to himself, then stepped out through the curtain, the flashing of lights through the enveloping darkness almost blinding him, and walked down the ramp.


	56. Theatrics

_"I should remember to tell Hunt to lock the door from now on, I think, if they can't tone it down"_

Scott grinned despite the seriousness of what he sensed was coming. Tone it down? Something that not a single one of them was good at if they were at all honest. Dave he wasn't sure about, but only because the man seemed to be so sedate and controlled all the time. Somehow he suspected that with Hunter and Shawn's help that wouldn't be the case for very long. He could imagine the scene that Kevin had described even without a bunch of details. His very fertile mind was more than happy to supply a picture for him until Kevin's hand dropped onto his leg. Despite his momentary worry about wandering hands, he found Kevin's touch to be more the soothing sort than the sort meant to arouse.

With little effort at all, Scott could picture Hunter playing protective of Batista. Not that Dave would need protection, but it was just Hunter's nature to try to do so. Scott was semi-curious about how Mark had found out about Shawn and Dave as well, but wouldn't linger on the question. Anyone who'd seen the two together since last night could have told him with the tension that had been radiating between the two men. It could have been anyone from either roster. He winced as Kevin talked about Dave's comments about Mark dumping Shawn. That had to have hit a nerve with their friend. Having known about Shawn's feelings for Hunter for a very long time, Scott could well imagine why Mark had initiated a split between him and Shawn, not that either man had ever confirmed it. He doubted that they ever would...at least in regards to anyone but maybe Hunter.

 _"...Which just makes me feel like a heel for interrupting a moment that pretty obviously meant a lot to both of them."_

Ouch. Scott could feel Kevin's regret at being a witness to that moment. In a way he couldn't blame Dave for being just a little bit pissed. He would have reacted the same way if he'd been interrupted the first time he had told Kevin he loved him. Of course Kevin hadn't believed him the first time he'd said it, but that was another story entirely. Scott was however happy to hear that Dave's feelings extended to both men. They'd had their suspicions, of course, but having it confirmed was comforting. He'd love to be a fly on the wall when Dave told Shawn of his feelings. Shawn would be over the moon... and wasn't it about damn time?

Scott was glad that Dave had chosen walking out over the alternatives. Hunter and Mark... well, they hadn't killed each other or they would have heard about it. Hopefully they managed to put Shawn's feelings ahead of theirs and worked things out so that they could at least be civil.

As he pulled into the parking lot and put the car in park, Scott was already anticipating the moment they could be alone in their room. Kevin was obviously feeling bad about his part in what had happened, but Scott figured that just maybe it had been for the best to get things out in the open. Dave and Mark would eventually have to talk and work things out for Shawn's benefit, if not under their own power then with a little prodding. Now all he had to do was take Kevin's mind off of what had happened.

 _"So, Bad Guy... got any plans for tonight?"_

Scott smiled as he took in the look Kevin was sending him. Did he have plans for tonight? Oh yeah, he did. Plans that included a lingering discussion on the merits of Kevin's mouth, with demonstration. Not that he was going to admit to that at the moment. Running his tongue slowly along his lower lip, he shook his head. "Nothing concrete, babe. I figured we could play it by ear. Maybe find something to nibble on."

Climbing out of the car, he walked around to Kevin's side of the car and waited for him to exit as well. Wrapping an arm securely around his lover's waist, Scott leveled a seriously heated look on the man. Letting his seriousness melt into playfulness, Scott smirked as he looked up at Kevin. "Actually now that I'm thinking about it, I've got a definite craving for dessert right now. Something sweet... say something like a... crème puff." With that, Scott turned and ran for the entrance to the hotel knowing that Kevin wouldn't be far behind him.

****

Jeff could literally feel the noise from the arena pulse along the floor and up into his body via the souls of his feet. The black-out curtain was shining with a bluish radiance as the pop of a thousand camera flashes went off simultaneously. He knew that the strobe of light would last for the next few minutes as the Undertaker's theme music echoed from the walls. Letting his eyelids flutter shut, Jeff imagined the scene on the other side of the curtain.

Like lightning strikes, the white bursts would illuminate the ring, the ramp and the phenomenal man at the top. Everyone in the audience would have their attention riveted on Mark Calloway, a.k.a. The Undertaker. Slowly he'd stride to the ring, all eyes on his hat, long black coat and commanding face. Such a fucking awesome entrance and Jeff would swear black and blue that there would _never_ be another one like it. He'd had those well-known chills while he'd watched 'Taker's old school return at WMXX and like everyone else had been flushed with excitement at the Return of the Phenom. So his flushes had had a little more heat than some at the sight of a refreshed and damn gorgeous Mark prowling around the ring like he owned it, but then... he was only human.

Unfortunately the images behind Jeff's eyelids were tarnished by the presence of Paul.E being anywhere near Mark, but his bodyguard excuse could only go so far. Mark had done a pretty good job of keeping Heyman's hands to himself without Jeff, that he'd just have to hope the ToadMan would mind his manners in the ring. He figured that would tip even Mark's legendarily even temper over, TV audience or no.

The warm sensation on the skin of his shoulder reminded Jeff of Mark's parting words and the curious understanding he'd seen in those deep emerald orbs. Would it be his again, the adrenaline rush that put a junkie to shame and the sense of belonging he felt even when all alone in that ring? God he hoped so. Mark had given him the chance... okay, okay Vince had too... but Jeff would fixate on Mark's part in his resurrection rather than his boss's... and Jeff could make all the vows in the world, but he would really have to get his ass in gear if he ever wanted to see an arena crowd from the other side of the curtain.

"Hey Hardy!"

Jeff spun around and opened his eyes at the call of his name. Grinning at the crew man who had just walked past, Jeff called a 'Hi' in return and shook his head in wonderment. Although he shouldn't be surprised really, in the fishbowl universe of back stage, news traveled extremely fast and it wasn't as if Jeff could blend in with the scenery. What was a bit of a shock was the half-dozen or so acknowledgments and greetings he received while standing guard at the curtain. No one asked why he was at the entrance to the stage area, but people had given up trying to figure Hardy out years ago and they probably just chalked it up to another one of his 'things'.

Throwing out a smirk or two also got a happy response and Jeff realised that in the time before he left... or was pushed... he hadn't been smiling much at anybody. He could blame Dom for that little fact, along with some other things that didn't matter anymore. What mattered in the here and now was Jeff's contract, his chance to be back on TV, his brother and Mark. And not necessarily in that order.

Another roar and the sudden churn of music clued Jeff in to the end of the spot. He had no idea of the run sheet for tonight and didn't know if Mark would be able to leave now or what... but he really, really hoped so. In the last ten minutes the back-stage area had quieted down completely. Most of the talent had taken off in one direction or another and the crew who had to be here were going about their work with determined efficiency. _Everyone_ hated to stay late, so people generally got their job done as quickly as possible, there was plenty of time for pissing around before a show when the waiting could kill you. After a show however was all speed ahead and then some.

Seeing the curtain flick back, Jeff moved three steps away to see who it was and give them some space. The pumped up feeling from performing would be coursing through both men's veins and Jeff really didn't want to be anywhere near a hyper Paul.E Heyman.

Now Mark Calloway on the other hand...

Well, Jeff better chill _that_ kind of thought out right now. If he was permitted to tag along with the man back to hotel for a while, then he'd better be on his best behaviour. He needed Mark more than words could say and trying his luck a third time tonight would probably lose him everything.

And that just wasn't a chance Jeff was willing to take.

****

Aware of Dave's frown from just behind him, Shawn watched as Randy shifted from "totally depressed" to "shocked but pretending to be fine". What the hell? Had him being locked out of the room freaked the kid out that much? Hmm. From the looks of it, it had... but there had to be more going on here. Randy put on a great show of "arrogant sonofabitch", but Shawn was too familiar with that particular brand of cockiness not to see through it. It didn't mean that Orton Jr. didn't piss him off on a regular basis, but he was a great worker and Shawn was fairly sure he knew where a lot of that attitude came from.

Unfortunately, he also knew where a lot of it had to go... and only one person was going to get rid of it: the one wearing it. The unsure grip on his hand communicated more than Randy realised, undoubtedly. The half-hearted acceptance left him caught between wanting to growl at the kid and wanting to laugh at him; sadly, he was pretty sure that the growl would go over better.

Stepping backwards as Randy pulled his hand away, he smiled faintly as Dave's arms closed almost immediately around him again. There hadn't been any overwhelming emotional declarations for at least the last hour, which was probably a good thing, considering how the last few had gone. They'd been together less than a day, and it really wasn't a great idea to make assumptions about the way their complex relationship was going... but he already knew that he was falling for the Animal. He wasn't about to say anything involving the "l" word yet, but after their time together before and after the little scene with Vince, he suspected that word was going to come up a hell of a lot sooner than he'd thought it would.

 _"Pay-per-views always need more talk than just a TV match."_

Eyebrows raising, Shawn cast a sidelong look at Hunt as they walked through the garage, somewhat startled to hear those words out of his lover's mouth. Immediately recognisable, at least to him, he was fairly sure that only a handful of others backstage would know Bret's words. Randy was sure to assume that it was a gem of wisdom from The Game's mouth, which was fine, since it was good advice. It was just surprising to hear Hunter, who'd _never_ been fond of Bret, to put it mildly, quote the man. Bret Hart was a genius... to use a modern-day co-worker's phrase, he was "a wrestling god", and Shawn had immense respect for him for that.

Too bad his own personal experiences with him had left him so soured on the rest of the person behind the name. The asshole had always said that Shawn would never find happiness because he was too shallow and too arrogant for anyone to love... look who was alone now. Shrugging slightly, he refused to let himself dwell on those thoughts; the strong arm around him reminded him that he didn't need to bury himself in bitterness any more.

The pause as Hunter looked past them caught his attention and dragged him back to the present. Glancing over to follow Hunt's gaze, Shawn's eyebrows raised again as he saw Steve leaning against Randy's car.

That was interesting.

Looking back at the kid, Orton was clearly caught between a strong desire to run and... fascination? Hmmmm. He sure couldn't seem to pull his eyes away from the Rattlesnake as Austin approached. Even as stiff as Orton's body was in his surprise, there was some kind of... pull there. And Shawn hadn't seen that sort of expression on Steve's face since... well... ever.

That was even more interesting.

 _"I won't break him."_

Biting back a sudden urge to warn Austin how close he probably was to doing just that, Shawn instead watched them as Austin led Randy back to his car before stopping and speaking to him in a low voice. No way in _hell_ could his suspicions be right... could they? But the body language was all _over_ the place, practically screaming at anyone who was paying attention. Whatever had happened, Steve wasn't too happy with its conclusion and Randy was just about scared stiff of talking to the Rattlesnake, that was obvious.

Before his staring caught their attention, he felt a finger tap him on the shoulder and turned his head to see Hunter smirking at him, shaking his head.

"Oh, hush, Hunter. There's nothing wrong with watching," Shawn answered the unspoken comment with a smirk. "Now... weren't we supposed to be _leaving_ this place?" Pulling Dave behind him, he started toward their car. To hell with everybody else... he wasn't stopping for _anybody_ this time.

****

Luckily for him, Randy managed to drop the attitude, at least for a moment or two. Dave looked on as he shook hands with Shawn. Good. He really didn't want to be on the outs with someone he was supposed to be tagging with on the show Monday, but he wasn't about to let Randy get mouthy with Shawn either.

As soon as the handshake was completed, Dave moved forward and put his arms around Shawn, almost daring Randy to make a comment. If he was going to use Evolution's locker room in the future, it was a sight he'd have to get used to eventually.

 _"But I'd set up a meeting with the guys from Sunday and Monday though."_

Dave almost groaned. He really didn't want to spend any of his off-time conferring with Randy. Since he was only working the Monday night TV match then maybe they could just work things out on Sunday before the pay-per-view. Dave honestly doubted they'd see much of Adam or Jericho before then in any case. He was about to suggest to Randy that they talk things over sometime on Sunday morning when Austin approached their group.

Dave returned the nod with one of his own. Now wasn't this just... interesting as hell? Dave couldn't think of a single reason for Austin to want to talk to Randy.

 _"Don't mind if I borrow this do ya Hunt? I won't break him."_

No, no, no, no... what he was thinking just couldn't be right. Randy looked like he wanted to be absolutely anywhere but here at the moment and Austin looked almost... possessive. Dave did little more than raise a brow, but it would be hard to tell with his sunglasses in place. Holy sexual tension, Batman. Dave had no doubt that's what it was... he'd been on the giving and receiving ends of that particular problem all day. Randy and Austin? It was just too weird to contemplate.

 _"Oh, hush, Hunter. There's nothing wrong with watching."_

Dave smiled. He had to agree with that, though if he had a choice between watching and _doing_... he was all for doing... only not with Austin or Randy.

 _"Now... weren't we supposed to be leaving this place?"_

Dave heartily agreed. Following in Shawn's wake, not that he was being given a choice, Dave tossed his bag in the trunk once they reached the car. Dave ushered Shawn into the back and then urged Hunter into the backseat as well. He wasn't at all sure he could sit with Shawn and not instigate anything so he was taking the safe path and sitting up front.

Turning to look over the seat at Hunter, Dave pulled off his sunglasses. "So... are we heading back to the hotel?" Dave wasn't about to let on, but he was starting to get a little nervous. As soon as they finished eating...whenever that might be depending on Hunter's plan, Dave wanted them to have a serious talk. He couldn't wait any longer because if Shawn was going to freak out over his little admission, he wanted it to happen before things went any further.

****

 _Don't mind if I borrow this do ya Hunt? I won't break him._

Hunter inclined his head towards Steve in permission. Not that it was his to give as he had no claims on Randy's time as anything other than an almost friend and work mentor, but Austin was making a point, and he was making it _loud_. But not to Hunt... to Randy. He was saying with the possessive hand and enquiring gaze that Hunter's protection wasn't needed here, Randy wasn't in any physical danger from Steve. Quite the opposite in fact, Hunt suspected no one would even look funny at the young man while Austin was around.

Looking away from the low-voiced conversation, Hunt turned his eyes to his lovers and couldn't stop the smirk that crossed his features. Shawn wasn't even trying to be subtle about his curiosity, the blond's ears were practically pointed like a cat's towards the couple standing near the rental sedan. Reaching out a hand, Hunt tapped Shawn lightly on the shoulder, then, smirk widening, tapped a second time to get his friend's attention.

 _Oh, hush, Hunter. There's nothing wrong with watching,_

No indeed, but Hunter just loved teasing Shawn just as much as he loved the man himself. And Dave... Dave was his usual inscrutable self, although he'd relaxed his 'aggressive' stance somewhat since Randy's handshake and abduction by Steve. Hunt added his own 'Hell Yeah' to Shawn's suggestion that they finally leave.

Hunt had been planning to take his usual place in the front seat and direct their driver, but Dave had taken the decision from his hands, politely and firmly pushing Hunt into the back seat with Shawn. Oh well, he'd just have to put up with being in a confined space with a gorgeous guy draped all over him, poor Hunter. Twisting in his seat belt so he could  rest his shoulders in the corner of the door, Hunter lifted Shawn's hand and tangled their finger's together. Silly really, that something so simple as holding his lover's hand is now precious to him, more precious than any of the trappings of wealth he'd gained over the years. But Shawn and Dave were real and warm and in love with him... the rest of it could just go to hell as far as Hunter was concerned.

 _So.. .are we heading back to the hotel?_

Hunter drew his eyes from Shawn's fingers and met Dave's questioning gaze with his own sneaky hazel one. Remembering what he had planned caused another pleased smile to reach his lips. Really, he'd been smiling so much in the last twenty-four hours he was amazed his face didn't hurt.

"No David, not the hotel." Raising his voice Hunter spoke to the driver. "Ah Vetrez? It's Vetrez isn't it? Could you take us to the Entech Building please? Great." Settling back, Hunter just smiled into Dave and Shawn's curious expressions, there was no way he was spoiling this little number by letting the cat out of the bag.

Fortunately the drive only took about twenty minutes, the thirty story building being in the Business District in the centre of town. When they arrived Hunt happily shuffled Shawn onto the pavement and got out to find Greg and an amused looking security guard called Bob, waiting in front of the large glass doors.

"Not that I don't love my job Hunt, really I do..." Gregory Amerton said in his typical strong New York accent as the three wrestlers walked up to them, "...but you are the weirdest Superstar I've ever worked for." Gesturing to the Bob, Hunter took mental note of the name tag, Greg led them into the brightly lit marble foyer. "And that includes the crazy-ass hip hop boys with, you know..." Greg made a strange movement with his fingers near his head, "...the hair."

"I take that as a compliment you know." Hunter assured his PA as they crossed the foyer with Bob on their heels. Pressing the elevator button Greg shooed them inside, reaching around the doors, he pressed a button and stood back.

"Have a lovely evening gentlemen, Vetrez will be back at 1 am. That's when Bob's going to kick you out. 'Night." Greg waved as the door closed.

Given the last time they rode in an elevator together Hunter had been kissed to within an inch of his life, Hunt hoped this time the trip would be a lot quicker. He really wanted the kissing to start when they had something more comfortable to lean against.

Ahh, good. Now to see if Greg really was worth the exorbitant fee Hunter paid him.

Well...

The roof of the Entech Building, thirtieth floor leased to Bolton-Levy lawyers for Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, was a magnificent private garden. Exotic trees and perfectly landscaped beds adorned with a collection of plants that hit Hunter with their perfume the moment the doors opened. Resting on a picturesque manicured mound twenty feet away, was a large checked picnic blanket, an ice bucket with several bottles already uncorked, glasses, and the biggest wicker basket Hunter had ever seen. From somewhere the sounds of a jazz band could be heard filtering through the garden and even an occasional peep from a night bird added to the atmosphere.

...Looks like Greg's getting a raise then.

****

No, no, no, no, no. This really wasn't happening. Randy had managed to avoid Steve all night, even with the Evolution room denied him and now the man had just popped up out of nowhere... and he was doing the _leaning_ thing. Steve leaned like he was readying himself for a match, like whoever caused him to stop leaning would be on the receiving end of a hell of an ass kicking. It could have been the outfit, but more likely it was just an exaggeration of Steve's usual 'don't piss me off' attitude to everything. The man could scare people just by thinking about them, leaning well, that was a statement as far as randy was concerned.

Shooting a quick glance at his car, Randy realised the tires hadn't been let down and there was no sign of key marks on the sides. So Steve was saving it all up for Randy was he? Okay then, no matter what Steve said to him in front of the other men, Randy wasn't ashamed of what had happened and he wouldn't back down from the other man's anger. Steve could try, but Randy wasn't going to let the Rattlesnake make last night into something it wasn't. No way was Randy Freakin' Orton gonna let himself get bullied by some redneck.

 _Don't mind if I borrow this do ya Hunt? I won't break him._

Or he could just get manhandled like a girl.

As soon as they were out of ear shot, Randy wrenched his elbow from Steve's grasp and took a step away from the body of the other man. He was fucking _taller_ than the guy for Christ's sake, no way was he intimidated. No way.

"Hands off the suit Austin, this outfit cost more than you do."

Oh shit. That probably wasn't exactly the smartest thing to say. Steve's expression had gone from mildly irritated to very pissed before the words had even left Randy's mouth.

Austin, for his part, was manfully resisting the urge to throw Randy over his knee and spank the hell outta him. He'd been moaning and crying all day over this little bastard? He should have just tied the kid to the bed last night and none of this shit would have happened, they'd have had their 'talk' while naked and then fucked some more rather than in a fuckin' parkin' lot with the Holy Fucking Trinity listening to every word. Well, fuck it, Steve wasn't going to take this shit anymore.

"And what the hell would ya know about what I cost, huh, ya stupid son of a bitch? Think a coupl'a beers is all it takes to jump me is that it? Was that yer plan, dressing all like a normal person, sittin' next ta me at the bar and puttin' on yer 'I'm really not such an asshole'  on yer pretty face, just ta find out what it would take ta bed ole Stone Cold? Did ya have a bet runnin' or somethin'?" Suddenly Steve blinked at his own words and fury rushed through him from his boots to his heart. Taking two fistfuls of Randy's ultra-cotton shirt, he lifted the younger man bodily onto the hood of the car and leaning his face in close and menacing. "Ya better not have or I swear I'll kick your ass, promise to Hunt or not."

Randy struggled vainly at the hold, his long legs trying to brace him on the tarmac while Steve leaned him back at an uncomfortable angle. The impact of Steve's move had caused his sun glasses to slide forward and rest awkwardly on his nose. His own fingers trying to pry Austin's off his front, Randy gasped the truth into his lover from last night's demanding blue gaze.

"No, no, I swear I didn't Steve. I wasn't even staying at the hotel." All attempt at pretense had left Randy the moment Steve had started talking to him. Having the undivided attention of the Rattlesnake caused Randy to feel like a foolish young kid, rather than the sophisticated young man he was supposed to be. "I sat next to you because I wanted to, not because of a bet. I swear it Steve."

"Well…" Steve relented a little, the muscles in his arms no longer bulging from the effort of controlling Randy's actions. Taking a moment to assess their respective positions, Steve raised a wicked eyebrow as he noticed his position between Randy's legs, the solid bulk of the car beneath the younger man's butt.

"So... why did ya come onto me then?"

****

Scott's arm around his waist helped keep Kevin in the moment, rather than letting him go back to dwell on his unfortunate interruption earlier, but even as his lips curved in a smile, his eyebrow raised at the smirk on his lover's face. That look didn't bode well... but for who, Kev wasn't going to bet on.

 _"...say something like a... crème puff."_

Caught between a growl and a laugh, Kev snorted as he watched Scott head for the entrance. Patting his pocket, he smiled to himself as he made sure that the room key was still there, and followed his lover at a much more leisurely pace. They'd promised Vince to try to keep it toned down in public---well, as much as they could, anyway---and Kevin really didn't feel like running through the lobby.

Especially not when he knew exactly where Scott was heading.

Nodding at the wide-eyed girl behind the counter, he sauntered through the lobby and pushed the elevator button, quietly relieved when he was the only one on it. Pushing the floor button, he leaned against the side of the elevator, hands in his pockets, as he considered what to do when he reached their room.

It would really depend on Scott, he knew. If Scott wanted to take control of things, Kev wasn't about to stop him... although with all the teasing tonight, that would be pretty surprising. If he wanted it to be a normal encounter, Kevin would happily take turns with his lover tormenting each other until they lost control. And if Scotty decided that he wanted Kevin to follow through on his teasing from earlier in Bradshaw's room... well. They'd see. He wasn't really feeling up to a full-on scene tonight, but laying Scott across his lap and giving him his just desserts for his little pranks tonight... _that_ idea nearly took Kevin's breath away.

Taking a deep breath as the elevator doors slid open, Kevin schooled his features to calmness, even if his body wouldn't agree to do the same, and walked down the hall. His nerves were thrumming with desire, and he was sure that Scott was feeling the same way. As amazing as this morning had been, the games they'd played with each other all day had him keyed up so much that he was positive tonight would be even better.

Stopping in front of their door, he pulled the key card from his back pocket and ran it through the scanner, pushing open the door and stepping through. Locking it after him as it closed, he walked into the main part of the room before stopping, his attention centered fully on his lover.

****

Once he hit the lobby, he slowed himself to a fast walk towards the elevators. No need to draw too much attention to himself... unless it was Kevin's attention he was drawing. Smiling as he walked into the elevator behind a man and woman dressed in evening wear, Scott leaned against the wall of the cubicle. His smile widened as he noticed the wary look the guy was aiming at him and the almost sultry look the woman was sending in his direction. People just cracked him up.

Winking at the woman when the elevator doors opened at his floor, he ignored the man's frown and hurried down the hall. Kevin hadn't lit after him, but then he hadn't really expected him to. That just gave Scott a few minutes to prepare himself for Big Sexy's entrance into the room.

Hopping on one foot, then the other, he pulled off his boots and tossed them towards the dresser. Jeans, socks, and the Big Sexy T-shirt followed in short order. Once he was bare as the day he was born, Scott crawled onto the bed and stacked the pillows neatly in the middle of the headboard and leaned back against them. Legs slightly spread, one knee bent, he drew gentle circles on his thigh with the fingers of his right hand.

Thinking back to Kev's earlier 'lesson', Scott remembered the weight of Kevin's hand on his ass and the resulting sting. It had been way too long since Kevin had had the chance to 'discipline' him for his behavior, thus the prodding at Heyman afterwards. If that hadn't been enough, then there was always the crème puff comments, and if that still wasn't enough then what he was about to do should prompt some kind of reaction from the man. Hopefully it would earn him another lesson. The small taste he'd had earlier just hadn't been enough and he really couldn't wait until they made use of their room at home.

This morning, he'd used Kevin's touching himself as an excuse for a little bit of play... hopefully Kevin would feel the same rules applied to Scott right now. He waited patiently until he heard the click of the door latch unlocking and Kevin's heavy footsteps heading into the room. As soon as he feasted his eyes on his lover, he moved his hand slowly from its position on his thigh to cup his balls. Not lingering for more than a second or two, he wrapped his hand firmly around his burgeoning erection and gave it a few long slow strokes. Running one finger over the tip of his cock, he smeared the pearl of fluid around the head.

"Since it took you so long to get here, Chico, I thought I'd get a head start," he said with a cocky grin. Of course while Kevin was teaching him a well-deserved lesson, he planned to be teaching Kev one as well... on the merits of his beautiful mouth. He would convince Kevin of it, even if it took all night.

****

Finding Paul waiting for him in the short "corridor" created by the blackout curtains at the top of the ramp made Mark grit his teeth. Whatever the little man wanted to say to him, he could either say it in public, or preferably, not at all. Slitting his eyes at Heyman, Mark walked by without stopping, sending Paul scrambling to get out of his way. Even though he hadn't really done anything in the ring, the crowd response never failed to get his blood pumping, and he found himself wishing that he weren't rooming alone tonight. Almost as though on cue, Heyman's nauseating squeal pierced the odd semi-silence in the small dark area.

"Enjoy your little perk tonight, Mark... for as long as he lasts."

Mark stopped, his fingers clenching, before slowly turning to face Heyman. Whatever expression was on his face, Paul blanched, clutching that damned urn close to his chest. Speaking in a low voice with more than a hint of a growl to it, Mark said, "Hardy is no concern of yours, Heyman. And he'll last a lot longer than you will."

Turning in a swirl of black leather, Mark turned and took the last few steps out into the gorilla area, unconsciously seeking out the brightly-hued hair of one Jeff Hardy before he realised what he was doing. Stopping abruptly as he found himself face-to-face with the younger man, he took a moment to try to recover from his surprise at his own action and swept his hat off his head, holding it in one hand as he wiped his brow with the other.

Hopefully his own less-than-bored condition wouldn't be screamingly obvious to anyone... especially the man he was facing. Jeff had offered to do whatever he wanted earlier in the evening, and although that had been the result of misunderstanding, Mark couldn't deny that the offer itself had been tempting, no matter how little he liked the thought of using someone else the way Jeff thought he'd been intending. Remembering the brief view he'd had of the pale body hidden under the clinging suit didn't help much.

"I don't know what your plans are, Jeff, but if you're up to it, it'd probably be a good thing if we could talk for a while." He managed to keep his tone surprisingly steady as he struggled with the thoughts that were rising up, unbidden, in his mind. He couldn't quite help letting his eyes wander over the sight in front of him, though; that suit that Jeff was wearing was anything but revealing... but inspired dangerous thoughts. Remembering the feeling of the brightly-coloured hair sliding through his fingers and the warm weight of Jeff pressing against him didn't help. Realising that his gaze had gotten more intense than he'd meant it to be, he blinked, hoping fervently that his thoughts hadn't been as clear as he suspected they had been.

"Look, I've got to go change. Why don't you go find whoever it was you wanted to talk to and meet me back at my locker room when you're done? We can head back to the hotel afterward." Except that Jeff probably didn't have a room there, let alone know which one it was. He was _not_ going to just stand here and offer his room to the man; no way in hell would that be taken as anything but a blatant come-on, at this point. If Jeff needed someplace to stay and told him so, that would be a different matter entirely.

At least Jeff going off to visit his friends would give Mark a little bit of time alone... and he was starting to need that, desperately. As much as he prided himself on his self-control, the combination of long abstinence, adrenaline, and both the sight and recent memories of Jeff were just too much.

****

 _"No David, not the hotel."_

Even though he was curious as hell and was sure that it was apparent, Dave didn't ask why they were going to some building in the business district. Hunter wouldn't have told him even if he had asked... at least that was the feeling that Dave got. So he settled in for the ride and thought a bit more on his own surprise for later.

When they reached their destination, Dave climbed out of the car and looked up at the large building before them. He still couldn't imagine why they were here, but knew he'd have to just 'wait and see'. Dave smiled over the comments by Hunter's PA. Hunter was definitely an original... which was one of the many reasons that he loved the man.

After following Hunter and Shawn into the elevator, he leaned against the wall of the cubicle. Now that Hunter seemed to have succumbed to their kiss and run tactics, there was really no need for another sneak attack, though Dave did seriously consider it. If he'd known they were going all the way to the top floor, he probably would have gone ahead and done it.

Once the elevator doors opened, Dave followed Shawn and Hunter out into an exotic paradise. Dave stopped just outside the doors and stood in awe. With all his thoughts of what Hunter might have planned, he'd never once considered something like this. Quickly hiding his surprise, Dave breathed deeply of the fragrant air. Hearing the music in the background, he grinned. It wasn't quite a serenade, but it was pretty damn close to the same idea.

"Damn, Hunter. If you'd have warned me, I could have dressed more appropriately, but I'm afraid I left my loincloth in my other bag," he said with a grin. Okay... so maybe it wasn't quite a jungle, but with the exotic trees and the call of the birds, he kind of felt like Tarzan. As he spotted the opened bottles in the ice bucket, Dave almost laughed. They'd have to keep an eye on the Sexy Boy tonight so he didn't overindulge. He wanted to make sure that Shawn was completely alert tonight, for many obvious reasons. And damn if that wasn't the biggest picnic basket he'd ever seen. He imagined that very few of Hunter's fans would be able to picture him indulging in a picnic. Yep... Hunter was definitely an original.


	57. Knocks

Shawn followed Dave's wave into the back seat, a little surprised when the big man pushed Hunter into the back as well. Not that he was going to complain, of course. Someday, though... someday, he looked forward to sitting back and watching his lovers with each other. The thought sent a pleasant shiver through him as he pictured dusky skin and tawny wrapped around each other...

The sudden touch of Hunter's hand on his drew him back to the present and he smiled as Hunter twined their fingers together. Taking advantage of Hunter's position in the seat, Shawn edged closer to him, letting their entwined hands rest on Hunt's thigh. Promising himself that he'd be good and not ravish Hunter in the back seat with a driver watching them---not that there was really enough room to do anything anyway---he raised an inquiring eyebrow at the other blond's reply to Dave's question.

 _"No David, not the hotel.... Could you take us to the Entech Building please? Great."_

The Entech Building? What in the world was Hunter up to? Recognising the smug look on Hunter's face, Shawn knew better than to ask any other questions. The man was obviously enjoying his little surprise, whatever it was, and Shawn was sure it would be well worth it once it was unveiled.

Twenty minutes later, he wasn't feeling quite so patient. He'd never been good with waiting for surprises, and twenty minutes in a car with Hunter touching him and not able to touch back in any sort of way that he wanted to was pure torture. Hopefully they'd get used to it, since they would have to deal with appearances and separations in the future... but that was in the future. Right now, he just wanted to turn his head and kiss Hunter breathless. Climbing out of the car, highly aware of Hunter's hand at his waist guiding him, he smiled at Greg's banter, catching Dave's matching expression. The elevator ride was quiet but mercifully quick, and when the doors opened and they stepped out, Shawn stopped dead in his tracks as he took in their surroundings.

 _"...I'm afraid I left my loincloth in my other bag."_

He heard Dave's voice beside them and even as lovely as the image of Dave in a loincloth was, Shawn couldn't stop staring at the scene in front of him. He'd always known that his best friend had a romantic streak, but he'd apparently underestimated the size of said streak by quite a bit.

"God, Hunt... it's beautiful." Not quite realising that he'd spoken the thought out loud, he took a few steps further in, caught by the sight. He'd always love his desert home, but growing up in Texas had given him a huge, if generally unspoken, appreciation for forests and green expanses. This... this was amazing. The faint sounds of jazz coming through the trees gave it the perfect finishing touch.

The quiet sound of Dave trying to muffle a chuckle made him turn to look at the man, and when he spotted him looking at the chilled bottles, Shawn had to smile himself. Dave was probably remembering the night before. Overindulgence was _not_ in the plans for tonight, however. He had much better things to indulge tonight in than alcohol, after all... and Dave was one of them.

Shaking his head slightly as he realised again how completely his life had changed in the last twenty-four hours, he walked up to the spread blanket and stretched out across the corner of it. Whatever Hunter had planned, Shawn could do no less than enjoy every second of it.

****

Kevin drank in the sight in front of him, his eyes not leaving his lover as he slowly approached the bed. He drew in a deep breath, feeling his body responding eagerly as he remembered the teasing all day: the touches, the looks, the moments they'd stolen in Bradshaw's room... Watching as Scott's fingers moved along his length, his mouth watered, wanting to lean in and taste that drop of fluid, to push Scott's hand away and touch that loved flesh with his own.

 _"Since it took you so long to get here, Chico, I thought I'd get a head start."_

Cocking his head as he stopped beside the bed, he couldn't help but smile a little. That certainly answered his earlier question. If Scott wanted to be punished for his earlier stunts, then Kevin was more than happy to oblige him. It had been so long since they'd done something like that, only teasing around the edges of it---until this morning---since their reunion such a short time ago. Remembering Scott arching against him, moaning, as he spanked him earlier, made his own length throb almost painfully in the tight jeans he was wearing, and he let that heat flow through him, reflecting in his eyes as he pulled his gaze back to Scott's face.

"Head start? You got that earlier, Scott... when I had you across my lap." His voice was gruff but sure, a gentle note of teasing running through it in reaction to Scott's taunt. Reaching down, he wrapped his hand around Scott's wrist and pulled his hand up, leaning in to slowly lick the taste off of it. A soft growl emanated from him at the familiar, addictive flavour, and he locked eyes with Scott again as he released his hand.

"Impatient tonight, Scott. You should've waited for me. You need some discipline." Settling on the bed next to his lover, Kevin ran a hand down Scott's side, his touch soft as his expression gentled. No matter how much he thirsted for this man, hungered for his taste, his touch, he'd never do anything to actually hurt him and especially tonight, he needed the reassurance that Scott wanted this as much as Kevin thought he did.

"Love you Scotty," he said quietly, resting his palm over Scott's heart. "Trust me?"

****

Mark burst through the curtain trailing an aura of adrenaline and anger…? like a raincloud. Knowing his dislike of Heyman was great, Jeff still didn't think it was enough to cause the look of total fury crossing the wickedly frowning features. Seeing the man's eyes shift over the dozen or so people in the prep area, Jeff almost tried to raise up on his tip-toes to catch Mark's attention. As if something deep inside his heart had taken over, Jeff called mentally, 'I'm here.'

He needn't have bothered with the extra height, as the bright green orbs, charged with a heat that almost scorched Jeff's skin, fixed on him almost immediately. Like a magnet, Jeff took an involuntary, but not unwilling, step closer to the tall man. His body drawn into the circle of energy pouring off Mark like a waterfall, Jeff's own nerves beginning to thrum as they fed off the passion so close to them.

Dumbstruck by the atmosphere of a post-performance Undertaker, Jeff's eyes followed the big hat as Mark pulled it from his head in a flurry of black fabric. Was there anything more impressive than The Undertaker in all his glory? Jeff honestly doubted it, Mark just had a way about him that pushed all Jeff's buttons and pushed them _hard_.

 _it'd probably be a good thing if we could talk for a while._

Probably. But then, maybe not. If spending just these few hours in Mark's company had resulted in a shocking misunderstanding on Jeff's part, freaking out Paul.E, a minor scuffle with Richard and a second aborted pass, then Jeff had no idea what would happen if they were _alone_ for more than five minutes. It was just that every moment he was spending with 'Taker seemed like a combined gift and curse, and Jeff just knew he would have trouble giving it up at the end of his probation period. So, promising himself that he wouldn't get too 'up close' while they were talking, Jeff nodded his agreement to the idea, eyes still mesmerized by the looming figure in front of him.

 _Why don't you go find whoever it was you wanted to talk to... We can head back to the hotel afterward._

Now that was... actually a good idea. Despite the small wait by the curtain, Jeff felt he could use some more time to himself, to sort out his actions and responses tonight without Mark's distracting presence. Also Mark was going to take him back to the hotel, so Jeff wouldn't have to bum a ride with one of the other guys. He'd still have to cadge a bed or a couch of someone though. Expecting Mark to put him up for the night along with everything else would be pushing his luck way too far. 

"I can do that," Jeff glanced at the people working around them, packing boxes and dismantling equipment. "I need to see if Ames is still in the building and drive a bug up her butt if she is. I'll meet you at your room." Slipping his hands into his trouser pockets Jeff took a few strides towards the locker-rooms where the Divas were situated. A thought suddenly struck. Spinning, Jeff spoke while walking backwards, his own uncanny grace avoiding any collisions.

"Can I buy you dinner? At the hotel, I mean. I don't know which it is, but they always have the restaurant open late when we're in town." Jeff felt a small rush of pride to be able to claim a place in the 'we' of the WWE. "You gotta be hungry and I'm starving."

If he said no, Jeff wouldn't beg.  Much.

****

Okay, next time Hunter organised this kind of thing, he was definitely ordering the loincloths. Dave as Tarzan would be too hysterical to miss and if he could get Shawn into a safari hat with a whip, well, more fun for Hunter. Maybe the place was a little overboard, but then, the owners of the building had enough money to do with as they would and if they wanted a garden on their roof, who was Hunter to argue? He'd rather just take advantage of the fact that they hadn't gone for a putting green and soak up the surprised pleasure in the two beloved faces beside him.

 _God, Hunt... it's beautiful._

Watching Shawn sprawl across the blanket, Hunter took a moment to admire his lover in their paradise-like surroundings. The landscaper, to whom Hunter wanted to send a card, had cunningly hidden several lamps amongst the foliage, their diffused light granting the men enough illumination to see, without stealing from the sensual twilight feel.

The orange tinged glow surrounded Shawn and played flickering shadows across his honey hair. He was like some kind of alluring, exotic jungle creature... well... except for the jeans and baseball cap, Hunter had to admit. But Shawn was still laid out like a feast for he and Dave and Hunt definitely planned on feasting tonight, in more ways than one. In response to his lovers' comments, Hunter merely shrugged. Placing a hand in the small of Dave's back he propelled the dark man over to their picnic spot with a smile.

"Oh, it was nothing. I just whipped it all up in my spare time." Waving a hand at the obviously well established garden, Hunter kicked off his shoes and sat down next to the basket. Unloading about fourteen different kind of foodstuffs, Hunter took mental note to actually give Greg that bonus, and spread them all on the space between himself and the other two men. Pulling a bottle of white wine from one of the ice buckets, he poured glasses for himself and Shawn then tilted the neck of the bottle invitingly towards Dave's.

"Will you be joining us tonight David? There isn't any coffee and trust me... I'm not having more than a glass. My liver will hate me enough for last night as it is." Hunter winced as soon at the words left his mouth, both in pain for his remembered hangover and for bringing the uncomfortable subject up right then and there.

His lovers had forgiven him for his actions the previous evening, at least he presumed they had if their behaviour today was anything to go by. But he and Shawn hadn't spoken a word about it since that final, awful moment this morning, when his beautiful friend had hit him in the face and become his even more beautiful lover. When the man he had a crush on for months stopped Hunter's rage with a touch and burrowed so deeply into Hunt's heart he'd never want him out. Dropping his wrist to his knee, Hunter looked at the mouth of the wine bottle for a moment before continuing.

"Did I even say I was sorry?" He couldn't look at them.

****

Smiling slightly as he watched his lovers settle themselves on the picnic blanket, Shawn sat up to take the glass of wine from Hunter, winking at Dave as he did so. Maybe he should be more reserved, more cautious, considering all the ups and downs that the three of them had already gone through in less than a day, but he couldn't be. If he didn't give his all to these two, give them himself as he really was, what kind of foundation would they be building together? Keeping part of his heart in reserve "just in case" just wasn't his style even if it was something that he'd been capable of doing.

He watched Hunter unload the basket until he realised that Dave had been almost strangely quiet for the past few moments. Turning to look at the man, Shawn realised that he seemed almost... nervous? Frowning a little, he watched as Dave fidgeted while Hunter arranged the food. Well, whatever was wrong, hopefully it would be something that could be taken care of quickly. If something was bothering Dave, all he had to do was tell them about it, after all. They'd work things out.

Scooting closer to the big man, he took advantage of Hunter's fiddling with dishes to lean in to Dave, wrapping an arm around his waist as he looked up at Dave inquiringly. Not getting a response, he realised that Dave was watching Hunter intently and was almost ready to wave a hand in front of his eyes to get his attention when Hunt seemed to break the odd spell.

 _"I'm not having more than a glass. My liver will hate me enough for last night as it is."_

He couldn't prevent the wince that crossed his face any more than he could have prevented the instinctive urge to reach out and comfort. As terrible as last night had been, at least he'd had Dave to help him through it. Hunter had been alone, and from what Shawn had seen today, he'd suffered at least as much as Shawn had from their exchange last night. His free hand was already moving to cross the space between himself and Hunter when Hunt's next words stopped it in midair.

 _"Did I even say I was sorry?"_

God. The sadness and guilt emanating from Hunter was almost a physical thing, rising up between them like a cloud. Biting his lip, Shawn released his hold on Dave with a quick apologetic glance before rolling to his knees and closing the few feet of distance between them. To see that kind of hurt on Hunter's face hurt him, and he'd practically made a second career over the last nine years of stopping Hunt's pain whenever he could. Stopping and sitting back on his haunches, Shawn reached out again, gently lifting the hand still wrapped around the wine bottle, twining his fingers through Hunt's, just like Hunter had done earlier.

"Hunt..." His voice was low, husky from the morass of emotions surrounding them. Raising his other hand to stroke gently across Hunter's cheek, pausing at his chin to raise his head so that he could look into those whiskey eyes, he continued, "You did, actually. To both of us." Trailing his fingers down the side of Hunter's neck to rest on his shoulder, he tilted his head a little, a thread of regret for what had happened this morning running through the gentle note in his voice. "What you said hurt, Hunter. It hurt a lot. But it also pushed us to the point where we both had to face ourselves... and it's not as though I didn't hurt you in return." Tracing the now mostly-faded pink mark his blow had left that morning, Shawn smiled sadly at his lover. "I think it'll take longer for me to forgive myself than it will to forgive you, Hunter."

"And while I'm not going to pretend like it never happened, it's not something we need to dwell on. We'll need to talk about  _why_ it happened, but I don't think right now is the time." Leaning in until his lips were nearly touching Hunt's, he said softly, "Just promise me, and I'll promise you, that we'll never let things get to that point again. Deal?"

He waited only long enough for Hunter's almost reluctant nod, then closed the tiny gap between them and kissed him, a soft touch of lips to lips, as his hand twined in Hunter's hair. It was a promise, an echo of the unspoken promise they'd made that morning with a similar kiss, and when it was over, Shawn looked into Hunter's eyes for a long moment before turning his head, resting it against Hunter's shoulder to smile at Dave. "And don't think you're excluded from that promise, Dave. You're just as pigheaded and close-mouthed as we are."

****

As he looked at Kevin, took in his smile and the molten look in those deep green eyes, Scott knew that Kevin was thinking about their interaction earlier that night. He didn't have to look to know that Kevin's length lay hard inside his tight blue jeans. The look in Kevin's eyes told him that it was there. That hungry stare and the intent behind it made him shiver.

 _"Head start? You got that earlier, Scott... when I had you across my lap."_

Yes, yes he had, but he hadn't been able to fully enjoy it then. He yearned for the contact of flesh on flesh... the feel of Kevin's hand meeting his bare skin.

When Kevin tugged on his wrist, Scott easily released his hold on his swollen length. The flick of Kevin's tongue against his fingers increased the urgency he felt, as did the low growl that Kevin emitted.

 _"Impatient tonight, Scott. You should've waited for me. You need some discipline."_

Yes, he was. Yes, he should have. Yes, he most certainly did. He hadn't pulled all those stunts for nothing. He couldn't have the full out scene that he was yearning for, not until they went home anyway, but he could have this... and he fully intended to.

 _"Love you Scotty."_

The gentle touch along with the words had Scott twitching for more... more of anything. Scott laid his hand over top of Kevin's as it rested against his chest.

 _"Trust me?"_

Slipping his hand under Kevin's, Scott wondered why Kevin needed to ask. If Kev needed the reassurance then Scott was going to give it to him. He lifted the warm hand to his lips, brushing against the back of it. "With all that I have and all that I am, Kev," he said huskily. "I trust you with my life... my love..."

Pushing up onto his knees, he leaned into Kevin, his lips brushing gently against his lover's. "And I trust you to discipline me when I _deliberately_ provoke you to it... just like I did tonight," he said slowly, his forehead touching Kevin's. After another teasing brush of lips on lips, Scott draped himself across Kevin's lap. His head pillowed on his arms, his eyes closed, he smiled. "I love you, Kev. Now give me what we've both been aching for."

****

 _"I'll meet you at your room."_

Mark almost let out a sigh of relief; he'd been almost positive that Jeff would take the chance to get away from him until the next show. The kid had been acting even stranger than normal tonight, although understandably so considering the ups and downs with his contract that he'd had, and Mark was a little concerned about him. Of course, whatever was going on in that tie-dyed head meant that Jeff had apparently missed Mark's own uncharacteristic behavior, so maybe it was a good thing. In a bad way. Or something.

Nodding, Mark started to turn away to head back to his own room when Jeff spun around again, catching his attention.

 _"Can I buy you dinner? At the hotel, I mean... You gotta be hungry and I'm starving."_

Almost on cue, his stomach rumbled and a small smile came to his lips. "Sure. Sounds good." A nod of his head and he turned, ignoring everyone around him as he walked down the hall, his mind spinning. 

What in the world was going on with him tonight? Sure, he'd been lonely for a helluva lot longer than he'd like to think about, but what the _hell_ was he doing, playing this odd little game with Jeff? Why had he gone to Vince for the man when he wasn't sure if Jeff could _be_ reliable? Why had he pulled Jeff into his arms? Why had he run his fingers through that surprisingly soft hair? Why was the memory of Jeff in the shower haunting his thoughts? Why couldn't he forget how Jeff felt in his arms?

Cursing, he flung open his locker room door and strode in, slamming it shut behind him as he threw his hat almost violently at the wall. Sinking down onto a bench, he propped his chin on his hands and stared at the wall. Sure, the man was attractive; he was compelling, somehow; he reminded him of Shawn, but that wasn't the reason for Mark's fascination. And it was definitely a fascination. Why couldn't he get the thought of Jeff pressed up against him, naked, out of his mind? It hadn't happened, and it sure as hell wasn't _going_ to happen. Especially now that he practically held Jeff's future in his hands; he'd never played that sort of game before, had in fact helped put a stop to it, and he wasn't about to start now no matter how tempting the thought was.

Standing up abruptly, he stripped off his clothes, leaving them where they hit the floor and grabbed his towel before heading into the shower. If he didn't get these totally inappropriate thoughts out of his mind, he'd never be able to work with the kid. Shaking his head at himself, he turned the water on with an almost vicious wrench, the heat from the water almost immediately sending up steam around him. Relaxing under the hot spray, he sighed noiselessly into the falling drops as he forced his mind to blankness, his eyes drifting shut as he tilted his head back.

With his mind finally at some sort of rest, he slowly became aware of his body: the lingering ache in his shoulder, the touch of a headache from not eating coming on... the hard heat throbbing between his legs. Almost of its own accord, his hand reached down to wrap around his hardening shaft, his thumb rubbing idly across the sensitive head. Biting his lip, he tightened his grasp with a shiver and thrust up into his fist, a strangled noise escaping him at the delicious friction that sent slivers of pleasure dancing across his veins. He really shouldn't be doing this, not now, not with Jeff coming back at any minute...

As if summoned by the name, the vision he'd had of Jeff earlier in this same shower returned to his mind, but this time those green eyes glowed through the steam, the long-fingered hands reaching up to rest on his shoulders as they had earlier as Jeff pressed close against him. Groaning, a shudder working its way through him, he stroked faster, his other hand reaching out to the cool wall for support. Imagining those long fingers wrapping around him, sliding over him, made him gasp, his fingers clenching uselessly against the water-slicked tile as his own fingers mimicked the ones in his fantasy.

So close already... it had been so long since he'd had anyone to share this with...

Unbidden, he wondered suddenly what those clever lips would feel like wrapped around his cock.

A single harsh cry, half-growl and half-shout, fell from his mouth as he tensed. His fingers never stopped their movement as that single thought sent him over the edge, white-hot pleasure flooding his body as he came in long hot jets. It seemed like forever, but only moments later he opened his eyes. Panting as though he'd just run a race, he let his hand fall away as he bowed his head while he tried to regain his breath, the falling water washing away the evidence of his release.

If only the guilt that was overwhelming him now would wash away as easily.

****

Dave watched as Shawn walked over to the blanket and stretched out. He looked almost fey... magical in a sense as if he didn't quite belong in this world... and tempting as all hell. He could imagine Shawn in that same spot without a stitch of clothing, spread out like a bountiful feast on the picnic blanket. Catching his lip between his teeth, he withheld the quiet whine trying to escape. Damn. He really needed to focus on something... anything... else.

Hunter's hand on his back as he guided him towards the blanket brought him out of his little fantasy world for the moment. It also brought him back to his plan for later. Damn was he nervous. It should be easy, after all Hunter already knew the most important part of what he was going to say. He wouldn't be on pins and needles waiting for the man's response. Shawn was another story. He had no clue how Shawn would react to what he was going to say.

Watching Hunter unload the basket, Dave realized that he was almost too nervous to eat anything. He felt Shawn cuddling up to him, but at the moment he was focused on Hunter. The motions of Hunter setting out the food gave him something to focus on... something to keep the nausea at bay. He noticed the quiet slide of the elevator doors and noticed Bob, the security guy, setting their bags to the left of the opening before the doors slid shut again. Dave's eyes immediately refocused on Hunter. He'd completely forgotten to bring the bag with him. Thankfully he wouldn't have to run down to the car to fetch it or worse yet, the driver could have taken off with it. Dave was determined to do this after they ate. Then he could either settle back and enjoy the rest of the night with his lovers or try to settle Shawn down if he freaked out.

 _"...I'm not having more than a glass. My liver will hate me enough for last night as it is."_

Oh boy. There was another subject that they needed to cover at some point in time, though hopefully it wouldn't be yet tonight. Dave was intensely curious about the previous benders that Hunt had gone on, but that wasn't something to dwell on... not right now.

 _"Did I even say I was sorry?"_

Dave watched Shawn move immediately to comfort Hunter. It almost broke his heart to see Hunter's anguish. He had apologized and they had forgiven him. Not that Dave had so much to forgive. Hell, if anything he'd been the one to set everything in motion, but he'd be damned if he apologized for that. He couldn't apologize for something that had resulted in the three of them ending up together. He completely agreed with everything that Shawn said in his bid to soothe Hunter. It wasn't something that they needed to dwell on now and even if he had to poke, prod, and pinch Hunter to get him to open up when something was bothering him, Dave would do so.

He smiled at the gentle kiss between Shawn and Hunter. As he reached over to snag Hunter's wineglass--damn was he thirsty--Shawn turned and looked at him.

 _"...You're just as pigheaded and close-mouthed as we are."_

Dave couldn't help his mouth dropping open. "You're kidding, right? With the things that have managed to slip out of my mouth today?" He shared a conspiratorial look with Hunter even as a slight blush crept across his cheeks. "I'm considering buying a padlock for it."

Dave took a healthy drink of the wine. He'd have to eat. If he didn't get something in his stomach, he'd end up getting buzzed within the hour. "And I'm not near as pigheaded as either one of you. I may have my moments, but most of the time I'm completely reasonable." He nodded. He'd almost added that at least it hadn't taken him ten years to admit he loved someone, but he managed to catch it before it slipped out by lifting the glass to his mouth again. He was too close to doing this right, damn it. He wasn't about to spoil it now.

He knew, just knew, that Shawn was going to argue with what he'd said. He smiled at the blond and as he opened his mouth, Dave grabbed a strawberry from a nearby plate and popped it into Shawn's mouth. He grabbed another strawberry from the plate and fed it to Hunter as well. "I think I've just found the second best way to keep you from arguing with me." Of course neither of them would have to guess what the best method of keeping them quiet would be. They already knew.

****

Hunter looked up as the wine bottle was carefully removed from his grasp. Shawn was touching him, bringing his face up so that he could look into his lover’s gorgeous sea blue eyes. Eyes that Hunt had found himself lost in over the years they’d been the best of friends. Whether looking at him across the ring, or laughing by his side on one of their not particularly well thought out DX antics, Shawn’s eyes and the love he now realized lurking in them, was his anchor. He wanted to say ‘sorry, sorry’ over and over for what he’d done last night. For the bald-faced lie he’d told Shawn when he believed it was the right thing to do, for letting Shawn climb from that damned limo with tear-drenched sea-blue eyes that could break Hunt’s heart. But warm, affectionate kisses stopped his words, stopped the flood of guilt that threatened to spoil the brief moments of privacy the three of them had finally found.

 _I think it'll take longer for me to forgive myself than it will to forgive you, Hunter._

And of course… Shawn forgave him. It was just that simple. Hunter had lied, fucked up and hurt one of the two most important people in his life… and Shawn forgave him. The gentle kisses peppering his face would have bought Hunt to his knees if he hadn’t already been leaning against the picnic basket. So lovely to feel those soft, sweet lips he’d once only dreamed about, now granting him caresses that he wasn’t a hundred percent sure he deserved. God, how had he ever doubted that Shawn loved him? His beloved friend didn’t carry his heart on his sleeve, despite his previous relationships, and Hunt would have been blind to miss the affection he’d been granted, well beyond that of a loyal friend, more like that of a lover… just without the good parts.

Ahhh yes… ’blind’ was a nice way of putting it.

Taking a moment to nuzzle his face against the warm curve of Shawn’s neck, Hunter chuckled at his lovers’ banter. Stubborn was also the nice way of putting it and Hunter would be the first to argue Dave’s own closed-mouthness. Their own bizarre not-courtship, was a study in lack of communication, although Hunter had _tried_ to get the guy to go out on a date with him. He just... ahhh… hadn’t made it clear that it would be a date. But then Dave could hardly claim to have given off ‘signals’. The man had watched him from the high seats for months apparently without giving even the slightest indication that he was interested in more than a wary friendship from Hunter. Now well… Hunt being _married_ may indeed justify some reserve on Dave’s part, but Hunter hadn’t had a single clue… not a one. Dave was the true master of the poker face if it came down to a contest between the three of them.

 _You're just as pigheaded and close-mouthed as we are._

Opening his eyes, Hunter shared Dave’s look and returned a warm one of his own. Oh yes. Some things had been blurted out by Mr. Batista tonight and Hunter wasn’t about to forget them. But he could see from the slight tension in Dave’s shoulders and hands that perhaps bringing the subject up would be a seriously bad idea. Dave hadn’t said anything to Shawn yet, they’d been asleep when Hunt found them in the dressing room, and the last thing Hunter wanted was to push Dave before he was ready. The dark man had already suffered from Mark’s inadvertent pressure and Hunt knew that this time… Dave would prefer to run things at his pace.

Smote with regret that he’d cast a sour blanket of guilt over his ‘Romantic Dinner for Three’, Hunter kissed Shawn’s temple in gratitude for the comfort and leaned over to finally fill the third wine glass. But before he could finish, he found a strawberry popped expertly between his lips. Biting down, Hunter smiled around the fruit and caught the end in one hand so it wouldn't fall.

 _I've just found the second best way to keep you from arguing with me._

Cocking an eyebrow, Hunter pulled the strawberry from his lips with a sensual lick and matched Dave's not-innocent expression. But then... did Dave actually know a way to keep Hunter shut up? They hadn't gone there yet... or he hadn't gone that direction yet anyway. Something he'd have to take care of in the near future, Hunter was a 'return the favour' kind of guy... when he could stop running like a girl that is.

“Thank you Love,” he grinned to both men with a wicked look at Dave, hoping his expression reflected his thoughts. Yeah well… he was still The Game after all. Lifting his glass, Hunter took in their exotic surroundings, his two beautiful lovers and the magnificent feast laid amongst them.

“To first dates... at least for me.”

****

 _Sure. Sounds good._

Jeff was NOT going to dance like a three-year old watching the Wiggles. No way. Okay, so maybe if he does a weird little slide as he reaches the door of the Diva’s dressing room, it could be considered a dance… but Jeff would skin alive anyone who even so much as mentioned it. He may be a rock-boy by nature, but there was a difference between getting down on a dance floor crammed with a hundred other crazy people and dancing at work because he got a _date_. It wasn’t even a real date anyway… just dinner. Dinner with Mark. In a restaurant. Where people would see them together and think Mark was there…. with _Jeff_. As his date.

Sweet.

Knocking politely, because a man who wanted to keep his hands attached to his body _always_ knocked politely on the Divas door, Jeff waited and hoped that his brother’s girlfriend hadn’t left already. What was up between the two lovebirds was anyone’s guess and Jeff didn’t have the slightest clue. But she hadn’t called or visited for two weeks and unfortunately the WWE just didn’t give the Women’s Division that much to do to have work as a credible excuse. Matt’s knee surgery had been put off for as long as humanly possible, almost beyond it if Jeff was honest, and now that he was laid up, Amy was acting weird.

It was no secret the Team X-Treme had been having ‘issues’ but most everyone put the blame for that at Jeff’s door, and rightly so. It had been Jeff’s fault that they hadn’t been able to work together anymore, he’d fucked up grandly with his brother and their estrangement had fueled speculation as to the reasons for Jeff’s recent erratic behaviour. More erratic than normal that is. Rumours had flown with everything from Jeff fucking Amy and being caught by Matt, to Jeff fucking Matt and being caught by Amy, to Jeff being raped by a crazed fan and then fucking Amy, to Jeff being a drug addict and trying to fuck Matt. If it wasn’t such an indictment on people’s opinion of Jeff’s character then it would be funny, in a sick twisted Hardy sort of way. The truth, of course, was far less sensational and really just kinda sad.

But he’d worked his ass off to get back into his brother’s graces, Matt’s injury giving them the silver lining of being stuck in one place for four months and forced to talk, rather than yell. Oh his brother had put him through the wringer, emotionally ripping his guts out and stuffing them back in, in the right order. Matt, once again, had grounded Jeff when he’d been on the verge of flying off the edge of the world and pulled him back into his arms and his life. Right now, anything that threatened or hurt Matt caused such a protective instinct to rise up in Jeff, that he wondered if he’d be able to keep a civil tongue in his head when talking to Matt’s lover of several years. It was god’s honest truth that Jeff would die for his brother in an instant… kicking Amy’s ass was easy in comparison.

“Hey Rainbow Brite, I heard you were back.” Stacey Keibler was the _one_ human being who could get away with calling Jeff that without being kicked in the shin. Simply because the girl was just so damn sweet that Jeff couldn’t take offense for fear if he told her how much he hated it, she’d be upset. Now he worked with some of the toughest women on the planet, no doubt there, and Stacy, for all her little-girl bimbo-ness, was as savvy as they come. But even still, Jeff would be beside himself if he got Stacy upset over something as stupid as a nickname… it would be like pulling the head off your sister’s Barbie doll. Nice boys just don’t do that kind of thing.

Jeff considered himself fortunate that Stacy thought he was _nice_. He was sure it was a world first.

“Hello Legs, why’re you still here?” Jeff waited patiently while Stacy got the ‘all clear’ from the other occupants from the room.

Despite Vince’s chauvinistic tendency to get the girls as naked as possible on a regular basis, it wasn’t in most of the wrestlers' nature to be voyeuristic about the women on the roster. They were work-mates as well as friends and they were treated like meat enough as it was. With a giggle and hair flick that was so practiced she could have been a shampoo model, Stacy waved Jeff in and indicated the red-head seated on the locker room floor. “We have to sign some stuff for the new DVD and find out where they’re taking us for the shoot.”

“Ahhh… not the Bahamas this time? You girls got it made, I’d love an all expenses paid trip to a tropical island so I could roll around in the surf with my gear off.”

There was a somewhat thoughtful silence as Jeff crossed the room to sit next to his long-time friend.

“Hi Jeff, you’re back.” He didn’t even get a smile, let alone any kind of hug. But then, he probably wouldn’t be hugging himself either in this situation.

“Yeah, doing the rounds with Melrose. You know the drill.” Jeff picked at the button on the cuff of his jacket. “You gonna call Matt?”

The thoughtful silence suddenly became very tense.

“Yes… of course I am. Just been busy.” Amy Dumas still hadn’t looked him in the eye. For Amy, a woman who prided herself on her up-front nature, it was almost unheard of. Jeff looked at the phone on the dressing table under the mirrors and the obviously bored and waiting Divas.

“Sure.” So did he get to the ass kicking now, or just deliver his personal little message and head out? Matt wouldn’t thank him for putting his two cents in and the last place Jeff wanted to be was caught between his brother and his brother’s girl if things went south. So… he’d be discreet. In his own way.

“Well, whatever the fuck is up with you two, I so don’t wanna know. But if you don’t call him soon, he’s gonna come find you, busted-ass knee and all.” Amy’s head had snapped up at the harsh tone in Jeff’s voice. Meeting her gaze, he realized something that hadn’t been obvious from her posture. She was scared... of Jeff.

But why? Amy knew he’d never lay a hand on her for no reason, therefore, there must be a reason. A reason that would cause her to be afraid of what Jeff would do when he found out. Jeff suspected he knew _exactly_ what Amy should be afraid of and if he didn’t get out of this room in five seconds, then Stacy would never think of him as ‘nice’ again.

“Fucking call him, then come and tell him or I swear I’ll drag you home by the hair myself.”

Rising to his feet in one fluid movement, Jeff threw a quick nod in the direction of Trish and Stacy then bolted out the door before he did or said something that would bring his brother’s wrath down upon his shoulders. By the time he reached Mark’s door, he had walked off the flare of anger and shaken his arms to loosen the tension he’d felt at Amy’s reaction. Swallowing a lump in his throat that _wasn’t_ due to nerves at all, Jeff knocked once again… politely.


	58. Truths

Randy put his palms flat against Steve’s chest and with a mighty shove, moved the other man away from him a few feet. Steve could get all caveman and insane if he wanted, but Randy was _not_ going to have this kind of discussion in a car park; in fact, with Austin's body not so tantalizingly close to his, Randy decided he was not having this discussion _ever_. Lifting a Gucci-covered foot, Randy planted it in Steve’s stomach and used all the power in his long legs to get the bald man even further from his personal space. Why he was reacting so physically was beyond Randy at that moment, but he’d probably put it down to being near Steve. As demonstrated by last night… his brain leaked out his ears when he was anywhere near the Rattlesnake.

In a flash, Randy had scooped his car keys from his pocket and was spinning on the hood of the car, so he’d land near the driver’s door. He had no idea where he’d go, but if he didn’t get away from Austin soon, his gig would be well and truly up.

But Austin, for all his moaning about his age and his knees, was pretty fucking quick when it came to brawling and managed to latch onto the back of Randy’s shirt in an unbreakable grip. Feeling like he was a disobedient puppy, rather than a wrestling superstar, Randy tried to pull away from the hand to no avail. One shake had the keys in Randy’s hand drop to the tarmac, a second had him turning and spitting furious insults into the smug, blue-eyed face.

“Fuck you to hell Steve, let go or I’ll kick your face in so hard Vince’ll never put you on TV again.”

Okay, so he’d never lifted a hand to another man in anger in his life, but Steve didn’t know that.

The absolute rage in Randy’s voice called to something in Steve that had nothing to do with amusement at pissing the kid off so easily. He’d seen his lover heading for the car door and he’d just reacted on instinct, pulling Randy away and shaking him by the scruff till he calmed down. Unfortunately he’d made it worse if Randy’s swearing and clenched fists were any indication, but Steve just couldn’t for the life of him, find it in him to let go. Handling Randy, even a furious, wild, murderous Randy, was something akin to holding heaven.

“I’ll let ya go, if ya give yer word ya’ll stop trying to run and hear me out? Deal?” Randy was slightly bent to one side from Steve’s hold on his clothing, but he managed to convey ‘Fuck You’, with every muscle in his body. Another shake had him glaring angrily but nodding like a sullen teenager. A final shake to let him know he meant business and Austin managed to peel his fingers from Randy’s clothing. He watched, amusement still colouring his face as Randy tried to straighten out his suit, while rolling his shoulders and trying to find his keys on the tarmac without looking like he was.

“Why’d ya leave?”

The soft-spoken words caused Randy’s eyes to snap back up to Steve’s, trying to gauge the seriousness of the other man’s question. Feeling his anger at the man-handling abate somewhat, Randy searched for an acceptable answer to Austin's query. One that wouldn’t get him grabbed and tossed about again. After a moment, he settled back against the car, crossed his ankles and put his hands on the hood. Taking in the scuff marks on his expensive shoes, Randy decided to try something different. Honesty.

“Because I didn’t think you’d want me to stay.” He could sense Austin leaning beside him, the heat from the other man warming him like a fire. “I got my one night and I’m happy with that, so just… don’t okay? Don’t make like it’s possible.”

Steve couldn’t believe the change in Randy’s demeanor, his fight or flight tension had just drained away, leaving behind a man who seemed mature far beyond his years. Where was the ‘asshole punk’ in that crushingly sad voice? Austin felt his heart turn over at the realization that… god damn him… Copeland had been right.

Reaching up, Steve pressed his hand onto the back of Randy’s neck, much like he would for a startled horse. Randy sighed and relaxed as if the despair was falling away at Austin's touch.

“Why ain’t it possible?” And didn’t Steve’s breath come to grinding halt while he waited for the answer? Could he really have fallen so hard and so fast for this dual-sided young man, draped with all the markings of greatness but seemingly about to be lost under the weight of it.

Randy looked up into the ice blue eyes that had haunted him for over a year. He’d had his night, made his plan and captured a few hours of pleasure. It wasn’t supposed to keep going like this, hurt like this.

Standing, he pulled his cover of arrogance around him like the shield it was and shrugged off that warm, comforting hand.

“Stop it. Stop making out like you and me were possible. Stop pretending it wouldn’t be seen as some kind of fucking joke!” A finger pointed towards the arena. “You know they would, so just leave it. Go find someone else who can measure up to the kind of man to walk at Stone Cold’s side… because we sure as hell know it isn’t me.”

****

 _"I trust you with my life... my love..."_

Kevin had to swallow past a sudden lump in his throat as he met the liquid eyes of his lover. Soft and romantic wasn't what either of them wanted tonight, but those words from Scott seemed to have flipped a switch somewhere. It was not, to put it mildly, characteristic of _either_ of them... which made those words all the more important and precious to Kevin. He shivered slightly as Scott kissed him, the barest breath against his lips. His hands itched to raise up and wrap around the body leaning against him, but he resisted the temptation, knowing that although Scott would never deny him his quiet moments, allowing himself to slide into one now would leave his lover unsatisfied for what he really wanted... for what both of them wanted, to be honest with himself.

 _"And I trust you to discipline me when I_ deliberately _provoke you to it... just like I did tonight"_

That sent an eyebrow up as Kevin leaned back slightly to look at Scott. He'd known that Scott was pushing buttons, but he'd thought it was to help re-center him... knowing that it had all been to get them to this position cast a different light on things. Another kiss and another shudder, and then Scott was draping himself across his lap without even being prompted. The weight of his lover and the feeling of Scott's erection pressing into his thigh only fanned the flames that had been building all day. Turning his head, he let his eyes travel over the expanse of flesh revealed to him, running a gentle hand down Scott's spine in a soft caress without even thinking about it.

 _"I love you, Kev. Now give me what we've both been aching for."_

Chuckling softly, Kevin ran the same hand back up Scott's back, stopping to rub slightly at the tenseness in his neck. Scott was obviously beyond ready for this... and just as obviously needed a gentle reminder as to who exactly was in control here. Shaking his head, he leaned closer to Scott's ear and said softly, "I intend to do just that, Scott." Giving in to the desire, he ran his fingers through the dark curls lying so temptingly close to his hand, tugging on them to pull Scott's head up.

Meeting the confused gaze of his lover, he smiled, his eyes glinting as he answered the unspoken question. "You've been awfully pushy tonight, though. We'll see if you're still so cocky by the time I'm done."

Releasing his grip on Scott's hair, he left his hand on the tanned skin between the shoulder blades in front of him, pausing in thought for a moment as he weighed his options. Very aware of Scott's arousal, he was also conscious of his own body's demands and spared a second to be grateful that he hadn't tried to do this after getting undressed. The simple sensation of Scotty's cock rubbing against his would have had him exploding in no time if he'd done so. That single thought evoked a growl, and he dragged his attention back to the man on his lap, shunting aside his own growing desire to focus on fulfilling their mutual need at the moment.

The first blow was heavy, landing without warning, and Kevin paused as Scott's body arched in surprised reaction, a sharp cry piercing the momentary silence. God, had he really forgotten how much he loved this? Letting his fingers drift over the reddened area in a sort of soothing caress, he waited until Scott's breathing had evened out before raising his hand again, letting it hover when he heard the sharp inhale at the initial loss of contact.

A long moment passed, his eyes fastened on the single handprint on Scott's ass, before he allowed himself to move again.

Another jump, a muffled cry this time as Scott bit his lip, and Kevin didn't stop this time. One sharp blow after another, varying the timing and strength of the impacts as he worked across Scott's ass, and Scott's body arching and jumping and rubbing so maddeningly against his... The cries and half-gasped words only added to it, and he almost lost himself to the rhythm, to the sound of Scott gasping out his name in pleading whimpers. Realising how close he was to actually losing control, he forced himself out of the haze he was in, back to the moment.

For his own self-preservation, he paused, taking the opportunity to rub his lover's abused flesh as he pushed dark hair out of Scott's face. Gently wiping away the tears there, he caressed Scott's cheek with his thumb as he rebuilt his self-control. He wanted so badly to just strip his clothes off and pound into Scott until they were both screaming... but he knew that it wasn't what Scott wanted. At least, not yet. So, a momentary respite while Kevin tried to calm his own breathing and bank the fires a little, at least enough to finish this off the right way.

"God... Kev..." Scott whined, his hips still moving in little jerking motions under Kev's fingers. "Please..."

Smiling a little as he admired the sight in front of him, he rubbed Scott's back softly. "Shh, Scotty. It's okay."

"... _More_..." The frustrated whimper was accompanied by a twist of the hips that sent Scott's shaft rubbing against Kev's own length, straining against the tightly enveloping denim as it was. Barely biting back the groan that wanted to come tumbling out, Kevin shook his head.

"You know better than that," he said, his voice husky. "Too demanding, baby." A soundless wail in response to the fingers he sent tracing lightly across the reddened flesh and he smiled... then raised his hand again and brought it down hard enough to leave an instant mark. He'd have to watch that; he didn't want Scott unable to sit tomorrow... although they _would_ be on their way home... Tucking that particular temptation into the back of his mind, Kevin gave his full attention to his lover.

The second blow was lighter but edging on the sensitive flesh at the back of Scott's thighs and the gasping cry that it evoked made Kevin's cock throb. Slowly settling back into a rhythm of sorts, Kevin gave Scott what he wanted, what he was begging for, until his lover's words were choked by tears and incoherent whimpers and his body didn't stop moving even when Kevin did. Carefully sliding Scott onto the bed, Kevin stood up, aware of how close to his breaking point he was, and stripped his t-shirt off, letting it fall to the ground before toeing off his shoes and socks. He waited, hands lingering at the waist of his jeans, until Scott looked up at him.

His breath caught at the sight. His beautiful, strong lover... curled up on the bed with his ass red, individual handprints visible from the angle Kevin was standing at, his hair tangled around his face, tears drying on his cheeks and dark damp eyelashes around wide reddened eyes. It was a sight that Kevin knew he'd remember for the rest of his life.

"Kev...?" The pleading syllable tugged at him, the damp eyes testing his resolve... but Kevin stood firm. Scott had pushed every button he could to get them here to this point, and he wasn't about to give in now. Not when there was still a lesson to be learned here. Regardless of how desperate he was to be buried in his lover, it wasn't going to happen just yet. Satisfied that he had his lover's attention, he popped the button on his jeans before slowly sliding the zipper down, his eyes never leaving Scott. One side of his lips curled slightly at the whimper Scott gave as he pushed his jeans down, stepping out of them and kicking them aside, leaving him naked.

Now for the actual lesson. Moaning quietly as his fingers wrapped around his aching cock, Kevin squeezed slightly, then began slowly stroking himself. God, it felt so good... but he didn't want to end it like this. Hell no. He wanted desperately to be balls-deep in Scotty when he came... but he couldn't give in to Scott that easily. Narrowing his eyes as the man started to move, he shook his head, his smile widening slightly at the frustrated growl he got in return even as his hand moved in another long stroke along his length.

"Kev... can I please... just let me... want to _taste_ you, Kev!"

Raising an eyebrow, Kevin paused in his movements. "Really, Scott?" Taking a step closer, only inches from Scott now, he smirked. "See something you want?" Another slow caress to his cock and he groaned, his eyes fluttering shut for a second. He was close... too close. He didn't want to end this prematurely by accidentally losing control of himself---that would leave both of them frustrated. Sliding his fingers down to the base of his erection, he squeezed tightly, regaining a measure of calm, as he met Scott's frustrated scowl with his own somewhat strained smile. "But you're not the one in control here, are you? You don't get to _demand_ anything."

Another pause, and then he let his hand fall away, cocking his head at Scott as he spread his arms in an almost inviting gesture. "But feel free to try convince me that you _deserve_ it. If you think you can."

**** 

 _"Thank you, Love."_

Damn that sounded good. From the devilish look that Hunter gave him, they weren't quite on the same wavelength. Dave had meant that kissing seemed to be the best way of keeping either of his lovers from arguing with him. Obviously Hunter had come up with a whole other idea... one that Dave was loath to argue against. He wiggled his eyebrows at the beautiful blond and smiled.

 _"To first dates... at least for me."_

Dave tilted his glass towards both men before taking a long drink. Leaning forward he grabbed a plate and put a chicken breast on it, using his fingers to break it into bite-size pieces. As soon as Shawn finished his sip of wine, Dave brushed a morsel of the chicken against his lips. From that point on they took turns feeding each other bits of the food from different plates. There was more than one incident of teasing tongues snagging a finger along with the bits of food as well. Chicken, cheese, slices of fruit, and bits of pasta were shared among the trio along with a limited amount of wine.

Dave did have a second glass, but only because he was still so damn nervous about what he had planned. By the time he was halfway through it, they had managed to eat quite a bit. After Shawn had proclaimed himself stuffed, Hunter quickly followed suit. Dave had actually managed to eat more than he'd thought he would be able to.

Once they'd finished eating, Dave groaned and pushed himself up from the picnic blanket. As much as he was enjoying their time together, he needed to stretch out a few kinks from sitting on the ground. As he looked down at Shawn and Hunter, he smiled. Now... now would be the perfect time to tell them...

"There's something I need to talk to you two about, but I need to grab something out of my bag first," he said, his eyes flitting nervously between the two of them. He could see the curiosity in their eyes, but ignored it for the moment as he turned and walked the short distance to the wall beside the elevator. It took less than a minute to grab the bag with his surprises inside and then he walked back to the blanket.

As Dave settled between his lovers, plastic bag in hand, he smiled at both of them. "Hunter managed to get a sneak preview of what I have to say earlier, but only because I can't seem to keep my mouth shut about anything lately," he said with a rueful grin in Hunter's direction. He noted Hunt's reaction, but didn't respond to it. If he didn't get on with this, he wouldn't get it out at all the way he had planned.

"When I first came to work with the Fed, I was like a little kid just before Christmas. There was that whole sense of anticipation, knowing that something good was going to happen soon. At the time I thought it would be related to my career... that I was finally going to make it. I thought that that would be the best gift that I received from working there. I was wrong."

Dave pulled the first item from his bag with a smirk. Before either man could say a word, he cautioned, "don't laugh... there is actually a point here." Holding the boxed action figure of Hunter on his lap, he blushed. "Getting to work with you was a gift I hadn't expected, but one that I cherished from the moment I got it." He looked into Hunter's eyes as he continued on with his story. "The longer we worked together, the harder it was to convince myself that my appreciation for you was strictly related to the business. At the time I was convinced that you wouldn't appreciate those sentiments so I wrapped them up in a box inside my heart with a pretty little bow and kept them there."

Looking down at the item in his lap, Dave ran his fingers lightly over the plastic that held the Hunter-figure entrapped in the box. "It's kind of like this guy here, you want to take it out of the box and touch it, but you just know if you do that something bad is going to happen. A jealous little brother trying to destroy it or god forbid the dog chewing it to shreds. So you leave it in the box and you know it's there... you look at it, noticing all the traits and all the flaws as well; think about how it's enriched your life just by being there; but you don't want to put it at risk. For the next year you take it to bed with you every night, hold it close to your heart, and know that it's the best thing you've ever been given even if you _never_ open it."

Reaching forward for the bag, Dave turned to smile at Shawn as he pulled out a second box. This one containing a figure of Shawn. Laying it beside the first on his lap, he felt kind of silly, but he was going to do this, damn it. He looked back to Hunter as he started talking again. "Of course, Christmas comes around every year. So here you are, sure that nothing could compare to this gift you were given the year before... this gift that you love more than you ever thought possible... but by some miracle someone saw fit to give you another exquisite gift." Dave reached for Shawn's hand and pulled it into his lap, turning to look at his other lover as he did so.

"It's newer than the gift you'd been given the year before and it's wrapped in shiny paper, but that's not what draws you to it. It's the feeling you get when you touch it, what you know is underneath that glittery exterior that catches you. You peel back that wrapping and look inside and what you find captures your heart just like that special gift you received the year before." With a last shy smile for Shawn, he turned to look at the two boxes on his lap. "You don't love one more than the other. You love each of them for the special qualities they offer... qualities that you won't ever fully experience if you don't take the risk of opening the boxes. I'm ready now to take that risk."

Grasping Hunter's nearest hand and his attention as well, Dave turned and looked into his eyes. "I love you, Hunter. I tried not to admit it, but it slipped out of the box and snuck up on me when I wasn't expecting it. I kept trying to put it back in that neat little box, but each time it hit me it grew. Now it's too big to fit inside that box so I'm going to have to get used to giving it free reign." Leaning closer, Dave brushed his lips gently against Hunter's before turning to look at Shawn.

"And I love you, Shawn. It's a little newer, a little shinier...but it's just as deep. I'll admit that at first I got caught in the HBK trappings... the looks and the attitude. After all everyone loves him, but then I got to know the man beyond the trappings... you, Shawn. I'm not sure I've ever met a more sensitive and caring person... and that's the person I fell in love with." With that, Dave kissed Shawn, just as softly and sweetly as the one he'd bestowed on Hunter.

Then he sat back and grabbed the packages in his lap. He handed Hunter the Shawn-figure and Shawn the Hunter-figure, then he sat and waited for them to say or do something... anything.

****

Hunter had sat spellbound through Dave's funny and sweet declaration. If this is what the big man had been planning then no wonder he was pissed at Mark for making him bring it up earlier. Not that Hunter minded his totally impromptu 'moment' in their dressing room, spectators and all, but this was so much deeper, so much nicer. Dave wasn't just saying that he loved them, he was saying _why_ he loved them too. Hunt could sympathise with the locked box in the heart syndrome. Hadn't he done that very same thing with his affection for Shawn the last ten years?

That his dark eyed lover had managed to put his feelings together so eloquently was a credit to him, adorable blushes and all. Hunter was lucky if he could manage more than a shrug and a 'well yeah, or _course_ I love them' as his own succinct statement. But Dave had given him the gift of his love, even if he thought the reverse was true, and Hunter wasn't about to squander it. He'd rejected a chance at happiness last night because he'd believed Shawn and Dave were better off without him in the middle, Hunter wasn't about to give up on himself again, not after _that_ speech anyway.

Giving Shawn a brief respite from the emotion-fogged moment, Hunter changed the mood of the evening by reaching for his work reflexes. A hand on Dave's chest had him pushed off balance enough that the big man had to catch himself on his elbows, while Hunter swung a leg over so he was sitting across Dave's groin. Pleased that he was still dressed in his 'casual' clothes from his promo, dress pants weren't that good for rolling around, Hunter leaned down and kissed Dave like he was starving.

The plastic box of the HBK action figure was caught between their chests, but Hunter didn't care as he applied himself to tasting every one of Dave's teeth with the tip of his tongue. Dueling briefly with the cool bar of Dave's tongue-piercing, Hunter eventually sat back and looked at the hot expression in his lover's gaze with eminent satisfaction. He still straddled the other man and had no intention of moving any time soon.

"I love you right back David Bautista and this is the coolest present I've ever got." Fighting open the plastic with strong fingers, Hunter pulled out the HBK figure and examined the details with a careful eye. Tracing the miniature cowboy chaps with one fingernail Hunter smiled, pleased to have a replica of his long-time friend, even if it was hilariously fan boy of him.

Getting comfortable on his gorgeous dark haired couch, Hunter began to walk his Shawn around the ring (Dave's chest), pulling one small plastic leg out to the side and lifting the fists up to head height, Hunt had his tiny friend take on that infamous, unforgettable pose. Glancing at the package in Shawn's lap, Hunter grinned. "I wouldn't play with him Darling... he has anger management issues... just look at that expression."

Looking at the gear bag, still located near Dave's head, Hunter raised an eyebrow at the man beneath him, "There better be one of the 'Animal' in there or MiniShawn here's going to have a fit."

****

 _What was wrong with him?_

The thought ran through his mind for probably the thousandth time that night as Mark dried his hair. Still not able to come up with anything resembling an answer except vague thoughts of rainbow-hued hair and deep green eyes, he growled and flung the hapless towel across the room, rubbing a hand across his eyes as he sank down onto the bench.

Yeah, he was lonely; yeah, he'd been alone for... well, way too long; yeah, he desperately needed to get laid... but somehow, he knew that whatever this fascination with Jeff was, it was more than just a need for sex. 

And that scared the hell out of him. He barely knew the kid, really. Sure, he had all kinds of respect for his talents, if not his attitude, and Jeff was definitely easy on the eyes, but... how could he even begin to think that Jeff would be attracted to him? They had nothing in common, that he knew of, and he was an old, beat-up relic, nothing like the artistic daredevil whirlwind that was Jeff Hardy.

So why couldn't he get his mind off the nonstop tornado? How in the hell was he supposed to look Jeff in the face now, after he'd just brought himself off while thinking about the man?

With absolutely _perfect_ timing, a knock sounded at the door.

Somehow, even though the knock was quiet... polite, in an odd sort of knockish way, he knew it was Jeff. He could picture the other man, still in that Goth suit that _should_ look ridiculous but instead just screamed "fuck me".

Another growl at that thought, and he was standing up to pull on his jeans as he called out, "Come in!" He turned to face his visitor as he pulled the zipper up and stopped, surprised by the emotion written across Jeff's face before he dropped his gaze.

"Something happen?" Mark tried to keep his voice casual, forcing himself to turn back around and pick up his shirt. No reason for awkwardness here, not at all. It's not as though Jeff would know what he'd done, after all, and it wasn't as if fantasising about someone was a crime. Not even if he did work with the person. Even if he was responsible for the person. Not a crime at all.

That didn't explain the heavy shroud of guilt that he felt hanging over him as he pulled the shirt on and turned back to Jeff as he resumed his seat on the bench, pulling his socks and boots over to him with a quick drag of his foot. Quickly pulling them on, he took his time with the boot laces, wondering at Jeff's silence.

****

 _"I intend to do just that, Scott."_

The words spoken softly into Scott's ear elicited an arrogant smile. Oh yeah. At least it saved him the trouble of parading bare ass naked up and down the hall in order to get his so richly-deserved punishment... because that had been next on his list.

Huh?

Scotty looked up, confused, when Kevin tugged on his hair. He might just have to take that stroll after all. Kevin better _not_ have changed his mind now...

 _"You've been awfully pushy tonight, though. We'll see if you're still so cocky by the time I'm done."_

Well yeah... of course he had been. When was Scott _not_ cocky? He might tone it down for a day or two after Kev disciplined him, but they both knew it wouldn't last long... and they both knew why. Eventually it would push Kevin's buttons and he'd get exactly what he wanted... his well-deserved punishment.

Scott waited, almost patiently, for the first blow. The low growl emitted by Kev made him twitch. God how he loved that earthy snarl... on a really good day that was enough to make his toes curl.

Son of a....

Kev hadn't given any warning, but then he rarely did... that's the way Scott liked it. Still... he'd been so wrapped up in his reaction to that growl that he'd forgotten his precarious position. The first blow was harsh, pulling an automatic reaction from his body. His arms extended, pushing his upper body away from the bed, his back arching to an almost uncomfortable degree, Scott yelped at the sudden sharp stinging sensation.

 _Oh god yes._ That was exactly what he wanted.

He gasped for air as the pain radiated across the sensitive skin of his ass. The sharp pain mutated quickly to a sensation of warmth and a subtle tingle. The gentle touch of Kevin's fingers heightened the sensations in that area, drawing out the effects. Kevin knew just how to blend the pain with gentle touches to get the most out of this particular kink of theirs.

When Kevin's fingers left his skin, Scott inhaled sharply wanting the contact back, yet anticipating the next blow as well.

Scott bit his lip after the next blow. Despite the fact that he knew Kevin loved hearing his responses, Scott was aware of the fact that they were in a hotel and not in their room at home. There was the possibility, slim though it was, that the people in the next room might object to hearing him wail like a baby and call security. They had learned early on that discretion was not always a bad thing.

Still... Scott lost a bit of control with each blow, his begging and pleading for more deteriorating to breathy cries and the occasional whimper of Kevin's name. His body was to the point of responding without his control, arching into the blows now rather than away from them, feeding the craving from deep within. Each blow forced his swollen length into contact with the rough denim covering Kevin's lap and his cock was now aching and hard as a rock. The blows suddenly stopped.

His ass was on fire, the heat generated from the tender red skin feeling as if he'd sat in the middle of a bed of hot coals. Even the light touch of Kevin's fingers against his abused flesh stung, his nerve endings tingling in awareness. Scott leaned into Kevin's touch against his cheek, craving the gentle caress as he wiped away the trail of tears.

It wasn't enough.

"God... Kev..." He pushed his ass up against Kevin's too gentle fingers... wanting more. "Please..."

 _"Shh, Scotty. It's okay."_

The soft stroking of Kevin's hand over his back was meant to soothe him, but he didn't want to be soothed. What he wanted, no, what he _needed_ was...

"... _More_..."

His hips, of their own volition, twisted, forcing his hardened member against the matching length of steel enshrouded within the material of Kevin's jeans.

 _"Too demanding, baby."_

Too demanding? He hadn't even gotten _started_ yet. If Kevin thought that _that_ had been demanding then he'd better batten down his hatches because he was about to get hit by one _hell_ of a storm of demands. Before he was even able to open his mouth, Kevin's fingers skimmed over the bright red skin on his backside.

Scott's head whipped back, his mouth open, yet he didn't make a sound. The cry was caught in his throat, a wild thing caged within by the harsh blow immediately following. The next blow caught just above his thighs and the cry clawed and ripped its way out of his throat, only the tail end recognizable.

 _Oh hell fucking..._

"Yes!"

His begging continued, his body still craving more. Each blow kept him balanced on the razor-thin edge between extreme pain and extreme pleasure. By the time Kevin called a halt to his punishment, Scott was writhing against him instinctively. A mass of mixed signals swarmed through his brain, the pain in his ass off-setting the almost overwhelming pleasure of the slightest touch against engorged cock. He was beyond words... the pain limiting him to needy whimpers.

Once Kevin moved, it took him a full minute to realize he was no longer resting on Kevin's lap. He rested on his stomach, his face cradled in the frame of his forearms, unmindful of the tears falling onto the comforter. Taking a deep breath, Scott lifted his head to find his lover. He knew that Kevin was still there, wouldn't leave him like this, but he was deafened to any sounds by his own harsh breathing.

His eyes locked on Kevin and he sucked in a sharp breath, the hissing sound overly loud in the now quiet room. Kevin was standing there bare except for his jeans, the hunger in his eyes almost making them glow. The lights illuminated his skin... warm, smooth skin that seemed to be crying out for him to touch it. He looked like a god poised to wreak havoc on some unsuspecting mortal. Scott waited for Kevin to strip off his jeans and join him, naked, on the bed. Only Kevin didn't... he just stood there as if waiting for something...

"Kev...?"

What the _hell_ was he waiting for?

Scott wanted to ask him that very question, but he hadn't quite recovered his wits enough to actually verbalize it.

Then Kevin finally moved, stripping off his jeans, leaving his body bare to Scott's hungry gaze. God help him, he whimpered. There was an overwhelming need within him to touch, to taste every inch of that pale skin, to bring Kevin to the point he was at now... a boneless whimpering mess... but through pure pleasure rather than pain.

When Kevin wrapped his hand around his cock and started stroking it with a long, slow rhythm, Scott couldn't stand it anymore. He made it to his hands and knees before Kevin gave him 'the look'... the one that said without words that he wasn't yet allowed to touch. Frustrated beyond words, he growled.

Taking note of the wide smile on Kevin's face, Scott knew what he had to do... beg. Only it didn't quite come out that way.

"Kev... can I please... just let me... want to _taste_ you, Kev!"

 _"See something you want?"_

He almost instinctively nodded in the affirmative but clamped down on it at the last moment. His mouth was watering, demanding a taste of his lover's unique flavor. But he wasn't _allowed_... not yet. Scott was so damn frustrated that he didn't bother to temper his reaction. He scowled fiercely, his eyes promising retribution for making him wait.

 _"But you're not the one in control here, are you? You don't get to demand anything."_

Well quite obviously he wasn't fucking in control here... if he was then Kev's cock would be buried inside him by now. Taking a deep breath to try to calm his out-of-control temper, Scott couldn't quite control the glare he leveled on Kevin. He lowered his eyes for a moment because he knew that he was actually prolonging his own torture by acting this way. Kevin was the one doing the pushing now and the only way he was going to get what he wanted was by begging... nicely. He could do it... really he could. But when Kevin spoke again it was a challenge... tossed right in front of him.

 _"But feel free to try convince me that you deserve it. If you think you can."_

Scott jumped on the bait, damning himself even as he did it.

He could move quickly when he wanted to... sore ass or not. The last word had barely left Kevin's mouth when Scott pounced.

Kneeling in front of him, Scott lifted his hands and tangled them tightly in Kevin's hair. As soon as Kevin's mouth opened, in what Scott was sure would be an ear-blazing chastisement for his actions, Scott sealed his mouth over Kevin's. The kiss was harsh, animalistic, and violent. Tongue dueling, teeth nipping the tender flesh of Kevin's lips, Scott's hands tangled even tighter in Kevin's hair until they were both panting for breath.

Scott dropped quickly before Kevin had a chance to protest and ran his tongue smoothly over the tip of Kevin's cock, whimpering at this small taste of his lover. One taste was all he got. Strong hands threaded through his hair and before Scott could voice his own protest Kevin jerked... hard. Scott yelped in surprise before looking up at Kevin, his eyes shooting fire at his lover.

****

 _Come in!_

Still distracted by thoughts of Amy, Matt, and his desire to be as far away from the fallout as possible, Jeff opened the dressing room door without really thinking about it. If he hadn't been nibbling on a fingernail, he probably would have bitten his tongue at the sight that greeted him. Mark was half-dressed and casually zipping up jeans that just looked so good on those long, long legs. Momentarily stunned, Jeff stopped just inside the room and let the door close with a slight thump behind him. Half-dressed meant the reverse was true... Mark was half- _naked_. Standing barefoot about five feet from Jeff with the top button of his jeans so enticingly undone and with wet midnight hair clinging lovingly to strong cheekbones.

Now that just wasn't _fair_. 

Ruthlessly Jeff dragged his gaze from the intricate, famous tattoos and towards the floor, his at-the-moment purple hair falling forward to hide the faintest tinge of pink on his cheeks. Jeeze! Could he act more like a fourteen year old girl if he tried? Blushing just because the guy's got his shirt off? He was a wrestler dammit, he worked with mostly-naked people all the time. This wasn't any different at all. He'd already seen all that glorious alabaster skin anyway, so just because he was seeing it again didn't mean Jeff could just....

Oh... he'd put on his shirt.

Jeff stuffed his hands in the pocket of his pants and watched as Mark sat down and put on his shoes. He just had to get all the erotic thoughts he was having about Mark out of his head... like right now. There was no way the other man wouldn't notice Jeff perving all over him at dinner and after the glimpse he'd just been privy too, Jeff knew he'd be imagining what was under the denim and cotton all night at this rate. Knowing he couldn't handle another knock-back at this stage, Jeff gave his slightly happy lower regions a stern talking to and tried not to think of showers.

Letting his gaze travel up from long fingers deftly lacing big black boots, Jeff found himself staring into Mark's questioning gaze. It took a beat for him to realise the other man had asked him a question.

 _Something happen?_

Still distinctly off kilter by the half- _naked_ and the boots and the tattoos, Jeff answered without thinking.

"Amy's fucking around on Matt." Green eyes widening at the uncensored information that just came from his lips, Jeff almost slapped a hand over his mouth to pull the words back in. Typical that he would just spill his guts to Mark when all the man had done was ask a polite question. "Oh fuck! I probably shouldn't have said that."

He didn't think Mark would care one way or the other about Jeff's brother and his girlfriend, but Jeff didn't give away secrets normally and although he was about four billion percent sure he was right, it wasn't really his business to tell. He had instinctively told Mark the truth, because he was... well... Mark. And Jeff obviously couldn't shut the hell up around the bigger man.

Losing all the tension he'd acquired in the Diva's locker room, Jeff slid bonelessly onto the bench beside Mark. Suddenly deciding he'd hidden enough, and hoping his blush had faded, Jeff tossed his head back, flicking green and purple strands away from his eyes and tilted his face inquiringly at Mark.

"Fair's fair 'Taker, I just blurted out a secret. Tell me one of yours so I don't feel like such an idiot." Not really expecting Mark to comply, Jeff smiled imploringly and let his eyes go all huge and innocent. "I swear I won't breathe a word. Please?"

****

 _"Thank you Love."_

Swallowing his strawberry, Shawn returned Hunter's smile and settled back between the other two again. Hearing that endearment from Hunter could keep him smiling all night long; it was something he'd never even hoped to hear and he knew that the little shiver of joy every time he heard wouldn't wear off for quite some time... if it ever did. He shook his head a little, thinking about Dave's denial of his own stubbornness, but knew better than to push the issue right then. Besides, his mind was far too occupied with thoughts of exactly how Dave could keep them quiet for him to want to start even a good-natured argument.

 _"To first dates... at least for me."_

Nodding, Shawn took a sip of wine, pleasantly surprised at the mellow flavour. Hunter might not indulge often---and they were going to have to talk about that at some point... just not now!---but he had excellent taste when he chose to do so. Sitting back and enjoying the company and the food kept him occupied for quite some time as they fed each other, little nibbles and swipes of hot tongue against fingers and random little touches keeping him aware of his lovers' presence without sending him into orbit. Finally shaking his head at another bit of chicken, Shawn groaned dramatically and waved a hand as he tried not to smile, pleading that he was too stuffed even for one more bite. That didn't stop him from stealing a kiss from Dave as the big man set the plate down, however.

Watching Dave as he stood up, Shawn couldn't help but wonder what his lover was up to. He'd been nervous about _something_ ever since they'd arrived, although he'd tried to hide it, and it was even more obvious now.

 _"There's something I need to talk to you two about..."_

Sending a bewildered glance at Hunter and finding nothing but calmness there, with a hint of amusement that made him suspect that his friend already knew what it was Dave was going to talk about, he pushed himself up from his semi-reclining posture and tried not to frown as Dave settled back between them with a bag in hand. The nervous smile from the big man almost had him worried, although he tried not to let it show. If Hunter wasn't worried, then he shouldn't be... right?

 _"Hunter managed to get a sneak preview of what I have to say earlier..."_

Another glance, eyes narrow this time, and Shawn barely forced himself not to smack his blond lover for the incredibly smug look on his face. Hunt obviously knew what this was leading up to, and he knew that Shawn didn't handle surprises well... unless they were good ones. Hmmm. There _was_ a look in Hunter's eyes that Shawn couldn't quite identify, a hint of warm affection as his amused hazel eyes met Shawn's narrowed blue ones. Mouth twisting as he resisted the temptation to make a face at the other man---he was the oldest one of the three, after all, and should _try_ to act like an adult---he turned his full attention to their darker lover, who looked incredibly nervous and awkward as he spoke.

His eyebrows raised briefly when Dave pulled out the Hunter figure, but his surprise was almost immediately wiped away by a soft smile at the blush on Dave's face. He'd always wondered a little at Scott's obsession with getting Kevin to blush, but he was quickly coming to understand the appeal. His fingers itched with the urge to reach out and touch the man, but he could tell that Dave's little story was hard for him to tell and didn't want to interrupt him... not when he suspected that Dave was leading up to something important.

 _"...you look at it, noticing all the traits and all the flaws as well; think about how it's enriched your life just by being there; but you don't want to put it at risk."_

Shawn's eyes widened slightly, and he wondered if he was interpreting Dave's words correctly. It sounded like... a confession. Like Dave was talking about far more than just a toy. When Dave pulled out the small figure of him, Shawn realised he was nearly holding his breath, his pulse quickening in a sort of nervous anticipation.

 _"You don't love one more than the other. You love each of them for the special qualities they offer... qualities that you won't ever fully experience if you don't take the risk of opening the boxes."_

Biting his lip, Shawn blinked, something inside just melting at the little smile Dave had given him. This was not about toys or gifts; this little story was about so much more... more than Shawn had ever dared hope for. Somehow, Dave had described Shawn's own struggle with his feelings for Hunter over the last nine years even while describing... his.

 _"I love you, Hunter."_

God. That look... Shawn shivered a little at the raw emotion he could see in those dark eyes as Dave looked at Hunter. There was matching emotion in the hazel eyes, and Shawn blinked away the sudden unwanted moisture gathering in his own at that look. His heart was racing now, his fingers almost clenched on the blanket underneath him, as Dave turned to look at him. He couldn't possibly... he wasn't going to...

 _"And I love you, Shawn."_

Stunned into silence, Shawn stared at Dave as he spoke, some part of his heart cracking open at the sincere words. Hunter was one thing; he'd loved Hunt for so long, and had somehow known, even though he'd never admitted it to himself, that those feelings were returned. This... this was different. New.

A first.

Always before, he'd been the one to open himself up, to say the words, to leave himself vulnerable. And always before, he'd been hurt by doing so. Not always right away, sometimes of his own doing, but it had happened. Even with Hunter.

Finally moved to reaction by the kiss, a startled but happy smile on his face as Dave looked at him, Shawn's verbal response was delayed as he realised that Dave had given him the Hunter figure. He knew Dave was nervous, waiting for a reaction, but for some reason the fact that he'd given Shawn the Hunter toy caught at him. It was an acknowledgement, an admission... and a tangible sign of Dave's own love for both of them.

Shawn's breath caught in his throat at that word as he stared at the tiny plastic sneer captured so perfectly on the toy. Love. Dave loved him. So unexpected... but was it? Had anything that Dave had done over the last day _not_ screamed of deeper emotions than simple attraction? Looking back now, Shawn thought not. He felt momentarily bad for not being able to immediately return those words, but he knew somehow that Dave wouldn't want him to. He'd been honest with him earlier that day when he'd said it was possible... and saying it now, when it wasn't true---quite---yet, would be an insult after the way that Dave had just laid himself out for the two of them.

Hunter's abrupt movement drew Shawn's eyes up and away from the toy in his lap and he found himself practically staring as Hunter straddled Dave and then tried to suck the other man's breath away. The sight was even more arousing than he'd thought it would be, and he was lost in admiration at the beauty of it... until Hunter sat back. The affectionate touch that Hunter gave to the toy figure of Shawn wasn't lost on him, and neither was the smile. Of all the ways Dave could have chosen to tell his story tonight, this was probably the most effective, and the most appropriate.

Working the plastic on his own toy open as he kept his eyes on Hunter playing with his new toy, he couldn't help but laugh when his friend set the toy in his own distinctive pose.

 _"I wouldn't play with him Darling... he has anger management issues..."_

"Can't be any worse than the real thing," he returned as he finally pulled the toy out, holding it up for a close inspection of his own. The snarl was perfect... only one thing was missing. "He doesn't come with his own water bottle," he mused sadly. He knew he needed to respond to Dave, let him know that everything was good, but...

 _"There better be one of the 'Animal' in there or MiniShawn here's going to have a fit."_

Cocking his head as he saw a slight blush steal over Dave's face again, he grinned. Suddenly, he knew how he could reply to the heart-stopping, heart-warming admission. Rising up to his knees, he moved closer to Dave's prone form and set the Hunter toy down next to the one Hunt was holding before stretching across Dave, reaching down to the plastic bag near his feet on the other side. Conscious of his own position, he took his time in moving, knowing that Dave had to be nervous without an actual answer but not above a bit of teasing himself. Hunter had taken the immediate pressure off of him; his friend had to realise how shocking that particular admission would be for him, given his past history. But now...

Fingers wrapping around the plastic handle, Shawn sat back, pulling out the Dave figure that had been abandoned in the bag and quickly opening it. Running a finger across it, Shawn looked at Dave and smiled again.

"I couldn't have asked for a better present." Carefully setting the third figure beside the other two, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the tempting lips on that worried-looking face. Pulling back just enough to meet Dave's eyes, he said softly, "Thank you. That means... more than you'll ever know."

****

Mark managed not to react when Jeff sat down next to him, instead finishing tying his boots before looking at the other man. He met Jeff's eyes for a moment before his gaze slid away against his own will, but he just couldn't face the man after what he'd done earlier. Knowing that Jeff was perturbed at the goings-on between Matt and Amy made him want to put an arm around him, but he restrained himself, instead letting his eyes flicker over Jeff, taking in the sight.

God, he was just losing it. Didn't he have _any_ control left any more?

 _"Tell me one of yours so I don't feel like such an idiot."_

He could lose himself in those eyes. Remembering to blink after a long moment, Mark didn't miss the not-serious tone of Jeff's voice, but maybe if he did answer him, he could lighten the mood a little... maybe even get his own mind off the images of the man next to him that were haunting him. What could he tell him? It had to be something not widely known... He considered mentioning Shawn for a moment before deciding against it. While he had no objection to Jeff knowing, he and Shawn had gone well out of their way to keep their relationship quiet both during and after the fact to avoid any backlash backstage, and although he suspected that Shawn wouldn't mind Jeff knowing, it wasn't something he was just going to blurt out for no reason.

For some reason, that made him think of Adam. And Shannon. But they had both been quite a while ago, and Jeff had to know about Shannon, brief as it had been, since they were good friends. Mentally shaking himself, he decided rather sharply that his past relationships were _not_ going to be the topic of discussion. But...

"Well... there is something about me that very few people know." Letting his lips curve a little, Mark was curious as to Jeff's reaction to this little confession. "Very few" was almost an exaggeration; he could probably count on one hand how many people knew this, and nearly all of them had been lovers of his at one time or another. It was a fairly minor thing, but he didn't like spreading it around because of his reputation. Letting Jeff know about it certainly wouldn't hurt. "I'm a romantic at heart. Candlelit dinners, picnics, long walks... I love that sort of thing."

Leaning back, he shrugged a little in response to the question on Jeff's face, forcing himself not to look embarrassed. He'd never really just come out and _said_ it before, preferring to demonstrate instead. Not, he thought to himself, that that was a real option here.

****

Dave managed not to show how startled he was when Hunter pushed him backwards, barely having the presence of mind to catch himself on his elbows. He couldn't help the raising of one brow though as Hunter sat on top of him. Having pictured himself in this particular position about oh... half a million times, he found that it was nowhere close to his fantasies. It was a hell of a lot better.

As Hunter settled atop his groin, Dave's breath caught in his throat. Oh lord. And then Hunter was kissing the breath right back out of him. He was busy, happily returning that kiss, his hands clasping at Hunter's waist like a drowning man. He wanted to smile when he caught on to Hunter playing with the bar through his tongue, but his mouth was otherwise occupied. By the time the kiss was over, he was heavily aroused and his hands had slipped to bracket Hunter's hips. There was no doubt that Hunter realized it either, with the way he was looking at the man and the fact that his perch was now lumpier than it had been when he'd taken his seat. Dave considered the fact that Hunter wasn't flying across the room as a huge step in their progress to get him comfortable with touching and being touched.

 _"I love you right back David Bautista and this is the coolest present I've ever got."_

Dave felt an immediate sensation of warmth in the vicinity of his chest upon Hunter's declaration. He didn't doubt Hunter's words at all, but he was still a little surprised that one of the things that he'd so longed for was now his. Hunter loved him.

He smiled as he watched Hunter perusing the toy replica of Shawn. The tender touch as Hunter traced the chaps was as much sentiment for the man himself as for the gift. Turning to glance at Shawn, he noticed Shawn's eyes locked on Hunter and started to feel his nervousness returning... just a bit. Though he smiled at the banter between the two and almost laughed at the way Hunter was parading the figure around his chest, he could still feel a bit of doubt creeping around inside. So far... Shawn hadn't said a thing in regards to his story. He wasn't looking for a reciprocation of his words, he knew it was too soon, but he'd expected some kind of reaction.

 _"There better be one of the 'Animal' in there or MiniShawn here's going to have a fit."_

Again Dave tossed Maggie a mental thank you. The original plan had not included a toy replica of himself, but Maggie had been insistent that he take one of the newly released 'Batista' figures. Of course she had suggested that he could keep it for his own collection or give it to a niece or nephew. He wondered what she would think if she found out who had ended up with it. The thought made his grin grow even wider.

Dave started slightly as Shawn set the Hunter figure on his chest with its companion. He'd totally zoned out for a moment and he had just enough time to glimpse the snarling face on the toy before Shawn was stretched over top of him.

Between the two of them, they were going to kill him.

He focused on breathing while Shawn was stretched over top of him... that and Shawn's... assets. It was kind of hard not to focus on them with them shoved before his face as they were. If he weren't feeling so self-conscious about Shawn not having said anything yet, he might have done more than just focus on said assets.

When Shawn settled back down at his side, he watched him taking the Batista figure out of the package. He followed Shawn's finger across the toy with his eyes and then looked up to see that perfect smile he'd come to love so much. Despite the lack of words, Dave felt the tightness in his chest ease a bit.

 _"I couldn't have asked for a better present."_

Did that mean... that Shawn was happy with what he'd said? He kept his eyes on Shawn's face despite the fact that he felt the minimal weight of the third figure being set upon his chest. The gentle kiss eased yet a bit more of the tension he was holding inside. Shawn wasn't screeching and running for the door. That was a good thing right?

 _"Thank you. That means... more than you'll ever know."_

The warmth in Shawn's eyes as much as the words he spoke banished the last of the tension from his frame. Shawn was happy and so was Dave. Lifting one hand from Hunter's hip, he settled it against the back of Shawn's neck and drew him back down for a more thorough kiss. As their lips parted that time, he winked at Shawn, his lips settling into a firm smile.

"You're very welcome, sweetheart."

Letting his hand slip from Shawn's neck to settle on one thigh, Dave became aware of his other problem once again. With Hunter's shifting on top of him as he began a mock match with the figures, Dave was starting to hope that it was about time to head back to the hotel. Not that he minded Hunter sitting there, but it would be oh so much better if they were both... wearing just a bit less.

He laughed as Hunter covered the Dave figure with the MiniHunter for a three count by MiniShawn, the special guest referee.

"I'm not quite that easy, darlin'," he said as he wiggled his brows. "Although if you promised me some of that cheesecake over there I'd probably lay down quite willingly for the pin."

Cheesecake just happened to be one of his few weaknesses when it came to his diet. He'd have to make sure to limit himself or he'd probably eat the whole damn thing. "We really should take that back to the hotel with us when we go." His mind had already latched onto the idea of eating his piece of cheesecake from one of his lovers' chests...it would be interesting at the very least.

Just as he was contemplating that lovely scene, he heard the ding of the elevator arriving. He raised a brow at Hunter, wondering if the man was going to stay seated exactly where he was. He sure hoped that Bob didn't have a heart attack if that were the case. A trip to the hospital was not on his agenda for the night.


	59. Invitations

Hunter leaned forward slightly from his position on Dave's hips and let his face just gently brush Shawn's hair as the other blond reached over their reclining lover. He could just imagine the close-up view Dave was being subjected to and smirked at the Heartbreaker's ability to tease by moving just so. Although the smaller man wasn't resting his weight on Dave, Hunter nevertheless lifted his own not-inconsiderable bulk backwards slightly so they didn't smother the dark man too much.

Hunt's smirk widened into a full-on grin at the feel of something impressively hard pressing into his behind. A slight tension in his spine told him he better run, but Hunter ruthlessly quashed it in the face of the lovely scene taking place before him. He only just caught the low words exchanged between his lovers, but he reveled in the relieved smile on Dave's face and the relaxed one gracing Shawn's. Unlike Hunter, Shawn hadn't spent the last nine months having a severe crush on Dave, nor had he the pleasure/pain of working with the man on a daily basis. They'd known each other through Hunter at first and while cordial friends, hardly had the same history with each other that Hunt shared with both.

It was doing his jaded heart good to see them following through on the events that were set into motion last night. For all that Hunter had turned Shawn away, Dave never had. He'd been the stand up man who'd taken Shawn to that fucking restaurant and spent the night in his bed, arms around him and Not Doing A Damn Thing. Well, Hunter knew they'd been as close as laughing and was incredibly flattered that they'd waited until the Hunter-Issue was sorted out before embarking on their romance. Or not flattering really, if you think that he stopped the two people he loved having sex, by being an asshole to them.

Hunter decided then and there, that his mission in life was to get Dave and Shawn to have sex as often as humanly possible. Shawn may not yet be in love with Dave, but Hunt knew the signs of Shawn in Lust and if there was one guaranteed way of getting someone to love Dave Bautista, it was to spend time with him. Hey... it had worked for Hunter.

Not that Dave had a problem with falling hard and fast for HBK, but that the guy loved Shawn---Mr. Total Goofus---Michaels as well, gave Hunt reassurance than it wasn't just Shawn's inherent charm that had slayed the man. Dave actually loved them when they were less than perfect, _all the flaws_ , and not so shiny. They were two of the most well-respected men in their industry, yet still Hunter had to admit that he and Shawn could often act like ten-year-olds at a birthday party when the mood got them. Nothing like this kind of mood of course. This was Hunter's 'Wine and Dine Make Up For Being A Prick Last Night' date. It was romantic, serious and touching.

And MiniHunter was so gonna kick MiniDave's ass.

 _I'm not quite that easy, darlin'_

"Well damn." Hunter murmured under his breath. MiniHunter stood up from the prone form of MiniDave and demanded a rematch, he also kissed MiniShawn quite passionately in attempt to win the chaps-wearing referee over to his side. "I think they should stop all the wrestling and just go find somewhere private to grope each other."

Dave's remark about the cheesecake gave Hunter some completely lewd ideas that would probably be far too sticky and coincided with the elevator doors opening to reveal Bob. Fortunately he was checking his watch, so when Hunter smoothly rose to his feet, MiniWrestlers in arms, and took a step to the edge of the blanket, Bob looked none the wiser about their physical closeness. Not that Hunt was truly concerned. Plenty of activities could be explained away by 'rough housing' and really, from what Hunter had heard over the years, pro-wrestlers slept with more men, women and animals than your average porn star.

Of course none of their reputations could ever compare to Ric's, but then... whose could?

"Hey Bob! Thanks again for this, I know it isn't your usual gig, but we really appreciate the time to get some peace and quite." Smoothly shifting gears, Hunter put on his publicity savvy face and chatted amiably with the older man while Dave and Shawn gathered themselves up.

"It's fine Mr. Helmsley. No problem at all." Bob looked enquiringly at the three aggressive toys in Hunter's arms, but wisely refrained from commenting. "Mr. Levy called and said you'd be by tonight and I think it's grand you chose My building for your meeting." Hunter heard the capital M in the 'My' and decided that he liked Bob. The man was likely completely unimpressed by anyone and Hunter found that very refreshing. Getting ready to leave, Hunter made a move towards the elevator when he saw the paper and pen tucked into Bob's back pocket.

"Still, we appreciate it Bob. Hey, any chance you need an autograph? For a family member perhaps? It's the best way we can say thanks sometimes." It was incredibly arrogant of Hunter to make the offer, expecting Bob or someone he knew to be a fan. Particularly if the paper was his racing form or something. But the way the man was glancing at Shawn was an indication of someone working out how to ask for a signature... or a date. If it was the latter, Hunt reckoned he could take him in a fair fight. 

"Oh sure. Thanks Mr. Helmsley that would be great. My son's a mad keen fan, I just know he'd give me hell if I didn't get one. Thanks Mr. Michaels."

Stepping into the lift, Hunter leaned his shoulder against Dave's and smiled down the few short inches at Shawn.

"Oh to be the Baby Face. Loved and adored by millions, while we Nasty Nasty Men in black trunks collect nothing but jeers."

He wondered if he could make it to the car without Shawn hitting him. He could always hide behind Dave.

****

Even as Kevin's lips curled at the glare that his lover bestowed upon him, he knew that Scott was going to move. It wasn't often that he could get his lover to take that kind of bait during scenes; even with the overwhelming arrogance, Scott possessed wonderful self-control.

Usually.

The harsh, demanding kiss surprised him, since he hadn't expected Scott to go for his _mouth_. The hands tangled in his hair, pulling tightly, provoked a growl out of him as he responded without meaning to. Even as Scott let go, Kevin could taste the faint coppery tang of blood in his mouth although he wasn't entirely sure which of theirs it was. His breath coming in harsh pants, his cock throbbing from the arousal singing through his veins, the sensation of hot wet flesh sliding across the sensitive head drew out another, harsher, growl and his hands threaded through Scott's hair before he realised he was moving. Coming to his senses in time to prevent himself from holding Scott there while he fucked his mouth, he instead yanked Scott's head away, his own eyes narrow in response to the fiery glare emanating from those dark eyes.

"No." Using his grip to throw Scott back down onto the bed, Kevin sucked in a deep breath before moving to kneel beside his lover on the blankets. "That was a mistake, babe." Running a hand down Scott's side, he smirked a little as his fingers passed tantalisingly close to the hard shaft rising insistently from between Scott's thighs. As much as he wanted to feast on Scott's body tonight, he didn't quite have the heart to force him to lay on his back while he did so; it had been a long time since they'd done anything like this... and he had other possibilities open to him, anyway.

"Onto your stomach, Scott." A swat at the hip he'd just been caressing, and his smirk widened a little at the shuddering moan that his lover released as his weight pressed his arousal into the mattress. Swinging a leg over Scott's thighs, Kevin draped himself against Scott's back, supporting his weight on his elbows. His position left his cock resting snugly against Scott's ass and he bit his lip for a minute as he resisted the temptation to thrust against his lover's body. Gently pushing the sweat-soaked hair away from Scott's neck, he leaned forward to press his lips to the skin there, nibbling and licking his way along the inviting curve, reveling in the small shudders and whines that Scott couldn't quite suppress.

Lifting his head just enough for his lips to brush against the soft shell of Scott's ear, he said huskily, "You need a lesson in patience, Bad Guy. And that's what you're going to get."

Returning his attention to the area he'd just left, he nibbled his way down the skin again until he reached a particularly sensitive spot and sank his teeth into the skin. Scott's reaction was immensely gratifying, although his body's arch was restrained by Kevin's weight on top of him. Soothing the bite mark with his tongue, Kevin slowly worked his way backward, his lips and teeth and tongue traveling down Scott's spine, not missing a centimeter of skin to tease and nibble on and suck at.

Reaching the curve of his lover's lower back, Kevin let his fingers get involved, teasing gently over hips and reddened flesh as he licked his way across the dimples hidden there. He was terribly tempted to bite the rounded flesh beneath him, but he didn't want to hurt Scott that much, and having a bite mark on top of the abuse his ass had already taken tonight would make the next day incredibly painful for him. Instead, he laved the sore flesh with his tongue, his own arousal rising with each of Scott's whimpers and restless movements.

Pausing with his hands at Scott's hips, he snagged a pillow from the pile at the head of the bed as he settled himself back between Scott's legs. Urging Scott's hips up far enough to tuck it under him, Kevin took a moment to admire Scott's ass, red and sore and now tilted at a definitely inviting angle toward him. Ruthlessly ignoring the throbbing at his groin at the sight, Kevin ran his hands across the tempting flesh before pulling the rounded globes apart as gently as he could. Smiling again at Scott's almost frantic reaction, he leaned forward, licking a long slow path down across the musky skin.

****

 _a romantic at heart. Candlelit dinners, picnics, long walks... I love that sort of thing._

He couldn't stop the fleeting, wistful expression crossing his features at the low-voiced confession. Jeff knew that he'd never get that kind of treatment from the man, they were colleagues, not lovers, but... wouldn't it be nice? Just to be loved so much that someone would want to take you out, or go to the trouble of organising a picnic for you... because they wanted to. Because they thought you were special enough to merit it.

Jeff really hadn't expected Mark to tell him anything, and if on the off chance the big man felt like playing, he'd guess it would be something like 'Nash wears a blue g-string' or something. Not an actual secret. A confidence that was delivered with such obvious honesty that Jeff didn't for a moment doubt Mark's word.

There was a flood of warmth through Jeff's heart, tinged by a spear of pain, at the imagery Mark's words produced. Oh yes. He could just imagine Mark being the kind of perfect lover that most people dream about, the kind they never have, but always want. Jeff wasn't too proud to exclude himself from that club either, he was just as much a sucker for being romanced as the next man, but to know... to know for sure... that Mark would love to spend time just being with his partner, was enough to bring a roaring surge of jealousy into Jeff's mind.

Jeff had tried a few times to show his partners how he felt by surprising them with gifts and treats... but it never got quite the reaction he'd hoped for. He felt so much envy towards the previous men in Mark's life that he had to drop his eyes again, so that Mark wouldn't see the nasty little person inside him. Shan _had_ deserved a man like Mark to treat him right, his friend having been through more shit than Jeff could ever claim to know. Mark had healed the small blond with his attention and his love and Jeff had never begrudged his beautiful friend his happiness.

Till now.

Less that an eyeblink after Mark had spoken, Jeff stood up quickly from the bench. Guess that answered your stupid, fuckin' teasing didn't it? Jeff cursed mentally as he waited for Mark to join him. The man of your dreams _would_ be romantic with someone he liked, treat them like gold instead of cheap dross and he apparently didn't even do it because he was under pressure. Mark actually wanted to, because he cared for his lovers. It shouldn't be that strange a thing, should it? Jeff could remember a conversation with one of the Divas about the various merits and flaws of her current boyfriend. He'd been astonished when she'd mentioned that she had to _tell_ her lover to buy her flowers, what kind she liked and when to get them. It had struck him as very sad that her partner had been given his orders, which he'd dutifully carried out... not because he wanted to, but because it was _expected_.

Jeff would take Mark's long walks over bullied romance any day.

In fact, he was becoming painfully aware that he would take Mark any way he could get him as if he'd been starved of something for so long that now was just within his reach. It was a feeling likely to doom him to a broken heart, but no one had ever accused Jeff of having more sense than feeling. The sensible thing to do would be to work his ass off for the next three months, earn Vince's trust back, secure his friendship with Mark and _get the fuck over_ his unrequited lust for the man. Yeah... like thinking it could make it happen.

Pulling up a smile from the bottom of his shoes, Jeff raised his eyebrows at Mark's slightly embarrassed expression.

"Well, I admit you wouldn't have to bend _my_ arm to get me walking on a beach at sunset either." A slight shrug to indicate Mark shouldn't be shy about the topic in the least. "Thanks... for the secret I mean. I appreciate you trusting me with it." Much as it just added another lump of concrete to the many Jeff was putting under the pedestal he had Mark on. "I'm so hungry my stomach has declared war on my spleen, can we please eat?"

At Mark's bemused nod, Jeff lead them out of the dressing room with his quickest stride. The taller man would still have to adjust slightly for Jeff's shorter legs, but not as much as he might usually. Jeff's boundless energy was coming back to him and he normally raced around most the time with Matt lagging behind like a watchdog.

At least in their footsteps, Jeff and Mark were on a level playing field.

With the backstage area almost completely empty now, Jeff didn't have to raise his chin at any of the looks he might have received while leaving with Mark. After the pleasantries he'd heard while waiting earlier, he guessed that Heyman's threats to smear his name backstage hadn't hit quite yet. Although there was very little that hadn't been spread about Jeff in his career, he really could do without Mark's tension over his supposed involvement with 'That Freak Hardy... no... the Younger One.'

Pushing out the exit doors, Jeff hazarded a guess that 'Taker had hired a rental rather than a private car, it was usually everyone's easiest mode of traveling, but Mark could pretty much do as he wanted so Jeff wasn't a hundred percent sure.

"Um... my bag's in a locker at the airport and I got a cab over here. You mind driving?"

****

 _because we sure as hell know it isn’t me._

Steve could not believe his ears. Randy was actually... Randy was....

Randy was fucked in the head if he thought for a second Steve cared what other people thought of him.

"Yer fucked in the head if ya think I care what other people think of me," he ground out with a flare of anger that surprised him. Who thought Randy wasn't good enough? Who would dare suggest that he wasn't the kind of man Steve would spend his time with?

When he found them... Austin was gonna hurt them.

Reaching out, he secured Randy's wrist and pulled the younger man back to the car. "Now yer gonna sit down and shut up so I can tell ya my bit of it." Seeing the mutinous expression on the sculpted features Austin frowned warningly and continued. "No, I do not think the idea of you and me is a fuckin' joke and I'll smack the face of anyone who thinks different... including you."

Looking into the soft chocolate eyes of this fascinating young man, Steve truly wondered how he was going to convince Randy that they could have more than just a few short hours. He hadn't been lying when he said he didn't give a shit about back-stage gossip. Hell, first thing he'd do if he landed Randy was strut around showing them who was the _man_. After he phoned Kitten of course. It was no secret Randy was practically untouchable in the lovin' department, what with Hunter's looming presence and the possibility of Orton Snr on your case if you touched his baby boy. But he must of had his share of offers, from his sycophant friends if nothing more. And he'd turned them all down. 'Cept Steve.

It was the reason why the kid's straight forward come-on last night had been such a shot out of the blue. If he'd thought Randy would make a play for anyone, he would have bet you a thousand it wouldn't be for his bald ass.

"Last night was pretty amazing in my book o' first nights and I ain't gonna let you treat me like a one night stand for no good reason. What they think," a finger copied Randy's earlier gesture, "ain't worth shit. You and me, that's what counts here in this conversation by the fuckin' way, you and me as an ' _us_ ', well that is possible Kid, if ya want it."

Seeing that Randy wasn't going to try and bolt again soon, Austin let go of the wrist in his fingers and took a few steps away from the car while he waited for his young lover's response.

Randy watched him through narrowed eyes, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Austin could not be serious about this. Randy did not have a hope in hell of having a relationship with someone like Steve, not in the reality they lived in. The bald superstar may have the luxury of not givin' a damn, but Randy didn't and he knew what life for him would be like as Steve's boyfriend backstage. Most already thought he was blowing Hunter and Ric just to keep his spot in Evolution, so adding Steve to the mix would just confirm everyone's theory. Their low opinion of Randy he could handle and had been doing so for years, it would be the snide attacks on Steve that would kill him.

And the man just didn't damn well see it. He thought it was just Randy being stupid rather than the very real life the young man was currently leading being seriously messed up and taking Austin's along with it. Randy adored wrestling, and just about everything in the industry was like a gift to him from god knows where... it was in his blood. But he wasn't prepared to fuck up Steve's life by bringing him into the world Randy had unfortunately created for himself.

Steve was acting like Randy was a member of his pride or something and big bad Alpha Male Austin was gonna nip him into line. Well fuck that. Randy was ending this before it even began and Steve could just take it or leave it. Feeling rebellion stirring in his guts, Randy contemplated making another grab for freedom. He was at a disadvantage because Austin could out wrestle him, but if Randy could get to the door of his car....

"Try it an I'll drag ya across my lap and swat ya a couple."

Steve suspected that had been the wrong thing to say, the minute Randy punched him.

****

Dave wasn't at all sure how Hunter made it to his feet that quickly. With his 'condition' he was going to be moving just a bit slower. Luckily Hunter's chatting with Bob provided a nice distraction. He grimaced slightly as he rolled to his knees and pushed himself to his feet. Maybe after a bit of time had passed he wouldn't react quite so quickly whenever Shawn or Hunter touched him. It was a double-edged sword. It's not that he didn't want to respond to them that way, but it could be a bit awkward when they ended up in the ring together.

Biting his lip slightly when he turned to find Shawn bent over in front of him picking up the bag and packaging from the ground, Dave groaned quietly. Shaking his head slightly, he turned and picked up the cheesecake, putting the top back on it. Shawn raised a brow when he saw the box in Dave's hands, but didn't comment on it. Dave just grinned at him as they headed towards Hunter.

 _"...I just know he'd give me hell if I didn't get one. Thanks Mr. Michaels."_

Smiling as Shawn signed the autograph, Dave grabbed his bag and slung the strap over his shoulder. Winking at Hunter, he walked into the elevator and waited for the other two to join him. When Hunter leaned against him, Dave turned to look at him. Hunter looked like a mischievous kid so what he said really didn't surprise Dave at all.

 _"Oh to be the BabyFace. Loved and adored by millions, while we Nasty Nasty Men in black trunks collect nothing but jeers."_

Dave laughed as Shawn swatted at Hunter. When he went to do it a second time and Hunter tried squeezing behind him, Dave couldn't help but remember similar fights with his cousins.

"Okay children. Don't make me take this belt off." He was proud. He'd sounded almost exactly like his dad.

The reactions he garnered for his little threat sent his mind spiraling in another direction. Hunter was looking slyly at him. Shawn on the other hand, looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head and he was smiling.

 _"Promise?"_

The picture that popped into his mind at that point was... too terribly appealing, though Dave thought it might be just a bit early in their relationship to explore that kind of thing. Maybe after they actually managed having 'normal' sex, then it could become a topic of discussion. Dave shuddered slightly though he was sure it wasn't evident. He answered Shawn's question with a wink and a smile.

As they climbed into the car to head back to the hotel, Dave's only hope was that the trip would be short... very short.

****

 _"That was a mistake, babe."_

He knew that it was... but was it really? After all, in a way he _had_ gotten what he wanted... Kev on the bed with him, touching Scott instead of touching himself. He'd pay for it though, oh hell would he pay for it. Despite the fact that he knew Kevin was going to torture him endlessly, he thought that it certainly had been worth the loss of control, even if Kevin did tease him about it later.

 _"Onto your stomach, Scott."_

Oh god.

Scott shuddered as much from the swat Kevin gave him as the contact of his hard, swollen flesh brushing against the sheets as he rolled into the requested position. Burying his face in the stark white sheet, Scott smiled as Kevin settled above him. It was short-lived though when he felt the brush of Kevin's hot length against his ass. He whined quietly into the mattress.

The touch of Kevin's lips against his neck had him aching to thrust his hips back against Kevin's weight, but he bit down on his lip and forced himself to lie still except for tilting his head slightly to the side. His neck being one of his most sensitive spots, Scott couldn't help but react. An occasional shudder ripped through his frame and he knew Kevin was well aware of it. He could still taste the tang of blood in his mouth, whose he wasn't sure, but he did recall that Kev preferred to hear his quiet noises of pleasure. Forcing his jaw to unclench, he released his lip from between his teeth and allowed his whimpers free rein.

 _"You need a lesson in patience, Bad Guy. And that's what you're going to get."_

As far as Scott was concerned, in most cases patience was over-rated. Not in this case though. In this case, the more patience he had, the longer Kevin would touch him and that was what he wanted even if it did drive him out of his mind. He had wondered, even if he hadn't admitted it to himself, exactly how much had changed between them. It was obvious that their relationship was different, much deeper, this time around and he had been worried that this aspect of their relationship would change as well. Just because they now shared softer feelings towards each other, he hadn't wanted to give up this game of domination that they played together... hadn't wanted to lose this aspect of 'them'. Until he'd been face down on Kev's lap a few minutes ago, he'd wondered if Kevin would take it easy on him. He'd wondered if Kevin would let him get away with things that he hadn't before... now he had his answer.

Scott was so lost in his temporary wanderings that the sensation of Kevin's teeth sinking into his skin shocked him. That's what he got for not paying attention to Kevin's lesson. His back arched, his ass pressing into Kevin's burning length, the sensation at his neck both ecstasy and pain. His whimper was answered by Kevin's tongue soothing the bite. Little gasps broke his lips as the warm wetness probed the marked flesh.

He relished every touch as Kevin worked his way down his spine, alternately clenching and unclenching his hands in the sheets. He refused to squirm, but that didn't stop the noises from falling from his lips, little moans and whimpers of pleasure.

Once Kevin reached the reddened flesh, Scott could no longer control his responses. He told himself not to move, but every little touch to the heated area of his bottom half provoked a response. He moved restlessly, not sure if he was trying to avoid or prolong the feeling of Kevin's tongue against his tender skin. It stung and yet at the same time it felt so overwhelmingly good.

He was oblivious to Kevin grabbing the pillow, noticing he had it only when Kevin slipped it beneath his hips. When had he lifted them? The simple touch of the pillowcase against his cock was almost enough to set him off, but he clamped down on the instinctive need to come. He _would_ wait until Kevin gave him permission. There was no other choice. The alternative was not an option. Kevin hadn't softened in regards to their play and he already knew what his punishment would be if he jumped the gun, so to speak. Kevin would force Scott to watch as he brought himself off and not allow Scott to touch him at all... that was not an option, not tonight.

Even as Kevin's hands touched his ass, he knew what was coming. He wanted it, god how he wanted it, yet at the same time he knew it was going to be a true test of his self-control not to give in to the clamoring need for release. He thrust his hips up, pushing his reddened flesh more firmly into Kevin's grip, hoping the pain would force him to focus on that rather than his need. His fingers once again clenched tightly in the sheets, his toes digging into the mattress he finally gave in and began to beg for what he wanted.

Even as he felt the first swipe of Kevin's tongue, he let himself go.

"God, Kev. Please. I..." His husky pain-laden voice was barely audible, but the whimper that broke into his pleas wasn't. "Need you to... more, Kev... please."

He wasn't sure what he wanted more of at the moment, but whatever it was he hoped Kev would give it to him. Kevin took his time with his preparation just as he had with everything else so far. Scott whimpered and begged the whole while shamelessly. He had no shame when it came to this man and what they did together. Scott could feel the leash on his control close to slipping. He increased his pleas, hoping Kevin would finally give in and let him have what he needed before it was too late to stop himself form exploding.

"Please... Kev... I can't..." Stop. Though the last word never left his lips. "I need..." You inside me now. It wasn't verbalized but it was there. "God... love you, Kev."

He knew Kev would understand. Whether he would finally give in was the question.

****

 _"I'm not quite that easy, darlin'."_

Raising his eyebrows at the statement, Shawn restrained the comment that came to his lips but couldn't quite keep back the snort at Dave's words. Remembering the all-too-brief time that they'd stolen in the shower earlier, he found himself suddenly more than eager to leave, even as wonderful as the dinner had been.

 _"Although if you promised me some of that cheesecake over there I'd probably lay down quite willingly for the pin."_

"I'm sure we could arrange something, then," Shawn said with a wink, biting back laughter as he watched Hunter arrange the MiniWrestlers in obscene positions on top of Dave. He'd never realised his friend could be so completely captured by toys... although considering the overall situation, he shouldn't be surprised. After all, how often did you get to tease your lovers by arranging action figures of them in positions that you were---hopefully---looking forward to recreating in real life? He was nearly ready to lean forward and do his damnedest to recreate the kiss Hunter had just posed when the elevator dinged.

Watching Hunter casually stand up as the elevator doors slid open, he had to smile. Big bad Triple H... with a slight flush from wine and emotion and his arms full of toys. Rising to his feet, he spotted the discarded packaging from the MiniWrestlers and bent over to put it all away in the plastic bag, not wanting to leave the garbage just laying there. Hunter had called in some sort of hefty favour in order to use this place, and Shawn definitely didn't want to have his lover look bad after pulling strings to set up a romantic interlude. As he turned around and saw Dave packaging up the cheesecake, he raised an eyebrow but refrained from comment. It was kind of nice to know that the Animal had a weakness for the sweet dessert... he'd definitely remember that if ever he had to make an apology to the man in the future. Not that he was planning on doing anything that would _require_ an apology, but you never knew.

Smiling at the security guard as he held out the paper and pen, Shawn quickly scribbled his autograph and handed it back, ignoring through force of habit the little glint in the man's eye. He'd seen that particular expression so often that he was pretty much immune to it anymore... except on the faces of the two men sharing the elevator with him. Seeing Hunter lean against Dave, his problem with touching apparently gone, made him return the smile granted to him... for a moment.

 _"Oh to be the BabyFace. Loved and adored by millions, while we Nasty Nasty Men in black trunks collect nothing but jeers."_

Shawn's eyes narrowed. That was probably as close as Hunter would ever dare come to calling him "cute". At least, it had better be. He'd long ago accepted the fact that even with his legendary status, he was considered too small, too short, and too pretty to _really_ be a wrestler by the majority of people out there. But there were certain words that were guaranteed to set him off, and Hunt knew them all. "Cute" was at the top of the list.

Reaching out before Hunter had time to react, Shawn smacked him in the shoulder. Hard. Trying to hide behind Dave didn't get Hunter anything but another thwap, but before Shawn could try to follow up on that, Dave interrupted their play.

 _"Don't make me take this belt off."_

God. That stopped Shawn cold, his eyes widening as his eyes flew up to meet Dave's, a shiver of heat running through his nerves at the mere words. Forcing himself to step back from that particular path, since it had been a long time since he'd walked it and he really wasn't ready to start down it again tonight, he let his lips curve into a wicked little smile as he cocked his head at Dave.

"Promise?" The warm innuendo flowed through his voice. If he hadn't been watching Dave so closely, he would've missed the answering flash of heat in the chocolate eyes... but the wink was unmistakable, and that smile was... promising.

Shuffling that particular thought away to follow up on later, Shawn led the way out to the car, hopping into the front seat this time. It was Dave and Hunter's turn to share the back seat, and Shawn could just see the both of them in the rear-view mirror if he tilted his head slightly. Watching them try to subtly touch each other without drawing attention made him smile even as the currents flowing between them spiked his own reaction to their presence. Giving brief directions to the driver, Shawn spent the time during the drive back to the hotel watching his lovers in the mirror. And wasn't _that_ an intriguing thought... He'd have to see if he couldn't dig up an extra-large mirror somewhere when he got home.

Home.

Blinking slightly as they pulled into the parking lot, Shawn wondered just where they _would_ be going the next day. They had the four days between now and Bad Blood off, but where would they be spending them? They all had homes... in completely different parts of the country. That was something none of them had thought of, but it had to be addressed.

Climbing out of the car with a wave at the driver, he waited just long enough to snag his duffle bag out of the back of the car and make sure that Hunter and Dave were close behind before heading into the hotel at a slow saunter. Biting back the smirk that wanted to cover his face, he was very aware of the eyes fastened onto his ass. He didn't bring out HBK in his personal life very often, but the Heartbreak Kid's strut, toned down a touch since they were in public after all, seemed terribly appropriate at the moment.

The elevator doors slid open to discharge a serviceman as Shawn arrived and he took advantage of the timing. Leaning against the side of the elevator as he unobtrusively poked the "doors open" button, he crossed his legs at the ankle, resting most of weight on his hip. As Dave and Hunter followed him in a moment later, he favoured them with a heavy-lidded look that swept over them, his body surging into arousal at the thought that they were almost--- _finally_ \---going to be _alone_ together, in a private place. The look Dave gave him in return, as if he were eating him with his eyes, only heightened his feelings, and he didn't miss Hunter's reaction either.

Moving quickly but without looking like he was rushing, he was the first out of the elevator once it stopped at their floor and was swiping the card to let himself in by the time they were halfway there. Dropping his bag and kicking it into a corner, Shawn hurriedly toed off his shoes and socks, sending them after the bag. The cap landed on the sofa, buried in turn under his t-shirt, and as the door opened again to admit his lovers, he turned with one hand over his mouth in an exaggerated yawn, the other at the waistband of his jeans. Popping the button open as he met their eyes, fully aware of his body's eager response to their gazes, he smiled a little as he took a step backward toward the bed.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm more than ready for bed," he drawled, glad that his voice had recovered from earlier---he planned on using it tonight. "Think you'd be interested in... joining me?"

****

The look on Shawn's face left Hunter in no doubt that he'd be on the receiving end of a smack any second now and... yes... there it was. Grinning unrepentantly, Hunter ducked behind Dave as much as the confined space of the elevator would allow him and tried to avoid a second... ow damn... slap. Despite their size difference, Shawn was no light weight and when he hit you he put his whole body behind it. Hunter cradled the target shoulder and flexed his fingers to see if he still had feeling in them. He was just on the verge of sticking his tongue out at the smaller blond, when Dave, the man in the middle, spoke up.

 _Don't make me take this belt off._

Why not? Hunter's grin became sly at the inference Dave's words had unconsciously taken on, while the look on Shawn's face was just priceless. Hunt had never treaded the waters of belts, cuffs etc, but he was hardly what anyone would call a shy or prudish person by nature. He knew Shawn had played many a game with his various lovers, but although Hunter could guess at what they did, Shawn had never shared any of the more intimate details of his sex life with Hunter, except for what he'd seen of course.

 _mise?_

Forcing away the odd feeling that the train of thought produced, Hunter almost laughed out loud at the wickedly interested tone of his lover's voice. Dave didn't respond, but from what Hunt could see, the man wasn't exactly reluctant to explore any and all possibilities presented to him by the Heartbreaker.

When they climbed back into the car for the ride to the hotel, Hunt felt himself relaxing in increments as they came closer and closer to their destination. He'd begun to feel the tension exuding from Dave at the end of the picnic as much as Shawn had and was just as happy as his lovers to find somewhere with peace and quiet for them to explore 'possibilities' in detail.

He should have known what he was in for the moment they got out of the car and Shawn walked ahead of them into the foyer. Hunt blinked as he witnessed Shawn's casual stride evolve into a smooth glide that could called 'inviting' in polite company and 'fuck me' in not so polite. Drawing in a swift breath, Hunt watched HBK move to the lifts and slowed his walk so that he could enjoy the view.

Despite what most everyone else looked at, and Hunter sure didn't blame them, he wasn't actually ogling Shawn's ass... but his back. He just had the biggest 'thing' for the blond's spine, shoulders and tailbone and when used to such devastating effect he was spellbound. Hunt had done his own share of spying on his lover while in the ring, admiring the way the chaps laced up at the base of Shawn's spine and occasionally wondering if he could talk Shawn into getting a tattoo there.

Something tasteful like... Property of Batista&HHH.

Looking at Dave with plans to share the joke Hunt was lost in the hungry expression on the dark man's face while he looked at their lover. Of course... Dave had never been on the receiving end of the Heartbreak Kid's charisma in full flight and was apparently realising all his dreams had come at once. Hunter was made of sterner stuff... just... and that was really only because he's spent years obsessing over his beautiful friend thus learning to control his reactions a little better. The elevator ride was something that could be defined as torture in some countries as the three of them manfully refrained from touching each other in any way.

They let their eyes do all the touching.

When Shawn took off down the hallway, Hunter slowed his pace a trifle and let Dave precede him towards their room. He had a small idea of what might be waiting for them and was hoping to witness Dave's reaction first hand. Hunter's own body was starting to make its interest known and he was more than willing to indulge his voyeuristic streak if he was permitted. Dave and Shawn had experienced a rough time the previous night and Hunt was really hoping that some of the things they'd denied themselves would be fulfilled very soon.

Watching Dave's shoulders as his lover slid his card through the lock, left Hunter imagining the exotic coloured inks so deliciously gracing the broad, muscled torso. He'd been so turned on by the sight in the shower earlier that Hunt was wondering if the same effect might happen the moment the man removed his shirt.

Well... Hunt was a 'back' man apparently.

 _nk you'd be interested in... joining me?_

Drop... Dead... Gorgeous.

Both of them.

Dave looked like he was burning from within and Shawn... God.

Torn between an almost feral desire to pounce on Shawn growling _mine_ , and to drop to his knees in front of Dave in worship, Hunt managed to control both those reactions by pulling his t-shirt over his head and blocking the view. Looking away from the two men, Hunter ignored them both and walked to the bedside table where he dropped his keys and his phone.

After a fierce battle of wills, Hunter raised his eyes to looked at his lovers, one reclined on the bed, inviting, enticing and so very lovely. The other still several feet away, exotic, powerful and incredibly tempting.

"More than interested Love." Hunter toed off his own shoes and socks, then pulled the draw string tie of his sweat pants until the white cords dangled loose. Crawling onto the far end of the bed, he eyed Shawn with a hot speculative gaze. In just a moment Hunter would be able to fulfill a decade of fantasies. There was just one incredibly vital thing missing.

"David... come here." 

****

 _1.15 am_

Chris was just beginning to doze, the lovely haze of his own pain medication mixing with the afterglow of some seriously hot lovemaking, when the alarm on his cell phone destroyed the quiet calm of the room. The fact that the little piece of technology was about to vibrate itself off the bed side table was enough to bring a small smile to Chris’ face. Reaching out to calm the frantic phone and check the time, CJ stifled a jaw-cracking yawn as he felt his lover turn in his lap. Looking down into Adam’s upside-down face, Chris winced in sympathy at the lines of fatigue and irritation circling the beautiful half-closed eyes.

 _Adam Copeland, June 8th or 9th depending on what time it is, 2004, and we're in... Uniondale New York_

It was pretty scary that the routine for concussion was known to each wrestler by rote. If you hadn’t had one, a very rare event, then you’d baby sat someone who did and yes… everyone hated it with a passion. From either end.

 _do we really have to do this every single hour?_

Adam’s grouchiness was completely understandable from CJ’s point of view. He was hurt, tired, had a hell of a headache and all he wanted to do was sleep, but that was the last thing he was allowed to get. Although the face buried in the pillow in his lap was presenting a tempting picture in the half-light from the table lamp, Chris knew Adam wouldn’t be able to sleep again like that. Not if he suffocated himself first. Nodding in sympathy to Adam’s complaint, he turned the damaged body onto its side and settled Adam’s head back on the pillow with his face raised. Chris quickly opened the bottle of massage oil and dabbled some onto his fingertips. Slowly rubbing the fragrant oil into his lover’s temples, he watched as Adam’s eyes fluttered shut and his mutinous expression began to relax.

“Glad to know you got the first bit right, Babe.” Chris kept his voice low and soft, hoping the sound would soothe Adam even further. “And yes, you can sleep your way through. I’ll wake you for breakfast.” Feeling Adam start at his sudden capitulation Chris continued, “Because if I don’t wake you to play twenty questions and while you slept you suffered a _subdural hematoma_ with, I don’t know… bleeding from your ears or something…” he hadn’t got to the word idiot yet, but he really didn’t need to, “…then Jay would kick my ass and he’s a scary guy first thing in morning."

In the mood he was in CJ wouldn’t be surprised if Adam bit his fingers for the smart-aleck reply, but he kept his hands moving, stroking the frowning brown and consequently, holding his lover down on the pillow.

“I hate doing it to you Babe, but I’ll hate us both even more if I let you go into a coma. It’ll be over soon, I promise.” Pressing his lips gently against Adam’s eyelids, Chris knew he had made his point, when Adam sighed and nodded, turning his face once more into the pillow. Not allowing himself to fall asleep just yet, Chris leaned down to their bags and fished around for his book. Settling himself back against the headboard, he slowly stoked Adam’s hair again, while he turned the pages one-handed.

 _2.15 am_

Beep, (vzzzz) beep, (vzzzz ) beep, (vzzzz) beep

“Sorry Babe.”

****

Silence.

For some reason, Mark found himself almost holding his breath while he waited for a response from the beautiful young man sitting next to him. That realisation was followed immediately by realising that he'd just thought of Jeff as beautiful.

Shit.

Whatever the hell was wrong with him, he was starting to suspect it was more than just passing lust. Not that it could be _too_ passing anyway, a little voice in the back of his mind whispered, since he'd been "wrong" since he and Jeff had worked together two years ago. He noticed with some resignation that the voice sounded suspiciously like Shawn trying not to laugh. His attention distracted by his own thoughts, he nearly missed the expression that flitted across Jeff's face, but caught a glimpse of it as he looked at the other man.

Jeff looked... wistful? Did the younger man _want_ someone who would do things like that? Mark knew immediately that he wanted to do things like that for Jeff... and hard on the heels of that followed fear.

Was he falling for Jeff? He barely knew him. And what in the world could Jeff possibly see in _him_? He was old and getting older; he was worn out, cynical, and starting to look forward to retirement. Jeff was... young. He had an entire career ahead of him and the creativity and willpower to make anything he set his mind to succeed. He was also incredibly compelling, fascinating, and gorgeous.

And he was moving away from Mark like he'd been burned. That answered _that_ wild daydream, didn't it? What could Jeff see in him? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Mark could be, would be, Jeff's mentor and hopefully friend, and in the recesses of his heart he added "protector" to that list. The other man would probably be insulted if Mark ever admitted that, but after the glimpses of vulnerability he'd seen earlier, he knew that his protective instinct had already expanded to cover Jeff. Not that the interesting little moment they'd had in the side hall had been any indicator of that, of course not.

And then Jeff was smiling at him, although Mark rather thought that the smile looked false, out of place on the face that had seconds ago been almost longing.

 _"I admit you wouldn't have to bend_ my _arm to get me walking on a beach at sunset either."_

Jeff and him walking along a beach at sunset, hand-in-hand... Mark blinked hard. That was a pipe dream if ever there was one, and the distance Jeff had just put between them spoke volumes to that. It was almost painful to know that Jeff _did_ like that sort of thing, now that Mark was sure that it didn't matter. He nodded in response to Jeff's thanks and request for leaving, somewhat bemused by his own actions. He _had_ trusted Jeff with something that he'd never openly admitted before... and he suspected that it was going to come back and bite him later. Not that he was worried about Jeff telling the entire backstage, but somehow, he just knew that his little admission would resurface sometime.

 _"...my bag's in a locker at the airport and I got a cab over here. You mind driving?"_

Well. That probably answered Mark's earlier unspoken question as to whether or not Jeff had somewhere to stay, too. Biting back the immediate offer of the spare bed in his hotel room, he shook his head as he lead Jeff to his rental car.

"That's fine. Do you want to stop by the airport and get your stuff first? It won't add too much to the time."

Stowing his bag in the back seat, he unlocked the car and got in, waiting for Jeff to let him know where they were going.


	60. Queries

Slowly.

Kevin held that word in his mind as he tasted his lover, his tongue caressing Scott in the most intimate way possible. He had to go slowly; not just because he was treating Scott to a lesson in patience, but because if he let himself go, he'd last all of two seconds and he'd most likely hurt Scott, and hurting him, _really_ hurting him, was not an option.

 _"God, Kev. Please. I..."_

The _need_ in Scott's voice went straight to Kevin's cock. No. He couldn't listen to it... had to ignore it for another few minutes while he did this. Closing his eyes as he took a deep breath, he pushed inward with his tongue, using it to help stretch the tight ring of muscle.

 _"Need you to... more, Kev... please."_

He should be gratified that Scotty was finally begging, finally giving in to what Kev had wanted the entire time. But right this second... Thrusting with his tongue a few last times before lifting his head, Kevin dropped a last kiss on Scott's tailbone before reaching out... and realised that he'd forgotten something. Shit. Glancing around, he spotted his bag on the floor just a few feet away. Thank God. If he had to leave Scotty now for more than a few seconds, his lover would come unglued, and not in a pleasant way. Scott was so lost right now that he probably was only barely aware of Kevin's voice, let alone his presence.

"Hang on, Scotty," he said, his voice reflecting almost as much need as Scott's had as he leaned to the side, one hand on Scott's thigh both for balance and for reassurance that he was still there as he reached out. Snagging the strap with his fingertips, he pulled at it until it was close enough for him to reach. Quickly grabbing the required tube from its accustomed spot in the side pocket, he pushed himself back up until he was kneeling between Scott's thighs. One look was almost enough for him to lose his own control, and he wondered for an instant if Scott would still affect him like this in twenty years; he sure as hell hoped so.

Leaning forward to kiss Scott's neck as he popped the tube open and squeezed some out onto his fingers, he ran one hand down Scott's spine, stopping at his tailbone. God, he loved this, loved the absolute trust that Scott gave him without even being asked for it. Even knowing that Scott was close to his limits, Kevin forced himself to move slowly as he stretched his lover, Scott's hips twisting in response to his motions. This was still part of his lesson, and if he rushed too much, he'd ruin it by coming as soon as he was halfway inside Scott.

 _"Please... Kev... I can't..."_

Kevin heard the unspoken word at the end of the sentence, heard the near-desperation in Scott's voice, and pulled his hand away. The loud whine at the loss of contact made him smile a little even as his cock throbbed at the pure lust in the sound.

 _"I need..."_

"I know, baby. I know." Kev's voice was almost a growl as he tried to reassure Scott. Slicking himself up as quickly as he could, while trying to touch himself as little as possible, he tossed the tube aside as he leaned forward again. Keeping one hand on Scott's hip while he used the other one to line himself up, he paused at the last words that slipped from Scott's mouth.

 _"God... love you, Kev."_

He wished he could see Scott's eyes right now. Biting his lip as he pushed inward, breaching his lover's body in a long smooth glide, he groaned as he settled inside. Staying right there, just _feeling_ for a moment, he breathed, "Love you, Scott."

Every breath sent another skitter of sparks up his spine, almost overwhelming heat radiating out from the tight sheathe he was encased in. Not moving as he tried to force the flames back down, Kevin could feel every shudder that ran through Scott's body, could hear the gasping pants for breath, the pleading whimpers that slipped from Scott's mouth. After a long moment, he pulled out just as slowly as he'd entered, his own breath escaping in a harsh moan. Another pause and then he was moving forward again, letting his body draw him into a long slow rhythm as his head dropped forward to rest between Scott's shoulder blades. He kept his movements slow for as long as he could, but that heat called to him, drew him in, speeding his pace as he felt the white heat gathering in his lower back, behind his aching shaft, until he was pounding into Scott at a punishing pace, his thrusts fast and harsh.

"Can't... hold..." he panted, one hand tightening almost painfully on Scott's hip. "Come, Scotty... come for me... want to see..."

****

Shawn was surely going to be the death of him.

After arriving at the hotel, Dave had exited the car, careful not to upset his precious dessert, and moved to grab his bag out of the trunk. He turned to head towards the lobby and barely avoided dropping said dessert on the walkway. He also managed, just barely, to avoid swallowing his tongue. The way that Shawn was walking should be illegal. Once he realized exactly where he was staring, he forced his eyes away... for at least a full minute. The minimal amount that he'd calmed down during the car ride was completely blown to hell.

He didn't miss the look that Shawn flashed in the elevator and returned a rather heated look of his own. He decided that sometime, maybe not tonight but sometime soon, he was going to taste Shawn's skin from head to toe. The long lingering perusal he gave Shawn was just a preview of what he had planned. Of course that promise did not hold true for Shawn only. Hunter was definitely in for some tongue torture in the near future as well. Dave didn't neglect Hunter's strong form either, giving him a slow languid look, head to toe. To think... in a very short time he'd be seeing them both sans clothes... if that weren't the case then he'd object most vociferously.

Dave grinned as he watched Shawn practically fly down the hallway. He wasn't sure what the man had planned, but doubted he'd be surprised by anything. It was Shawn.

Slipping the card through the reader, he proceeded Hunter into the room, dropping the cheesecake on the dresser as he passed it and tossing his bag to the side. Just then he looked up and froze.

Shawn was affecting a pose, the likes of which Dave had never expected to witness. A lovely fake yawn and one hand ready to pop the fastening on the one article of clothing he had left on... his jeans. Definitely going to be the death of him... and very soon at this rate.

 _"Think you'd be interested in... joining me?"_

Interested? Dave was both physically and mentally incapable of turning down that particular invitation, though he spent another moment letting his eyes linger over Shawn's form as he crawled onto the bed. Shawn was so damn sleek and sexy that he made Dave feel like a clod. He wanted to spend an inordinate amount of time tracing Shawn's tattoos with his tongue, especially the tiny heart on his hip.

Then there was Hunter, his body cut along the lines of some Greek god, stripping off his shirt smoothly and then moving towards the bed. Dave let his eyes wander over the ridges and valleys of Hunter's back. He'd spent more time than he wanted to admit to admiring every little dip and curve and now he had the option of mapping that same flesh with his hands, his mouth... not to mention the rest of the body hidden beneath the sweat pants.

He managed to work off his shoes and socks while watching Hunter crawl onto the bed with Shawn. He raised his hands to the buttons on his shirt with the intent to take it off, but was caught for the moment just looking at the two of them lying there together. How had he gotten so damn lucky? He'd just slipped the first button through the hole when Hunter called out to him... or rather commanded his presence.

 _"David.. .come here."_

Dave smirked as he took his time with the buttons, walking slowly towards the bed as he did so. "Bossy little thing, aren't ya?" His shirt hanging open, Dave reached down and snapped the waistband of Hunter's sweat pants, the backs of his fingers lingering a moment on the warm skin beneath. "Speaking of nasty, nasty men in black trunks... At least you have something on under these. You can thank your wife for the fact that I don't have anything on under mine," he said with a self-conscious smile. He still couldn't think of that incident without blushing.

Shrugging out of his shirt, he tossed it towards the floor at the end of the bed. Since he actually had his bags with him, he didn't have to worry about wrinkles tonight and he was more than anxious to join the other two. Sliding onto the bed next to Hunter, he laid on his side and reached across Hunter to fiddle with the zipper on Shawn's jeans. Leaning closer so that his lips brushed Hunter's ear and his body pressed flush against Hunter's side, Dave spoke just above a whisper.

"I think we should help Shawn out of those jeans. They look just a bit uncomfortable... don't ya think?"

Shawn's jeans melted away between the nimble hands of the two of them. Divesting Shawn of his jeans wasn't the only aim however, which accounted for the languid strokes of fingers along Shawn's chest and abdomen, calves and thighs, and everywhere in between. By the time they had stripped Shawn, he'd been lovingly fondled from head to toe.

Turn about is always fair play though and Dave winked at Shawn just before they turned their attentions on the man in the middle of them. The sweat pants disappeared in little time, though they lingered over the removal of Hunter's trunks. Teasing fingers occasionally traced the design on the front of the trunks while at other times a hand would slide beneath the material to touch bare skin and the hard flesh within.

Once the trunks were finally removed, they worked in tandem in a bid to cover every inch of Hunter's body with warm kisses and long swipes of hot tongues. Dave was nibbling softly on the curve of Hunter's shoulder and he'd last spotted Shawn somewhere in the vicinity of the Game's hip when he first noticed how still Hunter had become. Before he had a chance to ask if Hunter was okay, Hunter made a quite ungraceful break for the side of the bed. Dave didn't hesitate, but wrapped his arms around Hunter's chest from behind and pulled him gently back against him. Dave hoped that Hunter wouldn't really panic, his slacks being a barrier between them, and held him close.

"Hunter, darlin', calm down. Nothing's going to happen here that you don't want, but there is no way that you are running off to hide from us again." Pressing his lips softly against the bare shoulder in front of him, he stroked a soothing hand over Hunter's chest just above his heart. "We both love you and you are just going to have to get used to that fact. You won't do that if we let you leave this bed..." He felt Hunter stiffen slightly against him, but when he didn't struggle, Dave knew that he was taking the right approach here.

With a hand on one bicep, he pulled Hunter to his back and let every bit of love he held for the man show in his eyes. Reaching for Hunter's wrists, he slowly pulled them above Hunter's head, the weight of his chest barely settled against Hunter's and their hips barely touching. "I have a feeling that as soon as we take our focus off of you that you'll be gone before we can blink, so we're just going to have to make sure you can't do that."

Turning his head slightly he nodded at Shawn's questioning glance. Watching as Shawn scrambled off the bed and began to dig through their bags, Dave turned back to Hunter. "If the only way we can keep you here is to tie you to the bed, then I guess that's just what we'll have to do," he said with a wink.

****

 _Do you want to stop by the airport and get your stuff first?_

"Yeah thanks, that would be perfect." Jeff was more than happy to spend as much time in Mark's company as possible, even if it was just riding beside him in a car. Fortunately Mark was right and the airport was only a very slight detour off the main highway towards the hotel. While Jeff was fairly confident most of the WWE talent were staying in the same few places, he couldn't be sure. From the brief time they'd spent working together, Jeff knew 'Taker tended to stay near his friends, often in the same hotel as Glen, Nash, Michaels and Adam.

At least that meant Jeff would have a couch or bed to crash in tonight, even if he had to wake Jericho and Edge up to get it. Given that Adam had been knocked for a loop by Terry, he was probably on BrainBleed watch and mightn't mind having someone other than Chris to do the waking up. Whatever happened later, Jeff was going to burn that bridge when he came to it. Right now, he was heading for dinner with Mark, just the two of them and Jeff was going to enjoy himself for all he was worth. And considering the contract he'd just signed, even on probation, he was apparently worth quite a bit.

It took less than five minutes for him to get his bag from the late night airport clerk at the luggage desk and only another ten to get to the hotel. Dropping his gear at the 'waiting' area, Jeff took a look into the door of the restaurant while Mark sorted out his own bags. Pretty empty at this time of night, but still a few people hanging around, mostly in the bar.

Waiting in the door, Jeff watched as a three piece band began to set up, a guitarist, a pianist and a young oriental girl in a tight sequin dress. Now this was gonna be a terrible crowd for a young cabaret singer. Her only audience was three half-tanked business men, some tourists in the corner, people who could barely hear her in the bar and then him and Mark. It was obviously the shitty gig to have Tuesday night and Jeff felt a momentary flash of sympathy for the girl.

Till he heard her sing.

 _Tallllle as ooooold as timmmme  
Trrrueoo as it can beeeee  
Barellllly evennnnn friendssss  
Thennnn somebodyyyyy bendsss  
Unexppppecteeeedlyyyyy_

Oh man... and people said _his_ singing sucked.

Prying his fingernails off the glass door frame, Jeff opened one eye to see that Mark had come to join him and was looking at the band with the same expression he wore when he'd been smacked across the face by an opponent, surprised, slightly pissed and with a hint of amusement. Celine Dion had a lot to answer for.

 _Aaaand toooo mannnnyyyy  
Mooooonliiiiight kissssssses  
Seeeem to coooool in the waaaarmth of the suuuun  
Whennnnnn I givvvvve myyyy hearrrrt_

As they were shown to a table by a bored looking waitress, who stopped being bored about halfway through her eyeing up of Mark, the young singer obviously decided that three songs were her limit and went for a smoke at the bar.

Biting his lips to keep from giggling, Jeff nodded politely as the waitress gave them menus and kept his eyes on the lettering within. He was proud of the fact that his voice was steady as he made his order and took a quick glance at Mark to see if he was having similar problems. Wow. To have a poker face _that_ good was something Jeff only dreamed about. Mark could have been at a funeral for all the expression on his strong, handsome features.

Then the waitress left and Mark looked up, emerald eyes twinkling.

Jeff sniggered. Then covered his mouth with his hand and forced himself to look at his fork.

"Well, good to know she doesn't strain herself with more than three songs."

Unfortunately Jeff had spoken too soon and the singer had returned to the stage, cocktail in hand and began another 'set'. It was a little better than her first efforts, maybe the cigarette had roughened her voice, but it was still pretty awful. They ate in hysterical silence as the 'Titanic' soundtrack was murdered in the background.

 _We’ll sssstay forevvvvver this wwwway  
Yyyou are sssaffffe in myyyy heart  
Anddd my hearttttt will gooo onnnnnnn and onnnnnnn_

"If she could just keep in time with the piano I'd be happy," he murmured to Mark.

The amusement he was getting from the poor girl's lack of talent had at least the benefit of totally relaxing Jeff from the state of nervous semi-tension he'd been in since he got off the plane. After they finished their food, he settled back in his chair, one long fingered hand twirling his water-filled wine glass and prepared to ask Mark if he would mind Jeff sharing his bed... room! _room_ tonight.

It would be torture in a way, but if Jeff was going to be in this man's company non-stop for the next two months, then he better get used to it. Start building up some walls.

 _'Causssse Iiiii ammm yourrrr ladyyyyy  
Aaaaand you aaaaare myyyy mannnn  
Whennnnevvvver you rrrrrreach forrrr meeee_  
*cough* *cough* *cack* *hrnncoff* *cack*  
 _I'lllll doooo allllll that I ccannnnn_

On the verge of explosion, Jeff stared at Mark, eyes wide.

"I think she swallowed a bug."

Giving up Jeff put his head on the table and howled.

****

 _Bossy little thing, aren't ya?_

Hunter was happily deciding where exactly he wanted to kiss Shawn first, when Dave spoke. Snorting at the 'little' comment, Hunter continued to let his eyes do the walking as Dave came closer, shirt open to reveal the broad expanse of dark skin and the sun tattoo around his navel. The quick snap of his sweat pants was enough to bring Hunt's hand up to grab at Dave's teasing one, but the mention of his wife had him raising an interested eyebrow instead.

Of course. Dave had said Steph had caught them right after their shower and Hunt could just picture his David, blushes only just muted by his skin tone, diving into his pants without grabbing briefs first. As far as Hunter was concerned, that just made what was under the fine cut pair of trousers so near him just that much more interesting.

When Dave joined them on the bed, Hunter found himself reclining on one elbow between his two lovers, while Dave reached over him to stroke and caress Shawn. A small flood of relief coursed through him at the diversion of Dave's attention and Hunter mentally cursed his inner coward.

Not now! He wanted to yell at himself... I can have a panic attack later, just I want this... let me have this... please.

Trying to trick himself, Hunter joined Dave in stripping away Shawn's jeans, worming his arm underneath the beautiful curve of the blond's lower back so that Dave could tug the denim down off lean hips. Locking his eyes with his best friend's hot blue-grey gaze, Hunter drew the tip of his fingernail from the point of Shawn's shoulder, across his collarbone and down to circle one small pale nipple. Seeing the pupil's of Shawn's eyes widen at the combined effect of his and Dave's hands, Hunter kept his contact to a minimum, using light enticing touches rather than furious groping.

For this he wanted to savour every, single, moment.

Hunter's plan for savouring was completely trashed however, when he became the center of his lovers' attention. Sinking to lie down on his shoulders, one hip still lifted towards Shawn, Hunter used the hand he had been resting on to curl up and tangle in Shawn's honeyed hair. Hair that was soon drifting through his fingers like water as the head it surrounded moved down Hunt's body, branding him with hot kisses and even hotter sensations. When he felt Shawn's teeth tugging at the band on his trunks, Hunt realised that Dave had somehow managed to strip off his sweat pants without him being aware of it.

God, he could feel the burning glow from Dave's body, just to his right and reached his other hand over to stroke one powerful upraised shoulder. Four hands skillfully removed his last piece of clothing and Hunter was once again completely naked with the two most important people in his life. Fortunately they were on a bed this time.

But if Hunter had thought they would be turning to Dave next, he was wrong, very wrong. Instead his lovers showed that the previous undressing had simply been a tease compared to what they were doing to him now. Hunter's cock had stirred into life at seeing Shawn walk across that lobby and it had begun to send him very insistent messages while he stood next to Dave in the lift.

Now... well, now his aching hard-on was getting greedy and stealing all the blood from Hunt's brain so it could make even more of a statement. Beginning to feel a rush of arousal that he doubted he'd be able to control, Hunter was completely unprepared for the feeling of Dave and Shawn making love to him with their hands and mouths. So hot... so wickedly sexy to have them crouched over him, tasting him and bringing him pleasure because they wanted to, because they could.

Again he was lost in the feeling of love echoing from the two men, but unfortunately Hunter wasn't quite yet a strong enough man to accept it.

He became incredibly still, trying desperately to control his instinctive desire to escape from them but it was a losing battle. The moment Dave's lips left his shoulder blade and Shawn leaned up from his hip to take a deep, lust-filled breath, Hunter bolted. His usual co-ordination deserting him in his panic, Hunter escaped from the loving arms and loving hands and tried to get away.

He made it as far as the edge of the bed.

The part of Hunter that was seriously horny was incredibly grateful that Dave had taken his choice away. The rest of Hunter was just confused between the desire to escape and his inability to do so.

God he longed to be here, Hunter just wished they could make him stay.

 _is to tie you to the bed, then I guess that's just what we'll have to do._

Well, that could work.

****

Steve reeled back a couple of feet from Randy's spectacular punch.

He only stopped himself from retaliating in kind by sheer effort of will and the newly-discovered desire to see that no-one, including himself, ever hurt Randy again. Turning his face back towards his young lover, Austin was surprised at his own total lack of anger. Maybe it was because Randy was staring at him like he was more surprised than Steve by the punch, maybe because his eyes were so full of shame and hurt that Steve couldn't have been angry with him if he'd tried, and maybe it was just because the punch had told Steve exactly what was going on here.

"Okay, so I wont put ya over my knee then." A beat. "Much as I would'a liked to." It wasn't really appropriate to grin at the idea of spanking Randy in a totally different environment, but Austin was never known for his appropriate behaviour. Steve noticed his voice was more scratchy than usual, like he'd smoked ten packs of cigarettes that day rather than just the usual one. It didn't normally go like that unless he was really angry, in the middle of fucking, or very upset. Austin had already ruled out the angry, if he was fucking someone then he was missing the important bits, so that left...

There was about four feet of asphalt between them, but it could of been miles.

Randy really wanted to rub his knuckles, because they hurt. But he didn't because he'd just found that he couldn't move a single muscle. Even his fist was still slightly extended as if he'd been caught in the moment just after he punched the man of his dreams and crushed those dreams into dust.

That had just happened and much as he'd like to, Randy couldn't take it back. Unlike the pushing and shoving Steve had done, Randy had absolutely meant to hit Austin, meant to hurt him with his hand and stop the teasing, ferocious man from touching Randy again and making him crumble.

"I... you..." His tongue was being just as disobedient as his fist.

Steve held up a hand to stop any of the words that Randy was trying to say.

"S'okay kid, don't twist ya tongue up. I get ya." Resting his fists on his hips Austin began to speak in his low, rough voice, pushing the words out easily and quickly so there could be no mistake as to his meaning. "I'm not gonna touch ya again so don't get all tense. I'm just gonna say my piece then leave. I like ya Ran, an' I ain't gonna pretend I don't. I like ya a lot as ya should'a guessed from last night, but if ya don't want me for anything more than one tumble... well... I hate the idea, but I get it."

Steve shook his head slightly as he tried to get over the blatant lie he'd just told. He didn't get why Randy thought they couldn't be together, but he wasn't gonna push anymore when we wasn't welcome.

"As ta what they think..." a gesture to the arena, "...well, ya already know I don't give a shit. So that's me." Austin took another half-dozen steps back towards the arena. "I'd really like to see if we got more than one night in us, but I guess that's just wishful thinkin' right?"

He waited far longer than he probably should have. The best idea would be to give it an intense minute and then walk away, but he didn't. Steve stood looking at Randy in the dim light from the car park lights and bore witness to his hopes being hit in the guts with a hammer.

Without another word, Austin walked back into the arena.

****

Scott gasped silently in pleasure as Kevin slid inside him. The sensation of his flesh stretching to accommodate Kevin's width had to be one of, if not the best feeling in the world. His body readily accepted his lover's length until they were joined completely. The sharp points of Kevin's hips pressing against the reddened skin of his ass melded jagged pain and delicious pleasure into a riotous hum of satisfaction.

 _"Love you, Scott."_

Scott shuddered, his fingers gripping tightly in the sheets, his need rippling like waves up and down his spine to settle in his aching cock. He whimpered wordlessly between gasps for breath. 'Please, Kev... please move,' his mind plead, his mouth unable to form the words.

The hand at his hip was the only thing that stopped him from thrusting his hips back violently into Kevin's slow thrusts. If he pushed, then Kevin would only go slower or worse yet, stop altogether. At this point Scott wasn't at all sure that it would matter since he was hanging on the very edge of his release, but he didn't dare risk it.

His head swam, a whirlpool of emotions varying between pleasure and pain. The slap of skin meeting skin sounded loudly in the room with Kevin's increased pace. Each harsh thrust glanced across his prostate, but the meeting of their skin had the affect of someone slapping sunburned flesh. The careful balance kept his release hovering just out of his reach.

 _"Come, Scotty... come for me... want to see..."_

Despite the firm, almost painful hold on his hip, Scott twisted his hips just enough so that when Kevin made his next thrust it jabbed sharply against his prostate. One more furious prod and he was shoved over the edge, his mind blanking. With a sound that was half growl, half whimper Scott arched his back to an almost painful degree. His hips jerked, pushing his shaft firmly against the pillow as he spilled his release. His voice was roughened from abuse, but he managed to force one gravelly sound from his lips.

"Kev!"

****

After having a short discussion with the night clerk at the front desk and signing the nearly obligatory autograph for her, Mark left his bag alongside Jeff's and headed for the restaurant. He paused when he saw the younger man waiting in the doorway, looking pained. Wondering what the problem was, he nearly smiled when he saw Jeff's expression... until he heard the singer. Although he was a little surprised that someone of that particular... talent... was singing in a hotel this size, he did his best to ignore it. Of course, it did help keep his mind off contemplating how good Jeff looked in that suit.

Ordering quickly, since the restaurant was far from crowded, he couldn't help but return Jeff's amusement once the waitress had gone. Aware of the woman's flirting, Mark was glad that she hadn't actually _said_ anything. Just as he was reflecting on the value of silence, the singer returned to work. Biting his lip to keep from laughing at Jeff's comment, he set himself to enjoying the meal. Glancing up as Jeff leaned back, he caught a glimpse of Glen across the room and wondered when he and Sean had come in, since he hadn't seen them before. Shrugging a little, he decided not to even point them out to Jeff, since Sean could be a little... much to deal with, and the man's incessant curiousity would not be a good thing at the moment. His conversation with Kevin earlier had only pointed out that there was only so much he could deny before people stopped believing him. Of course, it would probably help if he believed himself.

 _"I think she swallowed a bug."_

Eyebrows raising as he swallowed his own laughter, Mark ignored the furious glare from the singer and reached over to pat Jeff's back, murmuring, "Possibly, but I think we'd better get going before she tries to demonstrate any other unexpected talents." His lips curving as he watched Jeff attempt to regain control of himself, he waved the waitress over to get their check and helped the other man to his feet, keeping a casual hand on his shoulder as they walked to the counter to pay on the way out.

"Bags first, and then up to my room?" Mark tried valiantly to keep his voice casual, but wasn't sure how well he'd succeeded. The thought of having Jeff in his room... His mind stopped on that phrase and he shook his head. The thought of having Jeff _present_ in his room was a little unsettling, to say the least. After their moments earlier tonight, and his own guilty pleasure in his shower, he was more than a little afraid that the same images would be back to haunt his sleep. And having the man that he was so attracted to so close to him, so close to his _bed_...

Nodding absently at the girl behind the counter, ignoring her infatuated look, he'd just picked up his bag and turned when he saw Jeff stopped behind him with his hands in his pockets. About to ask if something was wrong, since Jeff was practically staring at the floor, the man lifted his head with a flick of his hair. Mark's fingers itched to touch the brightly-coloured strands, but all thought of Jeff's hair were driven from his mind when he heard the quiet, not-quite-embarrassed question.

 _"Mark, I haven't got a room here... do you have a bed I can use... maybe?"_

Good God. Standing there stunned for the moment, Mark had to wrench his mind back on track. Jeff was just asking for a place to stay for the night, _nothing else_. Just because he had the sudden urge to offer _his_ bed for the night... no. No. He'd been thinking of offering the other bed up if Jeff needed it anyway, right? It wouldn't be an inconvenience... other than the fact that with Jeff sleeping next to him... well, in the next bed, anyway, that he wasn't likely to sleep too well. Clearing his throat, he replied, "Yeah. I ended up with a double without a roommate, so if you need it, you can have the spare bed."

The brilliant smile that Jeff gave him in return stopped any further words that might have attempted to make themselves heard. Thankfully. He returned the smile with an awkward little nod and another pat on the back, then stepped back out of the way so that Jeff could get his bag. As he did so, he heard a booming voice from across the lobby.

"Mark! How've you been?"

Cursing under his breath, he slowly turned to face Glen, who was heading across the open space between them with a smile... and Sean was right beside him. Someone hated him. That's all there was to it. He could tell the instant that Jeff turned around by the change of expression on Sean's face: from widened eyes to a narrow, curious expression. That was all he needed; Sean with his interest up was the most irritating person in the world, beating out Heyman hands-down.

"Hey, Glen. Sean." Nodding at them as he tried to keep his face expressionless, he started toward the elevator at a slow pace with Jeff beside him. Of course they followed. Maybe if he kept them talking, they could avoid the obvious question that Jeff's presence presented. At least, the obvious question to _Sean_. It was worth a shot... "I've been good. And you?"

****

Shawn's anxieties melted away in the heat scorching him from his lovers' eyes as he held his pose for a moment longer. Maybe it had been ridiculous, but he'd worried that his little tease might have been too much. Obviously not. Smiling at the nearly pole-axed look on Dave's face, he moved backward to assume a reclining position on the bed, one hand propping up his head as he watched them.

 _"More than interested Love."_

God. He honestly hadn't expected Hunter to be the first one to move. They might have kicked him over his self-built wall earlier, but for him to be taking the initiative _here_... Shivering under the blazing amber gaze, he returned the look with one of his own. They might have been naked together earlier in the shower, but he'd never had a chance to really just _look_... and he was damned sure going to be looking tonight. And tasting. And touching. And hopefully more. And wasn't _that_ thought almost enough to make him burst the fly on his jeans? To finally be able to have Hunter in his arms... in _him_... Sucking in a deep shuddering breath, Shawn willed himself to momentary calm.

 _"David... come here."_

Very momentary. Shawn was familiar with Hunter's command tone, but to hear him use it in this particular way... Another shudder passed through him as he contemplated other situations that he'd like to hear that tone used in. Dave's movement brought his thoughts back to the here and now, and he watched with unabashed hunger in his eyes as that glorious skin was slowly revealed while Dave unbuttoned his shirt. Remembering the night before as well as the taste of that skin that he'd all-too-briefly become acquainted with earlier, Shawn's mouth watered at the sight.

 _"Bossy little thing, aren't ya?"_

His mouth quirking, Shawn watched the byplay between the two with some amusement. None of them had any problems with shyness, and Hunter surely had never played the submissive game, although Dave certainly seemed to be giving off hints that he'd be willing to walk that path.

 _"You can thank your wife for the fact that I don't have anything on under mine."_

He couldn't quite stop the quiet snicker at those words. Blaming your lover's wife for your not wearing underwear was certainly a _unique_ complaint. The sudden expanse of flesh revealed as Dave tossed his shirt aside stopped any comment... not that he was going to complain. Besides, he didn't wear anything under _his_ pants normally anyway... and as Dave's fingers touched the zipper of his jeans, Shawn was suddenly incredibly thankful that he didn't.

As his lovers' hands touched and caressed him, the slow touches helped rebuild the flames that had been banked earlier. Lost in the sensation of loving caresses, Shawn didn't even realise when Dave and Hunter finally slid his jeans off of him. The sensation of fingers running up his hard length drew out a husky moan and he opened eyes that he hadn't realised he'd closed, just in time to see Dave wink at him. Casting a look at him and smiling, he forced himself to sit up, turning his attention to Hunter.

The sweat pants were quickly drawn off, and Shawn took his time running his hands over those strong legs, his fingers lingering on the barely-visible scars from Hunter's quad operation. They'd both come so close to losing so much... praying briefly that Dave would never suffer from a similar experience, Shawn put the darker thoughts from his mind and turned his attention higher. Leaning in to press his lips to Hunter's chest above his heart, he set himself to driving Hunter mad with lust. Touches, kisses, licks...

Pausing more than once to touch or kiss Dave as he encountered his other lover in the midst of the same task, he slid a hand down to Hunter's groin, pressing teasingly against the demanding hardness still hidden beneath the black trunks. Fingers tangling in his hair made him smile and he pressed a series of kisses and soft bites down Hunter's side before pulling at the trunks with his teeth. Dave's hands were suddenly there and together they removed the last article of clothing from Hunter, tossing them to the side. Shawn was captured by the sight before him: Dave, still half-dressed and incredibly tempting that way, and Hunter... naked in front of him. Naked like he himself was, and that thought alone sent a wave of lust through him.

Another exchange of looks with Dave, and he leaned down again, his tongue drawing a slow wet line across the sharp curve of Hunter's hip. Relishing the taste of Hunter's skin, he couldn't help but push a little. Dave had shared Hunter's taste with him earlier, but he wanted first-hand knowledge. One slow swipe of his tongue up Hunter's straining shaft and he had to pull away to suck in air, not wanting to become too overwhelmed in his own desires. This wasn't about just him... it was about _them_.

When Hunter pulled away, he wasn't surprised. Saddened a little, worried a bit, but not entirely surprised. However, he wasn't about to let Hunt run away again, and when Dave pulled Hunter up against him, he smiled and sat back, perfectly willing to look at the lovely sight of the two of them together for a minute.

 _"We both love you and you are just going to have to get used to that fact."_

Hunt was obviously torn, to Shawn's eyes, and didn't look at all like he was going to protest being held down. That thought led to another one, one that had played a part in several of his fantasies over the years, but before he could voice it, Dave beat him to it.

 _"If the only way we can keep you here is to tie you to the bed, then I guess that's just what we'll have to do."_

Shawn was off the bed in a flash at the wink from Dave and almost threw open his suitcase. Ties. He knew he had ties in there _somewhere_... there! Grabbing them, he rejoined his lovers and knelt in front of Hunter, running a hand over his cheek before leaning in to press a soft kiss to his lips.

"If you insist..." he said softly, teasing, watching for any signs of actual alarm. He didn't want to turn this into something that would scare Hunter away, but the thought that he was about to tie Hunter to the bed was an incredible turn-on. Running a hand up Hunter's extended arms, he smiled. "Easy, love. Trust us."

Quickly knotting one tie around each of Hunter's wrists, he threaded the ties through the headboard and tied them together firmly. Hunt would be able to get out of them if he tried, but he'd have to put up some kind of effort. Letting his eyes wander across the strong body now displayed in front of him briefly, he raised his eyes to Dave. His body was on fire, but after his experiences earlier, it wasn't a demanding blaze but a steady flame. And right now...

"Why are you still dressed?" Reaching across Hunter's prone body, just happening to touch as much of his long-time friend as he possibly could as he did so, Shawn hooked his fingers into the waistband of Dave's slacks, tugging slightly. A shrug and a smirk were his only answers, and Shawn rolled his eyes. "It's a good thing you don't have anything on under these... 'cause I'd be ripping them off if you did."

Quickly working the slacks open, he pushed them partway down Dave's thighs before having to stop. With an innocent expression on his face, he shrugged and said, overly casually, "Can't reach further... hang on." Shifting until he was straddling Hunter's legs, he was very aware of Hunter's erection brushing against his hip as he moved. Pushing the slacks down and off, he let them fall to the floor at the foot of the bed and then sat back, smiling, as he let his gaze wander over his naked lovers.

"Hmmm. Whatever shall I do next? I just don't know..." Letting his voice trail off teasingly, Shawn shifted again until he was kneeling beside Hunter across from Dave, and raised an eyebrow at his darker lover. "Any ideas?"

****

Hunter lay supine under Dave as his lover raised his arms up to the headboard of the bed. As his nipples brushed against the smooth dark chest, Hunter sucked in a sharp breath of arousal and denial. So beautiful, stretched over Hunter like the sky, his vision filled with nothing but skin and ink and Dave. Hunter, panic receding at his lovers' remarkable solution, tugged experimentally on Dave's grip to see of he could break it.

Not that he actually wanted to, he just needed to know if he could.

A small smile of understanding curved Dave's lips and the glittering black eyes meeting his, were so full of love and passion that Hunter stopped moving the moment he felt the grip tighten fractionally. Dave was here, holding him, making him stay and forcing Hunt's ridiculous panic away with his body and his mind. Dave wouldn't let him run away and Hunt just hoped he'd eventually stop wanting to.

For a brief second, Dave's hands were gone and Hunter fell into an instant free-fall, till he was caught by the dusky blue eyes of the love of his life. Shawn knelt beside him, dropping a chaste kiss on Hunt's lips that almost drew forth a whine borne of sheer desperation. Suppressing his wanton thoughts with an iron will, Hunter found himself remarkably calm and quite amused at the speed with which Shawn tied him to the bed.

'I see you've done _that_ before Darling'.

 _Easy, love. Trust us._

"Always," Hunter said without a sound, his eyes fixed on the beautiful features of the man leaning over him. Hunt once again tested his anchor and found that he had enough freedom of movement, that he could sit up slightly against the pillows at the top of the bed. Settling his spine into a more comfortable position, Hunter looked up once again and received an eye-full of the arched torso of Shawn Michaels. A sleek tanned body that was now lying unashamedly _on top of Hunter_.

 _Why are you still dressed?_

"Good question." This time Hunter managed to put some sound into his voice, although the soft, growly whisper was nothing like his normal, well paced tone. Even that was lost however, when Shawn expressed his dissatisfaction with their current positions and sat himself down in Hunter's lap. 'God give me strength!' Several years of fantasies had just become reality in Hunter's heating up imagination. While he'd never imagined being tied to a bed while his best friend straddled him, he couldn't count the number of times the position had been mirrored in Vince's office chair... or at the announce table... or...

 _Any ideas?_

About a million. But Hunter knew that he was still vibrating from his earlier escape attempt and didn't want to push his limits too much. Asking them to do anything to him right now would probably end up with him breaking free and Hunt... really didn't want that. Shawn hadn't directed his question to him, but Hunter was going to have say in what happened. His body may be stupid, but his brain knew what it wanted.

So maybe... maybe he could satisfy one fantasy and banish one of his horrible nightmares from the previous night. Taking a deep breath, Hunter forced his tense shoulders to relax, even from their strained position, and tossed his hair back from his forehead. The irony wasn't lost on him that he was currently an X-rated version of his trademark 'water-spit', but bringing that up wasn't high on his priority list.

No... he had something far more beautiful in mind than that.

"Please. Let me watch you... together."

****

"Thank god that is finally over with. I'm starving."

Glen grinned at Sean as they approached the hotel restaurant. "You're always hungry, my little bottom-less pit. Are you sure you want to eat in the restaurant though?" Personally, Glen thought they should eat in their room so that he could get an early start on the pay-back that he owed Sean for his behavior on the plane earlier. That was probably one reason why Sean had picked to eat out.

"Yes. I'm tired of being cooped up in the room. I want to see people."

Glen rolled his eyes. Never mind the fact that they'd just come from the arena where they'd seen a lot of people. Glen knew that wasn't the only reason, but ceded to Sean's wishes. They waited to be seated and within a minute Glen was wishing he hadn't agreed so quickly. He breathed a huge sigh of relief when the singer finished her song and went to the bar for a cigarette break. Hopefully that would be the last they would have to endure of her screeching.

Sean was having a blast. Snickering into his hand, he raised an eye at Glen. When had Glen developed that little twitch in his cheek? "Man, she sings even worse than Shawn and I wasn't sure that was possible." When Glen shook his head at him and smiled, Sean grinned. He turned to look around at the crowd around them just as the waitress approached. She distracted him for a moment, all smiles and eyes wandering. Sean looked at her like she had a huge bug hanging off her nose until Glen coughed into his hand. Then he smiled and ordered his meal. Once she left, he went back to perusing the other patrons.

"Holy shit!"

Glen cocked his head to the side and waited for Sean to answer his unasked question...what exactly that outburst had been about... but Sean was too occupied staring bug-eyed at something across the restaurant. Glen turned and took a quick look in the direction Sean was staring. Mark and... Jeff Hardy? Well that was deserving of a holy shit if anything, he supposed. Sean started to get out of his seat and Glen knew what he was planning to do without having to ask.

"No, Sean." He pointed a finger back at Sean's seat and motioned for him to sit. Sean sat.

"But aren't you the least bit curious? Mark is having dinner with Jeff Hardy. How the hell did that happen?"

"I don't know, but we're going to eat and leave them alone. Maybe Jeff is just visiting and Mark wanted to find out about Matt's surgery." Yeah and pigs can fly.

They ate quickly so that they could escape from the wailing banshee who was butchering the Titanic soundtrack. Glen had absolutely hated the movie when he saw it. The torture they were suffering through didn't change his mind about that at all. He tried to avoid staring at Mark and Jeff, but he had to admit his curiosity was peaked, especially with the unusual amount of body contact Mark was endowing on Jeff. Not many would have noticed or thought anything of it, but Glen knew Mark better than anyone with a couple of exceptions. Sean wouldn't have picked up on the casual pats on the back. He was too busy making faces at the singer, who fortunately wasn't facing his way. But even Sean wasn't blind enough to miss the hand on Jeff's shoulder all the way over to the counter.

"I'm finished. Can we go now?" Glen groaned as Sean bounced out of his seat, a wicked sparkle in his eyes.

"Yes, we can go, but don't you dare give Mark a hard time. If you provoke him, I'm not saving you."

Sean growled at Glen for a moment, then blinked and started bouncing again. He wasn't going to provoke Mark, just drop some subtle hints. And no matter what Glen said, Glen would protect him if it came down to Mark actually threatening him, 'cause Glen loved him.

Glen sighed as they walked towards the exit. This should be interesting. At least if Sean asked all the questions, then Mark wouldn't get growly with him and he'd still get his answers. Christ, Sean's curiosity was apparently catching.

As he walked out into the lobby, Glen saw Mark at the desk, apparently getting ready to head to the elevators. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Mark recently and now was as good a time as any to catch up with the man.

"Mark! How've you been?"

They approached the pair and Mark looked like he was wishing them to Hades about now. Now wasn't that interesting? Sean apparently thought so too, his bouncing in place even more pronounced now. Glen didn't dare look at his lover now though, knowing he'd burst into laughter if he did.

 _"Hey, Glen. Sean."_

Mark turned to walk away, Jeff with him. 'Oh Mark, you should know it's not going to be that easy,' Glen thought to himself as Sean immediately followed. Glen smirked as he trailed behind the other three.

 _"I've been good. And you?"_

"Not doing too bad. Had to deal with Vince tonight, which is always a pleasure." Glen's grimace indicated it was anything but. "He was in quite a snit. Sounds like it was a busy night for him."

They piled into the elevator and Glen pushed the button for their floor and then waited for Mark to do the same. Well imagine that... they were on the same floor.

"Yeah, Adam's still going to do his match at the pay per view. And Vince should be feeling better since Glen let him keep my M&M's."

Glen smirked in response to Sean's glare.

"So, Hardy are you and Mark..." Glen glared at Sean and Mark wasn't looking like he was going to enjoy whatever Sean was going to ask either. "...going to be working together again? They sign you back up, man?"

Sean smirked as he noticed Glen's raised eyebrow. Thought they knew him so well, did they? Well he wouldn't want to disappoint them...

"I never would have expected you two to be together, but you actually make a cute couple. How long have you been..." The hand slapping over his mouth cut off his words, but there was no doubt what he'd been going to ask. Glen was going to kill him... if Mark didn't do it first.


	61. Worries

He felt the slight tug from the wrists in his hands, but Dave simply smiled and tightened his grip the slightest bit. Dave had almost expected the test. It's what he would have done in Hunter's place. When Hunter stopped moving, he knew that Hunter understood. There would be no running and Dave would keep him safe from everything including his own fears. Yet there was also the understanding that if Hunter made an honest attempt, Dave would have let him go. He didn't want to scare Hunter or make his fears worse, he just wanted to make him face them.

Once Shawn rejoined them, Dave released his hold, waiting while Shawn handled tying Hunter to the bed. The slack Shawn gave Hunter conveyed his sentiments as well. They didn't want to trap him, but they weren't going to make it too easy for him to escape either.

 _"Why are you still dressed?"_

Dave smirked and shrugged his shoulders negligently. He could have said that he'd been too caught up in the two of them to give his own attire any thought, but that went without saying. It more than likely wouldn't be the last time that it happened either. It was entirely too easy to lose himself in them, pleasuring them, without thought to himself. He craved the feeling of their skin under his fingertips, their scents filling his senses, and their unique tastes bursting over his tongue.

 _"... 'Cause I'd be ripping them off if you did."_

Dave forced down the shudder that those words induced. Was that a hint that he should invest in more underwear or do away with them altogether? If he were a betting man, he'd put his money on the second option. Although he might keep wearing them just to see if Shawn would carry out his threat.

While Shawn was busy ridding him of his slacks, Dave was busy letting his eyes wander over his two nude lovers. Lord they looked pretty together, though that thought would stay firmly behind his teeth. They'd probably both smack him or give him wounded puppy dog looks, which would be even worse.

 _"Any ideas?"_

...Oh, only a couple million or so. He had so many ideas that he wasn't sure he could settle on any particular one. Though the thought of watching Shawn climb back on top of Hunter was very appealing. Seeing the two of them make love to each other was right up there at the top of his fantasy list. Finally expressing their love for each other in that way after so many years of denying themselves was something they both needed, but Hunter just wasn't ready.

 _"Please. Let me watch you.. .together."_

Well...there was an idea. He wanted to object, insist that the two of them go first, but he wouldn't. If that was what Hunter wanted, then he wouldn't... couldn't deny him. All Dave wanted was for Hunter and Shawn to be happy and he couldn't deny that he wanted to be with Shawn. There was one thing he would insist on having his way in though for their first time together. Dave pressed a quick kiss to Hunter's lips and smiled at him. He climbed off the bed and rifled quickly through his bag, grabbing a small tube before returning to the bed.

"If that's what you want..." Dave then knelt with his knees brushing Hunter's lower thigh and turned to look at Shawn, his eyes laden with all the love, need, and desire he held for the man as he dropped the tube next to his knee. He licked his lips, and with a teasing smile said, "Then I guess that's what we'll give you." Reaching across Hunter with his left hand he traced the heart-shaped tattoo on Shawn's hip with one finger. His other hand traced up Shawn's arm and ended it's journey at the back of his neck. With the slightest pressure, Dave pulled Shawn's mouth closer and covered it with his own. Their chests brushed softly against each other, their legs bracketing Hunter's thighs, Dave kissed Shawn slowly, teasingly. After a moment, he let his lips trail over Shawn's jaw and lower to his neck, his tongue probing gently against the mark he'd left there earlier. His hand slipped from Shawn's neck, down the length of his spine.

"Shawn," he whispered huskily against the warm skin, "there's something that I want and right now you are the only one that can give it to me." His mouth moved further south, his tongue now searching out the tattoo on Shawn's bicep as he reached for the small tube beside his knee. He lifted his hand and pressed the tube into Shawn's hand. Kissing his way back up Shawn's shoulder, Dave finally lifted his head and looked at him. "I couldn't ask last night when I was holding you because it wasn't right." Shooting a quick smile and a wink at Hunter, he returned his attention to the man in front of him. "But I wanted to and now that it's the way it is supposed to be, I'm going to ask. Sweetheart, I've been wondering for the longest time what it would feel like to have you over me... inside me and I'm hoping you could see your way clear to showing me what it's like to be claimed by someone so passionate and giving."

With the backs of his fingers, he brushed the hard length of Shawn's shaft, smiling at Shawn's reaction. "So...do I get what I want too?"

****

After what seemed like an eternity, the young singer finally finished another set and took an extended break. The pause was sufficient to allow Jeff to catch his breath, to end the giggle-fit he'd been battling and to finish his drink. Mark, while not as tickled as Jeff by the show, was at least amused enough to smile indulgently at Jeff's reaction rather than take him to task over it. Although Jeff was pretty sure that there were two holes in the side of his neck from where the Celine-Wannabe was staring lasers into him.

It took moments for him to pay for the dinner and pretty soon the two men were headed back across the lobby to collect their bags. From the periphery of his vision, Jeff noted the flirtatious eyelash batting of the concierge and wondered if Mark had to put up with that absolutely everywhere. Not that he didn't get his own fair share of flirtation and hysteria, but Mark was so much more recognizable, given his height, and the man was just so damned attractive, famous or not. Jeff was fortunate to have the luxury of just being dismissed as a punkish freak by anyone who didn't follow the WWE, Mark had no such luxury. He was obviously 'someone' even if the admirer didn't know who.

The slight weight of Mark's hand on his lower back was beginning to send little sparks of arousal up Jeff's spine and down each of his legs. Even through the layers of his coat and shirt, the touch was exhilarating and frightening at the same time. It was also dismally casual and friendly rather than possessive, as Jeff would have liked. It was enough of a touch, however, to give him the courage to ask if he could extend their evening... well, Jeff checked his watch, almost morning by now. Stuffing his hands once again into his pants pockets and tossing a stray lock of clinging orange hair away from his lashes, Jeff let the relaxation he'd found in the restaurant colour his voice.

So… okay. Here it goes.

"Mark, I haven't got a room here... do you have a bed I can use... maybe?"

In the minute of silence that followed Jeff wondered three things. 1) Had he actually spoken or just said that in his head, 2) Did Mark think he meant fucking instead of sleeping and was trying to think of a way to turn Jeff down _again_ or 3) Had Jeff been incredibly presumptive to think that Mark wouldn't have someone already sharing his room and thus Jeff would be a terrible imposition or.....

 _I ended up with a double without a roommate, so if you need it, you can have the spare bed._

Whoody-who! Given that none of his three suspicions were correct, Jeff couldn't stop the blistering smile that grew on his lips at his mental cheer. He almost swayed into Mark's body as the big man nodded politely and gave him another friendly touch to the shoulder. Controlling himself before he stumbled, Jeff converted his move into a bend for his bag at their feet and was rising with a question on his lips when he heard the voices.

 _Mark! How've you been?_

Spine stiffening, Jeff turned towards Glen Jacobs and Sean Waltman, then moved so his hair fell forward over his cheeks and took a small step away from Mark. He'd only worked a little with the other men, mostly for the infamous TLC 2 match he'd had with Jacobs, but they'd never socialised outside work and Jeff was at a loss with how to react to them. Not that he was given much of a chance as Mark fielded the conversation and moved them to the lift with tidy economy, earning Jeff's gratitude right there and then.

He should have known that it wouldn't be that easy. Waltman's nosiness was legendary back stage, as were his totally good intentions. You just couldn't hate the small man, he was like an annoying little kid, you might wanna smack them when they pissed you off, but you just couldn't do it. Jeff was just lucky he'd never really been in Waltman's radar before, the guy's interests mostly residing in the wide, wild lives of the Clique and their various satellite members. Compared to what those wrestlers got up to, the Team X-Treme were boring as hell and not interesting to a curious mouse like Waltman.

 _Hardy are you and Mark... going to be working together again?_

Jeff was in little doubt as to what Waltman had been going to say, and neither had the two giant men in the lift either if their expression were anything to go by. But Jeff chose to ignore the implication and opened his mouth to answer seriously, when the small, dark man continued.

 _"...you actually make a cute couple. How long have you been...."_

The faint blush beginning to rise in his cheeks was forced back by a sheer effort of will... there was no way Jeff was about to give Mark's friends any kind of ideas about what was going on. He wasn't the first... Heyman... and wouldn't be the last person to think that Mark was sleeping with Jeff while they created a cover story for all the time they were spending together. What did disappoint Jeff was that those friends thought so little of Mark, that he'd take Jeff as some kind of... of... consolation prize.

Feeling a small flare of anger stir at thought, Jeff leaned back in a relaxed slouch and smiled widely at Waltman, he was going to give them something to think about and he was going to be honest. But he had to jump in before Mark explained. The last thing Jeff needed to hear right now was Mark denying he would _ever_ be with Jeff in anything but a professional capacity. It might be true, but Jeff couldn't bear to hear it right now.

"How long? Oh about..." Jeff made a show of checking his watch, "...six hours now, give or take a minute. But don't tell McMahon you think we're _cute_ , blood-thirsty enemies is probably what he's planning."

 _Ping._

With a walk that could only be described as 'Sassy' Jeff exited the lift and began to walk down the hall. He had no idea what room number Mark was, but as long as he didn't barrel straight past it...he was safe.

****

 _Blink._

Randy watched as Steve walked back towards the arena, not even a slump in those broad shoulders to indicate in any way the emotional storm that had just taken place beside a champagne coloured rental. He couldn't move, not since he'd punched Austin hard in the face had Randy Orton had full control of his body. It would be easy to blame shock at his own actions or surprise at Austin's blunt-as-guts but totally heartfelt confession of romantic interest. But right then and there, as Steve moved into the undistinctive doorway that led back to the WWE occupied halls, Randy was seriously considering he might have had a stroke. Because He. Couldn't. Move.

A deep breath gasped into his lungs. Then another. Randy finally lowered the hand that had been responsible for the punch that had just changed his life.

Steve had said he wanted to have more than one night with Randy.

And Randy hadn't said a word.

Blinking slowly into the stark light given off by the car park fluorescent bulbs, Randy looked down at the keys to his car and wondered what the hell he'd just done.

 _Go after him._

The thought was swallowed by the chaos in his head and Randy lost it before there was a chance to examine it closely. On autopilot he was moving, pressing the button on the electronic key and getting into the car without so much as a backwards glance at the arena behind him.

 _Blink._

Randy obeyed every road rule on the way back to his hotel... their hotel. He stayed exactly three miles under the speed limit and came to a full and complete stop at every traffic light and stop sign.

 _Blink._

Locking his car, Randy walked into the lobby of the hotel and collected his messages. One from his mother and one from Ric. He politely signed five autographs for fans lying in wait and smiled arrogantly for two photographs. At this time of night the lift was quick and he unlocked the door to his room, then dropped his bag on the floor. The shower was running.

Randy sank onto the bed and stared at his hands.

He wondered if they'd ever stop shaking.

****

He was drowning in sensation, his control stretched to its limit as he pounded into his lover's body. Biting his lip almost hard enough to draw blood, Kevin waited, needing to see, feel, Scott's climax before he could follow him. The rough whimpering noise that escaped Scott as his hips twisted underneath Kevin was the sign he'd been waiting for, and even as Scott groaned his name, Kevin was thrusting one last time, growling out Scotty's name, his own orgasm sweeping over him with blinding force.

Raising his head a few minutes later from where it had dropped onto Scott's back, he levered himself up to get his not-insubstantial weight off Scotty's back. Leaning down to press an unsteady kiss to Scott's temple, Kevin shifted slowly, biting back a moan as he slipped out of Scott. Maneuvering carefully until he was lying beside Scott, he ran a gentle hand down Scott's spine, petting his lover and whispering soft nonsense to him. The demands of his body made themselves known after a short time and he reluctantly slid off the bed.

Walking into the bathroom, he quickly took care of things and ran some warm water over a washcloth to clean Scott with. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he smiled a little. That had been amazing, and he looked more content than he had in years. He _was_ more content that he had ever been before, happier than he could ever remember being.

Because of Scott.

Moving back into the bedroom, he sat down beside his lover again, not entirely surprised to see damp tracks on Scott's cheeks. It had been so much more than he'd thought it would be... hell, this whole _day_ had been more than what he'd thought it would be; it shouldn't be a surprise that making love to Scott, especially with the power play going on, had been so incredibly good. Wiping the tears away with a gentle touch, Kevin kissed Scott's cheeks, smiling when the damp, emotion-filled eyes opened to meet his gaze.

"I love you," Kevin said quietly, still smiling. His fingers moved across Scott's head, smoothing the tangles out of the dark curls. His voice dropping almost to a reverent whisper, he added, "Absolutely beautiful, Scott." Another soft kiss to Scott's forehead, and he shifted downward, cleaning his lover off with gentle touches and carefully pulling the pillow out from under his hips, tossing it and the washcloth into a corner. Pulling the blankets down on one side, he urged Scott to roll over, then took a place beside him, partially sitting up, and pulled the covers up over them. Scotty always got cold easily after scenes like this, and Kev had learned quickly to make sure that he didn't get too chilled or it would take him all night to recover.

Shifting carefully, Kevin worked them into position so that he could hold Scott while lying propped up on the pillows, Scott's arm around his waist and head resting against his shoulder. Petting him with gentle caresses, Kevin realised that he'd been worried about this. It had been so long since they'd done something like this, their encounter in the shower that morning aside, that he'd almost been afraid to. And the shower earlier... that had been different anyway. Scott so rarely took control of things, and it hadn't taken much to set Kevin off, so it had been mild. The realisations that it had forced Kev to come to had been what made it difficult to deal with.

But this... this was not mild or casual or quick. With the day-long buildup, Kevin hadn't been able to really focus enough to realise that he was concerned with where something like this could lead them. Their relationship before had always incorporated dominance games, to the point where they'd modified a spare room in their house to better accommodate certain things, but this time around... This time, Kevin had been afraid that those games would lead them back down the same path as before. He should have known better, should have trusted his lover more, but that fear had been lingering in the back of his mind nonetheless.

Tightening his grip on Scott slightly, Kevin wondered if he should tell Scotty about his doubts, to clear the air. Looking down, he was met by an intense gaze from the well-loved dark eyes, and he suspected suddenly that Scott had known about his doubts before he had. It wouldn't be the first time; Scotty had always seemed to know Kevin better than Kev knew himself. That look made him decide. They had to be honest with each other this time around, about everything. And especially since his doubts had been proven wrong in a wonderful way, there wouldn't be any harm in telling his lover that he'd had them.

"Scott..." He trailed off even as he started to speak, not sure how to phrase his thoughts. Speaking slowly, he finally said, "I... This was... beyond anything I thought it would be. Anything I was afraid it would be." Pausing again, he was interrupted by Scott.

****

They were gorgeous. Shawn's focus was narrowed to just his two lovers, noting the slight tenseness in Hunter's frame and his quickened breathing even as he watched Dave steadily, knowing what _he_ wanted. He wanted desperately to sink down on Hunter, take him inside, and make love to him until they were both screaming... but that wasn't an option at the moment. Not with Hunt's reactions so far. Shawn couldn't blame Hunter, really; it was an over-reaction, but it was Hunter's typical way of dealing with things that he'd left bottled up for too long. But what Shawn wanted right now was different.

He wanted Dave.

It didn't matter how, who was on top or bottom; he just wanted the man. It might be a newer want than his nearly decade-old feelings for Hunter, but it was no less real, and the thoughts had been in the back of his mind since they'd fallen asleep together the night before. To be honest, he'd been thinking about it off and on for the last year or so, but only in a sort of distant fantasy way. The last twenty-four hours had been wild, emotional, and completely unexpected... but Shawn was happier than he'd been in years, and the two men he was looking at were responsible.

 _"Please. Let me watch you... together."_

An indrawn breath, and his eyes flew to Hunter's face for an instant, reading the absolute sincerity and _want_ behind that so-unexpected request. He'd thought of the possibility in passing earlier as a way of dealing with this exact situation, but he hadn't expected to actually fulfill that brief fantasy. Now... as he turned his eyes back to Dave, smiling a little as he watched the big man kiss Hunter, it looked like it would become a reality. As Dave moved, he waited, knowing what Dave had to be doing and glad that someone had thought ahead enough to have the bases covered; he wasn't sure if he even had any lube in his things. It had been a long time since he'd needed any.

 _"Then I guess that's what we'll give you."_

God, he could just fall into those eyes forever. Those wonderful, expressive eyes... He was swaying toward Dave even as the other man reached out to touch him, the soft touches tantalising, leaving him wanting more. As their lips met all too briefly, a shudder worked its way down Shawn's spine, a moan escaping into the momentary semi-silence of the room when Dave's tongue brushed over the mark on his neck. The man was going to drive him crazy with lust with just those gentle touches.

Barely aware of accepting the small tube from Dave, too caught up in the sensations his lover was creating for him to realise what it was, Shawn's eyes widened as he heard Dave's rough words.

 _"Sweetheart, I've been wondering for the longest time what it would feel like to have you over me.. .inside me and I'm hoping you could see your way clear to showing me what it's like to be claimed by someone so passionate and giving."_

His fingers clenched on the tube in their grasp as he fought back a sudden flash of lust at the thought of being inside Dave. The request was so unexpected... Shawn had never had a preference, enjoying both positions thoroughly, but for some reason he'd thought that Dave would want to take him first. The expression of mingled hope and love on Dave's face brought Shawn to his senses. While he might want to think about Dave's actual words later, now was not the time. The soft brush of fingers against his cock, now fully hard and interested in the goings-on, made him shiver as a quiet whine slipped out of his mouth, his free hand clutching at Hunter's thigh for an instant.

 _"So... do I get what I want too?"_

Forcing himself to answer verbally before just pouncing on the man, Shawn realised that his voice hadn't recovered quite as much as he'd thought, but it was still audible... just very husky. With a smile, he replied, "Since you asked so nicely..." Leaning up to press his lips against Dave's ear, he finished, "But first... I have a favour to return." With a slow swipe of his tongue around the edge of the ear so temptingly close, he nibbled his way down Dave's neck, pausing while he decided on his target, and then bit down firmly. Sucking at the skin between his teeth, his eyes closed for an instant as Dave's flavour flooded his mouth before he let go, running his tongue over the reddened spot he'd left.

****

Despite the fact that he really didn't want to move, he allowed Chris to have his way in rearranging him. Though he had to admit that the massage helped, what he really wanted was just to be left alone to sleep. When they were on the road, sleep was a rare commodity... especially when you spent half of the time allotted to sleep on getting laid. So when he had time off, Adam spent as much time as possible catching up on his rest. Now they had four days off and for at least one of them he was going to have to wake up every hour on the hour. If it had been for the pleasure of making love to Chris, he'd have been all over happy about it, but since it was due to a concussion? Hell yes he was going to be cranky about it. Still, Chris' massage was aiding him towards getting to sleep that much quicker.

 _"And yes, you can sleep your way through. I’ll wake you for breakfast."_

What was the catch? Adam opened his eyes and looked at the man slowly massaging his temples. There had to be a catch... Chris had been all over him earlier about having to follow the doctor's orders and now he was going to slack off on them? Yeah... right.

 _"…Then Jay would kick my ass and he’s a scary guy first thing in morning."_

Adam had just discovered something about his lover... he was cruel. Yep. Sure was. Teasing him with the one thing he'd wanted and then snatching it away. Well... the one thing that he'd wanted at this particular moment. He could just imagine Jay going nutso on Chris. Okay. Fine. He would wake up every hour, but that didn't mean he was going to be any happier about it.

Turning back into the pillow, Adam draped an arm across Chris' legs and settled himself enough to finally go to sleep.

 _2:15 am_

 _"Sorry Babe."_

With a sigh, Adam rolled onto his back, answered the requisite questions, rolled back over and fell asleep.

 _3:15 am_

Once again being woke up by Chris, Adam dismissed procedure and stayed on his stomach.

"Adam Copeland, born October 30, 1973, and I don't know who the president is even when my brains aren't scrambled so...." Not bothering to open his eyes, he smiled as he slid his hand up Chris' thigh. "I'll just identify someone else," he said, his hand climbing even higher. He made a noise as if he actually had to give some deep thought to whose lap his head was resting on. "You are... the man that I am totally head over heels for even if you are being a huge pain in the ass by waking me up every hour... Chris Jericho."

A wicked grin on his face, which was still half buried in the pillow, he slid his hand several times over Chris' groin. "And now... I'm going back to sleep. Night, Love." He knew Chris had reacted, even though he couldn't see his reaction. It took supreme effort not to laugh into the pillow, his hand still resting in one of his favorite places.

****

Glen was so shocked by what Jeff had said that he was frozen for a moment. Were Mark and Jeff really...? He decided that Mark looked just as surprised by the admission as he was so probably not.

Sean had no such problem however. He eyeballed Mark for a moment and then bounced out of the elevator after Jeff. "Hey, Jeff. Wait up a minute."

Glen made a useless attempt to grab his lover, then sighed and looked at Mark. "I'm sorry about that Mark. From the look on your face I'm guessing that you and Jeff aren't..." Glen shut up quickly enough when he caught the look in Mark's eyes. He moved out of the elevator after the other two, Mark right behind him. He stopped for just a moment though and turned to face his friend.

"Mark, I don't know what is going on with you and Hardy, but I have to say that if you did get involved with him I don't think it'd be such a bad thing. You've been alone for a long time. You deserve to be happy, Mark. If he can do that for you, then I say go for it. Sean's right though, you two are cute together."

Meanwhile, Sean was walking beside Jeff, trying to figure out why Jeff had lied about his relationship with Mark. "I'm sorry... for asking. I wasn't going to, but they gave me _that_ look so I did it just to be a prick." He smiled apologetically and hit Jeff lightly on the shoulder. Looking behind him to make sure the other two weren't too close to them, he still dropped his voice a bit when he started talking again, just to be safe. "You _do_ make a cute couple though. You should think about it, seriously. Mark's been alone for a long time and he's a good guy. With all that unusual PDA he was showing you downstairs, I was kind of hoping you liked him back... at least a little bit."

When Glen looked up, he saw the look on Jeff's face. "Oh man. What the hell did he say now?"

****

His heavy breathing echoed by Kevin's, Scott collapsed against the mattress lost in a hazy intensely relaxed state. He wasn't sure he could move right now even if someone was running down the hall shouting 'Fire!' all the way. He felt the slight pressure of Kevin's head against his back and smiled. At least he wasn't the only one that was a boneless puddle of goo right now. The air rushing across his back with each breath that Kevin expelled was almost forceful enough to tickle and he could still feel Kevin's solid length inside him. His ass was aching fiercely but it was still that 'feels good' kind of ache, though if he even thought about sitting on it right now that would probably change to an 'oh hell that hurts' kind of ache.

His heart did a little flip at Kevin's kiss to his temple, then he was biting his lip against a groan of loss as Kevin withdrew from his body. He waited expectantly and within a moment he felt the gentle slide of Kevin's hand against his back, quiet soothing words being whispered to him. This was as much a necessary part of their play as the pain was. There was always pain and then comfort. Kevin was a master of both. Nothing had changed and this would change nothing. They could have both new pleasures and old ones without changing the basic truth... their love for each other.

Something else that wouldn't change was how over-emotional he tended to be whenever they took their play to this level. When Kevin rolled off the bed, Scott knew that he wasn't leaving, that he would go no further than the bathroom, but it still made his heart skip a beat. The loss of contact, the separation from Kevin forced him to find a different focus... as always his brain chose his pain to dwell on. The now intense pain came crashing down on him, his body shuddering with the force of it. He hissed quietly, closing his eyes as he felt the moisture gathering in them.

God did he hurt. It didn't matter though. That one intense moment of complete and utter bliss with Kevin was worth any amount of pain. Being one with Kevin was always fulfilling, but when they let things build slowly like they had today, took things to this level it was almost unbelievably incredible. He wouldn't want to give it up for anything and thankfully he didn't have to.

The gentle touch against his cheeks pulled him away from the pain. Kevin's touch always seemed to make it melt away. Opening his eyes, he looked up at his lover... his lover in every sense of the word.

 _"I love you."_

He leaned into Kevin's gentle strokes like a cat seeking attention, his body craving the touch of his lover no matter how simple.

 _"Absolutely beautiful, Scott."_

He didn't laugh, but he wanted to. He was covered in sweat, his hair probably looked like he'd poked his finger in an electrical socket, his ass was most likely fire engine red, and he was laying in a puddle of come. Only Kev would call him beautiful at this point. Scott didn't argue, though he thought maybe his lover was just a tiny bit insane. That was good though, because if Kev were in his situation right now, Scott knew he'd find him just as beautiful. That explained it. They were both nuts.

At Kevin's prodding, he moved so that Kevin could rearrange the covers. As soon as Kevin was under the covers with him, Scott snuggled up to him, borrowing some of his body heat. If possible he'd have burrowed inside the man, but since it wasn't he had to be content with hanging all over him. He felt Kevin's arms tightening around him and wondered what Kevin had on his mind. He was being incredibly quiet, even for Kev. Looking up at his lover, he waited, knowing that it wouldn't take Kevin long to tell him what was going on in his head.

 _"I... This was... beyond anything I thought it would be. Anything I was afraid it would be."_

Scott raised his arm and put two fingers gently against Kevin's lips. Propping himself a bit on his side, he kept his eyes locked with Kevin's. His voice was roughened from all his tears and a bit strained from the ache in his backside, but this was too important not to say. "I was afraid too, but I was more afraid of what it _wouldn't_ be than what it would be. I was worried that you'd hold back or that you'd give in when you wouldn't have before. I wasn't sure where this would fit in with how we are now. I think..." Running his fingers softly over Kevin's lips, Scott smiled at him. "I think this is as much a part of us as us being the Outsiders. It's part of who we are and I _love_ who we are. I love _you_."

Deciding that it was time to focus on something a little less emotionally fraught, a little less complicated, Scott thought of the perfect way to shift the conversation. Besides, he owed Kevin a little lesson of his own. Leaning further up, he pressed his lips softly against Kevin's, just the slightest whisper of a kiss. "I love you and I love your mouth." Running his thumb gently across Kevin's bottom lip, he pulled slightly until Kevin's mouth parted. "Your lips are so soft." Flicking his tongue softly against those soft lips, he let it slip into Kevin's mouth just far enough to touch the tip of his tongue before pulling away. "You always taste so good. And the way you use your mouth to tease me Kev, drives me damn near insane."

Looking back into Kevin's eyes he smiled. "Your kiss is the best kind of addiction. As much as you kiss me, I always want you to do it again. Every place your mouth touches me is like a little shock of electricity. I can feel it all the way down to my toes." His lips tilting up in a wicked little smirk, Scott slipped his finger past Kevin's lips to tease at his tongue. His voice even huskier, he said almost in a whisper, "and when you have your mouth wrapped around me Kev, it's the sweetest thing imaginable. Just thinking about how warm and wet it is, is almost enough to get me off." Scott whined quietly as Kevin's lips wrapped around his finger. "God, Kev..." He wasn't expecting Kevin to bite him, though he probably should have. "Hey!"

Laughing, Scott pulled his finger out of Kevin's mouth and pretended for a moment as if he were inspecting for damage. Turning suddenly serious, he looked at Kevin once again. "But the thing I love most about your mouth is your smile. It's another beautiful part of you, Kev."

****

That little whine was so sexy. Dave was going to make it his mission in life to hear that sound as often as humanly possible. His eyes locked on the smile on Shawn's mouth just before Shawn gave him the answer he'd been hoping to hear.

 _"Since you asked so nicely..."_

Yes! Just a little bit longer and he'd be living out a longtime fantasy. His mind was already supplying him with a hundred different images of how it might come about. He was hoping for a position that would allow him to look into Shawn's eyes when they came together, but he'd happily take whatever Shawn decided to give him. Soon now... very soon... his mind ground to a halt with the words spoken so huskily against his ear.

 _"But first... I have a favour to return."_

Favor? As far as he knew Shawn had already returned his favor from earlier so what favor was Shawn referring to? He caught on quickly as Shawn's mouth moved down his neck. Tilting his head to the side, he gave Shawn better access, his breathing picking up a bit in anticipation of what he knew was coming.

He wanted Shawn to mark him as well.

When Shawn latched onto Dave's neck with his teeth, he growled quietly, his eyes slipping closed. "Yes," he hissed. His senses rioting, he latched onto Shawn's hips with both hands, squeezing almost roughly. He allowed another minute or so of Shawn's tongue teasing at the mark he'd made before lifting a hand to thread it gently in Shawn's hair. Tugging slightly, he raised Shawn's head until their eyes met. He stared into those beautiful blue eyes for a long moment before covering his lover's pouty lips with his own. Dave started out gently, letting his hand trail down the length of Shawn's spine in a slow silky glide. When he reached the trim waist, he wrapped both arms tightly around him, the kiss exploding into a more intense exploration.

He was thoroughly lost in Shawn for a moment... his sweet taste, the musky smell of his arousal, the press of his toned body against Dave's own. He wanted more. Needed more. With a quick twist of his body similar to one he'd have used in the ring, he levered Shawn across Hunter's body, Shawn's calves skimming over Hunter's thighs. When they came to rest, Shawn was sprawled nicely on top of Dave who was lying right next to Hunter's right side. He moaned huskily into Shawn's mouth, the weight of Shawn's body atop his feeling better than anything he'd been able to imagine. His arms still banded around Shawn's hips, he thrust his own hips upward bringing their hard cocks into exquisite contact. Dave whined, loosening his hold on Shawn so that his hands could explore.

Learning his lover's body with his fingertips, he ran them gently up Shawn's back, counting the knots along his spine as their hungry mouths continued their feast. Counting backwards to calm himself a little, he traced the return route as his backside settled against the bed once again. He passed the base of Shawn's spine, his fingers ghosting over curved flesh and the outside of muscular thighs. Dragging his fingers inward, he moved upward once again along tensed inner thighs until he reached the apex, loving the way Shawn was squirming against him.

**** 

Someone up there absolutely _hated_ him. Mark was sure of it. What other reason could there be for Glen and his hyperactive other half to have shown up... let alone be in the elevator with him and Jeff... and _on the same floor_. Suppressing his growing urge to bang his head against the wall, Mark tried to keep quiet, knowing that if he said too much, he was going to say something that Sean would take entirely the wrong way... not that it took much for Sean to do that.

 _"So, Hardy are you and Mark..."_  
v  
Oh God. He was going to ask, wasn't he? Swallowing a groan, Mark bit back the reply that wanted to leap from his mouth. _"God, I wish we were!"_ Jeff didn't need to find that out that way... hell, Jeff didn't need to find out at all. But especially not because Waltman provoked him into saying something that he shouldn't.

 _"...going to be working together again? They sign you back up, man?"_

That was not at all what Mark had expected him to say, and he was positive that Sean had been looking for a reaction. His poker face came out of long years of practice, but he was depressingly sure that he'd shown more than he wanted to. At least Jeff wasn't staring at him to see every little reaction... No, that was what he caught himself doing to the younger man as he waited for Jeff's answer to the question. Jerking his eyes away from the other man, Mark sent a narrow-eyed gaze at Sean even as he cursed himself for giving away that much.

Not that Jeff was given a chance to answer.

 _"I never would have expected you two to be together, but you actually make a cute couple. How long have you been..."_

It didn't matter if Glen was one of his best friends. He was going to _strangle_ Sean, slowly. Bad enough for Heyman to be making his sleazy implications... at least that was to be expected and pretty much completely ignored. But for Sean to be bringing up _this_ subject---a subject that didn't even exist, except in the recesses of Mark's imagination---was just...

 _"How long? Oh about... six hours now, give or take a minute."_  
v  
Caught completely off guard, all Mark could do was stare after Jeff as the other man walked out of the elevator. That had been the absolute honest truth, right down to the guess about Vince's future plans, but it _sounded_ like something completely different. He was aware of Glen's surprised look but couldn't seem to find any words to make a coherent sentence. The oh-so-casual line had stolen his ability to speak for the moment. His thoughts didn't have that problem, though; they were racing. Mostly they seemed to be centered around the longing that the literal meaning of Jeff's answer be true. How bad off _was_ he, anyway? He'd been alone since his brief fling with Shannon and that had been quite a while, but he knew that whatever he was feeling for Jeff was more than just lust. That fascination that had been in the back of his mind since their angle together two years ago was growing exponentially as they spent time together... and Jeff didn't feel that way. He was just teasing Sean back... wasn't he?

He was aware of Glen speaking to him, but he was too caught up in the realisation of just how much more than a passing fancy his feelings for Jeff were to care. It wasn't _that_ word. He hadn't dealt with _that_ word since he'd walked away from Shawn, and he wasn't going to now. Not that he needed to even be worrying about it. What in the hell did he think somebody like Jeff would see in him, anyway? Following Glen out of the elevator, he stopped just behind him as Glen turned to look at him.

 _"I have to say that if you did get involved with him I don't think it'd be such a bad thing. You've been alone for a long time. You deserve to be happy, Mark. If he can do that for you, then I say go for it."_

Forcibly pulling himself out of the thoughts that were threatening to drown him, silently promising his confused emotions that he'd take the time to sort them out later, Mark found himself looking at Glen in absolute shock. Glen didn't think it would be a bad thing? But he was _responsible_ for Jeff. He couldn't abuse that unspoken power in that way, he just couldn't. But... Glen was a good judge of character, too. He'd known within hours of meeting Shawn that Mark was involved with him... and after he'd gotten to know Mark better, he'd quietly told him that when it didn't work out, he'd be there if Mark needed him. Not that Mark had thought anything of it at the time, but the day he'd left Shawn, he'd been on the phone to Glen less than an hour later. The man had been one of his best friends for years... Maybe he should think about this later. Right now...

 _"Oh man. What the hell did he say now?"_

Seeing the expression on Jeff's face, Mark reacted without thinking. Not even looking at Glen, he headed down the hallway in his normal ground-eating stride, his attention focused on the colourful whirlwind in front of him that seemed to have crashed to a halt. What the hell _had_ Waltman said?


	62. Declarations

The quick kiss Hunter had received in answer to his request to see his lovers entwined together, brought up an answering twitch of the lips to match Dave's. The speed with which the dark man scooted from the bed to their bags was enough to broaden that twitch into a smile. Hunter was pleased that Dave had seen fit to pack some lube for their 'getting to know you' threesome, as he hadn't bought any in... god... _years._

 _'Talk about a dry spell, Champ.'_ Well at least the voice in his head sounded like Ric now, rather than his father-in-law. Although the idea of suffering a mental commentary of the proceedings from Richard Flair was enough to stifle Hunt's ardour to a manageable level.

A level that was blown to hell as his lovers began necking right in front of him. God did that look good. Dark and light. Dave and Shawn. Lips locked together like they were lonely when apart and gorgeous muscled bodies straining to be one. When they weren't focused on him, Hunter was all for joining in, his hands desperate to stroke Shawn's hair, his mouth aching to trace Dave's shoulders with his tongue. If they would let him go now, he'd be able to... to...

 _Run away like a girl the moment they try to touch you._

Dammit. Ric was gonna be worse than Vince.

Biting his lip to keep from asking to be released, Hunter let his head fall back against the headboard and let his eyes feast on the sight before him. Shawn and Dave, still touching, stroking each other and Dave asking... Dave asking...

 _couldn't ask last night when I was holding you because it wasn't right... what it would feel like to have you over me.. .inside me_

Hell, Dave hadn't needed to give them the toys earlier... if that wasn't a declaration of love, Hunter didn't know what was. Not the asking to be made love to, god no. That was just trusting someone to make it good for you and Hunt knew without a doubt his lovers took that trust on joyously. No... it was the words Dave chose to couch his request in, that had Hunt's heart squeezing in his chest. Could the man get any better? Hunter was beginning to see that he and Shawn had seriously lucked out by landing Dave Batista in their lives.

Then Shawn _bit_ Dave. Bit him. Damn that was hot.

Hunter knew that indulging his voyeuristic side with these two would cause him more than just blue balls, but he'd had no idea how arousing it would be to watch the _foreplay_. He didn't think he'd manage to ignore anything they did to each other and could feel the desire to get free, to run, to pounce on his lovers rising up again. God this was so hard. Smirking at his own pun, Hunter tried again to relax back as Dave pulled Shawn over him and the two settled onto the pillows next to him, mouth locked once again in a fire-hot kiss. While his shoulders were still as hard as rocks and his fingers still occasionally tugged on the ties, Hunt's body was beginning to accept the fact that it wasn't going anywhere.

So he really just should settle back and enjoy the show.

****

Jeff was walking on air as he heard the dead silence in the lift behind him greet his previous declaration. Yeah, he'd been trying to out-tease Waltman by not denying a relationship between he and Mark, but he'd also wanted to show that he could handle that kind of question when aimed at them. He didn't know who would be the next one to take a shot at Mark over him, but Jeff was determined to take that hit as well. Mark was doing him a favour; he shouldn't have to cop this kind of shit over it too.

He could guess Mark's room, but he'd probably be wrong, so taking a punt, Jeff slowed his walk and lingered near a potted plant exactly halfway down the hall. If Mark's room was past him, then cool, if he was earlier on then Jeff wouldn't look too much like an idiot walking back the way he'd come.

 _Hey, Jeff. Wait up a minute._

Steeling himself for another verbal assault, Jeff dangled his overnight bag from one hand and cocked his head at the curly haired man catching up to him. In this mood, he knew he was unreadable and kind of off-putting, but he didn't care. Right now, he had to be bulletproof.

 _I'm sorry... for asking. I wasn't going to, but they gave me that look so I did it just to be a prick._

Jeff smiled slightly without any humour, nodding his acceptance of the apology and the friendly punch. He'd guessed that Waltman was just trying to stir up trouble and wasn't really upset with the man anymore. Curiousity was just Sean Waltman's middle name, you couldn't really hate him for it, especially when he acted so quickly to fix the mess he'd made. Problem was, in this case, Waltman had no idea that the mess Jeff was in was unfixable by him or anyone else.

 _Mark's been alone for a long time and he's a good guy..._

Oh... Jeff hadn't known that. Still keeping his expression completely neutral, Jeff let that tidbit of information swirl around his head for a moment. He'd guessed Mark was single, given the lack of screaming boyfriend kicking Jeff's ass all over the arena for going after his man in the shower, but he hadn't realised he was... lonely. Jeff could feel his heart twist in sympathetic agreement with that feeling. He had felt so very alone even with his last... partner... and hadn't found anyone yet with whom he felt any kind of connection beyond the physical.

The bitch of it was... he reckoned he had found that connection, with Mark. Someone for whom the physical was out of Jeff's reach like a child jumping for an escaped balloon. He could go find Dom and get fucked to within an inch of his life and absolutely loathe the man or he could fall harder and harder for 'tall, dark and sexy' and keep his hands to himself.

Sometimes life sucked.

 _With all that unusual PDA he was showing you._

Bullshit. Mark was like that with everyone. He'd been just the same when they'd worked together all those months ago. They hadn't even known each other beyond a polite nod and Mark would help him off the mat with a strong hand and ruffle his hair when he told a lame-ass joke. The big man was just like that... he touched people all the time. It was Jeff's problem that those minor, unconscious touches were like tiny electric shocks to his nervous system.

 _...was kind of hoping you liked him back... at least a little bit._

Jeff lost his Mr. Smirky expression the moment the words left Waltman's mouth. _Shut up, shut up!_ he wanted to yell at the man in front of him. Flicking a desperate glance down the hall, Jeff was relieved to see that Mark and Jacobs were still out of earshot... although not for much longer if their long-legged strides were anything to go by. Pasting on what he knew was a hopeless excuse for a smile, Jeff spoke through gritted teeth, his voice low and harsh.

"I know he's a great guy Sean, I'm not blind okay. It's not like that for him, I know okay? Just... can you leave it alone? Please? He's been copping that kinda shit from Heyman all night and I doubt he wants to hear it from his friends."

The words had barely left his lips when Mark was there, by Jeff's side. His hand on Jeff's shoulder in a reassuring grasp that he hadn't even realised he'd been so in need of. Waltman looked like he was going to say more, probably in response to Jeff's low-voiced comments and Jeff didn't want Mark hearing anymore about the supposed 'them', something that would bring forth the painful denials, if Jeff didn't divert them real quick. Dragging his expression back to a semblance of good will, he answered Waltman's original question from the lift.

"I'm on probation right now. Maybe a couple of months, it's up to Vince to see if I pass muster. I can't wait to find out what he's gonna get creative to do for me this time 'round." An eye roll to indicate the common feeling towards that particular department. "Not."

Jeff couldn't look at Mark right then, promises made earlier be damned. He had his heart in his eyes right now and was far too vulnerable standing in this hotel hallway. "So what room number are you 'Taker? I'm ready to crash and I didn't even work tonight."

Damn. That sounded worse out loud than it had in his head.

****

 _3.15am_

Adam sounded so damn frustrated that CJ actually considered letting him sleep through, bleed on the brain or not. But he was made of sterner stuff than that and the risk to Adam was just too great to ignore the treatment every man and his dog in the WWE knew all too well. At least he was trying to be funny about it and if Adam didn’t know the President then Chris would dance around the room naked. Or, given that that might actually happen at some time in the near future, CJ would break into Shelton’s room and… err… steal Benoit’s title belt and… anyway, he would do something that he might not normally do. Shaking his head free of the bizarre cobwebs that seem to have infested it, Chris was brought back to definite reality by the roaming hand of his COCKTEASE lover.

He almost missed the first few strokes to his thigh, but not the slight snicker muffled by the pillow against his middle or the unrepentant groping taking place below said pillow. Chris wondered if he would react like this every time Adam touched him or if it was just a ‘honeymoon’ thing. Their lovemaking had been almost entirely one-sided not that long ago and CJ’s memories of their first night were beginning to blur into a mass of ‘hotness’ that threatened to push the pillow into new and wonderful directions. Tilting his head back against the headboard, Chris almost arched into the touch, his hands fisted in the sheets to stop the movement and stifle the demanding growl that threatened to erupt at Adam’s teasing. Sure, turnabout was fair play, but Chris had fulfilled his promises to Adam earlier, this was just unfair.

After a few moments of totally deliberate fondling, Adam removed his taunting hand and went back to sleep.

Well fine.

It was 3 fucking 30 in the morning and Chris was half-hard, very horny and his boyfriend was passed out from a concussion.

Chalk up one more reason to feed Terry his balls next time Chris saw him. Yeah, that would do it. Thinking of Rhyno would be like a cold shower on CJ’s groin and hopefully put him to sleep. Resetting the alarm, Chris gently nudged Adam back onto the mattress and slid down in the bed, facing the long line of Adam’s spine. He wanted to reach out and stroke his lover’s skin, but that might wake him and Chris knew Adam did need all the rest he could get. Instead he just settled down to watch the slow, even rise and fall of Adam’s ribs, his breathing finally normal after the battering he took.

What got Chris was why Terry had such a bug up his butt about him and Adam being together. From what he’d heard, often with clenched fists, Terry had derived a sick amusement from knowing Adam was playing the field. He’d never hunted down and beat Adam up because he’d picked up a ring rat to take home, so why had CJ as his bedmate caused such a spectacular reaction? Had Terry actually thought he’d have a chance to get back into Adam’s good graces while the tall blond was sleeping around, but then realized he was screwed when he’d seen them together? The Fuckhead had seemed to know about Adam liking… no actually… wow… _loving_ Chris, even before he did, so perhaps it was just sour grapes that had caused the fight.

Chris mentally shook his head and reached out to rest the palm of his hand between Adam’s shoulder blades. If Terry had had the slightest chance of getting back with Adam, then putting the guy through a wall had bombed that idea into the dirt. It was like the man was doing a primitive If I Can’t Have Him No Man Will statement to CJ and was willing to do some serious damage to Adam to achieve it. Well… fuck him. Chris had the fantastic good taste to pick a lover with guts as well as smarts and if Terry thought he could take out Adam Copeland with a shoulder and some help from a wall then he was dumber than he looked.

Feeling his body relax, Chris lifted his damaged hand and cradled it against his chest. He hadn’t even started on all the reasons _he_ should be kicking Terry’s ass. Firstly being the ‘Bitch’ comment and closely followed by thinking he could do CJ some injury in the ring. “Been tried by bigger and better men than you Fuckhead,” Chris murmured, his eyes closing on the sight of Adam’s tangled hair.

 _4.15am_

“Okay, okay. Shut the fuck up already!” Chris snarled at his phone, pressing the red button insistently in the dark.

A disgusted sigh came from the other pillow.

“Look Babe, I know who you are and you know who I am, and _I’ll_ put you through a wall if you say Terry.” Chris grumbled at the ceiling. “So just tell me what my punishment would be if I flashed Shelton and Randy before their match on Sunday and we’ll call you ‘aware’ okay?"

****

Lost in the sweet, sweet taste of Dave's mouth as they tried their best to exchange air, Shawn was caught by surprise as the world abruptly shifted. Catching Dave's moan in his mouth and returning it heartily, Shawn shuddered as their cocks bumped together, the delicious friction upping the urgency of his body's demands. The whine from Dave made him smile to himself---the sounds of their Animal lost in lust were positively addicting, and he was more than willing to be a slave to that habit.

The sudden thought of wearing Dave's collar flashed through his mind as Dave settled back against the bed, and his eyes closed for a moment. It had been a long time since he'd played those kinds of games, but from all the little cues he'd picked up today, Dave would more than willing to play with him... and Hunter might be, too. He hadn't been with anyone he trusted enough to play those games with... but he'd trust these two with _anything_ , without even stopping to think about it.

Twitching against his lover as Dave's hands skimmed over his ass, he bit his lip against the plea that wanted to tumble out. Dave had already asked that Shawn take him, and he wasn't about to argue with that. They'd have plenty of time for other combinations, and he was going to have his fill of that particular need, no pun intended, later tonight.

Casting a quick, sidelong glance at Hunter, Shawn was mesmerised for a moment by the intensity of that burning amber gaze. His eyes wandering down Hunter's body, he was gratified to see Hunter's response to their show, although the sight sent another pulse of _want_ through him. Dave's fingers dragging across the sensitive skin of his inner thighs, brushing against him in the most intimate of spots, made him squirm, soft noises slipping out of his lips. God, did he want more. But in this position, he couldn't really respond.

Pulling reluctantly away from Dave's hungry lips, Shawn smiled at him before levering himself upward, straddling Dave's thighs for a moment as he simply looked, taking in the gorgeous sight before him. All dusky skin and dark eyes... all for him. For now, his mind amended with quiet humour, because he was definitely looking forward to watching Hunter and Dave together at some point soon. That would be a show that could never have too many repeats.

Where to start? So many options... Tracing his fingers gently over Dave's collarbone, tucking away certain spots for future exploration based on Dave's shivers, he allowed himself to slowly move further down. A barely-there touch brushed across a small dark nipple, and Dave's response told Shawn that his hunch had been correct. Teasing the small nub with feather-light touches for a moment, Shawn leaned down and ran his tongue over the other one, tasting the enticing bit of flesh.

Scooting back, Shawn continued his own exploration, discovering Dave's sensitive spots with slow caresses and nibbles, intent on tasting as much of his lover's body as he could, this first time that they had together. Right now, he wanted Dave to be a whimpering mess before he moved on to anything else... and Shawn always got what he wanted.

Bypassing the straining length standing out proudly between Dave's legs, Shawn shifted to kneel between the strong thighs, his tongue tracing a gliding path from the sharp hipbone around the curve of upper thigh, glancing teasingly against the soft sac lying there. Without lifting his head to look up from the sight in front of him, he groped to the side, trying to find the small tube that he'd dropped when Dave had moved him so effortlessly. His fingers skimmed across Hunter's thighs, accidentally brushing against Hunter's shaft on the way.

At the choked sound that drew out of Hunter's throat, Shawn did finally look up, his half-sincere apology dying unspoken at the burning look that met him. A small, wicked smile slowly curving his lips, Shawn glanced over and saw the tube lying beside Hunter's hip. With slow, deliberate movements, his fingers wandered over Hunter's thighs, brushing against the straining flesh between them more than once in their haphazard quest. Finally taking pity on his restrained lover, he picked up the tube, leaned over to press a promising kiss to Hunter's hip, and returned his full attention to Dave.

Popping open the cap on the tube, Shawn had Dave's full attention as he squeezed some of the contents out onto his fingers, rubbing them together to warm it before leaning forward, his hair falling across his face as he ran a finger delicately across the sensitive entrance, watching Dave closely.

"Ready, sweetheart?" he rasped, pausing before going any farther.

****

 _"I was afraid too.... I wasn't sure where this would fit in with how we are now."_

The roughness of Scott's voice only served to remind Kevin of exactly what they were discussing, and he tightened his grasp on Scott's waist slightly. He'd been right; Scotty _had_ known what he was thinking. Knowing that his lover had shared his doubts, if for slightly different reasons, made his own lingering fears subside.

 _"It's part of who we are and I_ love _who we are. I love_ you _."_

A shiver ran down Kevin's spine at those emotion-filled words, the absolute love and trust and sincerity behind them obvious in Scott's expressive eyes. He'd never get tired of hearing that from Scott, not ever. Before he could respond in kind, the soft kiss stole his words away. Just a ghost of a touch, but it moved him almost more than what they'd just shared had, because Scott's entire being was contained in that brief touch.

 _"Your kiss is the best kind of addiction."_

Now that was something he could agree with; his addiction to the dark-haired man in his arms had only grown with time, and Kevin knew that it would continue to do so. His mind was caught by Scott's words, though, and even while he listened with mingled love and embarrassment, something in the back of his mind was trying to catch his attention about what Scott was saying. Scott's finger at his lips drew him back to the moment, however, and he couldn't stop himself.

 _"Just thinking about how warm and wet it is, is almost enough to get me off."_

Really? Kevin slid his lips around the digit with a hint of a smile, sucking gently. That was something he'd have to remember. Filing it away for future reference, the quiet whine from his lover made him mischievous and he bit down on the finger in his mouth. Gently, of course, but hard enough to be felt. Laughing himself as he watched Scott inspect the "wounded" digit, he was taken by surprise at Scott's next words.

 _"But the thing I love most about your mouth is your smile. It's another beautiful part of you, Kev."_

Blinking away a sudden suspicious moisture in his eyes, Kevin was speechless as he looked at Scott. Not quite sure what had caused these little declarations today, he wasn't about to argue with his longtime lover; he'd learned the futility of _that_ long ago. Instead, he leaned forward after a long moment and pressed his lips to Scott's, trying to express the depth of emotion that this man brought of him through that simple touch. Leaning his forehead against Scott's once they separated, Kevin smiled at him again.

"I don't always have your way with words, Scott... not in this setting, anyway." A small gesture with his hand to indicate the room and a hint of ruefulness creeping into his smile, Kevin continued, "So all I can really say is how much I love you." Pausing, he gathered his thoughts for a minute, knowing that he was about to say some things he'd never expressed out loud before.

"I think I loved you the first time I saw you, you know that? It took a lot longer to tell you that, of course, but I was scared... you meant so much to me that I didn't want to risk what we had." Shifting so that he could run his fingers through Scott's hair, he cleared his throat. This sort of thing wasn't particularly easy for him, but he felt that it was necessary, right now more than ever. They were rebuilding their relationship and he wanted it to be on firm, _honest_ foundations. Which meant that Kevin needed to tell Scott exactly how much he _mattered_.

"Once I did... it made that risk seem so meaningless because we were so much _more_ afterward. It wasn't always good or easy, but it was worth it because I had you. When I..." _walked out on you_. The words caught in his throat and he stopped, taking a deep breath as he forced himself to meet Scott's eyes. "Our time apart taught me that without you, I don't have anything. You are _everything_ to me, Scotty."

Running out of words, Kevin shrugged slightly, a self-deprecating smile on his lips. "I love you."

****

He was standing too close to Jeff. He could see the curious expression on Glen's face, one of his few long-time friends and who undoubtedly hadn't missed his odd behavior tonight. Normally he didn't drop random touches or stand this close to people... unless he cared about them. That thought lead to him sucking in a quiet breath as he had to face the obvious. Suddenly not caring what Glen or Sean thought, Mark knew that he had to get himself and Jeff into his room... not for any sudden declarations of emotion. No. Even if he _did_ care about Jeff---and he had to acknowledge, however reluctantly, that he did---the situation they were in right now made that sort of thing unthinkable.

Except...

Did it?

Hearing Jeff's response to Sean's original question in the background of his suddenly swirling thoughts, Mark thought about his friends. Kevin, Shawn, and Glen had all assumed that there was something more going on... even after his protests. Glen didn't know about the exact position that he and Jeff were in... dammit, why couldn't he _stop thinking_ about Jeff earlier in the shower? That hadn't been a _good_ thing... but the sight had been almost stunningly beautiful. With an impatient mental shrug, Mark tried to follow the thoughts that were racing around his mind, just out of reach.

He was responsible for Jeff. That meant that he had power over Jeff. Which meant that there was no way he could pursue this strange fascination that he had for the younger man.

But... he was lonely. And Jeff _called_ to him, drew him in like a magnet. Jeff needed him. And he, however much he hated to admit it, needed to be needed. And he was beginning to suspect that that need might be mutual. None of his friends seemed to see the problems that he did... and Shawn especially was aware of _why_ he saw them. Maybe it was time he stopped wrapping The Undertaker so tightly around him. Maybe...

 _"So what room number are you 'Taker? I'm ready to crash and I didn't even work tonight."_

Jeff wasn't looking at him. He squashed the sudden, almost uncontrollable urge to spin Jeff around so that he could see his damned eyes. There was something... something in the tone of Jeff's voice that told Mark something important had just happened here, but he didn't know _what_. Biting back the retort that wanted to spring to his lips to _just call me Mark, dammit!_ , he answered, "I'm in 634, just down a few more doors. We should get going so that you can get settled in the spare bed. It's late."

Not quite able to meet Glen's gaze, he nodded sharply at the other two and used his hand on Jeff's shoulder to guide the younger man down the hall, the silence enveloping them almost oppressive. Running the card through the reader, Mark pushed the door open and gestured Jeff inside, pausing long enough to place the "do not disturb" card on the outside of the door. Neither of them had to work the next day and he didn't have to leave until that afternoon... He didn't know how Jeff was getting home. He should find out, so that they'd both be on time.

Placing his gym bag just inside the closet, he turned around to ask Jeff what his plans were for the next day. His words died on his lips as he met Jeff's eyes, _something_ simmering unspoken in the air between them.

****.

The conversation from the hallway echoed in Jeff's head like a bell.

 _You should think about it, seriously._

As Mark locked the hotel door behind them, Jeff came to a halt halfway across the room. Seven steps forward and he'd be putting his bag on the single bed near the bathroom, seven steps back and he'd be out the door and away from the disastrous temptation of Mark Calloway. Because, harsh as it was, sleeping in the same room as the compelling man just now walking past him, could only end in disaster for Jeff. For his sense of self-control and for the budding friendship developing between them.

Jeff took the few precious seconds of Mark's inattention to have a brief sharp, conversation with himself. He just... wasn't cut out for self-denial like this. He was too emotional to have the self-control to keep his feelings to himself tonight. Matt kept telling him he wore his heart on his sleeve, but Jeff couldn't understand someone who didn't. How could you not reach with both hands for any scrap of joy and pleasure you could find in this world? Christ! Just look at the personal history of any wrestler in the business and you'd see how hard life could treat a person, why not take chances with your heart?

Because it could get shattered into a thousand splinters?

Couldn't hurt worse than being alone. Than being ten feet from a man you were crazily attracted too and unable to touch him for fear you'd show just how much you wanted him. Or was it just the fear of rejection that's got you all scared and playing Mr. Goody Two Shoes Jeff? Since when... since fucking _WHEN_ , has Jeff Hardy played by anyone's rules? Since never. Not even when he convinced his big brother to hold a trampoline steady so Jeff could do a somersault off their Dad's ladder. Not even when they remade themselves into the Team X-Treme and he frightened the life out of their mother every Monday night.

Jeff Hardy just didn't have it in him to be scared of anything. If Mark turned him down, then he'd grin, laugh and say 'It's cool, I thought it was worth a shot.'

So...

With a low thump muffled by the carpet, Jeff's bag hit the floor.

"It doesn't bother you when your friends say shit like that about you?" He kept his voice low and let the spark of anger he'd felt earlier seep in. "That you're sleeping with me?"

He just came onto people in his own, _unique_ way.

****

Happily capturing Shawn's soft sounds of pleasure with his lips, Dave hoped to draw a few more from the man. Shawn seemed to have other ideas at the moment... least that's what Dave figured when Shawn pulled away from his mouth and sat on his thighs. Instead he was treated to that sexy boy smile and Dave couldn't feel sorry for exchanging one pleasure for another. He had no doubt at all that Shawn could see the sheer hunger in his gaze... the need. Despite the fact that he was anxious to have Shawn inside him, he'd let his lover take things at his own pace. Even if it killed him in the process.

Even focused on Shawn, he wasn't unaware of the other presence beside him, had felt Hunter shifting on the bed beside them. Though he yearned for his participation in this 'first time' as well, he was happy for the moment with the fact that Hunter hadn't as yet escaped his ties and fled the room. Everything would work out in time, he had no doubts about that. He'd just have to be patient. Dave almost laughed at that. Patience really wasn't his strong point when he wanted something so badly, but it seemed he'd be tested by both his lovers tonight. Tests he planned on passing with flying colors.

The light touch along his collarbone had his breath catching in his throat. He was used to drawn out foreplay, but it had been so long since someone had touched him so gently, since someone had bothered to look for those almost hidden sensitive spots. Shawn was finding every damn one of them. His eyes drifted closed of their own volition before he forced them wide open again so that he wouldn't miss anything.

His eyes seemed content to focus on Shawn's smile rather than what he was doing with his hands though and so he had no forewarning of the light-as-air touch that glanced over his nipple. A quiet moan slipped from his lips and he shifted restlessly, leaning his head against the soft warm skin of Hunter's ribs. It was a small touch, but a touch nonetheless that gave him some contact. Even if he couldn't focus his attentions on the man, he refused to leave him completely out of this encounter. The heat of Shawn's tongue slipping across his sensitive nub made him growl, the noise barely muffled against Hunter's skin.

Shawn's teasing didn't end there and Dave fought constantly with his impatience. The teasing tongue delineating his ribs and traipsing through his navel were particularly inciting when coupled with slowly roaming hands. He tried to control his squirming but found it useless in the face of such a tender onslaught. By the time Shawn knelt between his thighs, he was incapable of controlling much of anything.

He did manage to control the instinctive thrust of his hips as Shawn's tongue slipped across his hipbone, but only barely. Knocking out his lover's teeth would hardly gain him any points at all and he certainly didn't want to hurt Shawn. Though it was much harder to fight that need when Shawn's tongue slipped over his balls. His thighs tensed, the muscles shifting in ripples.

Dave's head snapped upward at a slight angle when he heard an odd choking gasp from Hunter, his eyes taking in the look on Hunter's face. Searching out the source of said noise, Dave almost laughed when he noticed Shawn's _searching_ hand and the naughty smile the Sexy Boy was currently sporting. He couldn't quite manage it considering just where Shawn was at that moment.

He did sneak in a smile and a slight shake of his head though just to inform Shawn that he hadn't been fooling anyone with that 'oops, can't find it' routine. The popping sound of the lube being opened brought his need rushing back after the interval of amusement. He watched Shawn's fingers warming the slick substance for a moment before searching out his face. Intent eyes and tousled hair only made him that much more appealing.

When Shawn's finger brushed over his entrance, he shifted his hips seeking a firmer touch. He was on the verge of begging, if need be, for Shawn to give him more though he voiced only a needy moan.

 _"Ready, sweetheart?"_

Ready? If asking his mind, he'd been ready for years. If asking his body, he would say he'd been ready for the last twenty-four hours. His heart though had one tiny objection to its readiness.

Reaching out with the hand closest to Hunter, he searched out a warm smooth shoulder and followed bunched muscle until he found Hunter's hand. Lacing his fingers through Hunter's, he nodded at Shawn, his eyes just as intent.

"Show me, Shawn... please..."

****

 _"It's not like that for him, I know okay?"_

It took everything in Sean not to snort at that statement. Obviously Hardy was only going to see what he wanted to at the moment and nothing Sean was going to say was going to convince him otherwise. If Jeff ever actually opened his eyes and noticed that the way Mark was acting with him was not a normal reaction to everyone, Sean sure hoped he was there to see it. He'd have liked to have pointed that out again, but Mark and Glen were bearing down on them now and he'd already interfered more than he should have. Mark would kill him if he knew that he'd taken it even this far.

 _"Just... can you leave it alone? Please? He's been copping that kinda shit from Heyman all night and I doubt he wants to hear it from his friends."_

Sean wasn't sure whether he should be insulted or inform Jeff of his misconception. While Mark considered Glen to be his best friend, Sean was sure he was nothing more than an annoyance to the man despite the fact that he would be happy to be included in that elite group that Mark considered friends. He just always seemed to rub the man the wrong way and _most_ of the time it wasn't even on purpose. He'd be the first to admit that what he'd done in the elevator was purposefully provoking, but he knew that's what Mark expected of him so that's what he'd given him. Of course it had provoked Jeff as well and that wasn't Sean's intention which is why he'd apologized.

The insult of course was being compared to Heyman in any way, shape, or form. He wasn't _that_ bad for Christ's sake. And he knew just the way to prove it. If a few subtle words of discouragement wouldn't get the man to back off then a few words to Shawn would take care of it. The problem was he was already skating on thin ice by involving himself in Jeff and Mark's relationship that wasn't a relationship according to them. Not only would Mark be unhappy with him, but Glen would most likely be infuriated as well if he got involved in the Heyman situation. He'd have to think about it more before he made that decision.

His eyes narrowed as Mark reached the group and immediately put a hand on Jeff's shoulder. He wanted to say something, he really did. Jeff must have realized that because he started talking about his probation with the company. Not wanting to have Jeff write him off as an ally before he even had a chance to prove his point, he kept his mouth shut, though it was killing him to do so. Especially once he saw the look in Jeff's eyes. Nothing there his ass.

 _"So what room number are you 'Taker? I'm ready to crash and I didn't even work tonight."_

Sean suffered through the glare Glen was directing at him and quietly said good night, though he doubted either man heard him as they hurried off to their room. He couldn't help the smirk that flitted across his face as he realized that they had the room right next door to the two men. It didn't last long though as he looked at Glen. His lover was furious with him and Sean knew exactly why he was.

\-----

Glen had noticed Mark's shock at his comments, but wasn't sure of the reason why. He'd find out later, but for now he needed to fix whatever blunder Sean was making with Hardy. It was obviously something Jeff was not happy about from the distressed look in their direction, though he doubted that Jeff was aware of what message he was sending. The smile he quickly adapted was obviously fake and Glen was not happy that Sean was upsetting Mark's newest interest. Jeff was that whether Mark wanted to admit to it or not.

Mark confirmed that idea in Glen's mind when he reached Jeff. The casual hand on Jeff's shoulder and the close proximity just screamed Mark's interest. Outside the ring Mark wasn't a casual toucher unless there was at the very least a close relationship. In the last fifteen minutes, Mark had touched Jeff a lot based on Mark's usual tendencies. He cared about Jeff, of that Glen was certain. So why was he restraining himself? Glen really hoped it wasn't the age thing again, but he just couldn't think of any other reason for Mark to avoid facing how he felt. He'd have to make a point to talk to him about it later.

 _"So what room number are you 'Taker? I'm ready to crash and I didn't even work tonight."_

Glen almost choked. They were rooming together? That should make for an interestingly tense night for Mark. And how ironic was it that they had the room right next door to theirs?

Glen bid his goodnights to Mark and Jeff as they hurried down the hall. Raising a brow over the 'do not disturb' sign that Mark slipped on the door, Glen turned to look at Sean. Was Sean ever going to learn the art of subtlety? He doubted it. Grabbing Sean's hand, he tugged him down the hall to their room.

\-----

The door had barely closed behind them when Glen let Sean know exactly how aggravated he was.

"Are you insane? Do you want Mark to kill you?" Given that Glen's question came out as something close to a roar, Sean had no doubt how peeved Glen really was.

"No. Despite what you two think, I was _trying_ to help. It's obvious that Mark is nuts about Jeff, even I'm not that blind. Jeff didn't believe me though." Since Glen had roared at him, Sean figured it was only polite to return the favor.

"You told him that? God, Sean..."

"No. Of course not." Sean took a deep breath and managed to tone his voice down just a bit. "I just mentioned that Mark wasn't big on PDA. I was trying to find out how Jeff felt about him." The look Glen was giving him wasn't at all encouraging and he started back to shouting again. "Jeff likes him too, damn it. I could tell. Mark may not like me, but he's your friend. When he's happy, you're happy. So excuse me to hell for giving them both a nudge."

Having had enough of Glen's angry stare, Sean walked into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him.

****

 _"It doesn't bother you when your friends say shit like that about you?"_

Caught by surprise by the angry-sounding words, Mark didn't have an answer. While he'd been irritated by Sean's comments, that was just Sean being Sean. Of course, he wasn't sure what Waltman had said to Jeff out of his hearing, but he was fairly sure that Jeff's response wasn't really due to that.

 _"That you're sleeping with me?"_

Lord. It was a good thing that Jeff hadn't heard Kevin or Shawn, then. Heyman had been bad enough... and god only knew what Hall might've said to him. Taking a moment to think before he responded, Mark wondered... _did_ it bother him?

The answer was depressingly quick to form in his mind.

No, it didn't... except for the unimportant little fact that it wasn't true. And with that in mind, he had to face the fact that he'd _love_ for it to be true, love to be able to face Heyman's slimy little innuendoes and Sean's bad jokes equally by pulling Jeff up close and saying, 'Hell yes, we're together'. But that... that lead back to the original problem. Mark couldn't do that; besides the fact that there was no reason whatsoever that Jeff would _want_ to be with him, he just couldn't abuse the power he had over the other man.

"Jeff... " Starting to reach out, Mark caught himself. Not yet. Not now. If he touched Jeff now, he wasn't sure _what_ he might do, with the air between them filled with this strange tension. Instead, he stepped closer, stopping when they were only a few feet apart, and met the deep green eyes that were oozing emotion. As much as the thought hurt, knowing as he did the imminent horrified rejection that even the _idea_ would cause, Mark had to be honest here. He'd allowed an unspoken truth to be the barrier between him and Shawn until it finally broke them; he couldn't do that again.

Trying to keep his voice steady, he spoke slowly, formulating his response as he went. "I... Yes and no. It doesn't bother me because I know it's not true. But it does bother me because I don't want anyone thinking that I forced you into it. I know that's a natural assumption, considering our... situation..." _After all, even you thought that._ He wasn't going to bring that up again. He wasn't. If he had to think about that scene in the shower right now, he might just crumble and tell Jeff _everything_... and that was something he _wasn't_ planning on doing. "If the circumstances were different, it wouldn't bother me at all. People will think what they want to think, regardless of the truth. But..."

The words stuttered to a halt. He just couldn't tell Jeff the rest. He hadn't intended on confessing the odd fascination he'd felt for the man for the last two years... but watching the expression on Jeff's face, he couldn't even seem to find the words to say how attractive he found him. That if the circumstances were different... he'd want to make those suspicions true. As the momentary silence stretched on, he became aware of noises from the next room over.

 _"Do you want Mark to kill you?"_

A frown and a glance at the wall, and Mark could've cheerfully throttled his best friend at that particular moment. Someone up there really _did_ have it in for him, if Sean and Glen were in the next room over... and it was obvious that they were. The atmosphere momentarily shattered, Mark found himself listening to the half-audible shouts with growing consternation.

 _"It's obvious that Mark is nuts about Jeff, even I'm not that blind."_

Dear lord. Not able to look again at Jeff and see the reaction to those all-too-true words, Mark found himself staring wide-eyed at the wall. Was he that damned obvious? They'd only been around each other for that evening... how many cues could he have given off?

 _"Jeff likes him too, damn it. I could tell. Mark may not like me, but he's your friend."_

A fleeting thought crossed the back of his mind: He _did_ like Sean... even if he did want to strangle him more often than not. Somehow, he'd have to make that obvious; he didn't want his best friend's lover thinking that he hated him.

But that thought was immediately overshadowed as Mark realised what else he'd just heard. Finally daring a glance back at the other man, still within arms' reach, he couldn't interpret the expression he saw there. The sound of a slamming door apparently marked the end of the "conversation" from next door, leaving silence. This time, it wasn't just uncomfortable... it was stifling. Mark couldn't seem to focus his thoughts well enough to find a coherent sentence, and he wasn't sure what good it would do if he did. How would he be able to deny what Sean had said and be believed? And if he _did_ manage it, where did that leave him? Still alone and lonely... and a lying asshole, on top of that. No way could he just outright lie to Jeff, not about this.

But... if Sean was right...

Feeling nothing like his normal self, Mark's fingers almost twitched with the need to reach out and touch Jeff, but he didn't trust himself to do it. If he did, would it be comforting or provoking? He couldn't trust himself to stop, not now, before he revealed too much. And for all his strength... he found that he couldn't take that risk. Last time he had, Shawn had torn his heart out. He'd never blamed Shawn for it; it hadn't been anyone's fault... but it had taught him too well. He'd closed himself off afterward and now found himself wishing that he hadn't.

The lengthening silence was beginning to make him worry, and he still couldn't tell what Jeff was thinking. Another moment's wait, and then Mark finally reached out, his hand hovering just above Jeff's shoulder as he spoke, wincing at the uncertainties in his own tone.

"Jeff...?"


	63. Realities

Even as Kevin leaned in to press his lips against Scott's, Scott knew that Kevin still hadn't quite figured out what he was doing. He cherished the tender kiss for what it represented... Kevin's love for him. Once Kevin pulled away, their foreheads pressed closely together, Scott smiled. So he would have to continue with his game. He already had a good idea what he was going to laud next though it was a tough decision. Kev had so many beautiful parts that it was hard to settle on just one at a time. So far he'd managed to praise Kevin's eyes, his hair, and his mouth and the man still hadn't figured out his purpose. He knew one particular part that he'd have all sorts of praise for, but he didn't want Kevin to think this was about sex because it wasn't. Maybe he'd settle on his hands next or the spots on the back of Kevin's knees that were so utterly sensitive. Kevin might think he'd lost his mind, but it would be worth it.

 _"I don't always have your way with words, Scott... not in this setting, anyway."_

Scott wanted to argue with Kevin, but he didn't. Kevin might not verbalize certain things in this particular setting, but Scott was never left in doubt of how Kevin was feeling. His actions along with his expressive eyes had clued Scott in on numerous occasions when words had failed Kev. It didn't matter... he didn't need the words.

 _"So all I can really say is how much I love you."_

That was all he really needed to say. As long as Kevin could voice those three words to him, the rest weren't necessary. He didn't need flowery phrases. It seemed however that Kevin was determined to give them to him anyway. Scott didn't interrupt, giving Kevin time to find his own words for what he wanted to say.

 _"I think I loved you the first time I saw you, you know that?"_

Say what? Scott was stunned. The only thing that stopped his mouth from dropping open in shock was sheer will.

Kevin had never even hinted that his feelings had developed that quickly. Kevin had joined the company in June of 1993. Within a couple of weeks of meeting, via Shawn, he and Kev had indulged what Scott had thought a simple mutual attraction at the time. It hadn't taken him a full month to realize that his feelings for the complex man were so much deeper than simple attraction. He hadn't had a clue that Kevin's feelings were leaning that way as well. In fact it hadn't come up until November of that year. Scott had kept his feelings quiet because he wasn't sure that Kevin didn't just consider him as someone to pass the time with. Up until that point he'd have called what they were doing 'fucking' rather than 'making love' even if he'd had those deeper feelings. He hadn't let them show.

Then during November, they'd had a match together. Kevin had been partnered with IRS, Adam Bomb, and Rick Martel while Scott's partners had been Marty Jannetty, Randy Savage, and Sean. Scott couldn't even recall how the argument had started except that it had something to do with Savage knocking a move he'd pulled in the ring. Kevin happened to hear it and had gone off on the man almost viciously. Scott couldn't understand why Kevin would take such issue over a criticism, even if it had pissed Scott off something fierce.

After managing to separate the two men, Scott had led Kevin off to a quiet room where they could be alone. Kevin was still grumbling and Scott had asked him why he was so upset. Imagine his surprise when Kevin had shouted that he wasn't going to let some prick with a huge ego put down the man that he loved and get away with it. Scott had been floored then too. He just assumed that Kevin had just made the discovery of how he felt... he'd never thought to ask. After a long minute he'd told Kevin that he loved him as well and they'd proceeded to celebrate their mutual love for each other right there in that room, on the floor no less. The fact that Kevin had had those feelings almost immediately was something that Kevin had never mentioned.

 _"... it made that risk seem so meaningless because we were so much more afterward. It wasn't always good or easy, but it was worth it because I had you."_

Scott felt the exact same way, though hearing Kevin say it was certainly choking him up. Everything that they'd gone through, good and bad, had been worth it because they had always had each other, at least until the day Kevin had left. Kevin's pause made him shiver. God that had been an awful time in his life. He wasn't about to dwell on it now though, not with what else Kevin had to say.

 _"Our time apart taught me that without you, I don't have anything. You are everything to me, Scotty."_

God. He couldn't breathe.

Scott could feel the emotion welling up in him and even though he knew that part of it was due to what had just happened between them, he knew that was _only_ part of it. He was always overly emotional after an encounter like they'd just shared, but he had a feeling that even if they'd simply been lying here together and had this conversation, he'd still have been all choked up about it.

 _"I love you."_

He would not cry. Kevin would probably freak out if he did or think he'd upset him in some way. Still, he couldn't help the moisture gathering in his eyes, or the single tear that fell.

Raising his hand, he caressed Kevin's cheek and smiled.

"And you say you don't have a way with words?" He shook his head slightly, blinking to clear up his slightly blurred vision. "I never knew that you realized how you felt that soon, but I'm glad you told me. I knew how I felt a long time before I ever said anything either. I'm still thankful that you lost your temper and ended up telling me, but I have a feeling that even if you hadn't, we still would have figured it out." He paused a moment and then smiled. "I think we were just meant to be Kev. That's why I didn't think I could make it without you. We have a second chance now though and I know we'll make the best of it. I love you Kev."

****

Jeff was watching Mark's face carefully as the big man pondered his answer to Jeff's demanding question. If Mark said it did bother him that people think they're together, then Jeff would have to rethink his strategy for the evening. But if he said it didn't bother him, that them together would maybe be something he didn't mind being accused of, then Jeff would see that as the first of many green lights he was hoping to pass tonight.

There. There it was again, that look deep in Mark's eyes that sent a small cold shudder through Jeff's soul. That... _sadness_ , that he'd seen occasionally in the past, had flickered on and off all evening and there it was again. Jeff knew, he'd even reassured Waltman,  _'I know okay?'_ and didn't fear it, just regretted that it was there.

As Mark moved to within just a few feet of Jeff's personal space, he felt a desperate spark of hope begin to light within his heart. Despite the cool, marble of Mark's expression and the hands-off aura he normally displayed, Jeff felt warmed whenever he was near him. Like lingering near a bonfire, your back got cold, but your face? You felt heat seep into your skin like a loving embrace. Being near Mark warmed Jeff in a way he hadn't until now noticed.

Whether that warmth could be kindled into an inferno was going to depend on the words about to drop from the dark man's lips.

 _It doesn't bother me._ That, really, was all Jeff needed to hear, but... _I don't want anyone thinking that I forced you into it._

'Like I did?' The statement almost sprang to Jeff's lips, but he managed to reign it in, just in time. The absolute last thing he wanted to do was remind Mark about his earlier disgusting mistake back in the locker room. Jeff hoped that when push came to shove and he actually told Mark he was 'interested' that the big, handsome man wouldn't think it another insult to his integrity. Biting down on his lip to keep from offering reassurances, Jeff gave Mark the space to continue. Mark probably would have too, if the ear-splitting argument from the couple in the room next door didn't interrupt him.

 _...obvious that Mark is nuts about Jeff..._

WTF?

 _...Jeff likes him too, damn it._

"Way to spoil my 'moment' Waltman." Jeff muttered under his breath, trying to assess the affect the thunderous words were having on his... friend? God, he hoped they still might be after this night's end. Feeling a bubble of laughter rise up into his throat, Jeff looked back to Mark and almost gasped at the pain and uncertainty in the big man's luminous green eyes. He'd never, _never_ , been able to read Mark as clearly as he could in that moment, standing in a hotel room in Uniondale.

 _Jeff... ?_

"Okay, that's it! I've had enough!" Jeff shook himself suddenly, like a dog sloughing off a water bath and closed the distance between them with two quick strides. Curling his fists around two handfuls of black cotton, Jeff pulled Mark's face down and into intimate contact with his. Licking the shocked, slightly parted lips with a quick swipe of his tongue, Jeff went up on tip toes and curved his spine so that his hips pressed tightly into the gorgeous man he was manhandling.

Taking a deep lungful of Mark's clean, fresh, scent, Jeff breathed out that air into Mark's sculpted jaw.

"Waltman's irritating as hell, but he's not blind. I like you Mark..." feeling the shoulders near him tense, Jeff used all his inferior strength the keep them connected, physically and with his words. "...I like you... I want you... I _hunger_ for you." And just to make it concrete that Jeff meant every word he was saying. "It's not because you saved my contract from Vince or my ass from Rick either. That shit in the shower wasn't me... but this is... _and… and..._ " Jeff barreled over any objections Mark might have had. "... If you think I would have walked into anyone else's shower like that, then you are wrong, crazy and not half as smart as you look. If I hadn't wanted you so bad my brain had fritzed out, then I would have taken that contract and rammed it down Vince's throat. Go it?"

A short shake to make his point clear and Jeff completely ignored the fact that his shake moved about an inch of fabric and very little else.

"So, if I take off all my clothes again and beg to touch you, will you cover me up and make me leave?" Taking another lick, Jeff moved his face to the side so their noses didn't quite brush. He infused his voice with all the want and desire within him. "Will you Mark?"

****

The smooth glide of sweat-dewed skin, both sun-kissed gold and burnished bronze, was riveting in its beauty. Hunter's mesmerised gaze drifted across his lovers, entwined so gloriously beside him. They were stunning to his peace-starved soul, so long without the pleasure of intimate contact with another. Even his own damaged responses were merely a reaction to his enforced exile and they would surely be overcome sooner rather than later.

Especially if they kept tying him to the bed.

Hunter felt his humour return as that thought penetrated the panic/pleasure he'd been immersed in since he'd seen Shawn strip off his clothes. Tearing his eyes from the sight of Shawn and Dave's passion locked lips, Hunter looked at his wrists, tied so carefully and securely to the bed. Oh god! What kind of guy was he, that he had to be trapped to a bed to get some sex? One of Hunter's strengths was his ability to not take himself very seriously and right now, Hunt needed all the strength he could get. Feeling the pressure of his need recede somewhat, Hunter took a deep breath and tried for a third time to relax his tight shoulders. Shaking his head at his own internal folly, Hunter grinned and sent his gaze back to his lovers.

When Dave cuddled into Hunt's side, face pressed into his skin, Hunter, for the first time, genuinely wished the ties were gone. He wanted to hold Dave, to touch and stroke the dark skin nestled so wondrously close to his. It seemed they weren't about to leave him out of tonight's games, a fact for which Hunter found himself eternally pleased.

Shawn met his glance with a wickedly seductive look and then reached across Hunter's thighs for the small tube, forgotten in the delicious kisses and touches he'd been privileged to see. Almost swallowing his tongue, Hunter glared with amused faux anger at Shawn, his naughty, taunting fingers returning to ghost over Hunt's highly interested erection. A glare that was gone the moment Shawn leaned forwards and pressed an only half-apologetic kiss to his hip.

Shawn moved gracefully back towards Dave, the affection and passion in his beloved friend's face creating a warm glow of pleasure in Hunt's middle that had nothing to do with the Hot and Naked he was watching. As Dave shifted slightly, Hunter read the intention in the dark chocolate irises and opened his fingers so they might tangle with Dave's searching ones.

Touching him, touching them... so vividly sensual in their connection to each other.

 _Show me, Shawn... please..._

"Show us both." Hunter knew his voice was like gravel and didn't care. It couldn't possibly sound as scratchy and sexy as Shawn's did, so the deeper than normal tone barely registered. Looking on, arms restrained by necessary bonds, Hunter began to convey to these beloved men his own sense of pleasure and adoration... the only way available to him.

With words.

"Yes, show us Lover. God yes... like that Darling. Touch him... show Dave... us... how loving and glorious you are Shawn. Yes. Just... like... that."

****

Eyes fastened to the contrasting skin of his lovers as their fingers twined together in an unexpected but almost heart-wrenchingly sweet gesture, Shawn was actually startled for an instant when Dave spoke.

 _"Show me, Shawn... please..."_

Wrenching his eyes back to Dave's face with a rueful twist of his lips, Shawn clearly read the need in his lover; the wide dark eyes, the slight tenseness in the sculpted muscles, the quickened breathing... Pushing aside his own body's needs, he nodded in acknowledgement, his lips parting to respond, when Hunter interrupted.

 _"Show us both."_

God. _That_ thought sent a hot wave of lust crashing through him, and his fingers trembled until he regained control over himself. Dave might or might not have realised by now, but Hunter certainly knew that Shawn not only didn't mind being watched, but _loved_ being watched. The sudden direct realisation that Hunt was _right here_ and would be watching every move he and Dave made... A quiet whine escaped him as he cast another look at his friend, his own eyes promising all sorts of wonderful payback for pushing _that_ button. Dave's body twitching against him, his hips pushing at the finger still touching him, brought Shawn firmly back to the moment, and he smiled a little as he kept his gaze trained on the dark eyes.

"Yes..." His voice failed him after the one nearly hissed word, whether from physical strain or lack of attention Shawn wasn't sure, but he didn't care. If he screamed himself voiceless tonight, it would be well worth it. Circling the small pucker delicately, Shawn watched Dave closely as he pushed forward, breaching the ring of muscle as gently as he could. Seeing nothing but pleasure written on his lover's face, he began stretching him slowly, not wanting to push either of them too quickly. Just the feeling of that tight heat around his finger was enough to make his cock throb impatiently against his belly, and he didn't want this to be over when it had barely begun. Another finger, and Shawn had to throttle back his own impatience.

 _"Yes, show us Lover. God yes... like that Darling. Touch him..."_

Hunter wasn't really helping, Shawn thought with some amusement, recognising Hunt's own desire to participate reflected in the words. But listening to that loved voice, deep and gravelly with lust, saying those sorts of things... Dave groaned as his fingers twitched, and Shawn's eyebrows raised briefly, before attempting to repeat the movement. Oh, now _that_ was nice... but too much of that now and it really would be over too soon. One more finger... maybe he was being _too_ careful, given what Dave had hinted at about his own past earlier, but Shawn would much rather take too long at this juncture than rush and regret it later.

He bit back a laugh as Dave almost barked at him in his impatience, and withdrew his fingers. Dave was obviously at his limit, but then, so was Shawn. He took a moment to drink in the sight of the man before him, all straining muscles and sweat-slick skin and _want_ practically pouring off of him, as he coated his own hard shaft with lube before discarding the small tube. Sucking in a breath as his own touch sent desire shivering through him, he leaned forward, placing one hand between the bodies of his lovers as he locked eyes with Dave, his length pressing gently against the entrance he'd spent so much time preparing.

 _"...show Dave... us... Yes. Just... like... that."_

Pushing forward, Shawn's eyes fluttered shut as his cock slid slowly into the tight sheath, the muscles clutching at him, the heat building at the base of his spine. Stopping once he was fully inside, Shawn took a deep breath. It had been so long since he'd done this... he'd almost forgotten what it felt like. Bringing his other hand up to touch Dave's face, Shawn smiled at him, his own eyes dark with the desire singing through him. Leaning forward he kissed Dave gently, expressing his growing affection and desire with the soft touch in ways that he couldn't say in words.

****

 _"Show us both."_

Dave bit his lip on a whimper. As if Hunter's voice alone wasn't enough to inspire that reaction, he'd just realized exactly what was about to happen here. He was on the verge of having sex with Shawn while Hunter _watched_. Dave had participated in many different kinks in his lifetime, but having someone else watch while he was getting fucked was a new experience. One he was starting to suspect he'd embrace as he had all the other variations... with enthusiasm. Lord, they'd turn him into an exhibitionist yet.

When Shawn whined, he couldn't help squirming. The gentle finger pressed against his entrance was just... resting there and he needed more. Shawn was momentarily distracted, so it wasn't forthcoming. Dave's body made the decision all on its own to remind Shawn of what he'd been in the process of doing. One involuntary thrust of his hips and he had Shawn's attention right where it belonged.

 _"Yes..."_

Thank god.

The gentle push of Shawn's finger breaching his body was nothing but pleasure. His cock twitched at the tender stimulation. Just before he ended up begging for more, Shawn obliged him by adding a second finger. A brief clench of Hunter's fingers, a small shudder, and the small pool of moisture forming on his stomach beneath the head of his cock were the only testaments to the change. His heated glance never once left Shawn's face until Hunter decided to speak up again.

 _"Yes, show us Lover. God yes... like that Darling. Touch him..._

Hell. If Hunter kept up that sexily growled running commentary, Dave wasn't going to make it long enough for Shawn to actually get inside him. Shawn's fingers twitched inside him and Dave thought he was going to lose it right then and there. An unbidden moan slipped from his lips, his eyes flashing with love and lust. Another twitch of those careful fingers and he repeated that hungry sound, his body tossing in a deep shudder as a bonus.

Yet another finger slipped inside him and Dave was on the verge of howling. He began to wonder if Shawn was deliberately torturing him or if he thought all this prep was really necessary. Normally he wouldn't mind, but considering how long he'd been waiting for this particular event, he was anxious to get on with the act and skip the rest of the foreplay.

"For god's sake... _any_ time now would be good, Shawn," he gritted out impatiently. He swore he'd make it up to him later, though Shawn seemed amused rather than upset about it. As the teasing fingers slipped from his body, he almost whined once again. _Now_ what torture did Shawn have planned for him? If he didn't get a move on, Dave would flip him over and jump on him, just to get to it. Okay... no, he wouldn't, but damn did he want to.

Dave gave it a second thought while he watched Shawn slicking himself with the lubricant. God, how sexy was that? Shawn's hand sliding over his own length, the sharp inhalation brought on by his own touch. Dave squirmed again. And then Shawn was leaning over him and Dave could feel just the slightest pressure against his entrance. Finally, he was finally going to know what it was like.

 _"... Show Dave... us... Yes. Just... like... that."_

With a deep moan, Dave's free hand clenched the cool sheet beneath him in a mimic of the hand holding Hunter's as Shawn breached his body. He watched with hunger as the pleasure washed over Shawn's face when he pushed inside... absolutely beautiful. Once Shawn was fully immersed inside him, Dave closed his eyes for just a moment, letting himself drown in the sensation. Just having Shawn buried inside him brought him immense pleasure... a sensation of fullness, completeness, and an even deeper love for the man. That wasn't even touching on the deep-seated need rioting through his veins for Shawn to move.

The gentle touch against his cheek moved him to open his eyes again. The tender kiss and the look in Shawn's eyes sent a deep wave of yearning racing through him. He trembled slightly as he returned the kiss. Forcing himself to relax his grip on the sheet, Dave lifted his hand and tangled it gently in Shawn's hair. Nipping playfully at Shawn's bottom lip, he stroked his thumb teasingly against the top of Hunter's hand.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was only actually a relatively short amount of time, Dave once again grew impatient. He thrust his hips gently, even the slight movement pure bliss, and groaned quietly into Shawn's mouth. With little pressure, he tugged Shawn's hair enough to separate their lips and implored Shawn to move.

"Shawn, sweetheart... please... I want..." A short lick over lips that proved too irresistible. "No... _need_ you to move, Shawn... please."

****

 _"I've had enough!"_

Taken aback by Jeff's exclamation, Mark found himself frozen in place as Jeff met his gaze, emotion written clearly in those eyes... Emotion that he wasn't given a chance to read, as Jeff was suddenly right in front of him, _touching_ him. His lips parted to say something, he wasn't sure what, but the words were lost in the flick of tongue against his lips, the brief touch sending an electric bolt sizzling right down his spine. His mind spinning in disbelief, Mark couldn't keep back the soft gasp as Jeff pressed up against him, hips cradled against hips. Moving without conscious direction, his hands slipped down to those thin hips, fingers resting dangerously close to territory that he shouldn't even be _thinking_ about.

The puff of air against his throat made his fingers tighten, even as his mind shrieked at him that he needed to let go, back up, get away from this man who was single-handedly threatening to demolish his closely-held walls. And _why_ was Jeff doing this? He didn't need to do this, he had the contract, he couldn't possibly actually be interested in a thirty-something, broken-down, bitter old man. He _couldn't_ be...

 _"I like you Mark..."_

No. No, he couldn't... Mark stared down at Jeff with wide eyes, uncomfortably aware that he was practically radiating his emotions even as he tensed at the sheer unbelievability of what Jeff was saying.

 _"...I like you... I want you... I _hunger_ for you."_

God... This had to be a dream. That was it. A crazy, wild, completely unrealistic dream.

Not real. Not...

 _"If I hadn't wanted you so bad my brain had fritzed out... Got it?"_

...real.

Mark tried to take in what Jeff was saying, but kept stalling at "I want you". He disregarded the comments about the happenings earlier that evening; he'd known at the time how out of character it was for the man in his arms--- _in his arms_ \---and this... this was...

A shake of his shirt that didn't even shift him, and for some reason, he felt his lips curl into a small smile as he looked at Jeff, all demand and ego and...

Real.

Something inside him gave in at that realisation. However unlikely it was, however unbelievable... Jeff wanted him.

Jeff wanted _him_.

 _"So, if I take off all my clothes again and beg to touch you, will you cover me up and make me leave?"_

A choked laugh was the only response he got out before another hot lick over his lips sent his voice shuddering back into silence. If Jeff made his fantasy earlier _true_... what would he do? Send him away? His body raised its own protest at that thought, and his mind offered up the image of Jeff begging to touch him... A deep shudder ran through him, only heightened by the nearly molten words that rolled off Jeff's tongue, dripping with lust.

 _"Will you Mark?"_

Meeting Jeff's eyes, Mark consigned his doubts to the deepest recesses of his mind. As much as he doubted himself, he absolutely refused to doubt Jeff. He wanted this. Allowing one hand to slip down those few scant inches to mold around the curve of Jeff's ass, he brought the other one up to brush the bright locks out Jeff's face, cupping his face. Just to be able to _touch_ the man was arousing. Knowing that he _wanted_ to be touched... that was stunning.

"No." Letting the single word linger in the air between them, he leaned forward, his hand sliding around to the back of Jeff's head as he pressed a kiss to those challenging lips. Intending it to be quick, gentle, he realised at the first touch that it wouldn't be. Rather than fight it, he lost himself in it, following the curve of Jeff's bottom lip with the tip of his tongue before sucking the pouty flesh into his mouth. Taking his chance, he pressed inward, between the parted lips, eager now to taste, to discover what he'd believed was forever hidden from him. When he had to break away to breathe, he met the bright green eyes again, his fingers gently caressing the back of Jeff's skull.

"I don't want you to leave, Jeff," Mark said softly, his body thrumming as long-suppressed desire came swimming to the surface, aware of every single place where they were touching. But he couldn't jump into this completely blindly, no matter how much he wanted it. "But... I want you to be sure. I don't do one-night stands."

****

Before the door had even slammed shut, Glen was rubbing his hands across his face and sinking down on the mattress.

 _"No. Despite what you two think, I was trying to help."_

He thought back on the words that Sean had thrown at him and couldn't help but wince. Realizing that Sean had said what he'd said on purpose because it was what he was _expected_ to do didn't sit well with him. Sean was right... he and Mark had both expected it. Glen was really disappointed with himself. After the first warning, Sean would have watched himself around Mark and Glen knew it. That he hadn't was due to Sean's almost instinctive reaction to let people believe that he really was an annoying little twit with absolutely no brains and fewer manners. Just because he chose on quite a few occasions to actually _be_ that annoying little twit, most times when it concerned the other members of the Clique, didn't mean that Sean couldn’t behave appropriately... and Glen knew that. But he'd jumped to the same conclusion that Mark had obviously jumped to despite his knowledge of his lover's real self and that was just inexcusable.

 _"... Mark may not like me, but he's your friend. When he's happy, you're happy. So excuse me to hell for giving them both a nudge."_

Glen winced again recalling Sean's defense of his actions. He knew that _he_ wouldn’t be able to convince Sean that Mark didn't actually hate him, that had to come from Mark himself. Since Mark didn't realize that that's what Sean thought, that probably wouldn't happen. Maybe he could bring it up in a roundabout way without letting on that that was what he was doing. That Sean had set himself up to look like an ass for the express purpose of pushing Jeff and Mark together, thereby making Mark happy and by extension Glen, was more than enough to make him feel sorry for yelling at Sean like he had. He was a complete and utter ass.

He stared at the closed bathroom door and sighed. There hadn't been a single sound from the bathroom in the last five minutes and he knew that Sean was most likely going to continue with his brooding until Glen did something to stop it. He'd stay in the bathroom all damn night if Glen let him... not that that was a real possibility. Sean was due an apology and Glen was going to give it to him... he just had to get him to come out of the bathroom first.

Walking to the door, he tried the knob. It was, of course, locked. He tried knocking. No answer. He tried pounding on the door next. Still no answer.

"Sean, come out here so we can talk about this."

Nothing. Not even a peep.

He growled. 'Stubborn little shit... '

"Sean, if you don't open the damn door, I'll break it down." Considering he was both shouting and pounding on the door at that time, Sean wouldn't doubt him.

He was considering doing just that when he heard the click of the door lock being turned. That was obviously the only concession that Sean was willing to make though because the door remained closed. Shaking his head, Glen threw the door open and stared at his sullen lover.

\-----

The words that escaped his mouth as soon as he slammed the door shut were in no way complimentary to his lover. Stubborn, jackass, and idiot figured liberally among his quiet complaints. He didn't actually mean them... okay maybe he meant the stubborn part, because Glen certainly was that. Sean was beyond irritated that Glen had expected the worst from him. He'd thought that Glen knew him better than that.

While it was true that he purposefully cultivated the misconception that he was a complete and utter airhead constantly on a sugar high, there were a few people that knew the 'real' Sean. The members of the Clique obviously knew what he was like when he wasn't strung out on candy and caffeine. Glen knew as well... or Sean had thought he knew. He had never bothered to put on an act where Glen was concerned. In fact, Sean had been disturbingly direct with the man since the first time he'd met him.

The night that they'd met, Sean had been floored by the gentle giant, a term which irritated Glen to no end. But that's how Sean thought of him. That Glen had rescued him from the unwanted overly amorous attentions of a drunken Bubba Ray Dudley had earned him huge bonus points with Sean. They had gone out for coffee, Sean having snuck away from the rest of his friends, and had been together ever since. Sean had come straight out and asked Glen to stay with him that night. From the start he'd let Glen see the serious side of him that very few were ever afforded a view of.

And yet tonight Glen had doubted him. He'd thought that Sean had provoked Mark for absolutely no reason.

Sean blew through another round of colorful invectives underneath his breath while he was taking off his clothes. Wrapping a white hotel towel around his waist, he ran his fingers through his hair to comb out the tangles. He was on the verge of going out to go to sleep, in whichever bed Glen _wasn't_ occupying, when the doorknob rattled.

He stared mulishly at the door through Glen's request to talk. Ha! Like he was going to make it that easy.

 _"Sean, if you don't open the damn door, I'll break it down."_

And it really sucked that Glen would do it too. Rolling his eyes over the thought of replacing yet another door in another hotel room, Sean reached out and flipped the lock on the door. Damned if he'd make it easy on him though. Leaning against the countertop, he waited until Glen tossed the door open and then stood stiff as a board while his lover stared at him.

****

Jeff felt the shudder run through the long body trapped against his and prepared to hold on. Mark would have to physically pull him off if he wanted Jeff to leave, or at least come up with a very firm "NO! Get off me you Freak," for Jeff to drop his limpet impersonation. Jeff was so determined to maintain his grip on Mark's shirt, the cotton would probably be ruined, that he wasn't aware that the hands resting so impersonally on his hips had actually moved.

Unaware that is, until a big hand curved around his ass.

Jeff's lips opened on a soft sigh of air, a quiet exhalation of relief, arousal and, to be honest, surprise. He'd been prepared for an initial cold shoulder and lets face it, coming on strong was a severe understatement for his actions, but he hadn't expected... well... acceptance. Not like this. Not like the warm, strong fingers moving away a stray twist of hair that had caught in Jeff's wickedly shaped side-burn. He had expected...

 _No._

OhjesusgodMarkwasaboutto... .

They kissed like they'd been lovers for a decade or more. Straight past the fumbling of a first time and well into 'I know what you like' territory. The press of Mark's lips and the hot, push of his tongue found Jeff sighing, opening his mouth and letting Mark in. The sudden sweetness of it made his heart ache. Inching even impossibly closer, Jeff tried to occupy the same place in time and space as Mark, his body reacting to the instinct of passion and politely taking his mind along for the ride. Kissing the hot, sensual mouth back with the hunger he'd so brazenly declared, their tongues fought not for domination but to determine who could explore the other's mouth more hungrily.

 _I don't want you to leave, Jeff..._

The man who could usually claim the name Jeff Hardy, when his mind hadn't just overheated, blinked once, slowly, at the intent face so close to his own. He honestly hadn't realised Mark had ended the kiss, Jeff could still feel the faint graze of the man's teeth on his lower lip and the humming along his nerves that had started the moment they'd first touched. Wha..?

Mark was talking.

Why was he talking when he should be kissing Jeff and getting his toes to curl again?

 _I don't do one-night stands._

"Good." Jeff managed to say, his voice all soft and mushy from the kiss. It was suspiciously like his brain at the moment, but a small part of said mush felt it should respond to the concern evident in Mark's tone. Jeff didn't want the man so wondrously close to giving in to him, to have any doubts about Jeff's willingness... or his commitment to something more than wild, monkey sex. How about lots of wild monkey sex... repeatedly... every night...

During the day too, if they could manage it.

Drawing in a sudden cleansing breath, Jeff shook away some mental cobwebs and dragged his focus away from more kissing, monkey sex and... and...

"The last thing _I_ am Mark Calloway, is a one-night stand." Hey, he'd never denied he had an ego. Unclenching his fingers from Mark's shirt, Jeff slid his hands up to the broad expanse of firm shoulders and braced himself by locking his hands behind Mark's neck. Fingers briefly stroking the reaper tattoo, Jeff used the gifts he was born with, as well as some adolescent gymnastics training, to lift his feet slowly from the floor with all the smooth grace of a dancer. Pleasure and delight beginning to bubble in his eyes, Jeff wrapped himself around Mark's torso, legs around his waist, slightly to one side of the tall body. 

Jeff began to drop, small, teasing kisses along Mark's throat and jaw.

"Sure I'm sure." Leaning back so that Mark was forced to take some of Jeff's weight or drop him to the floor, Jeff locked his green eyes with matching emerald ones. "So... do I beg now?"

He really, really hoped Mark would say yes.

****

Watching Shawn prepare Dave's body was like indulging a torture kink. His beloved friend was teasing and tormenting the dark man with just the faintest of touches and caresses, his slow, slow movements causing Hunter to groan faintly in sympathy with Dave's pleading moans. Hunt knew that Shawn had captured them both with his sensual actions, he held the passion of two men in his long, clever hands, but Hunter didn't mind in the slightest. As far as he was concerned the foreplay could go on for hours and Hunter would be content to sit back and watch. Although Dave would probably kill Shawn if he took that long. Admiring Shawn's lean body and the hard curve of his bicep as he leaned over their recumbent lover, he felt his own hardened shaft twitch again at Dave's sprawled figure. Hunter licked his lips and continued his verbal counterpoint to the harmony being performed before him.

any _time now would be good, Shawn._

"But he just likes to torture us, don't you Beloved? ...god you look so good together... so right... David... your skin... beautiful all spread out like a banquet for our Shawn to touch... for us..."

Hunter fell silent at the instant when Shawn's dusky blue eyes locked with Dave's deep gaze. The trust in that look, the love suffusing Dave's exotic features and the deep affection flowing from Shawn was enough to bring Hunter's heart into his throat. Loving them both so much in that split-second of time, so much so that Hunter doubted his poor, restrained body could take it. He felt profoundly grateful that his lovers had made him stay with them and granted him this one, single, moment. The moment when the smooth muscles in Shawn's legs pressed his long sex deep into Dave's body.

He almost came just from that look on their faces.

 _need you to move, Shawn... please_

Dave's impatient demanding tone, broke Hunter from his almost-climax and brought him back down to the earth. Tearing his eyes away from the beauty of the two men locked together scant inches from him, Hunt looked intently at the small table by the bathroom door.

A Bible.

 _Okay... breathe._

A lamp.

 _Breathe._

A really ugly vase... again.

Lips twitching, Hunter regained his control and rewarded his efforts with another glance at the gorgeous figures beside him.

And almost promptly lost control again.

****

The repetitive impact of blows on leather was the only sound echoing from the arena gymnasium. A lone security guard waited just inside the doorway, he was on the all night shift and really didn't mind making sure the last of the arena's performers was under his watchful eye all night. It wasn't every day he got to watch Stone Cold Steve Austin beat the crap out of a punching bag.

Past midnight and all the WWE crew had finished their jobs and were well on their way to their accommodations or the next city about to be graced with the traveling zoo that was sports entertainment. Steve didn't have to leave anytime soon, most arenas had a staff that were used to the eccentricities of various performers and quite happily catered to the enormous egos often to grace their halls. Austin wasn't known for his star powered antics but if he wanted to stay back and take advantage of the gym, not a single official would say no.

Steve had lost himself in the rhythm of his punches, the tape across his knuckles getting grimy with sweat and the faintest tinges of blood from small cuts. He was releasing the anger and pain he felt the only way he knew how... in violence. For the first half-hour he'd tried to picture Randy's smug, pretty face on the other side of his fists, but it hadn't worked. Beating the hell outta Randy wasn't what he wanted, he wanted something very different from that sad, pretty face. Steve just obviously wasn't going to get it.

Walking back into the arena so painfully alone, had left him with two choices. He could go out to a bar and try to pick a fight, do some damage, get arrested and fuck up his image for the foreseeable future... or he could break his hands on a punching bag. The second option was less stress all round and while Steve didn't give a flying fuck for his reputation at the moment, other people did. He couldn't mess himself up, much as he'd like to.

When the burn in his arms became too much, Steve held onto the bag in a emotionless embrace and rested his head on the red vinyl. Dammit. It was only one god-dammed night, it wasn't supposed to hurt this bad. Stupid ole fool, falling for some gorgeous kid with his whole career ahead of him, while Steve was losing his final battle with a busted neck and messed up knees.

He really should've known better at his age.

A low conversation at the door had Austin turning his face towards the new arrival, his temple still holding the bag up.

Vince McMahon hadn't gone to his hotel yet. Steve wasn't surprised, as it was common knowledge that the CEO worked harder than three of his employees combined. That was why the man was who he was, the big dick of the company... and one of Steve's oldest friends.

The thousand dollar jacket was draped easily over a weight bench, as was a pure silk tie. Rolling up his sleeve, Vince put his shoulder against the punching bag and met Steve's stare with an exhausted one of his own. Grinning sourly, Austin nodded a greeting and stepped back, throwing his punches into the braced vinyl with a robotic commitment now, rather than the feral anger of earlier.

"Ya look... as dead... as I feel... Mac." Steve complimented between punches. Of course Vince managed the bag like a pro trainer. Not like the man had the industry in his veins or anything.

"Hard night." Vince grunted as he absorbed the impact of the still very lethal blows. "I think I've been doing this too long."

"Yeah... right." About every twelve months Vince would contemplate retiring, leave everything in Steph and Shane's hands, then bolt for the Caribbean with Linda. It never happened and Austin suspected it never would. Vince would die white haired and pissy at his desk, some young wannabe on the other side freaking out 'cos the CEO just croaked in front of him. "What's got ya... thinking like... that?"

Vince was silent for a few minutes, but Steve didn't push. If the dark man wanted to talk then he'd talk, nothing Austin could say would change his thinking.

"Hunter threatened to quit."

That caused a pause in Steve's punching.

"Yer shittin' me?"

With a look Vince indicated that Austin should continue his workout. Not much longer and Steve's arms would fall off, but he wasn't there quite yet.

"He and Shawn are sleeping together." Austin was happy to get the information in a series of brief sentences, Vince was going to tell him all sooner or later.

"'Bout time... I nearly choke... on the lust oozin'... from those two... every time I see 'em."

Punch, punch, punch.

"They're with _Batista_ too." The lack of emotion in the pronunciation of the man's name, clued Steve into Vince feelings on that tidbit.

"I guessed... Saw them... in the parkin' lot... They were glowin' with it."

"He's using them. Using Hunter." From the angle of the bag, Austin couldn't see Vince's face, but the protective note in his voice was unmistakable.

"Yer wrong there." Very few people could say those words to Vince's face. Steve was one of those few. "Guy's good enough... to get there... without screwing his way... ta the top."

Enough. Austin stopped punching and stepped back. Stripping the tape from his fingers, he grabbed a towel and sat on a convenient bench. Vince remained upright, his face and demeanour disagreeing with Steve's words.

"What'd the Princess say?" Austin knew it was a low blow, but he also knew that if anyone was using Hunter for power, Stephanie would rip their balls off.

Relaxing a fraction, Vince sat across from Austin and linked his fingers together. "She yelled at me for being 'mean'." Oh god yes. Steve could picture that. "She likes him." The confession was wrung about of Vince with bad humour.

"There ya go then. He ain't yer son that ya gotta chase off anyone who so much as looks at him Mac. Ya think Michaels don't know a gold-digger when he smells one? That boy had more people trying ta get in his pants for pull in the company than alla us combined."

Seeing the bigger man nod his agreement, Steve decided to have pity on his friend. He'd distracted Austin from thoughts of short, silky hair and sweet pouty lips so Steve figured he owed him one. He offered his water bottle.

"I'd prefer bourbon." Vince smiled faintly and accepted the drink with good grace. "So what happened between you and Orton?"

Austin scowled.


	64. Requests

Watching his lover with some trepidation, Kevin bit his lip when he saw the tear roll down Scott's cheek. Raising a hand to wipe away the dampness with a gentle brush of his thumb, he wondered if his little confession had been a good idea after all, at least with that kind of timing. He knew how emotional Scott got after one of their little scenes, and dumping this on him on top of that... The soft touch to his face stopped that line of thought practically before it got started.

 _"And you say you don't have a way with words?"_

 _Not like you do, Scott_ , was the silent response. But he knew better than to verbalise that; for whatever reason, Scotty still seemed to be in his "I can't handle people" phase, and anything that Kevin said that was at all down on himself had always been fodder for Scott to disagree with him... no matter how true it might be.

 _"I never knew that you realized how you felt that soon... I knew how I felt a long time before I ever said anything either."_

Wondering a little at just how much had remained unspoken between the two of them for all these years, Kevin vowed to never again keep anything from Scott, no matter how minor it might seem. Right now, he could count the days they'd been back together on two hands and still have fingers left over; a lot of that was due to the weeks of hesitant phone calls leading into nervous meetings for lunches and dinners, until Kevin had finally been able to gather his courage and ask Scott to stay with him one night. It was worse than when they'd originally gotten together, because then they didn't know how much they had to lose if it didn't work out. And how much easier would it have been, Kevin couldn't help but wonder, if they'd just been honest with each other from that very first day?

 _"I think we were just meant to be Kev. That's why I didn't think I could make it without you. We have a second chance now though and I know we'll make the best of it. I love you Kev."_

Refusing to think about what Scott had thought he'd had to do after Kevin walked out that horrendous night, Kevin returned his lover's smile as he allowed one hand to wander down over Scott's shoulder. He'd _never_ walk out on Scott again; right this minute, he didn't want to even let go of Scotty. One nice side-effect of their scenes was getting to cuddle Scott all night long; most people would never believe it, but Big Sexy had always been a sucker for cuddling... at least when it came to the man in his arms. Although... that reminded him.

"Do you want me to get that cream out of your bag, Scott?" Before Scott could answer him, Kevin's stomach rumbled. With a rueful grin, he added, "And would you like me to call room service? We never had dinner and for some strange reason, I'm starving."

****

His hands had finally stopped shaking, although Randy was fairly sure he'd be pale under his tan if he looked in the mirror. Not that he wanted to. Looking in the mirror would become a rarity in the future if he had his way. Trying to swim up out of the fugue he seemed to have fallen into, Randy methodically reached down and unlaced his 'obscenely expensive' shoes.

A ghost of what in another lifetime might have been a smile, briefly flirted across Randy's lips. He hadn't been pissed at Chris Jericho for using that description for these shoes, when he'd worn them for the first time four weeks ago, even if having his footwear placed in the same category as the Jeritron 3000 was on the verge of insulting. The blond had only been teasing him and, despite what some people noted about his apparent thin skin, Randy did know the difference between teasing and a true attempt to be a prick. He was perfectly aware that if Jericho had wanted to make fun of him, then he wouldn't be making smart remarks about his _shoes_.

Mind following that bizarre tangent, Randy didn't look up as the bathroom shower became silent and the door opened not moments after. Shoes off, Randy was wondering if he could be bothered undoing his tie or if he should just loosen the thing and toss it out the window, when a light voice commented from in front of him,

"You look like shit Dude. What happened?"

Maven sat down on his assigned bed, clad only in a pale apricot towel that accentuated his dark skin beautifully and almost flashed Randy as he spread his legs to brace himself. Deciding that a full-frontal of his friend at this moment in time would probably kill him, Randy closed his eyes and fell back onto his bed with a pained sigh.

"Nothing," he lied to the ceiling. "Just tired."

"Okay." The sounds of cloth sliding on cloth and low thumps indicated Mav putting on his habitual bed attire of boxers and socks. Randy just hoped his room-mate would go to sleep without wanting to bend his ear over Dawn-Marie again. Discussion of romance in any form tonight wouldn't just kill him, it would bury Randy six feet under.

"Tired because you spent all last night... not here?"

Bending his forearm over his painfully dry eyes, Randy prayed that Mav would just turn off the light and...

"C'mon Randy... spill."

Sitting up slowly, like a man three times his age, Randy rested on his elbows and looked across at his friend. Sitting up in bed, arms on raised knees, Maven Huffman was the picture of friendly curiosity and concern. His deep eyes honest and unwavering in their desire to know what was wrong. _'Why?'_ Randy wondered.

"It's... nothing. Really." Randy lied again, although this time it was a lot harder when he wasn't looking at the ceiling. He could see Mav didn't believe him for a second. A small grimace of annoyance graced the young, dark features.

"Randy," and just the way Maven said Randy's name reminded him of his mother, "…I'm guessing you're upset about wherever you were last night. Oh... and thanks for texting me at three am by the way, not like I'd been worried when you didn't show up or anything."

Randy felt his own cheeks grimace at the worry in his friend's voice, he honestly hadn't known Mav would care.

"I'm not blind you know, I know more about cars than that." This time Randy's eyebrows shot up into his hairline at being caught out. "You could've just said you wanted to go to a another hotel. Hell! Get another room if you've got company, I don't care, but quit with the pretend fucked-up rental and the lies okay?"

Slowly Randy raised himself to a sitting position. This wasn't the kind of discussion he was used to having with his full-time room mate and only genuine friend. He spent a moment time watching his young friend as Mav stared down at the bedspread, his mouth pursed pensively - obviously working out exactly what he wanted to say next.

"Yeah," Randy admitted, because lying was really out of the question. "Sorry... I..."

But Maven cut him off with an impatient wave of the hand. "Forget it Randy... but... what is this anyway?" Another gesture to indicate their hotel room. "I mean... are we friends or just guys who bunk together? Because dude, I think of you as my friend, but if you're gonna lie to me and not even tell me what's wrong when you look like someone just ripped your guts out, then I wanna know. That'll mean we just bunk together and I can go worry about someone else at two a.m. with a tricky car in New York."

Totally out of his depth Randy stared at Maven with what was likely a look closer to that ordinarily seen on a fish. Was Mav really...? They were friends... of the get drunk and chase girls variety. Of the 'don't even talk till I have a coffee' type of friend. It was easy and undemanding and Randy had been just pleased that Maven didn't try to kiss up to him like some of the other guys did.

Was Maven actually saying he wanted to introduce _communication_ into their friendship?

Dark eyes, surprisingly wise in that young fresh face, pinned him as Maven raised his head. If he were honest about it, Randy would confess that he had noticed for a while now that Maven was changing, becoming more mature as the gloss and dazzle of his plunge into stardom slowly wore off and left behind a pretty together young guy. Most of the people back-stage that Randy associated with, Evolution not included, were just bottom feeders, trying to climb the ladder by any means necessary. Randy stayed with them because they were no threat to him, no challenge and required no effort on his part to maintain contact.

But Maven? Mav was different. No hidden agenda. No sexual attraction to muddy up the waters. Maven just plain liked him and wanted him to be happy. How refreshing, Randy thought suddenly, fervently. How absolutely fucking refreshing. It stunned him to realize that he was suddenly very close to tears. He blinked rapidly to compose himself and drew in a deep breath.

"I want to be your friend," he said softly, calmly, already knowing that he would from this moment on, answer honestly any question the young man opposite him thought to ask. "I set up last night so I could go to a different hotel. I got changed and went to the bar to try and pick... him... up. It worked and it..." God this was hard, telling someone, putting it out in the air to be judged, something that had previously only rested deep inside. "It was the best thing that ever happened to me... bar none." Randy wanted Maven to be clear on how he felt about what he'd done. "I thought... I planned for it to be just one night... but he," just get it out, "...he wants more. A relationship I think. I dunno and that wasn't in the plan." Now he couldn't stop. "He asked me and I didn't say anything," the bed dipped beside Randy, "and I couldn't fucking move Mav and he walked back into the arena. I couldn't move... I couldn't..."

It was probably a good thing that Maven was his best friend.

You were allowed to cry on a guy's shoulder, if he was your best friend.

****

 _"Do you want me to get that cream out of your bag, Scott?"_

Did he? If they were at home in their own bed, he'd probably have shrugged it off for awhile yet. Considering the fact that they had to travel later in the day, he'd be better off using the cream now to get a head start on soothing his aches.

 _"And would you like me to call room service? We never had dinner and for some strange reason, I'm starving."_

Considering that he actually _felt_ the rumble of Kevin's stomach, Scott thought that was a very good idea. Scratching his fingernails lightly over Kevin's chest, Scott grinned at his lover. "Can't imagine why that might be, bottom-less pit that you are."

Pushing up to his hands and knees, Scott hissed quietly at the uncomfortable sensation of the sheets rubbing over his abused posterior. Dropping a kiss on Kevin's lips before the big man could comment on his reaction, Scott then crawled over to the edge of the bed and gingerly stood up. "Gotta take care of some business. Cream's in the side pocket. If you do mine, I'll do yours," he added with a wink before turning and walking slowly... very slowly... towards the bathroom.

"Get me whatever you're getting," he tossed over his shoulder when he reached the doorway. "And don't forget my dessert," he said, leaning back a bit to peek around the corner with a huge grin on his face. "...Crème puff." With an evil snicker, Scott ducked into the bathroom and shut the door before Kev had a chance to take him to task for the nickname.

He spent a few minutes puttering around the bathroom. Wetting a cloth, he washed his face. In all actuality, he could have used a shower, but he knew better than to try it just yet. The only water he'd be able to tolerate on his ass would have to be almost ice cold and he was already chilled. The only reason he had washed his face was because of the tears; they always left his skin feeling itchy. Looking in the mirror, he shook his head. Exactly as he'd thought... he was a complete mess. Kev calling him beautiful just proved the old adage that love is blind. He ran his fingers through his hair a few times, though it seemed to accomplish very little, then shrugged and opened the bathroom door.

His progress towards the bed wasn't any faster than his progress to the bathroom had been. He crawled back onto the bed next to Kev and slipped under the sheet. Kev was still on the phone, with room service he supposed, but that didn't stop him from a little bit of teasing. Tossing one leg over Kevin's and scooting closer to his side, Scott draped his arms on Kevin's chest. He could have been trying to absorb some of Kevin's warmth, but that wasn't his primary goal. Wiggling his brows at his lover, he bent his head and slipped his tongue over one small dusky nipple, smiling at the involuntary noise Kev made into the phone.

Once Kevin hung up the phone, Scott smiled at him even if he was a little nervous about the topic he was about to bring up. "Before the food gets here, there was something I wanted to ask you about." Looking down at his fingers that were moving randomly over the smooth skin of Kevin's chest, Scott took a deep breath before plunging into a topic that had been on his mind off and on for the last week or so. "Since the night you asked me to stay at the house, we've been together almost 24/7 and I'm pretty sure that I don't even have to ask, but..." Scott snuck a quick look at his lover's face before returning his attention to his wandering fingers. "I was thinking about getting a few things from my apartment during our time off... maybe taking them over to the house."

****

For a full minute or two, he was incapable of moving. His eyes focused on all that glorious alabaster skin not covered by the small hotel towel and his body responded instantaneously as it always did when he saw his lover so scantily attired. He wanted nothing more than to sweep the man into his arms, carry him off to bed, and spend hours showing him how much he was loved.

He couldn't do that quite yet. He had an apology to make first. That didn't mean that he couldn't accomplish part of his goal in the process however.

Taking the two steps into the bathroom needed to reach Sean's side, Glen swept his lover into his arms and carried him into the bedroom. He'd known that Sean would struggle and he had, but only half-heartedly. That was the easy part. Facing the sadness and hurt in Sean's eyes... now that was the hard part.

Settling down at the head of the bed, he set Sean on his lap and kept his arms wrapped around him so that he couldn't run off again. With a sigh and a gentle kiss on top of Sean's head, he ignored the call of his body to respond and instead focused on the unyieldingly stiff body in his arms.

"I'm sorry." He loosened one arm long enough to press Sean's head against his shoulder and run a hand through his dark curly hair. "I'm sorry I yelled at you without letting you explain first, but most of all I'm sorry for thinking you would provoke Mark for no reason. I reacted without thinking, but that's not really an excuse. Next time I do something that stupid, and we both know there will most likely be a next time, you have my permission to smack me upside the head."

Glen closed his eyes and laid his head atop the curly mop of hair leaning on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for hurting you and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, baby." Glen held his breath for a moment, hoping that Sean would forgive him. Sean's temper was nearly as legendary as his own. While his was normally slow-to-ignite, but magnificently furious once it did, Sean's was quick to make an appearance, but just as quick to fizzle out once he'd dealt with the issue at the root of it.

Gentle fingers scratching softly against the cotton of his shirt was the first indication that he might possibly be granted the forgiveness he was seeking. He exhaled silently almost simultaneously with Sean's small sigh.

"Of course I forgive you Glen. I have to because I love you, ya big slug. But the next time you do something like that I will take you up on that offer to smack you in the head."

Glen opened his eyes and stared down at the man in his arms. Sean looked up at him, a scowl on his face, but a twinkle in his eye. It was at that moment that Glen decided there needed to be a change in their relationship. He was going to offer a part of himself to Sean tonight that he'd never quite had the courage to offer as long as they had been together. It was time.

\----

Sean hadn't really been surprised to find himself swept up into Glen's arms. He should have taken issue with the man carting him around like a rag doll, but he was more disappointed with Glen than actually angry with him so he made the token expected struggle and let it go at that. That didn't mean he was going to give in and make it easy on the guy yet. Sitting stiffly on Glen's lap once he had settled them on the bed, Sean waited for the beginning of another lecture. After all, Glen had threatened to break the door down so that they could talk. It was obvious he was still angry.

Sean just hadn't realized that that anger wasn't directed at him, but rather at Glen himself. The moment the first words of the apology had fallen from Glen's lips, Sean had let go of his icy demeanor, though it hadn't been obvious since he'd yet to look up at the man. He had allowed Glen to pull his head against his lover's shoulder and accepted the calming hand stroking through his hair.

He was impressed that Glen had managed to figure out the reasons for his upset without having to be told. He'd succinctly apologized for each infraction and that was enough for Sean. It wasn't like he could actually stay mad at Glen after all, especially when he'd been the one to instigate things by acting as he had. Mark probably hadn't been happy with what he'd done and part of Glen's reaction was most likely based on that fact. Next time he would find a different way to go about getting the reactions he wanted without being so provoking.

He smiled, though it was buried against Glen's expansive chest, when Glen gave him permission to smack him. He was pretty sure that he couldn't actually strike his lover, though he certainly wasn't about to clue him in on that.

 _"I'm sorry for hurting you and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, baby."_

As if he had any other choice? He loved the man too much to ever consider the alternative. No way was he ready to give up the best thing that had ever happened to him over a misunderstanding that wasn't even related directly to them... not if he could help it.

Raising a hand, he gently traced ambiguous patterns on Glen's chest. Glen was still wearing all his clothes, which was a bit annoying when he was sitting here in just a towel, but he'd take care of that little problem soon enough. First...

"Of course I forgive you Glen. I have to because I love you, ya big slug. But the next time you do something like that I will take you up on that offer to smack you in the head."

His scowl was for effect only. The moment he'd decided to forgive Glen, it had become a thing of the past as far as Sean was concerned. There were things he'd much rather be doing at the moment. Slipping off Glen's lap, he kneeled beside him and ran his hands teasingly over Glen's shoulders before bunching the cotton in his hands.

"I think you need to expand on that apology just a bit, Glen, darling. So how about you get out of these clothes and get started on that," he said with an audacious wink. He reached for the hem of Glen's shirt and was about to help him in that endeavor when Glen grabbed his hands and held them still. Sean's head snapped upwards and his eyes locked with Glen's, the unspoken question quite clear in his expression.

"I'll take them off in a minute, Sean. There's something I want to ask you first."

Sean blinked. That was the only reaction he had to such a serious tone from his normally fun loving partner.

"Sean, you know I love you more than anything and I want to prove it to you. I want you to..."

Sean watched as Glen bit his lip, seemingly unsure. He wasn't sure what was happening himself. Glen seemed almost... nervous. That was definitely not normal.

"I want to know what it feels like to have you inside me, Sean. Please?"

****

Sighing into Dave's mouth at the feeling of fingers tangling in his hair, Shawn returned the kiss, trying to show Dave what he couldn't say yet---what he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to look at yet, to be honest. Too many emotions, too quickly, and this one... well. Give it some time to develop. He tried to remain as motionless as possible, letting the sensations of being buried inside his lover's body wash over him. This was always one of his favourite moments in lovemaking, no matter which role he was playing, and he especially wanted to remember this one, with everything it meant.

The shift of Dave's hips beneath him made his eyes close as he fought down the impulse to start moving. He did not want to just pound away at Dave; this time, this _first_ time, he wanted slow and gentle, no matter how much it might drive them both insane. A soft pull at his tangled locks and he raised an eyebrow at Dave, trying not to show his own body's yearning for _more_. The small, teasing smile on his face was wiped away at the words that followed the movement, though.

 _"..._ need _you to move, Shawn... please."_

The pleading note in Dave's voice swept away his determined patience. Even with their stolen moments on the plane and in the shower earlier that day, this was what Shawn had been dreaming of in general for the last year, and specifically about this man for the last few months. The night he'd spent in Dave's arms had only added fuel to the fire of his fantasies, and now that he was fulfilling those fantasies...

With a single nod, Shawn braced his arms as he rolled his hips back, withdrawing from Dave's body in a slow glide before pushing forward again just as slowly. Repeating the motion, he shifted, changing the angle of penetration until Dave shuddered and groaned beneath him, then slowly increased the speed of his thrusts. Each movement added to the flames burning inside him, threatening to consume him even as he fought to keep his control.

Biting his lip as he concentrated on his partner's pleasure, making sure that the swollen head of his cock pressed against that spot every time, his vision and concentration narrowed to the man writhing against him. Ignoring his own passion as much as he could, Shawn snaked a hand down, wrapping his fingers around Dave's straining length, stroking the hot flesh in tandem with the movement of his hips. His eyes locked on Dave's face, the pleasure written so clearly there, he rasped out words of his own as he felt the magnificent body under him tense, straining toward release.

"C'mon, Dave... show me... let us see..."

****

He was holding his breath.

As soon as he realised that, Mark forced himself to breathe. Just because everything depended on Jeff's response was no reason to worry; just because his own happiness depended on whether Jeff just wanted tonight or... _forever_ echoed in the back of his mind, but he tried to ignore it. Tonight or more, those were the options. And "tonight" meant that he'd have to let go of this whirlwind that he'd captured so briefly, because "tonight" wouldn't be enough.

 _Forever might not be enough._

Pushing away the stray thought because it carried too much with it that he didn't want to have to examine just yet, Mark watched with slowly increasing dread as Jeff looked at him almost blankly.

 _"Good."_

Was that... more? Another slow breath, and Mark realised that Jeff was trying to force himself to speak; if the pressure of the younger man's body against his was any indication, their kiss had affected Jeff even more than it had him... which would explain the almost drugged sound of his voice. _And the delay in answering_ , a calmer voice pointed out quietly in the back of his mind. Right.

 _"The last thing_ I _am Mark Calloway, is a one-night stand."_

A small smile came to Mark's lips at the answer, but relief washed over him, followed closely by desire as his long-suppressed libido made itself known again. Any response on his part was driven immediately out of his mind as Jeff _climbed_ him, bracing his weight against that of Mark's own body, pressing them even closer together in a way that Mark hadn't thought was possible. A soft noise hovered at his lips as feather-light kisses were rained down along his throat, and his hands instinctively slid down to support Jeff's weight, one underneath the surprisingly curvy ass and the other around Jeff's waist.

 _"So... do I beg now?"_

The noise escaped as a half-sigh, half-groan as Mark imagined a nude Jeff on his knees in front of him. His fingers tightening briefly, Mark drew in a deep, shuddering breath as he met those dancing eyes, taking the few steps necessary to arrive next to the nearest bed. Allowing himself to drop slowly onto the bed, he ended in a half-reclining position with Jeff perched on top of him. Lifting one hand to the bemused face looking down at him, he drew Jeff downward into another heart-stopping kiss, pouring his long-denied passion and emotions into it, not quite wanting to face all of them yet but not wanting to hide from his amazing, surprising, soon-to-be lover.

When they broke apart again, he was nearly panting and Jeff could surely feel the effects that even these brief moments had had on him. Allowing his lips to curve into a smile, he ran a finger down Jeff's face and neck before leaning back on that arm. In a low husky drawl, he answered Jeff's question of long moments ago with all of his longing and passion audible in the words.

"Only if you want to."

****

At Shawn's nod, Dave relaxed, knowing that what he had been waiting for, for what seemed like forever, was within his grasp. He didn't remain in that particular state past the first stroke. Biting his lip, his breath caught before being forced back out in a gasp as Shawn thrust back in. With the second thrust, his eyes almost crossed and the flutter of pleasure centered in his groin rippled through the rest of his body. The third time Shawn moved his eyes didn't cross but he was pretty sure they'd rolled back in his head with the direct hit to his prostate. His vision blurred pleasantly, giving a soft cast to the features of the beloved man bringing him such pleasure. A shudder wracked his entire frame, a deep rasping groan pushed its way out from deep inside him.

"Shawn... oh god... more."

Bracing his feet against the bed, Dave arched his back into the next thrust, his head tilting back slightly into the mattress. Catching a momentary glimpse of Hunter's face, Dave growled when he saw the look in Hunter's eyes. Despite the fact that he was holding the man's hand, for god's sake, he'd almost forgotten that they were being watched. That reminder made him twitch, the tension in his body doubling, and had him hanging onto that hand for dear life so that he wouldn't explode on the spot. He wasn't ready for it to be over yet.

Forcing himself to untangle his hand from Shawn's hair so he didn't rip his poor lover's hair out, Dave braced it on a smooth warm shoulder instead. Shawn's hand wrapping around his shaft drew a bone-deep shudder from him and his head snapped back up even as he moaned loudly. Focusing somewhat blearily on Shawn's face, he knew that the pleasure reflected there was as deep and intense as his own. Just for a second it seemed as if everything stopped, the picture frozen in his mind to be taken out for later examination. 'God he's beautiful,' was the one thought he had before everything came crashing back down on him... the musky smell of sweat and sex, the warm hand sliding along his throbbing shaft, and the hard insistent push of Shawn's length thrusting into him.

 _"C'mon, Dave... show me... let us see... "_

Shawn's sexy smooth voice washed over him, drawing him right over the edge he'd been hovering on. His body arched fiercely, pushing into Shawn's next thrust, his hand clenching tightly on Shawn's shoulder. With a deep earthy growl of Shawn's name, he gave into the rush bubbling through him. He vaguely heard his own name said in kind as Shawn's release fairly exploded inside him. Harsh breathing echoed through the room and Dave grunted slightly as Shawn collapsed on top of him.

His hand was shaking slightly as he lifted it from Shawn's shoulder to tangle it once again in that mass of sweat-dampened golden locks. He massaged his fingers gently against Shawn's scalp, relishing the heated puffs of air blowing against his chest. Forcing his other hand to relax enough to let go of Hunter's fingers, he trailed the back of his knuckles down a golden arm and over a slightly tense chest. Turning his head to the side, he pressed a kiss against Hunter's ribs before shifting and wrapping his other arm around Shawn. Holding him in an awkward hug, Dave squeezed gently and pressed his lips against the top of the blond's head.

"That was... it was perfect, sweetheart," he murmured quietly. "Thank you."

****

Hunter couldn't take his eyes from his lovers' locked bodies, the moment seemingly suspended in silence till he wanted to yell something just to break it. Finally Shawn began to move, to slide his beautiful skin against Dave's bronzed body, to press their lips together over and over in long, sensual kisses that took Hunter's breath away. Even from his up close position, he could only see the glide of Shawn's hips as they moved snugly between Dave's thighs, the matched expressions of ecstasy the only clue as to the beautiful act going on between them.

If Hunter had ever been asked what he would do if he witnessed Shawn making love to another man, he probably would have said he'd turn on his heel and leave them to it. The reality of the situation was so much better. He wasn't just an embarrassed witness or eavesdropper, but a fully invited voyeur with more than permission... the ties on his wrists were testament to that.

And Hunter was fucking loving it.

 _Shawn... oh god... more_

Hunt wanted to add his voice to that particular chorus, but found himself struck dumb by the approaching storm of passion right next to him. Dave looked just fantastic, the silky black hair mussed and spiky with sweat, his exotic face pressed alternatively to Hunter's side and arching back into the pillow beneath them. With a smooth rise of his hips, Dave lifted both him and Shawn off the bed, Hunt heard a dual moan at the obvious pleasure that move evoked.

 _"C'mon, Dave... show me... let us see... "_

The rise of Dave's climax was obvious and beautiful, as was Shawn's face as his hips hitched and thrust erratically. The smooth control demonstrated by the blond finally stolen by the pleasure about to overwhelm him. Hunter was momentarily jealous of the fingers wrapped around Dave's impressive erection. If it wasn't for his out-of-whack reflexes, it would be _his_ hand bringing Dave over the edge of his orgasm, _his_ lips finding Shawn's in a shared bonding between the three of them.

And then they were moaning out their love for each other in such low, decadent voices that Hunter's groan rose in sympathy with them. His hips lifting off the mattress, hands clenching against the bed head as he strained to find friction for his neglected cock.

 _it was perfect, sweetheart... Thank you_

Blinking rapidly, Hunter felt a smile cross his features at the exhausted tangle of men beside him. They were gorgeous, all replete with satisfaction and the musk of sex. Hunt wasn't even that anxious to turn their attention to him, not wanting to provoke any more reluctance in his traitorous body.

Ignoring the insistent pulsing from his hard-on, Hunter just lay back and enjoyed the view.

****

A single stream of light filtering through the curtains was the only thing breaking through the dark shadows of the hotel room. He preferred it that way... at least he did now, had ever since the single spot of bright light in his life walked away from him. He'd thought that he had a chance at regaining that light... until tonight.

The only occupant of the room was hunched over, sitting on the end of the bed. Ripped muscles clenched and released as he stared deep into the shadows, something there that only he in his mind could see. His lips tipped upward in a smile as he realized that all was silent in the room next to his. If nothing else, he had put a stop to the plans they'd had for the night... of that he was sure.

Just like they had put an end to _his_ plans... _his_ dreams, earlier in the night. The light belonged to Jericho now. As if he didn't have enough reason to despise the pretty blond... He'd been the first Undisputed Champion, cemented his spot in the company, and each week he preened in the adoration of his fans. Chris Jericho was constantly surrounded by bright shiny people... those he called his friends. Jericho, in fact, had a bright shiny inner light of his own. Jericho didn't need the light... _his_ light. And if _he_ had anything to say about it then Jericho would just have to learn to live without it. If _he_ couldn't have it, then no one could.

He would destroy it first.

He had made an attempt at just that tonight, but he'd been so enraged that his trajectory had been off. Instead of the destruction that he'd been aiming for he'd had to settle for breaking him. At least it had dimmed the glow of happiness radiating from the wretched pair. A fraction more to the left and it would have all been over. In truth, he preferred it this way. They both needed to suffer.

A low, eerie laugh echoed hollowly in the room as he considered exactly how much fun this could be. The frightening sound was a perfect match for the unholy grin on his face... Adam's grin. He'd studied it... practiced it until he had perfected it.

Oh yes. Let them think they were safe from him now. Let them think he couldn't touch them while he was rotting away down in OVW. They wouldn't know what'd hit them until it was all over with.

His plan had been to force Randy's number from Maven, but as it turned out that hadn't been necessary. As he'd been escorted from the building by security guards, he'd happened to pass the little punk in the hall while he was trying to make time with one of the Divas. It was just luck that he happened to be passing by when the rookie supplied her with his room number on the off chance that the Diva changed her mind. Yeah like that was going to happen. It wasn't quite as personal as calling the man's cell phone, but the phone in his room would do.

It was also sheer coincidence that he'd happened to come up with a better means of convincing Randy to fall in with his plan. It hadn't meant a thing to him the night before when he'd watched young Orton and the Rattlesnake leave the hotel bar together... except maybe a good laugh. That had all changed when he reached the parking lot tonight and overheard the argument between Austin and Randy. So the older man thought Randy was using him... wagering on him. He'd laughed silently in the dark shadows of the car park as the younger man denied the accusations. He'd found the way to persuade Orton to his way of thinking.

He'd have Orton's promise to inflict more pain on his betrayer... his light... _his_ Adam. If he could find a way, he'd also use the young man to get even with Vince for not taking his side... for punishing him. Vince was awful fond of Hunter and wasn't it just a coincidence that Randy happened to work very closely with the man? He was at a bit of an impasse for how he was going to give Heyman his just desserts. He'd expected Heyman to stand up for him, put a good word in with Vince for him, but he'd deserted him just like everyone else. He'd _laughed_... laughed and asked Terry if what Adam had said was true. Randy would help him with that as well. And when it was all said and done, maybe he'd keep that prime little piece for his own.

****

Shawn shook sweaty locks of hair out of his face as he watched the man beneath him. He could feel the tension in Dave's body, feel the hard hot flesh in his hand swell, and redoubled his efforts to send his lover over the edge, biting his lip against the clamouring demands of his own body.. The sudden arching of that glorious body, the expression of pure pleasure on Dave's face as he growled Shawn's name, made Shawn suck in a gasping breath. One more thrust, and his own body was following his lover into orgasm, Dave's name escaping him in a low growl as his release exploded through him.

Collapsing onto Dave's chest, the soft grunt as Dave accepted his weight made Shawn smile slightly. There were definitely advantages to having lovers who were bigger than you; he wouldn't have to move until he was _ready_ to move. The force of his own release had surprised him, but as he watched with unfocused eyes while Dave awkwardly petted Hunter, he supposed that he should have expected it; even with the encounters earlier that day, it had been a long damned time since he'd done _this_. The arm draping around him distracted him from his thoughts, and he almost purred at the soft kiss.

 _"That was... it was perfect, sweetheart... Thank you."_

Forcing himself out of the lethargy weighing down his limbs, Shawn lifted his head to smile crookedly at Dave, not quite able to resist. "Of course it was perfect... it was _me_."

Pausing at the tired chuckle that provoked from the man he was laying on, he said in a softer tone, "That was... amazing. _You're_ amazing." Shifting, biting back a quiet noise as he slipped out of Dave's body, he leaned up and pressed a kiss to still-curved lips, allowing the touch to express what words couldn't say.

Sitting back, Shawn fished over the side of the bed until his fingertips touched cloth and pulled up a discarded shirt to wipe himself and Dave off with before discarding it again. After that, he allowed himself to look at Hunter. He'd been highly aware of his friend's presence the entire time, but had tried not to dwell on it; if he had, he wouldn't have lasted thirty seconds. He'd heard Hunter's moans and gasps while he and Dave were making love, and was looking forward to hearing more of them.

The sight almost took his breath away.

All stretched out on the bed, hands tied above him, smiling up at him even as that tawny body just _seethed_ with lust. With one last caress to Dave's chest, Shawn slid a knee across Dave's thighs so that he was kneeling in between his lovers, and simply soaked in the sight for a long moment. Finally allowing one hand to drift across Hunter's chest, Shawn was taken by surprise when his own cock twitched in interest at the proceedings. He was almost forty, for God's sake... but then, this was definitely a night for the unexpected. His lips curving a little at his thoughts, Shawn focused on the man in front of him.

"God, Hunt... you're gorgeous," he almost breathed, fingers curving up to trace Hunter's face before he gave in to the temptation and pressed a kiss to Hunt's lips, his tongue flicking out to trace teasingly along the seam before he deepened it, shivering a little as Hunter's tongue caressed his. Pulling away reluctantly, Shawn smiled down at the familiar face, his eyes full of love. The thought of what he was about to do, the realisation that nearly a decade's-worth of fantasies were about to be fulfilled, made his voice husky as he said, "Your turn, Hunter."

Sliding a hand between them, he picked up the small tube that he'd discarded earlier and raised a brow at Dave. "I'll need some help in a minute... if you don't mind?" At the nod, he dropped the tube into Dave's outstretched hand with a smile, and turned his attention back to Hunter. All that lovely skin, all his to play with... His eyes fastened almost immediately on the hard shaft straining against Hunt's belly, and he bit back a laugh. Not that Hunt looked like he needed much playing with; in fact, too much would probably end things earlier than either of them would like.

Dropping kisses over the soft skin of Hunt's abdomen, Shawn trailed teasing fingers across the small flat nipples above, even as he moved to straddle Hunt's thighs. As much as he wanted to feel Hunt come in his mouth and learn his taste first-hand... right now, he wanted something else. Something he'd dreamt about more times than he could remember... and now that he was about to fulfill those fantasies... he was almost nervous. Another look at Hunter, never stopping the movement of the hands roaming across Hunt's body, and then a glance at their other lover, hoping that Dave would be able to understand his request.

"Dave... ?"


	65. Needs

He was still floating back to reality, his mind not quite in tune enough to confirm the fact that he'd just lived out one of his most treasured fantasies. When Shawn shifted, the undeniable proof of their intimate connection brought it all home. He'd just had incredibly hot, mind-blowing sex with Shawn. He blinked, still a little dazed by that realization, as Shawn lifted his head.

 _"Of course it was perfect... it was me."_

That reply was so unexpected that it startled a laugh right out of him. It was also just a touch arrogant and smartass enough that Dave was considering giving him a good pinch on the ass. Shawn saved himself though with his next comment.

 _"That was... amazing. You're amazing."_

Squelching the immediate urge to deny Shawn's praise, he barely managed to suppress the slight bloom in his cheeks. He was feeling too good to get smacked in the head and he was pretty sure that would be Shawn's response if he did argue about it.

Shawn's gentle withdrawal from his body elicited a small sigh. The gentle kiss appeased his sense of loss of the intimate contact. Shawn taking the time to wipe the stickiness from him made him feel a little bit cherished if not quite loved. Thrusting that niggling little bit of doubt where it belonged, firmly out of his mind, he turned his attention to the man still tied to the bed beside him. The man that Shawn was now looking at with intense interest.

Letting his eyes roam slowly over the expanse of golden skin on display, his mouth twitched into a smirk. Hunter, despite his seemingly relaxed pose, was radiating with need. Even without the evidence of the hardened flesh lying proudly against his stomach, the taut pebbled nipples, and the heightened color of his skin... the needy glow in his eyes would have been hint enough.

 _"God, Hunt... you're gorgeous."_

A quiet murmur of agreement was all he could manage at that moment. He lay still as stone, watching Shawn teasingly kiss the bound man. His body twitched slightly as he considered all the possibilities that Hunter's position would allow, then swiftly stifled those thoughts. Hunter clearly wasn't ready for something like that yet. Maybe someday...

Shawn's rasping voice drew him back to reality, which was in truth much better than his erotic fantasies. After all, reality meant that he was allowed to touch that smooth, glowing skin. That was better than any fantasy that he could think of.

 _"I'll need some help in a minute... if you don't mind?"_

He nodded in reply to Shawn's request. Like he'd actually say no? Yeah, right. Shawn could ask anything of him and he'd give it. Once Shawn's attention turned back to Hunter, Dave smiled wickedly. Now what, he wondered, was he to do with this? As if he didn't know...

Silently popping the tube open, so as not to distract Shawn from his purpose, he squeezed some of the lube onto his hand to warm it up. He spread it over his fingers almost absent-mindedly as he followed the progress of Shawn's hands and mouth with his eyes. He was itching to touch everywhere that Shawn was touching, but kept his hands to himself through sheer will. They looked absolutely beautiful together, the two of them, with Shawn perched atop Hunter's thighs.

His mind was so absorbed with taking in every little detail that he almost missed the fleeting look of nervousness in Shawn's eyes. He was only surprised that it didn't last longer. This moment was a long time coming... ten years, they'd been waiting for this physical expression of their mutual love. The emotion flying between the two was almost overpowering and for just a split second he felt like he was intruding on something he had no business being there for.

 _"Dave... ?"_

Snapped out of his own quiet contemplation, he read the unasked question in Shawn's eyes. Swallowing his momentary unease, he nodded in understanding, quickly dropping his head to press a kiss to Hunter's chest before he gave anything away. Taking a deep breath, he raised his eyes to look at Hunter, even as his hand snaked across a smooth hip on its way to his goal. He smiled as he wrapped his hand around Hunter's hot, hard shaft. His lips twitching even more at the sound that fell from Hunter's mouth. He wouldn't be allowed extended teasing this time, or Shawn's plan would end up without the logical conclusion. Hunter was too tightly strung for much more. Coating Hunter's length liberally with the slick warmed gel then stretching up to press a quick kiss against Hunter's lips, Dave forced his hand to release the straining shaft. Sinking back to the mattress, he turned and winked at Shawn. He'd sit back and watch now... wait for any further instructions and be happy that he was going to be a witness to this lovely moment.

****

Jeff hadn't noticed that Mark was moving them towards the bed. He'd been so swept up in the sensation of being wrapped around the incredible man, that the few steps didn't register until Mark seemed to be falling away from him. A natural sense of balance, and the large hands on his ass, kept Jeff comfortably straddling Mark's lap instead of tumbling gracelessly onto the mattress. His knees sinking into the softness of the hotel quilt on either side of Mark's denim clad hips, Jeff was just the faintest bit stunned at the bigger man's actions.

He'd been almost prepared, and kinda hoping really, that his 'crawl up your body' move would result in something like Jeff being squished to the wall by three hundred pounds of sexy man, rather than his current position. But looking down at Mark's long reclining body, their differences in height irrelevant, Jeff was pretty sure he could adapt to this change of plans. Mark looked just so... great... like this, long arms bracing his arched torso, chest practically daring Jeff to go exploring with lips, tongue and teeth. Guy didn't even have his shirt off and Jeff could feel himself getting hard, just by being this intimately close to Mark.

A long hand in his hair and Jeff was tugged down into their second, mind-blowing kiss. Jeff returned it heatedly, feeling almost overwhelmed by the passion Mark was conveying to him via his lips. It seemed as if this kiss signified something far more than an intention to mate like wildcats... but that could just be Jeff's wishful thinking. He knew exactly where he was and exactly what was going to happen. Mark said he wanted more than a one-night stand and so did Jeff, it would just be up to fate to see if Mark's want lasted as long as Jeff's did. Some small pathetic part of him doubted it, but fortunately Jeff was too far gone into the arousing kiss to even notice it. 

Leaning his weight back when Mark released him, Jeff found himself upon a much 'firmer' perch than the one he'd just left and wiggled a little bit at the delicious sensation of what had to be a particularly well endowed man, getting hard beneath his ass. 

 _Only if you want to._

Oh man, Mark's voice had taken on that husky Texan twang that tickled shivers down's Jeff's back, no way was it fair that a guy who looked that good also sounded so hot. And throwing that choice back at Jeff too? As if Mark had read his mind about their respective wants and needs and was playing with him. Jeff raised a wicked eyebrow at the thought of begging Mark to... what? Fuck him? Damn straight he'd beg if he had to and be proud of it. Jeff'd be nuts to give up the chance to get anywhere near Mark's dick and if a little begging was what it took, then as far as Jeff was concerned... he had no shame.

"Well now," letting his own voice take on more of his Carolina accent than normal, Jeff's mouth curled into a thoughtful moue, "let's see who's begging who shall we?"

Good thing Jeff was pretty inventive when it came to the myriad ways of getting someone into bed. A devilish grin lighting his face, Jeff decided that when Mark had ceded control of the situation to him it had been a very, _very_ good idea. First, Jeff moved his hands from the bed at either side of Mark's waist and ran his them up his own thighs, over his stomach and chest, then up into the not very tamed mass of his hair. Carding his fingers through the locks, Jeff bent his elbows and moved his shoulders out in a long, luxurious stretch. 

Hands slowly back down to his middle, Jeff quickly undid the buttons of his jacket then simply arched and swayed his back. He shimmied so smoothly that the velvet fabric slid from Jeff's shoulders to puddle on Mark's knees with but the slightest tug. Leaning back again, so that he once more felt the hard bulge of Mark's interest against his butt, Jeff swiftly unlaced his boots, both hands operating simultaneously. The thud of leather hitting the floor was only an echo to the sound of his heated pulse to Jeff's ears. Once more his fingers flirted with buttons, this time on his shirt and Jeff wondered, as he let the white cotton fall open over his bare chest, if this would go better with some music.

Laughing eyes caught by Mark's hot green gaze, Jeff curled his feet under him and stood on the bed, looking down at the handsome dark man between his legs and began to slowly unbutton his pants. The soft material clinging to his erection, made all the more sensual by the intense look growing in Mark's eyes.

Talk about a lap dance.

****

 _"Can't imagine why that might be, bottom-less pit that you are."_

Sighing a little at the soft scratches, Kevin returned Scott's smile, carefully not asking if his lover needed any help as he watched Scott get up. If he did, Scotty would probably kill him; they'd gone rounds over it early on when they'd discovered this side to their relationship, and Scott had absolutely insisted on his capability to do things himself. Not that Kevin disagreed, but it was hard not to make the offer... even if Scotty did see it as over protectiveness. Especially now, Kev was sure that would be his interpretation.

 _"Cream's in the side pocket. If you do mine, I'll do yours."_

Keeping his thoughts to himself, Kevin nodded in Scott's general direction before getting up long enough to grab the tube out of Scott's bag, setting it on the side table as he slid back under the sheets and picked up the phone.

 _"And don't forget my dessert... crème puff."_

Opening his mouth to reply, Kevin thought better of it and shut it again, dialing the phone with a quiet chuckle. Scott would never stop pushing... and Kev would never want him to. Of course, it had been him who'd really pushed this time around. While waiting on hold, he thought about the night he'd asked Scott to stay with him, such a short time ago. Dinner and a movie and a late night at the house, and Scott in his arms... and Kevin had realised well before the movie was over that he didn't want Scott to leave for his apartment that night.

It had taken him probably an hour to summon up all of his courage, given that he and Scott had agreed to move slowly, to test the waters to see if they were still a possibility... but it had been a couple of months, and all their pace had done was frustrate him. He knew that he wanted Scott back if Scott wanted to _be_ back, and saying good-night and going home alone to an empty house and empty bed was killing him. Shawn had been able to spend some time with him off and on, but not with the build-up for the big angle between him and Hunter. The house that he and Scott had bought together was purposely big enough for the entire Clique to stay comfortably in... which meant that it was far too big for just him. He'd spent too much time wandering around the house looking at things and feeling depressed, and it had taken him months to be able to sleep in their bed instead of the couch after they'd separated.

He could still remember the expression on Scott's face when Kevin had put a hand on his arm and looked at him, knowing that all of his love and uncertainty and fears were visible in his eyes, and asked quietly, "Stay... please."

The sudden voice in his ear brought him back to the moment, and he ordered their dinners quickly, with a question at the end. More hold music, and he glanced up as the bathroom door opened and watched Scott's slow progress across the room, again biting back the offer to help. Shifting without even thinking about it, he held out an arm to his lover and held Scott close. The unexpected wet heat sliding over his nipple made him gasp, and he narrowed his eyes at Scott even as he ignored the clearly curious tone in the night clerk's voice as she came back on the line and told him that his request wouldn't be a problem. Thanking her, he hung up and turned his attention to Scott, intending to tease him right back... but the clearly nervous expression on Scott's face put a stop to that. Wondering what was up, and hoping that it wasn't anything bad, Kevin waited.

 _"Before the food gets here, there was something I wanted to ask you about."_

That didn't sound good... but he'd practiced not jumping to conclusions during their time apart. Shawn had pointed out that that was something he was far too good at, and nagged him until at the very least he didn't just blurt out the conclusions he'd leapt to. Besides, Scott didn't look scared... just nervous. Tightening his embrace just a hair, Kevin waited for the rest of it.

 _"Since the night you asked me to stay at the house, we've been together almost 24/7 and I'm pretty sure that I don't even have to ask, but... "_

God. Kevin's breath caught in his throat. Was Scott really going to ask...

 _"I was thinking about getting a few things from my apartment during our time off... maybe taking them over to the house."_

He was. Slowly exhaling, Kevin took a moment to think over his answer. As much as he just wanted Scott _home_ , he wasn't sure if his first response wouldn't be pushing too much, too fast; moving Scott back in completely would take away any separate "away" space that he'd created in the apartment he'd rented, and as much as Kevin wanted to believe that Scotty wouldn't need that space anymore, he wasn't willing to gamble their relationship on it. If they moved too quickly, they might put too much stress on themselves... God, he was torn. Running his fingers through Scott's hair in a comforting gesture, Kevin spoke slowly in return.

"Scott... you know I don't have a problem with that. I'd love it. The house... _our_ house... has been empty without you there." Taking a breath as a familiar remembered pang of loneliness went through him, he met Scott's eyes as he continued, "I'd love for you to just move back in, honestly, but I don't want to push too much. But... I'll be more than happy to give you a hand moving whatever you want to bring home."

****

Despite the rock hard nature of his straining erection, Hunter felt like he'd gone over some kind of edge himself, while watching his lovers become intimate for the first time. And if Hunt was thinking terms like 'become intimate' rather than 'fuck like bunnies' then he really had entered some sort of _relaxed_ mental state while lying here with them. But didn't they look just divine like that?

His magnificent David, gone boneless with pleasure, eyes hidden by dark lids, but his face so... happy. Hunt hadn't realised until this moment that he'd never seen Dave just feeling happy. Of course after being seduced and nailed by HBK, most people would be feeling pretty fucking happy themselves. Not that there was any chance of other people getting that kind of 'happy' again, only Hunt and Dave were able to claim that pleasure now as far as he was concerned.

Shawn's egotistical little joke brought a wry smile to Hunter lips as he watched the two whisper praise to each other. Damn, Shawn looked hot, sprawled out on top of Dave, his trim, muscled figure dwarfed by the larger man acting as his mattress. Dave's legs had relaxed and Hunt could now see the firm curve of Shawn's ass as he pulled their bodies apart, the darker man's regretful sigh echoed by Hunter.

Why in the hell did he feel like he needed a cigarette?

Smiling at the foolish thought, Hunt caught Shawn's eye as the blond looked over at him and froze at the _intention_ he saw there. Long, long seconds seemed to pass, while Hunter swam through the dusky-blue gaze, his wrists unconsciously twisting against the ties. He still didn't trust himself completely with them, not enough anyway to ask to be released, not while Shawn stared at him with such longing and hunger that Hunter would give him the world if he asked him. The light touch across his chest pulled him back to the physical and he didn't try to stop the soft, pleasured sigh that escaped him at the feel of Shawn's hands on him once again.

 _...you're gorgeous._

That startled a chuckle out of Hunter as, false modesty aside, he knew he wasn't that attractive compared to the two men in bed with him. Neither perfectly beautiful like his beloved Shawn, or darkly exotic like Dave, Hunter would accept 'handsome' from his wife under sufferance, but nothing more than that. He did look in the mirror when he shaved after all. Shawn was flattering him and Hunt would be sure to have a chat with him about that... tomorrow. When he wasn't about to...

His lover kissed him like he believed every word and Hunter was too far gone with lust and love to give it another moment's thought. Just kissing Shawn was enough to re-awaken the banked flames of his desire and Hunt's tongue rose to the occasion, twisting and stroking the warm intruder with welcome abandon. When Shawn pulled back, Hunter followed blindly, his mouth seeking to once again delve into that blissful state, but he was brought up short by the ties.

 _Your turn, Hunter._

Eyes wide open, Hunt fell into the promise being made him by those lovely eyes and turned his head simultaneously as Shawn looked over at Dave. He caught the start of Dave's wicked smile and felt a sexy little thrill run along his nerves at the thought of what those big, strong hands would be doing with the lube now coating them.

Kisses along his stomach and ribs pulled Hunter's attention back to the man he'd known for all the important moments of his life. Number one on that list was occurring right now, as he watched the tangled blond head bob and weave across his helpless skin. With each tender kiss, Shawn was bringing Hunter further and further up the mountain of his desire and burning his way further and further into Hunter's soul. Just touches, no longer furtive or suppressed, were becoming more erotic than even his wildest dreams.

For so long... so very, very long, he'd denied himself the tactile pleasure of Shawn and look where it had taken him? Into isolation and loneliness that he was struggling to let go of even as he didn't struggle against his bindings. Now at last, he could stop struggling with it, stop denying himself the explosive passion that touching and being touched by Shawn would create.

Hunter arched his neck back, eyes fluttering shut, as David began to stroke the warm slick, lube onto Hunter's straining sex. How he managed a sound that was both half-growl and half-whimper was beyond him at the moment. _Any_ capable thought was beyond him as the hot shaft between his legs, throbbed with enthusiasm at the swift strokes.

God, they would kill him like this, if they didn't do something soon.

Another odd combination sound fell from Hunt's lips as Dave ceased his preparations, but it was swallowed by the dark man's lips. Drunkenly, Hunter returned the swift caress, his mind bouncing from one thrilling point of contact to another. Forcing his eyes open, Hunter groaned at the sight that met him.

His beautiful, glorious Shawn was poised above him, hands on Hunter's body, dusky-blue eyes filled with such feeling that Hunter would have to have been blind or dead not to read the emotions there. It was that thought that finally broke Hunter's long held control. No-one. Not a single living person could turn Hunt's heart inside out with only a look.

Not like Shawn could.

"I didn't know," he said, the words forming and tumbling free without thought or conscious effort. "Darling, I swear I didn't know. I thought I could read everything in your eyes, but I couldn't see it... didn't see it... ." Hunter didn't even know what he was saying, his voice just conveyed his heart without consulting his brain. "If I had... God!... I would have touched you... for years Darling... wanted you for... so long."

Even the note of sadness in the last words was beyond his ability to modify. For all his supposed talent, Hunter had no pretense here.

Not with Shawn, not like this.

****

Watching Dave's fingers wrap around Hunter's erection was enough for Shawn to swallow back a quiet moan. The contrast between Dave's dusky fingers and Hunter's soft gold... it was beautiful. The wicked little smile on Dave's lips as his fingers moved in a slick caress, the whimpering growl that Hunter let out at the touch, the knowledge of what he was about to do... Everything seemed to combine into an almost slow-motion picture as Shawn's eyes took in every detail from his vantage point: the drop of sweat sliding down Hunt's neck as his head arched, his muscles outlined in glorious relief; the crinkles at the side of Dave's eyes as he smiled, the soft loving glow in those dark eyes...

He couldn't stop his quiet noise as his cock stirred, its interest aroused at the goings-on, and he drew in a deep breath, the scent of sex and musk and sweat filling his nostrils. This image had filled his dreams for almost a decade, in one form or another, his mind taking advantage of his nightly weakness to indulge in the thoughts he refused to allow himself during his waking hours. But this... this was so much more than anything he'd ever imagined.

Letting his eyes drift to Dave, Shawn saw a brief flash in the dark eyes that he couldn't quite identify. Dave couldn't possibly be thinking that they didn't want him there, could he? Without him, this would never have happened... and without him, they'd be missing a piece of themselves, now. Before he could even attempt to put any of his feelings into words, the flash was gone, but he vowed to remember later. He didn't want to just blurt out that all-important word, especially not after the first time they'd made love, because he knew that Dave wouldn't believe him... and he wasn't entirely sure he believed it himself. But it was there, in the back of his mind, and at some point soon, he'd have to face it.

Another groan from Hunter dragged him back to the present and he fell into a burning amber well as Hunter's eyes captured him. So beautiful... so full of emotion. Shawn could read those eyes like a book, a well-loved and familiar favourite... that seemed to have acquired whole chapters that he'd just never noticed before. Love and lust, so much that he could almost drown in it, but... there was a shadow there, still.

 _"I didn't know."_

Without knowing that he was moving, Shawn leaned forward, his knees gripping Hunter's thighs for balance, and put one hand over Hunter's heart. _Of course you didn't know_ , he wanted to say, _I didn't want you to_. But there was more to it than that, wasn't there? Willful blindness on both their parts, really. But now... they didn't need regret. Listening to his best friend speak, Shawn felt a touch of anger at both himself and Hunt, for their own damned stubborn blind stupidity; if either of them had been willing to take the smallest chance, they could have had the last nine years together. But... forcing the spark of anger back down, he looked over at Dave again, smiling slightly. Regardless of the time they'd lost, they had each other _now_... and it was so much better now than it could have been nine years ago. They'd both had to grow up, and find each other all over again... and find their missing piece. They were so much _more_ now.

 _"I would have touched you... for years Darling... wanted you for... so long."_

The note in the final words prodded Shawn into action, since his voice wasn't accomplishing anything. A sudden sharp movement, and his hand was over Hunter's mouth, blocking any further speech, as he glared down at the man he loved. The move sent his reawakened cock rubbing against Hunt's slick length and he gasped slightly before recovering his voice, the jolt making him suddenly aware of how much interest his body had taken in the proceedings.

"You will _stop_ that. No more regrets, Hunter. We don't need them anymore." Firmly, but gently. Shifting his hips, he allowed their erections to slide together again, gratified to see the shadow in those whiskey eyes lift, replaced by clearer flames. Removing his hand, he kissed Hunter roughly, not taking a chance on letting him speak again, letting the forcefulness of his kiss speak for him. There was no gentleness this time, just _want_ , as their tongues dueled for dominance in a game that left Shawn breathless... and wanting more.

Moving his knees up toward Hunter's hips, Shawn locked eyes with Hunter as he braced himself. Feeling the slick tip of Hunter's cock brush against his ass, he bit his lip, willing himself to relax. It had been a long time since he'd done this and he had no desire to be unable to walk in the morning. Not missing a second of Hunter's reaction, Shawn pushed downward, a stifled gasp escaping as the swollen head breached him, stretching him in an almost painful way. He had to stop, to take in a long shuddering breath, before slowly sliding down, whimpering as Hunter's hard shaft found its way inside him.

A bone-wracking shiver ran through his body as he sat back, feeling so full, his breathing harsh as he waited out the inevitable moments of pain. Little splinters of pleasure/pain ran through his nerves with every inhalation, until finally he shifted gingerly and moaned at the sensation. Hunter was _inside_ him... The realisation almost sent tears to his eyes. Reaching out blindly with one hand, he found Dave's hand and twined his fingers with his lover's, needing both the physical support and the emotional; Shawn needed to _know_ that he was here, too. Leaning forward slightly, he wrapped his other hand across Hunt's shoulder, before smiling down at him, his voice husky with revealed emotion.

"Well, love?"

****

The fingers running through his hair kept him calm despite Kevin's delay in answering him. He, more than anyone, knew that sometimes Kevin liked to think some things to death before giving an answer and with this particular subject, he couldn't blame the man for taking his time. It would, in a way, be a big step for them. While their friends were aware that they had been trying to work things out, Scott staying at the house, _their house_ , would be akin to announcing that they were in fact back together. They were back together, but it was still so new, so fragile, that Scott wasn't taking anything for granted. There were a lot of things that they needed to talk about yet.

 _"Scott... you know I don't have a problem with that. I'd love it. The house... our house... has been empty without you there."_

His eyes widened when Kevin said 'our house'. He wasn't sure why he was surprised. It had always been 'their house'. They'd bought it together, but when he'd finally gotten out of rehab, he'd removed his things and sent word via Shawn that Kevin could keep it. Even after he'd settled into his apartment he hadn't been able to stop thinking of it as 'their house'. He just hadn't realized that after all this time Kevin felt the same way.

 _"I'd love for you to just move back in, honestly, but I don't want to push too much."_

Honestly, Scott would love to move back into their house... lock, stock, and barrel... but he couldn't do that. Not just yet. He wanted to tell Kevin why, but it would be so much easier to _show_ him. That was something he planned on doing when they went to get most of his things. A blink was his only reaction as he thought about the special room in his apartment, the reason why he couldn't quite give it up yet. Once Kevin saw it and Scott explained why it was there then Kevin would hopefully understand why he couldn't just lease it out... not yet. He needed that room to be there, just in case.

 _"But... I'll be more than happy to give you a hand moving whatever you want to bring home."_

Home... just hearing that particular word made his heart lurch. As far as he was concerned he hadn't had a home since the moment Kevin had left him. The rehab center certainly hadn't qualified. His apartment, as much as he'd furnished and hung up pictures, didn't fit the bill either. It had simply been a place to live, somewhere to sleep, but it wasn't a home. His home was wherever Kev was. He blinked his eyes a couple of times to clear his suddenly cloudy vision, forcing a smile onto his face so that he didn't upset Kevin. Apparently he was still too emotional and he didn't want his lover to take this show of emotion as something bad when it wasn't... not in the least.

"I thought I'd grab my clothes and some of my personal things. Maybe the recliner, because I have a feeling you'll like it, but I don't think there's room in the house for the rest of the furniture," he said, this time his smile completely genuine. He could picture the two of them in that recliner; him snuggled on Kevin's lap while they watched a movie. "The rest of it can stay there for when I get around to sub-leasing it." That was a commitment, even if it didn't seem like it. He fully intended on leasing it out... eventually. Kevin would understand that once he explained, but for now hopefully it would put his lover at ease about their situation.

Reaching across Kevin's chest, Scott snatched the tube of cream from the table and laid it on top of Kevin's chest. Winking at him, Scott slipped from Kevin's chest to lay on the bed on his stomach, lowering the sheet. "Fix me up, love?" Pillowing his head on his arms, he tried to relax.

He still flinched with the first contact of the cream. It wasn't really surprising when he figured that his ass was probably still a bright shade of red. Kevin was gentle, as always, but every once in awhile he'd twitch at a particularly sore spot, biting his lip to stifle a groan. Kevin had just finished when there was a knock at the door. He was thankful that room service was finally there. He was starving... not that he was going to tell Kevin that. He'd never hear the end of it.

****

Another tiny wave of unease swept through him as he watched the silent communication between his two lovers. Not a word was necessary between them in that moment, everything they felt was laid bare in their eyes... love, desire, pure need, and maybe a touch of regret for waiting so long. Moving as quietly as possible, he snagged the shirt that Shawn had discarded and wiped the extra lube from his hands, turning back just as Hunter spoke.

 _"Darling, I swear I didn't know. I thought I could read everything in your eyes, but I couldn't see it... didn't see it... "_

His eyes were drawn to Hunter with his words, but after a second he swallowed harshly and looked away. It was too stark, too raw and Dave couldn't do a thing about it. He wasn't even sure he should be witnessing it, but he knew that he couldn't leave either. One or the other... maybe both of them... would follow him if he bolted and he was _not_ going to be the one to disrupt this moment for them.

The subtle shifting of the mattress when Shawn moved drew his eyes to the blond. The hand he noticed laying over Hunter's heart giving him the ability to return the smile that Shawn sent in his direction.

 _"I would have touched you... for years Darling... wanted you for... so long."_

The sadness at the end pulled at his heart and Dave moved his focus to the sheets he was lying on. Biting his lip, he forced himself not to move, not to crawl up next to Hunter and wrap his arms around him. This was something for Hunter and Shawn to deal with. His eyes snapped upward at Shawn's gasp, innate curiosity over the cause of the sound forcing him to look. Shawn's hand clapped firmly over Hunter's mouth was the first thing he noticed. For some reason it made him want to laugh, which was clearly inappropriate in this circumstance, and he forced himself to hold it in.

 _"You will stop that. No more regrets, Hunter. We don't need them anymore."_

The tone of Shawn's voice made it clear that he'd brook no arguments on the subject. Not that Hunter could argue when Shawn had his mouth covered... first with his hand, then with his mouth. The kiss between the two was so fierce, so erotic to watch that Dave was pretty sure he would end up breathing harder just from watching it.

Dave winced internally as Shawn impaled himself on Hunter's length, Shawn's whimper causing him to bite his own lip in sympathy. With no stretching at all that had had to be just a bit painful. It was erotic as all hell though watching Hunter's shaft disappear inside Shawn's body. The sight alone was enough to stir his already satisfied body and Dave shifted slightly, trying to ignore it for the moment. It didn't work.

He was so caught up in watching the myriad emotions on their faces while Shawn adjusted that when Shawn grabbed his hand he almost jumped in surprise. There was no thought of not offering the support that was being requested of him. No matter how uncomfortable he felt at the moment, he wasn't going to desert Shawn. And honestly he couldn't really force himself to leave in any case. Watching the two of them together was something that he'd dreamt about, even if he was reluctant to admit it to himself in the light of day. They were so beautiful together that he just couldn't look away. The ultimate picture of deep and abiding love was laid out before him and he was able to admire that without feeling envious, just appreciative of being privileged enough to witness it.

****

Groaning softly as Jeff moved against him, Mark forced himself to keep his hands where they were. As much as he wanted to touch, to prove to himself that two years' worth of denied dreams were really coming true, he wanted to see what Jeff would do.

It wasn't often that he played a passive role in lovemaking, but for some reason... it felt right this time. Maybe because he still had those fears about playing the power game with someone under his control; this way, Jeff could do what he wanted to without feeling pressured... hopefully. A momentary doubt surfaced as he gazed at the smaller man seated on top of him.

That doubt was banished by the wicked curve of an eyebrow and the teasing drawl that slipped so effortlessly from Jeff's lips.

 _"let's see who's begging who shall we?"_

Oh, god. He'd never been terribly vocal, had never played any serious games with any of his lovers... but somehow, Mark suspected that Jeff could have him begging in minutes, if he wanted to. Pushing his doubts and worries about the future aside, he set himself to focus solely on the man who was trying his damnedest to seduce him at the moment. Not that _that_ was a difficult proposition. They'd have to have a long talk later, but right now, all Mark could see was the glorious stretch of that body that he'd seen so briefly earlier, that the suit teased him with hints of underneath the dark fabric.

The wicked smile and heat glimmering from green eyes warned him. Frozen in place as he stared, Mark soaked in the sight of Jeff touching himself teasingly through his clothing. His fingers itched with the desire to follow those light touches, to get to know the tempting body himself, but he restrained himself, simply watching. His eyes gave away his deepening desire as Jeff shrugged out of his velvet jacket; the teasing pressure against his hardening length prompted a deep inhalation. Otherwise, Mark was silent except for the sound of his growingly ragged breath as Jeff performed his little show.

His silence could in no way be taken for lack of interest: if the bulge beneath his jeans didn't give him away, his darkening eyes and fingers twitching at his sides would. When Jeff stood up, Mark drew in another breath, his eye fastening in spite of himself on the visible bulge beneath the soft pants. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if Jeff was like Shawn in what he wore, too... and then he shut all thought of anyone else firmly away. Here of all places, he was not going to compare his whirlwind to _anyone_ else. Especially not with what Jeff had hinted to him about earlier; the last thing Mark wanted to do was scare Jeff away by coming on too strong.

Watching those fingers pause on the buttons, his body almost humming with growing desire, Mark sat up with a frustrated growl and grabbed the slender wrists with a careful grip, pulling Jeff down even as he turned, ending with him leaning over the other man, now prone on the bed. Smiling slightly, Mark met the challenging look in the green eyes with one of his own, his hips pressing firmly against Jeff's as he lowered his head, his lips beside Jeff's ear.

"Didn't anyone tell you it's not nice to tease?" he growled, his breath blowing across Jeff's earlobe. Shifting his weight, he ran one hand through the colourful hair, testing its softness for the second time that night before allowing himself to---finally!---touch that pale flesh, sending fingertips and nails and palm searching across the expanse of skin on a hunt for the areas that provoked moans and gasps, following them with his lips. Aware of every response Jeff gave him, Mark paused after tasting a flat pink nipple and looked up to meet matching green eyes again.

For the first time in years, he felt like he could relax... could play a little, show his real self to his partner. Not wanting to contemplate the whys of that, Mark shifted to his side, his hand circling in slow light caresses across Jeff's abdomen, fingertips dipping into the triangle of revealed skin under the waistband of those law-breaking pants, watching Jeff's expression. With a deep husky drawl and a lifted eyebrow to match the smile curling the edges of his lips, Mark asked, " _Who's_ going to be begging?"

****.

The fingers across his lips cut off any further words Hunter might have said, the small flare of anger in Shawn's eyes killing those words in his throat. A strong hand was gentle on his face, but the glare he was on the receiving end of belied that gentleness. Dammit Hunt, why couldn't you just shut the hell up? Shawn's all over you, about to take you to the moon and you have to spill your heart out onto him? Talk about a mood killer there Champ.

A shudder wracked Hunter as the movement of Shawn's body sent their hardened cocks rocking against each other. The brief push, coupled with Dave's previous attentions, had Hunt sinking his teeth lightly into the flesh at the base of the palm over his mouth. Shawn was hard _again_. Hunter was momentarily distracted from his heart-wrenching feelings and his impending cataclysm, by the sheer flattery of that basic fact. Shawn was hard for _him_.

 _You will_ stop _that._

All his protections stripped away by the steel in that non-existent voice, Hunter kept his head back and slowly dropped his lids in submission to Shawn's iron command and his resolution. Hunt would stop letting the past rule his soul. Right now... right at this very moment, he had everything he'd ever desired and Shawn was absolutely correct. _No more regrets_.

Hunter would have agreed with more than just his eyes, would have given Shawn his promise in words had he been able to speak. But the delicious man straddling him had apparently lost all patience and was kissing... god no... _devouring_ Hunter's mouth with such passion, that Hunt bucked up against the body above him. He returned the kiss with equal force and wildness, fighting Shawn's exploring tongue with his own, seeking out and staking claim to every corner of the hot depths like it was his right.

The strength of his abdominal muscles obeying his mental orders, Hunter tightened his arms and dragged himself up into a sitting position, Shawn riding high on his thighs before settling once again, skin pressed firm against skin. Some dim, recessed part of Hunt's mind began to scream out in panic as Shawn broke the kiss with a hot, lust-filled sound and moved again, the intention in his dusky eyes clear. But this panic wasn't born of fear for himself, nor of his desire to run and escape the magnificent pleasure of Shawn's body. No. Shawn hadn't prepared himself... it would hurt like hell and Hunter had sworn he would never, _never_ hurt Shawn again.

Face turning to the other owner of his soul, Hunter lips were parted, the plea for Dave to stop Shawn falling unheard, when his friend, his lover, his beloved sank down onto Hunter's aching sex and stole every thought from his head. So tight and burningly sweet, the smooth, strong walls of Shawn's body gripping Hunt's cock like a glove, the stifled gasp of pleasure/pain from the blond pulling a harsh moan of primal lust from the bound man.

So good. So very, very good.

The hand cradling his shoulder forced Hunt's eyes open again, pulling his mind from the black darkness of sensation and into the exquisite light of Shawn sitting over him. Now that his lover was settled, their bodies still, there was lessening of friction to Hunter's over-stimulated shaft and he could pull himself back from that dark hunger beginning to rise up from somewhere buried inside him.

Shawn and Hunter and Dave. God. Could anything be more perfect?

 _Well, love?_

Shawn's husky question prompted a spark of combined amusement and need within Hunter. The endearment coming from his beloved's tongue, enough to bring Hunter back up that precipice and linger on the very edge of fulfillment. The strong presence of Dave, still relaxed beside them like a great, jungle cat, took Hunter's attention as he was caught by the shifting, indecipherable emotions boiling in those midnight eyes. Dave looked... almost lost.

Hunter had to kill that look dead.

"David... " how Hunter managed any kind of coherence with Shawn riding him was anyone's guess, "... kiss me... now."

He didn't even care if he got called 'bossy' again. Right now Hunter absolutely had to feel Dave's mouth on his own. In fact the sensation of that tongue bar, running wild in Hunt's mouth was becoming a fucking _necessity_.

"David." The growl was distinctly alpha male, but Hunter didn't give a damn. When Dave complied, Hunter stormed past his lover's lips, tasting and pushing until he could be confident that Dave wasn't dwelling on anything at that moment other than the three of them. Tearing his lips away with a decidedly feral groan, Hunter bit at Dave's mouth before looking away.

"And you... " Hunter gazed back up at the man who'd owned him heart and soul for ten years. "... c'mon Darling. Take me to heaven Lover... now."

The look on Shawn's face and the movement of his hips caused an instinctive urge to thrust, to push higher into that snug heat over and over until Hunter felt he could literally fly off that edge. Giving in to the riotous lust coursing through him, Hunt followed that powerful feeling, rolling his hips upwards while Shawn pressed down onto his aching cock. Suddenly it was too much for Hunter to contain, to control. Shawn was making love to him, he was fucking Shawn and beautiful Dave was touching him and his dark hands were stroking Shawn and it was fucking perfect and...

... Hunter couldn't _move_.

The sound of splintering wood was a dim echo as Hunter wrapped his arms around Shawn's waist and pushed harder into his beloved body. If he could just get in deep enough he'd be able to touch Shawn's soul and they could fall apart together.

****

Jeff knew he was being a tease. God, that had been the fuckin' point of doing a striptease while sitting in Mark's lap, but he hadn't realised the effect his moves had had on the other man until a low, sexy growl gave him less than an instant's warning. His fingers had just begun to tug down his zipper when Jeff's wrists were engulfed by Mark's larger ones. In a move reminiscent of the ring, Jeff saw the wall and ceiling spin by in a blur, then was bouncing slightly on the thick mattress, Mark's big, delicious body pressing him even deeper into the comfortable softness. Given that his feet had been beside Mark's hips when standing, Jeff now lay under Mark, legs parted, groin in hard contact with the erection his ass had been so happy about earlier.

Still, it hadn't been part of Jeff's plan when he'd begun his little dance, so he was finding it more and more exciting that his idea of what was going to happen kept changing. But he'd _liked_ the idea of getting naked, then going down on Mark while the dark man was still completely dressed. There was just something sinful about offering himself like that, exposed and vulnerable to whatever Mark chose to do to him. Now he was caught between hot, hard heat and a bed. Good thing Jeff was adaptable.

Looking up into Mark's deep gaze, Jeff couldn't help the challenge he threw up with only his eyes. Whatever the big man wanted, Jeff would do with a smile on his face, he just had to get Mark to tell him what it was. Maybe Jeff was in luck when sweet, warm breath caressed his cheek and ear, sending wonderful shivers across the sensitive skin at his throat.

 _Didn't anyone tell you it's not nice to tease?_

"I thought 'cocktease' was one of my better nicknames," Jeff gurgled with laughter as Mark's roving fingers found his ribs, causing the smaller man to squirm from a tickle-fit. He wasn't quite as crazy-sensitive as CJ, but his naked ribs were a definite vulnerability. "Ha... ohhh god... and no-one ever said... I was 'nice'." The gurgle became a moan as Mark parted the edges of Jeff's shirt and began to retrace his finger's path with his lips. Oh baby.

Ticklish was _not_ the feeling Mark's mouth on his skin evoked.

Spreading his legs in blatant invitation, Jeff arched his spine into the touch of Mark's mouth on his nipple, the hard peak giving away any pretense Jeff might have had of self-control. It was such a rush to have someone touching him with affection and passion. So damn long, since he'd been the victim of honeyed foreplay that made his scalp tingle and his heart ache. Not to mention the effect all this touching and rubbing was having on his erection, still trapped within the confines of his pants. It was shockingly nice and pure porn to Jeff's sex-starved brain, what with the rubbing and moaning and the way Jeff's leg ended up hooked around Mark's hip.

Fingers slowly stroking his abdomen and down, down... Jeff gasped as short fingernails briefly caressed the skin just above his aching cock.

 _Who's going to be begging?_

"Why... " Another sweep of fingertips and Jeff voice choked off on a moan, "...that would be me."

Totally willing to participate in their debauched behaviour and fulfill his promise, Jeff slid his hands down under Mark's arms and grabbed that nice, sexy ass. Using his leg as leverage, pulling Mark's denim covered cock hard against the almost exposed skin at his groin, Jeff thrust up roughly with his hips. He desperately wanted some friction so he could get closer and closer to that moment of bliss Mark was actually offering him. Holding steady in that wonderful position, Jeff looked long into Mark's emerald eyes and enunciated every word as clearly as possible.

"Please Mark... touch me." Jeff leaned up into an almost kiss, stopping just millimetres from Mark's tempting lips. "Please Mark... want me." Another roll of his hips, grinding their dicks together through several layers of fabric and a second near kiss. "Please Mark... fuck me."

"... fuck me."


	66. Lovers

Maven clicked off the bedside light and settled down into his too-starched sheets. After a moment of fidgeting and pillow thumping he managed to get comfortable lying on his side, pillow wadded into a ball under his head. He tried but he couldn't help it. Every few minutes he opened his tired eyes and ran a visual check over the form in the other bed. Randy was sleeping the slumber of the emotionally exhausted and as far as Mav was concerned it was about damn time.

His friend, and hadn't it been nice to get _that_ simple fact straightened out, had been walking a fine line for months now. Maven had stood back and watched as the person he considered himself closest to in this company had routinely and methodically pushed away every person who meant something to him. The only reason Maven hadn't slammed the door on their friendship weeks ago was that he'd seen Randy when his shields were down. Only brief glimpses, but he'd witnessed them. The actual decent person under all that cocky bullshit, the one who couldn't totally hide the look of absolute longing in his eyes when he covertly stared at one person.

The first time he'd seen that look aimed at Steve Austin, Maven had thought he'd had a mental break. No way would Randy "King Dickhead" Orton, be lusting after a hard-as-nails redneck like Steve. But he'd been wrong. Dead wrong if last night's ruse and tonight's emotional storm had been anything to go by. Randy was seriously gone over the Rattlesnake and Maven could only find it within himself to want them to be happy.

Not that it seemed likely after what Randy had told him. But then... how likely was it that the young Mr. Orton would pick up Stone Cold in a bar?

At least the guy was asleep now. He'd crashed about a minute after those heartbreakingly silent sobs had ended, big body going limp in Maven's arms like a doll. A big freaking doll with cool tattoos, but a doll nonetheless. He'd done the drunk-room-mate thing, taken off the shoes, tie, belt and jacket, before shoving Randy into his bed and then making for his own.

In the morning they'd be having a long, long talk and there was no way he was gonna let Randy avoid it. Randy'd said Mav was his best friend, he wasn't about to let him renege on it now.

Drifting off to sleep, Maven wondered if Dawn-Marie would call.

She was hot.

\-------------------

Austin stood with the keycard in his hand and one ear pressed to the hotel room door. From what he could hear, or couldn't hear, the magnificent blonds didn't seem to be engaged in any activities that would require embarrassed coughing or a video camera on Steve's part. He'd managed to swindle a key from the chick at the front desk by reminding her of the conversation earlier in the evening. Funnily enough she had remembered three large men discussing room assignments not four hours previous.

Hey... he couldn't help it if he stuck out in a crowd.

Steve's ego had been pricked a bit when he'd realised she'd recalled Kitten and Copeland with far better accuracy than she did him. Oh well. Not like two gorgeous blonds just oozing sex and lust for one another didn't give Austin a 'happy' as well. Time to see if they were finished with their own 'happy' or if Steve would have to pace outside the door for a little while longer. The click of the lock received no response so Steve walked in, trying to find his bag in the dim light from the hallway.

Now wasn't that just sweet?

In a totally fuckin' hot, porno kinda way.

Kitten was sprawled all over the bed, taking up what was presumably his half and most of Adam's as well, blond head buried in a pillow, sheet at the knees to show off a nice tight ass. Copeland had been dead right about that aspect of his Kitten. The bigger man, for his part, didn't look like he was trying to escape Chris's sprawl by any means, but lay passive under the warm body, only the slight wheeze to his breathing indicating anything was wrong.

Smiling in a wicked and not at all fatherly way, Austin scooped up his bag and turned back towards the hallway. Sure there was an extra bed in the room, but Steve had sworn off sex for life and if he woke to hear those two going at it, he'd kill someone.

Aiming himself towards JR's room, Steve moodily trudged up the hall and decided he really wanted to forget this day had ever happened.

Not last night though... he'd never forget last night.

****

Every breath Shawn took sent sparks skidding up his spine, the pleasure/pain of impaling himself on Hunter's erection slowly fading toward pleasure as his body adjusted to the intrusion. His fingers relaxed their grip on Dave's hand as he watched Hunter, the shocked bliss on that beloved face making the momentary pain well worth it. Catching the shift of Hunt's eyes, he turned to look at their lover; even through the burning pleasure that was fogging his mind he could see the uncertainties in those dark eyes. This time, Hunter took charge of removing them.

Even as his lips quirked at the sheer bossiness of Hunter's demand, Shawn couldn't help but respond to that tone of command. Hips shifting, he moaned softly as Hunter _growled_ at Dave before devouring his lips. Watching them as Hunter stormed Dave's defenses, stealing his breath as he took absolute possession of that enticing mouth made Shawn yearn for his chance to be possessed like that. He wasn't soft and breakable, regardless of what his lovers might think; even if they didn't consciously admit it, he could see it lurking in the back of their minds through their actions. Somehow, he'd have to convince them otherwise... he'd have to _show_ them.

 _"And you.. c'mon Darling. Take me to heaven Lover... now."_

God, that _look_... Shawn could read everything in that gaze, all the love and lust and regret and want that Hunter had suppressed for the last decade, and he was sure that Hunt could see the same thing in his own eyes. He reacted to the pleading command instinctively, raising himself up, moaning desperately as Hunter's length slipped back out of him before sinking back down, his breath escaping him in a gasp. It hurt, but the pain was rapidly subsiding, leaving behind only the heat that was burning through him. And then Hunter thrust up into him and he tossed his head back as his grip tightened again on both his lovers, not even hearing the sharp noise that he made at the wonderful, wonderful feeling of _Hunter_ fucking him.

The splintering sound caught his attention just long enough for the stray thought _He owes me some new ties_ to cross his mind, and then Hunter's arms were wrapped around him and he couldn't help but smile. Blinking hard, he met the burning whiskey eyes staring at him as Hunter thrust upward again, the angle just _right_ , and he realised abruptly that even if he was almost forty and not on his first go-round today, his body wasn't going to take much more of this.

"Hunt... god... _more_... " The words were a breathless whimper, but the tightening embrace and flash in the eyes so close to his told him that they'd been heard. Rolling his hips, Shawn groaned harshly as Hunter pushed up into him, and leaned forward to press his lips to Hunt's, wanting to be _claimed_ just like Dave had been moments ago. He willingly opened his mouth as Hunter pushed inward, his tongue mirroring the hard, fast thrusts of his hips, Shawn returning every movement with one of his own. His hand squeezing Dave's fingers, his cock throbbing with every flare of pleasure that burned through him, Shawn knew suddenly that neither of his lovers were even going to have to _touch_ him this time. The pleasure coiling at the base of his spine burst outward as Hunter's shaft rubbed against his prostate again and he tore his mouth away from Hunter's with a gasp.

"God... Hunt... I... "

And then the words were ripped away by the shriek that tore out of his throat as he came, his hand clenching hard enough to leave gouges in Hunter's flesh as his body stiffened, his back arching. This time it seemed like it lasted forever, his mind suspended in the white brilliance of orgasm for long moments before thudding back down into his body only seconds later, aware of Dave beside him, fingers still entangled, and feeling Hunter still inside him. His voice and energy stolen away by the sheer force of his release, he could only react to Hunter's movements, watching his friend and lover lose himself to passion.

****

 _"I want to know what it feels like to have you inside me, Sean. Please?_

"Huh?"

Once Sean realized that his mouth was hanging open, he snapped it shut only to have to do the same thing again almost immediately. To say that he was shocked was an understatement.

When they'd first started their relationship, Sean had tested the waters, so to speak, about this very topic. He'd never even made it as far as finding the big man's prostate, Glen having stiffened up on him every time he'd made motions towards doing so. Sean had simply figured that Glen was just one of those that didn't bottom... ever. So he'd given up without asking for any explanations. It wasn't like he was suffering any with getting all the attention. Glen was, quite simply, a man of generous proportions and Sean was all for taking advantage of that every chance he got.

Still... he wasn't one to let opportunity knock without opening the door either...

"Are you sure that's what you want?" He'd had to ask. He didn't want Glen to do this simply out of guilt.

"Yes, Sean. I wouldn't have asked you if I wasn't."

He sounded sure, yet Sean couldn't help but notice the look on his lover's face. Glen was trying to smile, but it was definitely coming out as more of a grimace. Considering Glen's past reactions it made Sean just a little suspicious. Next obvious question, please...

"You have done this before... haven't you?"

Hmmm. Interesting. Glen's eyeballs just about popped out of the sockets followed closely by a heavy sigh.

"Yeah I have. I just didn't... " Long drawn out pause. Christ. This was worse than pulling something out of Kevin.

"Just didn't... ?" A little prompt never hurt anyone. The glare that Glen leveled on him just might though.

"I didn't enjoy it. It lasted all of about three minutes... total. The only thing I got out of it was a really sore ass, okay? So, I didn't exactly want a repeat."

Whoa.

"How old were... " Another furious glare. Obviously this was not his lover's favorite subject.

"It was a long, long time ago. Do we really need to get into the details?"

Sean was getting his bounce back along with his grin. "No. I think it's kind of cool though. I get to break in a 30-some almost-virgin." The growl was warning enough. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I promise I'll be gentle."

He barely managed to duck the swat aimed at his head. Ignoring the glowering face of his lover, he climbed into his lap and kissed him softly. "I love you."

"I love you, too... though sometimes I haven't the faintest idea why."

Sean didn't take offense at all. He grinned and ran his fingers through Glen's hair before reaching for the hem of his T-shirt. "I can tell you. It's because I'm charming, I'm bouncy, I'm hot as hell in bed, and... "

A raised brow was Glen's only response.

"...And I love you back even if you are a big slug."

****.

 _Hunt... god... more..._

Hunter was more than happy to comply with Shawn's demands. He felt, right at the moment he lifted his hard erection firmly into his blond lover, that if Shawn ever asked him for anything again... he'd obey without a moments question. In fact, had Hunt been capable of greater thought processes than 'uhgn' and 'baby', he might have told Shawn just how willing he was to be his lifelong slave. But given the squirming, gasping, oh fuck... _coming_ beautiful creature in his arms, Hunter knew any kind of rational thought in the future would be way beyond him.

Urgent groans echoed through the room and Hunter tipped Shawn forward, shifting his legs under him so he could get closer, get _deeper_  into his beloved Heartbreaker. At this angle, the blond was arched slightly over Hunt's forearms and from the resultant violent shivers, Hunter wasn't just hitting all the right buttons... he was _pulverising_ them.

Then, like a shot of pure alcohol, Shawn froze for an instant...

 _God... Hunt... I..._

Perfect. Beautiful. Soulmate.

Hunter felt a primal roar course through him, coming up from some unnamed place that he would be embarrassed to admit existed in the light of day. It was a sound of raw need, or possession, or heart-deep love that ten years' denial hadn't been able to quell. A pitiful exclamation of everything they had gone through together and everything they would hope to have from then on.

The echo of their triumphant shouts still reverberated around the room as Hunter lowered his lover to the mattress beneath them and pressed himself onto that firm, sweet body. Beyond that... he had nothing. Nothing but what was left after Shawn had taken out his fear and obliterated it with his love, his desire and quite frankly... his indestructible sex drive.

Lips stroking back and forth along Shawn's sweat-slicked shoulder, Hunter could only breathe brokenly...

"...thank you... "

****

His eyes were locked on a point where Shawn's thigh pressed against Hunter's golden skin. That neither one of them had really started moving yet was kind of odd, but it was secondary in his mind to contrasting the differences in their skin tones. Shawn's fingers were wrapped around his and his forearm clenched subtly in a gentle squeeze. If they didn't do something soon, he was going to move on to counting Hunter's ribs so that he wasn't tempted to give them instructions. They were savoring the moment... yeah, that was likely it. Just because he was impatient to see them reach fulfillment together, being as he was a captive witness, didn't mean they couldn't linger...

 _"David... kiss me... now."_

Surprise was his excuse. Head snapping to the side, he regarded Hunter with something akin to... okay, it _was_ shock. His lover addressing him at this particular moment, when he was buried inside Shawn, didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense. Shouldn't he be... busy fulfilling a ten-year long fantasy or something?

 _"David."_

It was obvious that Hunter wasn't going to let it go... growly bossy little thing that he was. They were really going to have a talk about that later. He was trying to give them a little bit of space here, for crying out loud. He shook his head just a bit, leaning forward, intending to give Hunter a quick kiss so that the man would re-direct his attention to where it rightfully belonged at the moment... with Shawn. Only that wasn't quite what happened.

The moment his mouth touched Hunter's, his lover forcefully took possession of his mouth. He should have expected the explosion of greedy exploration after the way they'd reacted when they kissed earlier... on the plane, after Hunt's admission in the locker room, at the picnic... but he hadn't. He realized something as Hunter claimed his mouth in an almost brutal fashion... Hunter had somehow sensed what he was trying to do and he wasn't going to let it happen. As Hunter nipped his at his lip, the warm reassuring hand wrapped around his own registered once again... Shawn had noticed too. They _both_ knew. He was stuck somewhere between amusement and frustration. He was obviously losing his touch when it came to hiding his emotions, at least around these two. Their actions spoke louder than words... the three of them were intertwined and it didn't matter _why_ he was trying to separate himself... it wasn't going to be allowed, even temporarily. Was it any wonder at all that he loved them both?

Giving into the inevitable, he sat up, letting his free hand wander over the two of them at intervals during their search for release. His eyes ate up the picture the two of them made as they started moving together... the play of muscles as they tried to get more, the beautiful expressions of deep pleasure on both their faces, and a peek of Hunter's hardness being swallowed by Shawn's willing body. The sounds the two of them were making ought to be illegal.

He could read the frustration in Hunter's face at being tied down, having experienced that particular emotion numerous times himself. While he was considering whether or not to loosen the ties, his impatient lover took care of it all on his own. The sound of splintering wood was like a crackshot in the room, though he doubted either Shawn or Hunter noticed it. Biting his lip, he focused fiercely on a spot near Hunter's hip to keep from grinning or worse yet, laughing. He'd wondered if the bed would withstand the three of them, though his concerns had been more for the frame than the headboard. 'We'll just let _Hunter_ explain that one to management,' he thought inanely.

 _"God... Hunt... I... "_

Dave shivered at the tone in Shawn's voice and his eyes searched out the blond's face. He watched as the storm built and then crashed, drawing Shawn under its power. His face wreathed in pleasure was just as beautiful a sight as the other times he'd been blessed to experience the phenomenon that day.

Still feeling the effects of that wondrous vision, he wasn't allowed time to compose himself before the vocal warning exploded from Hunter's lips. He twitched, his head shifting just a fraction to capture the picture of Hunter falling to pieces. It was just as stark, just as raw, and just as entrancing as Shawn's release.

As Hunter switched their positions, Dave managed to free his numbed fingers from Shawn's now relaxed grip. While he was flexing his hand to get back a bit of feeling, he was hit broadside with his full reaction to having watched the two of them together. That he'd reached his own release twice that day didn't seem to make a damn bit of difference in the face of what he'd just seen. He was once again aroused... terribly hard... needy. Directing an internal scowl at himself, he forced himself to concentrate his attentions elsewhere. He was not a sex fiend, damn it, though his body was insisting otherwise.

With a gentle stroke to Hunter's hair and a quick kiss to Shawn's arm, which was flung out to the side, he rolled off the bed and headed into the bathroom. Since it was already a mess, the T-shirt that they'd used earlier wasn't going to be much help, so Dave turned on the water and let it run until it was warm. Snatching a washcloth from the pile atop the shelf, he soaked it with the warm water and then rung out the excess, all the while looking in the mirror. He noticed that despite the persistent reminders of his body about its state of excitement, he was grinning. A damn goofy grin if truth be told. He couldn't even work up a good 'Animal' glare at the moment, though he did try. He was just too happy.

As he walked back through the doorway, he did manage to roll his eyes over his rather pathetically sappy state, but drew up short at the sight of the two men cuddling on the bed. Too bad he didn't have a camera... it'd be a perfect picture to send to Steph. That wicked thought died swiftly when he caught the look in Shawn's eyes over top of Hunter's shoulder. He hid his shudder in his silent walk towards the bed before sliding up behind Hunter and slipping his cloth-covered hand between the two of them.

Placing a soft kiss against Hunter's shoulder, he tried to keep the obvious evidence of his interest from pressing too firmly into his backside while he wiped their stomachs clean. Grinning at Shawn, he let the cloth slide lower to clean off Hunter's softening shaft before reaching clear over top of the two of them to tend to Shawn.

With a smirk, he threw the cloth in the general direction of the bathroom while considering exactly how to phrase his minor complaint.

"Have I ever told you two that you are way too bossy by half? I'll have to tie you both up and gag you to get a word in edgewise." With a wry grin he turned to look at the splintered bits of the headboard. "On second thought... for the sake of the furniture, I'd better use cuffs instead."

****

Hunter lay half-on, half-off Shawn and listened to the sound of twin pounding hearts. They weren't quite synchronized yet, Shawn's was slowly becoming a more even pulse as he relaxed, while Hunt's was still racing from the force of his climax. For a fraction of a second, Hunter had found that level of ecstasy experienced only once before... in the shower at the arena this afternoon. Making love to Shawn had all the built-up passion and anxiety from ten years of yearning, making love to Dave was the definition of excitement and pure sexual urgency. It was like getting the best of both worlds... how lucky could one man get?

Turning his face from its lovely view of Shawn's sweat-dewed neck, Hunter rested his cheek on the arch of his blond lover's collarbone and blinked his eyes open to find Dave. The echo of a gentle kiss to his hair and Hunter watched the fantastic ass of David Bautista walk into the bathroom. A small frown creased his features until he heard the reassuring sound of water coming from the ajar door. Tightening his arm around his beloved pillow's waist, Hunt's eyes narrowed at the space his dark-haired lover had occupied.

Dave better come back.

In fact, if Dave didn't come back _right now_ , Hunter was going to kick his ass.

Because honestly? One freaking out, not-quite frigid, weird self-esteemed nut-bar was enough for any relationship. A blissed smile at that vaguely ludicrous thought and Hunter knew he was riding high on a great euphoric rush. Just one of the good things getting some **wildly, awesome sex** with your best friend could grant. Heartbeats in sync now, Hunt watched the reverse view as Dave cruised directly to the bed and gave said view a resolute ten out of ten. Looked like he and Shawn in bed was a pretty highly scoring sight too if the condition of Dave's front half was any indication.

As he felt a warm, wet towel begin to move over his stomach, Hunter obediently moved onto his side so Dave had better access. Wherever the cloth touched left a moist trail that became suddenly cold as the breeze from the air-conditioning hit the still sensitive skin. Another light as a feather kiss to his shoulder, turned that minor shudder into a major shiver. Oh yeah. He could tell Dave _was_ impressed with the 'Hunter and Shawn naked' thing by the large hard-on pressing against his ass. Still tripping out on the sex-drugs, Hunter reasoned something really should be done about that and given that he'd just fucked Shawn into a coma, Hunt would have to step up to the plate.

 _...are way too bossy by half? I'll have to tie you both up and gag you._

Hunter resolved after that comment that Dave was a dirty tease.

 _...for the sake of the furniture, I'd better use cuffs instead._

Oh... right.

Hunter shifted so that he lay on his back, one hand possessively on Shawn's hip, while he lifted the other over his face. What had once been Shawn's nice grey-blue tie, perfectly matching his lover's eyes, was now a pathetic scrap of 100% silk that looked like it'd been through a meat grinder. Several small slivers of wood were embedded in the fabric and Hunt had managed to tear about five inches from one end. Rolling his head and eyes backwards, Hunter found the rest of the tie dangling from what had been in another life, the Presidential Suite's headboard. Much as he'd like to, there was no fixing that poor tie specimen. It deserved a decent burial.

Or maybe Hunt would keep it as a souvenir.

Looking up, past his bound wrist, into Dave's face with a decidedly mischievous expression, Hunter replied, "Cuffs David? Just wait till you see the damage I cause with them."

Finally releasing Shawn's hip back to its rightful owner, Hunter pulled the pieces of wood from the silk and looked questioningly at the exotic beauty lying beside him. Squirming around in the non-graceful way only a man of his size could manage, Hunter leaned forward until he was nose to nipple with Dave's chest. The nipples in question were darker than the smooth chest they adorned and were responding to Hunter's breath by becoming all hard and perky. Taking this as an encouraging sign, he licked one.

Wow... cool.

That move also caused a hot, little twitch in Dave's insistent erection, now pressing happily into Hunt's hand. Not that Dave had said so much as a word about his condition, but Hunter-on-a-sex-high was all for dealing with any big issues that came up between the three of them.

And dammit... this issue was _big_.

And kinda sexy red... and felt like satin... and tasted like...

****

Watching Scott closely, Kevin didn't miss the sudden emotion in his lover's eyes at the word "home". Continuing to run his fingers through the dark curls, absently noting the growing strands of silver mixed in with the black, he refused to let himself over-react to it. Having this sort of conversation directly after a scene was bound to amplify any emotions, and he suspected that they would both get a little choked up over this subject even if it were a normal day. But he'd never stopped thinking of it as _their_ home, and without Scotty there, it was as though the spirit of the place had left; even when everyone was over for a holiday, there were awkward pauses and silences as Scott's absence made itself known.

 _"I thought I'd grab my clothes and some of my personal things. Maybe the recliner... "_

Nodding silently, Kevin was already picturing where to put the recliner: in the living room near the corner... they'd have to move the couch, but that was all right. Everything was exactly the way it had been when they'd... separated... and it would probably do them both good if they moved things around---together. Just to emphasize the changes in their own relationship.

 _"The rest of it can stay there for when I get around to sub-leasing it."_

There was more here than what Scott was telling him. His lover very nicely changed the subject, probably at least so that Kevin wouldn't ask him questions... not that Kevin had been intending to. When Scott was ready, he'd tell Kevin whatever it was that he was avoiding right now.

 _"Fix me up, love?"_

Kevin took a moment to admire the sight before he sat up: Scott face-down on the bed, head pillowed on his arms, sheet and blankets pushed down to his knees, and his ass still a cherry red. There were a few whitish spots, too, and Kevin noted them as he squeezed the cream out onto his fingers to let it warm up a bit. They'd be particularly sore, and he'd have to take extra care... and use some extra cream. Keeping his touches as soft as possible, he worked the cream into the sore skin, pausing whenever Scott flinched before covering the area with an even lighter touch. If they hadn't just had amazing sex, just the act of caressing Scott's skin would have had him hard. As it was, he could take his time and appreciate both the sight and everything it meant: love, trust, caring... Scott.

He was just twisting the cap back on to the tube when the knock came. Dropping a soft kiss between Scotty's shoulder blades as he pulled the blankets up to Scott's shoulders, Kevin stood up and picked up his jeans, quickly pulling them on. While there had been a notable few times where he'd answered the door nude, he wasn't about to do so tonight; not only did they want to avoid publicity, especially with Vince in the mood he was in, but Kevin didn't want _any_ scrutiny on Scott right now.

Casting a quick glance behind him to make sure that the bed wasn't visible from the doorway, Kevin opened the door, blocking any possible view of their room through force of habit, and took the delivery cart with a smile and a tip for the bellboy. Hopefully Scott would appreciate his little surprise... Locking the door, Kevin wheeled the cart into the room and stopped beside the bed as he sat on the edge of it. Two plates with roasted chicken breasts and assorted side dishes were on it, along with two glasses and a pitcher of water and one covered dish, and he picked up one of the plates to give to Scott.

Deliberately ignoring the curious look on his lover's face, he settled his own plate on his knee and took a bite. He couldn't quite keep the little smile off his face as Scott's eyes were drawn back to that covered dish, but he remained silent until they were done. Normally he'd try to tease Scott with little tidbits and kisses, and although he certainly wasn't averse to the idea tonight, it was obvious as soon as Scott started eating that he was just as hungry as Kevin.

Besides... there was always that last dish.

Sighing as he laid his fork down, he waited until Scott looked at him before offering to take the plate, and stacked them on the cart. Taking a drink of his water, he set the glass down on the bedside table and stretched, yawning slightly. Leaning back, he affected to notice the growingly annoyed expression on Scott's face as he glanced at him, and stifled an outright smile. His lover was _not_ used to Kevin ignoring his curiousity; there were times when Scott reminded him of Sean, although for some reason that seemed to irritate Scotty whenever he pointed it out. Raising an eyebrow, Kevin turned his face toward the cart as he followed Scott's gaze.

"Oh... I almost forgot." Sitting upright again, Kevin lifted the covered dish off the cart and turned to face Scott, his lips twitching a little. "You've been asking for it all day, so I thought I'd go ahead and indulge you."

Lifting the lid, Kevin did smile as the scent wafted out, but didn't take his eyes off Scott. It wasn't often that he would respond to Scott's teasing this way, even if he was known for having a goofy sense of humour, and he didn't want to miss his lover's expression when he saw his specially-ordered dessert... two freshly-baked cream puffs.

****

Mark tucked away the fact that Jeff was ticklish in the back of his mind as he watched the young man pinned underneath him. Jeff had to be one of the most responsive lovers he had ever had, and they hadn't even done that much yet. _Yet_. The word almost echoed in Mark's mind as a hopeful promise for the future, but he pushed it firmly away. More than a one-night stand, most definitely. For how long... ? Well. That was something to worry about some other time.

Right now... right now Mark was incredibly aware of Jeff's body, the slim leg wrapped around his waist bringing them into extraordinary contact while Jeff writhed underneath him, every movement sending answering flashes of desire through him. His fingers paused, barely above the erection that was still hidden by clinging dark fabric, and the moan that Jeff gave in answer to the caress shot straight to his cock, hard and aching inside his jeans.

 _"...that would be me."_

Before he could respond to that willing statement, Jeff shifted, and Mark drew in a breath as long fingers curled around his ass. Then Jeff was pulling at him, and pushing at him, and Mark groaned as their erections slid together, separated by layers of cloth. It was good... it wasn't enough. Somehow, Jeff held that position, and even through the clothing he still wore, Mark could feel the heat rising off the other man, reflecting clearly in the glowing green eyes that were staring into his.

 _"Please Mark... touch me."_

So close... those lips. As much as Mark wanted nothing more than to do exactly as Jeff asked in a voice that dripped pure sex, he was held by those burning eyes.

 _"Please Mark... want me."_

He shuddered. Wanting Jeff was not a problem. Holding himself back... that would be a problem. Especially if Jeff kept looking at him like that... A harsh groan forced its way out of his mouth as Jeff ground their hips together and his supporting hand clenched on the blanket underneath them.

 _"Please Mark... fuck me."_

A growl, and Mark almost missed Jeff's unnecessary repeated plea as he shifted his weight, pushing Jeff down into the mattress under him as he claimed Jeff's lips, doing his best to devour the man's very breath, his tongue demanding control as his long-dormant libido flared into full life. Rubbing his cloth-covered erection roughly against Jeff's as he pulled his head back, his breath coming in harsh pants, Mark met that burning gaze with fire of his own. One last movement of his hips and he was gratified to see Jeff gasping, clutching at him. Lifting his weight up and off the other man, Mark sat back on his haunches, his gaze sweeping over Jeff. Half-dressed, skin flushed, hair messed, gasping for breath, clinging black fabric doing nothing to hide the urgent need pushing up under it...

He couldn't be gentle. Not this time. His fingers gone clumsy with the lust pulsing through him, he pushed the shirt down, off Jeff's slender arms and tossed it aside. Turning his attention to the last piece of clothing hiding the pale body, Mark moved back before reaching up to hook his fingers in the loose waistband, pulling the pants down and off with one movement. They joined the rest of Jeff's clothing on the floor.

Taking a brief moment to look at the delicious sight laid out for him, Mark leaned over Jeff again, his breath hissing in the pale earlobe, his cock throbbing against the denim encasing it, he growled, "Yes... " He wanted to be buried in that body so badly, _needed_ to be inside Jeff. But he wanted to know that Jeff needed it just as badly. 

Reaching down, he wrapped a hand around the straining length between Jeff's thighs, squeezing before stroking it roughly, his eyes never leaving Jeff's. "Tell me you want it, Jeff... show me."

****

 _"...thank you... "_  
   
Shaking his head weakly, Shawn smiled up at Hunter and whispered, "Love you." No thanks were needed here... unless it was thanking whatever providence had allowed them to finally be together. And Dave... as Dave pulled his hand away, Shawn realised with a touch of humour that he'd have to apologise later; he'd probably come close to breaking fingers, with how tightly he'd been holding on. The soft whisper of lips against his arm caught his attention as the bed shifted, and he followed Dave's movement with his eyes, relaxing from unrealised concern when he realised what their lover was doing. He'd give Dave a couple of minutes, and then he was going after him... if he could move.

Lips still curled a little, Shawn brought a hand up to stroke through Hunter's hair, simply enjoying the weight of Hunter pressing down on him. It couldn't last too long before he'd have trouble breathing, but before he had to say anything, Hunter had shifted. Listening to Hunter's breathing slowly calm, Shawn realised that he was happier than he could ever remembering being before. Nothing could compare to this... nothing.

The sight of Dave walking back toward the bed, nude and _very_ aroused, brought him out of the thoughtful lassitude he'd fallen into, and he let his eyes linger on the lovely sight, almost regretful that he wasn't going to be able to take advantage of it. Not after the mind-blowing experience of making love to Dave _and_ Hunter... not together, perhaps, but that would come. Of course... maybe now would be his opportunity to watch his lovers together, something that had been on his mind all day. Hunter's body shuddering against his made him draw in a soft breath, as did the heat flickering in those amber eyes as he moved.

The soft touch of a warm wet washcloth moving over him drew his eyes up to Dave, and the smirk on his lover's face made him wonder just what was on his mind.

 _"I'll have to tie you both up and gag you to get a word in edgewise... On second thought... I'd better use cuffs instead."_

Oh. God. Dave was a nasty, nasty tease. To say something like that _now_...

Shawn's eyes followed the movement of Hunter's hand as he lifted it and he had to suppress a laugh at the almost mournful expression on Hunt's face as he saw the remnants of what had once been one of Shawn's favourite ties. Yes, he was definitely owed some new ties. Glancing up at the headboard, Shawn did laugh softly. Finally, he wouldn't be the one having to pay for a damaged bed.

 _"Cuffs David? Just wait till you see the damage I cause with them."_

Hunter's teasing brought other images to mind, but even as he missed Hunt's touch as Hunter turned over, his eyes widened at the sight presented to him. Pushing himself back so that he could lean against the broken headboard---after tugging a pillow up to lean on---he watched with avid eyes as Hunter touched Dave. No, not just touched. _Licked_.

Shawn's eyes didn't leave Hunter as his friend slid downward, replacing his fingers with his lips, and he made an appreciative noise at the sight of Dave's insistent erection sliding into Hunter's mouth. Squirming closer, he couldn't help but reach out and touch, trailing his fingers over the hard nipples, still damp from Hunter's tongue. Finally tearing his gaze away, he looked up and was immediately captured by the exquisite look of pleasure on Dave's face.

"Beautiful... " The word escaped in a rough whisper, and he lifted his hand to run a gentle touch over the dusky cheek.

****

Dave chuckled almost silently as Hunter inspected what was now left of Shawn's tie. He'd personally buy Shawn a dozen new ties just like that one if it meant getting to witness something like that again. His body was still humming from what he'd seen, heard, and felt when Shawn and Hunter had made love to each other. Walking out to find them cuddling hadn't helped the condition that he'd already been in when he walked into the bathroom and he was just a bit frustrated that he hadn't managed to get control of himself yet.

 _"Cuffs David? Just wait till you see the damage I cause with them."_

Okay... and that really wasn't going to help matters at all. Especially when Hunter was looking at him like that. And the pictures flashing through his head of just what that damage might entail didn't help either. Dave was pretty sure that his investment in a solid oak headboard for his bed had been a good one. He'd have to give Sean a call soon and find out where he picked up the special cuffs he'd had while they were in OVW.

Fast on that thought was another. They hadn't actually discussed when they were leaving the hotel, where they were going to be going when they left, or if they were all going to the same place. He was considering bringing up the subject when he noticed Hunter looking at him. When he started wiggling around, Dave fixed him with a 'what are you up to now' look. He didn't get a verbal response, hadn't really expected one.

His body responded almost immediately to the warm breath wafting over his nipple. And just what was up with that? He spent a lot of time being breathed on in the ring... it wasn't all that unusual. Yet one little puff of air from Hunter's mouth had his traitorous body taking notice. God help him if he and Hunter, or he and Shawn for that matter, ended up in the ring together. He'd have to see about getting some looser ring gear or a cup... or something.

The wet heat slipping across his nipple and the warm hand covering his hard flesh shouldn't have surprised him, but it did. It startled a squeak right out of him... a squeak for god's sake. That the sound offended his sensibilities didn't seem to matter to his undisciplined sex, which jumped towards Hunter's hand with relish. After Hunter's reaction earlier that night, and the fact that Shawn looked half dead from his exertions earlier, he hadn't expected anything more, except maybe some cuddling, to occur. He'd have been perfectly happy to suffer through this little problem of his until he managed to get it under control. His lovers had obviously decided that that was not acceptable and his wayward body obviously agreed with them.

He'd closed his eyes while he argued with himself, had only vaguely felt the shifting of the bed as Hunter moved. So when the scorching heat and wetness of Hunter's mouth suddenly surrounded him, his reaction was lacking any type of control. Moaning loudly, he let his hand drop to Hunter's shoulder, his fingers squeezing firmly over tight muscles. Then suddenly there were fingers touching his nipples. Up to that moment, he hadn't noticed Shawn's new location. His eyes snapped open, locating Shawn with little trouble. Noticing that Shawn seemed fascinated by what was happening in the vicinity of his hips, his body twitched. Damn, there was that exhibitionist streak of his making an appearance again.

 _"Beautiful... "_

Shawn was nuts. He was _not_ beautiful. Shawn... Shawn was beautiful. Hunter had that whole 'dangerously sexy' thing going on. He was... intense, rugged... and he was scary, damn it. He was _not_ beautiful.

He was buying Shawn glasses. He was just about to tell him that too, scowl included, when Hunter distracted him. Instead of a scowl, Shawn was gifted with the abnormal sight of Dave's eyes crossing.


	67. Mouths

Hunter heard Dave's moan as it vibrated the hard abdomen under his hand. Stroking his fingertips over the rising ripples of muscle found there, he tried licking the head of the solid erection to see if he could get another moan. Yep... that worked. Feeling particularly high and rather musical, Hunt wondered if he could compose a symphony based on the wonderful moans, growls and gasps that rose from his delicious lover. A composition for the listening pleasure of only two, but he and Shawn would be a most appreciative audience. Why, if Hunter's dick wasn't even more tripped out then he was, the symphony would get a standing ovation.

Tripped... heh.

Peripherally aware of Shawn sliding closer and doing something that got a sexy almost-choke from Dave, Hunter drew his mouth back up the solid length, hollowing his cheeks with impressive suction and getting... cool!... a stunned gasp. While he'd never claim to be an expert at such things, it _had_ been a few years after all, Hunter always felt that enthusiasm and experimentation went a long way in getting high marks for blow-jobs. Although the ambitious performer in him was a little jealous of Dave's tongue bar, no way was Hunter gonna be able to duplicate that extraordinary sensation.

Still, he had some other natural advantages... like not shaving for three days. Tilting his face, Hunt brushed his stubbled jaw down the satin steel now held firmly in his hand. Hmmmm. Maybe that hadn't felt that nice as Dave was dead silent, he'd even stopped breathing from what Hunter could tell. Death by blow-job was a fantasy of many men, but not one he wanted to have occur for at least forty years. Snickering at the idea of any of them being capable of going anywhere close to down in their seventies, Hunt buried his other natural advantage... his nose... in the musky skin at the base of Dave's cock.

At least his gorgeously dark lover had started breathing again, so Hunt hadn't murdered him with sex. But his victim wasn't really giving Hunter much to go on but the occasional moan and semi-seizure. Rubbing his closed lips over the small slit at the top of his new favorite thing, Hunter reached up with both hands and snagged each of Dave's. Pushing one hand over towards Shawn's ass and setting the other firmly onto the back of Hunter's head. He rewarded the tangling of fingers in his hair by opening his mouth and taking in as much of Dave as he could manage. It _had_ been a while. Hunter just needed some practice to get his groove back. 

Returning his once abs-caressing hand down to gently grasp the heavy balls just under his chin, Hunt himself groaned around the shaft in his mouth as the movement of fingers in his hair sent litter shivers down his scalp to his shoulders.

His penis decided that this was too good to miss.

No. Fucking. Way.

Pulling up and off Dave, Hunter glanced down at his hopeful member and said, "Apparently my dick's been talking to Shawn's."

Finding the sight of Dave's sex far, far more interesting than his own, Hunter returned to licking, sucking, playing and when he had a moment to relax the appropriate muscles, deep-throating Dave until his symphony was almost complete. Feeling the warm globes in his hand start to tighten up and an insistent sound that was almost continuous growling coming from somewhere over his head, Hunter went deep again, cozying up to the sweet cock with his throat and felt Dave explode with a muted roar.

Damn, that had been fun.

Grinning an irrepressible, totally pleased with himself grin, Hunter looked up into one pair of amused blue-grey eyes and one pair of half-lidded chocolate ones. Licking his lips wickedly he didn't say anything.

Although Hunt would be the first to admit it... even _he_ couldn't talk dirty with his mouth full.

****

Mark's plundering kiss pushed Jeff back down into the mattress, the bigger man's body a luxurious weight on Jeff's incredibly sensitised skin. Returning the exploration of the invading tongue with a low-throated moan, as the hard steel of Mark's cock once again tormented Jeff's through their pants. The kiss broke and Jeff tried to recapture the hard press of lips by lifting his head, but was confronted with the molten silk of Mark's gaze. A hard push of cock on cock and Jeff's eyes almost rolled up into the back of his head, his fingernails digging into strong tattooed forearms as a ripple of electrical sparks ran from his groin to his brain and back again.

When Mark sat back, Jeff was almost whimpering at the loss of contact. He needed Mark back on him now, pushing again, causing that sweet, sweet ache in Jeff's body that craved to be filled by one thing and one thing only. Impatiently Jeff sat up on his elbows and sent the man towering over him a look that could only be described as vaguely pissy. They could be well on their way to taking care off all known aches if Mark had just let Jeff finish taking off his clothes...

Jeff felt that Mark might have a touch of ESP, as his lover chose that exact moment to start stripping of Jeff's shirt and pants, moving his terribly willing body around with competent ease. Or maybe being psychic had nothing to do with it, because really, when their cocks over-ruled their brains, most men were on _exactly_ the same page. Case in point, Mark was now precisely where Jeff wanted him to be, lying on Jeff, rock hard denim covered erection scraping against the soft skin of Jeff's thighs, big, big hand surrounding his cock and breathing hot, sexy words into Jeff's ear.

 _Tell me you want it, Jeff... show me._

Without even a pause, Jeff pushed up against that delicious weight and used Mark's bulk to reverse their positions. Once again straddling the bigger man, Jeff went to work like a wildcat, pulling, tugging and swearing at Mark's shirt until he obligingly lifted his shoulders so Jeff could toss the concealing material over his head carelessly. Yes, yes, yes. Just as he'd fantasised, just as he'd imagined. Being this close to Mark's naked skin and not having to worry about tripping over his own feet in the ring, Jeff leaned forward and did exactly what he'd daydreamed of doing earlier in Mark's dressing room.

He began to trace Mark's tattoos with the tip of his tongue.

He tasted so clean, the faintest residue of soap from his after-match shower tickling Jeff's tongue while his taste-buds absorbed the hint of salt and musk from his companion's aroused state. First the left arm, then the right. Too needy to do the job it's thorough justice, Jeff nevertheless tried to cover as much ground as possible, coming to the inscribed runes across Mark's chest with a feeling very close to reverence. Trading small licks with nibble-kisses, Jeff pulled back slightly and breathed warm air across the wide planes of satin coated muscle. Divine.

Worshipping at the beautiful alter that was Mark, Jeff moved lower, tangling his tongue in the fine hairs across the vulnerable stomach until he reached Mark's hips. Nuzzling into the hard bulge captured under the back denim, Jeff covered it with his mouth and breathed hot air through the material, rubbing the warm area with his cheekbone. Hands were required for the belt, but after that, Jeff brought into play another of his more suspect performance skills.

He could open a button and fly with his teeth.

****

Scott huddled under the blankets with an admiring smile as he watched Kevin slip into his pants. Even if he wasn't in any condition to take advantage of the man, looking at Kevin naked was a favorite hobby of his. Between the emotional issues the last few days, both their own and those of their friends, the plane trips, the work schedule, and all the really awesome sex they'd indulged in during the last 48 hours... Scott was pretty much wiped out. The only thing that had kept him awake during Kevin's ministrations was his hollow stomach. Well... that and the pain in his ass, but that was nicely fading now thanks to the cream.

As soon as he got a whiff of the food, his mouth started watering. Turning onto his side, he watched as Kevin pushed the cart next to the bed. The dinner plates were easily identifiable and Scott could smell the chicken before Kevin even uncovered the plates. The water glasses and pitcher were standard fare for them and didn't rate more than a passing glance. The last dish though remained covered as Kevin handed out the plates. That had so better be his dessert or he was kicking Kevin's butt, love of his life or not. Since he'd given up his other vices, except for chewing on a toothpick occasionally, he allowed himself to indulge his sweet tooth more often than he should. It cost him a little extra time in the gym, but it made giving up other things a little easier.

Skipping the usual teasing that accompanied most of their private meals, they both dug into their plates. Kevin hadn't made any comments on it, but Scott was pretty sure that Kevin made note of his appetite, especially after Scott had called him a bottom-less pit. While it was the truth that Kevin was seemingly always hungry, there were times that Scott could easily out-eat Kevin. Kevin liked to point that out when it happened, but tonight he was oddly silent about the quickness with which Scott plowed through his food.

His eyes kept wandering back to the dish on the tray while he wondered what Kevin had picked out for him. It could be anything really. Chocolate cake with chocolate icing was always a favorite along with apple pie à la mode. Oh! Maybe it was strawberry cheesecake or even soft chocolate chip cookies.

It was driving him nuts wondering what was under that lid and from the way Kevin was _ignoring_ his obvious curiosity, the man knew that it was. He handed his empty plate to Kevin when he offered to take it and waited for Kev to hand him his dessert. Instead the ornery cuss settled back against the pillows like he was getting ready to go to sleep. He looked once again at the dish and wondered if it would be worth the effort to climb over top of Kev to get to it. Probably not. First of all, he was too tired to make the effort of actually moving and secondly, Kevin would probably not make it that easy for him. So he took the only option left to him at that particular point... glowering at the man beside him until he moved.

 _"Oh... I almost forgot."_

'Forgot, my ass,' Scott thought to himself, silent growl included. The twitching of Kev's lips really should have clued him in, but he was still too busy with his internal tirade to make much of it.

 _"You've been asking for it all day, so I thought I'd go ahead and indulge you."_

What the...? As far as he knew there were only two things he'd been asking for all day, albeit he'd asked for them without words. The first thing he'd been asking for was a bit of punishment and the kitchen staff was certainly not going to be able to provide that particular item, though it'd be interesting if they could. Room service sales would probably go through the roof... that might be kind of illegal though. The other thing he'd been asking for was a vigorous plowing from Kev, but his lover had already provided that treat, so that wasn't what Kev was referring to either. Knowing Kev's sense of humor, it was probably something ridiculous like a sausage and a couple of grapefruits. Ewww... that just reminded him of Vince.

He was almost scared to look.

Then Kevin lifted the lid and he could smell something sweet... definitely something loaded with sugar. He lowered his eyes to the dish and when his mind registered what he was looking at he bit his lip. Nope, it wasn't going to work. Making sure to aim for the arm not holding the dish, Scott smacked Kevin in the bicep as he burst into laughter. Shaking his head, he buried his face in his arm for a moment until he managed to gain a bit of control.

Looking back up at his lover's smiling face, he reached out and snatched the dish from Kevin's hand. Setting it on the bed between them, he swiped his finger through the creamy white filling and then popped the sticky digit into his mouth. Making a happily appreciative noise, he sucked the cream off making sure to swirl his tongue all around his finger to get all of the sugary substance.

After pulling his finger from his mouth, he looked up at Kevin and winked. "Not bad, but it's not near as tasty as the filling in _my_ crème puff. I like it a little more on the salty side."

****

His whirlwind knew some unexpected tricks, Mark thought in mild surprise as he found himself on his back looking up at Jeff. Who obviously didn't care at all that he was naked, but apparently cared very much that Mark wasn't. The curses falling from Jeff's tongue and the fingers tugging impatiently at his shirt were enough to make Mark smile... but only a little. The last thing he wanted was Jeff thinking that he was laughing at him. There was nothing funny about the situation, as his body reminded him abruptly at the first touch of hot wet tongue against his skin.

Craning his neck, he found his breathing picking up as he watched Jeff make love to the artwork on his arms with that oh-so-clever tongue. The shudders that particularly agile piece of flesh was sending through him made Mark's fingers clench on the bedspread as he tried not to reach out and guide Jeff to exactly the spot that he wanted to feel his tongue at. No, instead he laid there and shivered, not quite aware of the low growl that he was emitting at every single damp flick across his tattoos. He'd never thought of his tattoos as being particularly sensitive; apparently he'd either been mistaken or Jeff knew some ungodly trick with that tongue. His body was urgently voting for the latter option as Mark stared until he had to blink to relieve his dry eyes.

Two years of denial and hidden fantasies, and now _this_... and this was so much better than anything he'd imagined. This was achingly, arousingly _real_ , much to his still-present surprise. The mouth moving across him, trading tongue with teeth randomly, threatened to make him lose his mind. Good, it was so good, but he wanted more... more pressure, more _anything_. A hot breath blowing across him brought a clenching of his abdominal muscles as his hands moved in a quickly-aborted motion to reach down and grasp.

So close... and then a pressure on his aching shaft and heat against it, and his hips twitched in spite of himself, before he recaptured his self-control. Lying as still as he could, Mark's eyes were glued to his lover as slender fingers made quick work of his belt before being lowered down to brace the slight body as Jeff lowered his head. What was Jeff... ? Realisation dawned as he heard the button pop open and the zipper being lowered and he couldn't stop the moan, low and gravelly as it was. To have Jeff's mouth so close was nearly agony, but such delicious torture. Lifting his hips obligingly, Mark tried to remember to breathe as Jeff was forced to stop and unlace his boots before being able to reach his goal of removing his clothes in the most arousing way possible.

The look in the green eyes as they swung back up to meet his brought back the vision he'd had in the shower, of Jeff looking at him with lust and need and... The thought was driven out of Mark's head as Jeff moved himself upward again, draping himself over Mark's body and staring at him for the briefest moment before... _God_.

Jeff's name burst out of him in a loud growl as his hands finally escaped his control and shot downward, grasping at whatever they could reach as Mark's eyes closed while he tried to fight back his nearly overwhelming reaction. Jeff knew some damned _good_ tricks.

****

It took him several breathless moments to figure out exactly what Hunter had done to produce that hair-raising sensation. Not that he had that much hair to raise, but he figured what he did have must surely be standing on end. He'd have to let his lover know later, when he could actually speak again, exactly how nice that particular move felt against his sensitive skin. He might take to hiding Hunter's razors with regularity if need be.

He wasn't aware of Hunter grabbing hold of his hands, but he was fully aware of the results. He'd have to be dead not to recognize the smooth curve of Shawn's ass beneath his hand or the silky feel of Hunter's hair wrapped around his fingers. And then he was buried again in that deliciously wet heat that seemed to steal every single thought from his head except for the pleasure building within him. The touch of Hunter's hand against his balls made his hands clench reflexively and he nearly died when Hunt moaned around his hard length in reaction. Shawn's gentle petting and soft kisses helped push him closer and closer to his peak. He almost whined when Hunter's mouth left him, and it took him a few seconds to process Hunter's words.

 _"Apparently my dick's been talking to Shawn's."_

Dave's choked laugh edged into a moan as Hunt returned to teasing him. It didn't take long at all for his lovers to pull him back to the brink. He kissed Shawn fiercely between quiet growls, giving an occasional erratic tug on Hunter's hair. Feeling his length slip once again into Hunter's throat, he couldn't take anymore. Clenching his teeth on a roar, the explosion rocked through him as his release spilled into Hunter's welcoming mouth.

When his eyes finally decided to focus once again, he found Hunt sitting there looking rather pleased with himself. For some reason that he couldn't quite understand, he just couldn't let that pass without a bit of teasing. Forcing his leaden body to move, he propped himself up on his elbows and gave a rueful shake of his head. His mouth tipping up on one side, he focused on Hunter's grin.

"Ya know, in addition to being bossy, darlin', you're a greedy little thing as well." He ignored Hunter's reaction to that little tidbit. "Ever think that maybe I was saving that for later?" Laughing at the expression on Hunter's face, he reached down and grabbed both his wrists, tugging until he was right on top of him. Once he was close enough, Dave grinned, whispering, "just kidding." Dave gave him a leisurely kiss before dumping him sideways, his head landing in Shawn's lap.

"I don't want to move, but nature calls." With a snicker, he rolled off the bed and headed into the bathroom.

****

Okay... note to self: before stripping potential lover of sinfully clinging jeans - Remove Lover's Shoes. Jeff let go of the belt loop he currently held in his lips and felt around quickly for the laces of Mark's boots with his fingers before the mood was totally killed. Sliding down to his knees on the nylon carpet, Jeff dealt with the footwear with one hand, while he reached for his overnight bag with the other. Scrabbling furiously, but silently, he pulled a tube of lubricant from his toilet bag and tossed it up onto the pillows. Mark had said he wanted more than this one night, but Jeff wasn't taking any chances. If this was all he was gonna get, then Jeff wanted everything.

Crawling back up the long, long legs, Jeff returned his teeth to the terribly onerous task of pulling off Mark's pants. It was a long, torturous and ultimately satisfying maneuver, involving, Jeff's mouth, Mark lifting his hips and several drawn-out kisses of discovered scars. Finally both naked, Jeff looked up the tempting expanse of marble skin and wondered if he had the patience to try tasting it all over again.

Ahhh... no.

Knowing the look in his eyes was pleading, Jeff waited for the permission he saw rise in emerald eyes, before dipping his head to voraciously taste Mark's velvet length. Eager would be an understatement, but Jeff was so lost on the taste, smell and feel of the hard, hot cock in his mouth that he really didn't give a fuck. Never, in even his wildest fantasies, had Jeff imagined that Mark would let him make love to him like this. Because although it may be just fucking to some and screwing to others, to freaky, angry-tongued J Hardy, this was making love and he planned on savouring every single moment.

Jeff learned in a few very intense minutes what made Mark shudder, groan and _oh perfect_ , grab his hair and push hard into Jeff's throat. It felt so _damned right_ doing this, stroking his thumb along the pelvic hollows of Mark's hips, using his other hand to wrap around the base of Mark's cock while he licked and rubbed his lips along the head. It was absolutely right... but not exactly what Jeff was needing, as his aching sex and desperate moans indicated. He wanted more, wanted to climb up to the edge of a cliff and jump off into thin air.

Keeping his mouth working and his ears listening for each indicative sound, Jeff reached out for the lube he'd stashed earlier and squeezed a generous amount onto his hand. First his fingers found the entrance to his own body, stretching and pushing while he backed off a little from his vigorous tongue work... he didn't want Mark to come in his mouth.

Not this time.

In between strokes of his hand and teasing sweeps of his tongue, Jeff then coated Mark's cock with the slick gel and crawled back up his lover's body, once again dropping kisses at every pause. Jeff let his own, insistent cock, drag along the fine skin of Mark's legs and hip until his backside rested a fraction of an inch from the subject of his previous attentions. On hands and knees over the long, sexy body, Jeff looked down into Mark's so-very handsome face and... with deliberate intent... licked the traces of pre-come from his lips. 

"Mark... please?"

This was gorgeous. This was such a fucking turn-on. This was _Mark_.

****

 _4:15am_

 _"Okay, okay. Shut the fuck up already!"_

Damn. Was Chris really yelling that loudly or was it just him? It was probably just him. A pin dropping right now would probably sound like cannon-fire. At least the pain in his head had settled to a dull thud for the moment. He sighed quietly.

 _"Look Babe, I know who you are and you know who I am, and I’ll put you through a wall if you say Terry."_

Well Dayyyum. Someone was sounding just a bit grouchy. Not that Adam could blame him... Chris had most likely not had much sleep either and that was mostly Adam's fault. That wasn't even mentioning what he'd done the last time Chris had woken him up. He was feeling just a tad guilty about that now... but only a tad, especially after that comment about calling him Terry.

 _"So just tell me what my punishment would be if I flashed Shelton and Randy before their match on Sunday..."_

Adam snorted as he rolled over onto his back and looked at Chris. "First of all... if you decide to do that, please let me know. I'll want to capture their reactions on video..."

Now he had a decision to make... he could make the punishment something terrible enough to dissuade Chris from doing what he'd threatened or... he could make the punishment something terribly delicious to see if Chris would actually go through with it. Thing is... Adam had a completely wicked sense of humor and he'd _love_ to see Shelton and Randy's reactions... really.

"If you do something that naughty then I'd have to punish you... of course." Reaching across the small void between himself and Chris, he tangled one hand gently in Chris' golden hair. "I think in that case the punishment should fit the crime... so the moment we made it home on Tuesday I'd have to take away every stitch of your clothing and keep it from you for... oh, say 24 hours."

It wasn't until after he said it that he realized he'd just made a huge assumption... that being that he and Chris were going to be going to the same place come Tuesday. Oh well... it was too late to take it back now.

Gently untangling his hand from Chris' hair, he ran the back of his hand down Chris' shoulder and arm until he reached his lover's hand. Clasping it in his own, he pulled it to his lips. After a soft kiss to the warm skin, he rubbed his cheek slowly against it.

"I'm sorry for being so bitchy tonight and I'm sorry for teasing you earlier. If you give me another hour or two, then I'll make it up to you. Promise." Another quick kiss and he lowered their hands to the sheets and closed his eyes.

He almost made it to sleep without one word of complaint... almost. He couldn't help it because what he really wanted right now was to hold Chris in his arms. Due to the fact that his injuries were on his left side, he couldn't just roll over and drape himself over Chris. So just before he slipped into the land of sleep he whispered quietly, "You're laying on the wrong side."

 _5:15 am_

 _Beep Beep Beep_

"Fuck!"

He'd been lost in a nice little dream about Chris when the beeping of the alarm penetrated his subconscious. That wasn't what had caused the violent swearing that followed, however. His one thought had been to shut the alarm off immediately because it was habit that he do so, usually yelling at Jay to wake his ass up before he fell back to sleep for another fifteen minutes or so. He'd automatically lunged for the alarm and landed smack on his ribs when he did so. The pain medication had most obviously worn off by now.

Stuffing a knuckle or two between his teeth, he muffled the swearing that would have done a sailor proud.

****  
   
Eyes not leaving Scott's face as he lifted the lid on the dessert plate, Kevin didn't have to wait long. Scott immediately bit his lip, and Kevin's smile widened into a smirk as he watched his lover fail to hold back his reaction. He'd been expecting the smack on the arm, but it was well worth it to see Scott given over so completely to his laughter. It had been an incredibly up-and-down couple of days for them for any number of reasons, and although the particular joke had been spur-of-the-moment, he'd had in the back of his mind since the night before to want to make Scott laugh, to put behind him all the worries and guilt and fear, at least momentarily.

Looked like he'd succeeded.

Letting go of the plate just in time to save his fingers from being ripped off from the force of Scott's grab, Kevin leaned back and watched him, his lips still curved in a smile.

Watching Scott suck the cream off his finger with an appreciative noise that was far more reminiscent of their earlier activities than was normally associated with a dessert made Kevin wonder just who was going to have the last word, though. There was no way that they were going to do anything else tonight but cuddle, even if his body was insisting that it was perfectly willing to go for another round; Scott would never admit it, but he'd be far too sore to indulge in bottoming, and too tired to top. So there, Kevin told his body firmly. No more tonight. No matter how much he wished that it was something besides Scott's finger that Scott was sucking on so eagerly...

The wink should've warned him, but Kevin was too busy dragging his reawakening libido back under control to notice it.

 _"Not bad, but it's not near as tasty as the filling in_ my _crème puff. I like it a little more on the salty side."_

"Scott...!" The exclamation slipped out before Kevin could stop it, and he winced a little at the irritation in his voice. Before Scotty could do anything, he shook his head and reached out to wrap a hand around Scott's neck, bringing him in close enough to smell the sweet dessert on his breath. That was something he was going to put a stop to right now; his grumpiness was legendary in the locker room, and a running joke among his friends. That was fine... but he was _not_ going to keep throwing reactions born out of habit rather than any real indignation at his lover. Not any more. Not when it had taken so much effort to get them to the point where Scott _would_ make jokes at him.

Smiling ruefully at the dark-haired man he was holding, he said in a much softer tone, "I'm glad to hear it; I'd hate it if you liked anyone else's filling better than mine." A soft kiss in unspoken apology, and then he sat back, knowing better than to get between Scott and his dessert for any longer than absolutely necessary.

****

Shawn hid a smile at the look that flashed across Dave's face, although from the expression and moan that immediately followed, he needn't have bothered. Apparently their big bad Animal objected to being told that he was one of the most absolutely gorgeous people Shawn had ever seen in his life. He made a mental note to call Dave "beautiful" as often as he could without getting thrown over a knee and spanked... then again, maybe it would be worth it to push that button just as hard as he possibly could.

Smirking at the thought, Shawn kept his fingers moving over the flushed skin of Dave's chest as he leaned his head against Dave's shoulder, his exhausted body just not quite capable of keeping him upright without support. Shivering a little at the delicious symphony of noises that Hunter was provoking from their lover, Shawn took it upon himself to muffle any number of the louder groans with his lips, when he wasn't busy dropping light kisses over Dave's neck and shoulder. The feeling of Dave's hand curving around his ass provoked a soft noise of his own, before he was startled into quiet laughter.

 _"Apparently my dick's been talking to Shawn's."_

A look down, and Shawn licked his lips. If only he weren't so _tired_... Absorbed in watching Hunter's lips work on the swollen shaft in front of him, Shawn's attention was jerked back to Dave at the almost desperate growl next to his ear. Surrendering his mouth to Dave gladly, he whined himself when Dave pulled back, but the lovely sight of that dusky body arching in climax more than made up for the loss. Meeting Hunter's self-satisfied eyes, he smiled, reaching down to run fingers of his own through the messy blond locks. That was a sight well worth the wait, and if he was _really_ lucky, he'd get to see even more tomorrow.

Feeling Dave shift under him, Shawn leaned back against the pillows, grinning unabashedly at Dave's words.

 _"...in addition to being bossy, darlin', you're a greedy little thing as well."_

 _And you're just realising this?_ hovered at the tip of Shawn's tongue, but Dave's sudden movement stopped him from trying to talk---probably a good thing, he knew from the roughness of his throat---and then with one last tease, Hunter was in his lap and Dave was getting up... oh. If that's all it was, then that was all right. Looking down at his best friend, Shawn smiled fondly at Hunter as his fingers found their way into the blond hair again, gently working out some of the tangles as they took a moment to just look at each other.

"He's right, you know." Ouch. His throat was even more sore than he'd thought... of course, he'd practically screamed, that last time, so what did he expect? The mulish look on Hunter's face made his smile widen, and he reached down to pull at Hunter until he moved, ending up laying face-to-face next to him. His hand sliding round to the back of Hunter's head, Shawn leaned in to press a long, soft kiss to Hunter's lips, murmuring wordlessly at the taste of Dave's release in Hunter's mouth. Aware of Dave coming back into the room, he didn't look up, although he did wait until he could see Dave in the corner of his eye, looking at them.

"You _are_ incredibly bossy, Hunter," he rasped. "You'll just have to learn how to _take_ orders, too." Suppressing the grin that threatened, he flicked his eyes up toward Dave, not missing the reaction to his teasing words. Taking the chance, he shifted himself and Hunter around to get the blankets over rather than under them. Cuddling into Hunter's arms, he gave Dave a pleading look as he looked from the Animal to the nice empty space on his other side. He wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to be in the middle tonight... maybe tomorrow he'd put Dave there.

Maybe.

****

Jeff was killing him. That wicked tongue was doing absolutely unspeakable things to him... It was certainly taking away his ability to speak, anyway. One particular flick and Mark was shuddering, his hand tightening in the rainbow-hued hair as he thrust instinctively into that willing throat. The soft touches at his hips only added to the tension coiling inside him, and the hand wrapping around him as Jeff worked so eagerly at learning every ridge and vein on his shaft just drew out more noises. 

Groaning loudly, Mark's hips jerked even as he tried desperately to hold onto his control. He didn't want to end this in Jeff's mouth, no matter how wonderfully talented those lips were. The needy noises spilling out of Jeff weren't helping, but even as he clenched the bedspread, almost white-knuckled in reaction to _something_ his lover had just done, Jeff seemed to sense how close he was and gentled his actions. A new sort of noise escaped Jeff, and Mark pried his eyes open in time to see Jeff twisted awkwardly over the top of him, one hand lost to sight.

When he realised what Jeff was doing, he nearly bit his tongue in half. The loss of those wickedly wonderful lips on his shaft was made up for almost immediately by a hot hand stroking along its length, the tongue swiping at the tip of his cock drawing his attention from what Jeff was doing. Only as Jeff crawled back up over him, his own shaft leaving behind a sticky trail on Mark's skin, did Mark comprehend what Jeff wanted. His cock throbbed at the thought, but the hot gaze of green eyes captured his attention.

Entranced, he watched as that pink tongue came out, licking the glistening evidence of Jeff's earlier actions from his lips. As Jeff stared into his eyes, Mark growled, his twitching shaft bumping against the curve of that enticing ass. God, he wanted him so badly...

 _"Mark... please?"_

Not looking away from the pleading, demanding face, Mark slid his hands slowly down Jeff's body: first cupping the shoulders, feeling the tenseness in the thin body that was a match for his own, then running his fingers along the protruding shoulder blades, down the ribs, finally coming to rest at the sharply-angled hips, his fingers curling around into the soft flesh. His breathing was harsh, his body strained as he just _looked_ at Jeff for a long moment before replying in a shuddered exhalation.

"Yes... _God_ , yes."

Pressing Jeff back gently, his cock nudged at the slick entrance and Mark held his breath as he watched Jeff's face. More pressure, his hips lifting, and then he was past the tightly-muscled entrance and he moaned softly as the tight walls clung to his shaft. One hand came up to cup Jeff's cheek, pulling him down into a kiss as he pushed farther, the roughness of his lips belying the gentleness of his movement as he pushed Jeff backward, down onto his hard cock until he was completely sheathed in that tight, hot channel and a growl ripped out of his throat as he fought back the need to move until he was sure he'd regained control of himself. He was inside _Jeff_... another groan as the realisation of long-held fantasy-turned-fact washed through him, and then he couldn't be still any more.

Slowly, he pulled Jeff's hips upwards until only the head of his cock was still inside before pushing him back down again, shifting until he got the reaction he was after. Jeff's breathless moan made him smile a little, and then Mark looked up at the bottomless green eyes again as he drawled, his voice gone low and husky, "Ride me."


	68. Evenings

_"Scott...!"_

Whoa. Major grump alert! Scott's eyes widened, but before he could comment on Mr. Grouchy Bear's appearance, Kev was pulling him closer. Kevin's contrite smile eased a bit of the worry that he'd pushed his teasing too far this time.

 _"I'm glad to hear it; I'd hate it if you liked anyone else's filling better than mine."_

The tender kiss that followed washed away the rest of his worry and left behind a lop-sided grin.

"Not possible, Kev. You even rate higher than Twinkies and that's saying something." As soon as he said that "T" word, his eyes lit up. A wicked grin followed. "Just be glad I settled on crème puff... it could have been worse."

Turning back to his dessert, he picked up the crème puff that still held its filling and licked around the edges of it in a rather obscene manner. When he bit into the pastry, the crème stuck to his lips, which of course required him to lick it off. He was teasing something fierce, but Kevin would just have to deal with it since he'd been the one to order the things in the first place.

If they hadn't taken things to the extreme they had earlier, he'd have gladly performed the same tricks on Kevin afterward, but... he was still pretty tender despite the cream Kevin had applied, he now had a rather full stomach, and he was dead tired.

He handed the dish back to Kevin and waited while his lover replaced it on the tray. Grabbing the back of Kevin's neck, Scott pulled him in for a kiss, stretching to reach those lovely lips he'd praised earlier. Ending the slow exploration with a quiet hum of pleasure, Scott cuddled up to Kevin, actually lying half on top of him, and rested his head against Kevin's shoulder. Tugging the blankets up to his shoulders, he curled an arm around Kevin's waist, tossed one thigh across Kevin's hip and sighed quietly.

"Love you, Kev."

The words barely made it past his lips before he fell asleep.

****

Mark's hands traced across his shoulders and back like Jeff was something... precious... something to be cherished. The warm caress of skin on skin bringing a strange squeeze to Jeff's heart at the affection and tenderness of those loving touches. When the hands came to rest with confident intent on Jeff's hips, he bit his lip in preparation for what the answer to his plea might be. There wasn't a hint of doubt in those burning green depths and Jeff wanted nothing more than to keep that surety and passion there forever.

 _Yes... God, yes._

The pressure on his hips was simply an anchor to Jeff's own intentions as he used his hand to guide Mark into his body. The slowly growing pressure and burn, a marvelous reassurance that this was actually happening and not some concussion induced hallucination. Rocking gently backwards, Jeff let his eyelids drift shut as he focused on the sensations flooding his body originating from the piercing heat between his legs. He felt like his spine was made of steel as his body re-shaped itself around Mark's. There was no pain, just the electrified feel of nerve-endings gone haywire all up Jeff's back and right on into his brain.

Pulled down into Mark's dominant kiss, Jeff opened his mouth in welcome to the rough coupling of their tongues, while their bodies danced a far smoother dance. The change in angle was unconsciously teasing, only the head of Mark's cock was inside him and Jeff was held still, unable to shift downwards as he so desperately wanted to. But Mark soon relented and another push cured that tantalising itch, the full length of heated flesh pushing so deeply into Jeff's body he was biting his lip to keep from shouting at the _rightness_ of it.

Another tug and Jeff complied with the demands of Mark's hands, his leg muscles flexing as he drew upwards, feeling the hot shaft slid almost free of his body, before Mark pulled him back down with gorgeous roughness. The deep thrust sending Jeff's head back in a wild arc, his fingers digging into Mark's chest as that blissful spot inside him was rubbed on the way in.

"Oh yeah..." he moaned.

Looking back down, Jeff's eyes widened as he saw the wicked smile of his lover and returned the grin whole-heartedly.

 _Ride me._

It may have been the husky growl or more likely the demand itself that caused the perverse side of Jeff's nature to assert itself. Oh, he was way more than willing to obey any and all of Mark's slightest whims, but right now he, Jeffrey Hardy, was in control of this situation and he was gonna do as he was told... when he was good and ready, that is.

Letting his teeth show in a sinful smile that normally got him slapped, Jeff stayed exactly where he was. Then slowly, gradually, tightened his internal muscles until he was gripping Mark in not-quite painful snugness. Then he relaxed. Even more slowly. The move had not only the benefit of getting the emerald fire in Mark's eyes to reach almost nova proportions and the grip on his hips to become almost bruising, it served to slow down Jeff's rapidly beating heart and give his body a moment to catch its breath. Knowing he was pushing it didn't faze Jeff at all... he lived for driving people to distraction, he just couldn't wait to see what Mark would do when sufficiently distracted.

A slow pleased groan, that sounded suspiciously like a purr, echoed from Jeff's throat and he shifted his hips experimentally around Mark's substantial length. He didn't even try to keep the smugly superior expression from his face and he rose up just a fraction, then a fraction more, until he could grind down again... hard. The slick feel of satin flesh sliding back and forth into and out of his ass, had Jeff's eyes closing in wanton bliss. His own erection demanding it's share of stimulation, Jeff tortured them both a little more by ignoring his pulsing cock, leaning back until his hands rested on Mark's braced thighs, the angle of his slow, continuous rise and fall, causing little fireworks to go off behind his eyelids and uncontrolled gasps to issue from his lips.

... heat, up, hard, down, pushing, up, there, down, hot... ..

It was... becoming too much... he couldn't... .

****

 _...in addition to being bossy, darlin', you're a greedy little thing as well..._

Hunter was far too old and far too tough-guy to even attempt the pout that Dave's statement warranted. Sure he was feeling pretty damned pleased with himself, but then, if you could bring two gorgeous men to blistering orgasm in the space of fifteen minutes then Hunter would dare anyone to not feel a trifle smug. But he really had to protest the 'little' comment though... because Hunt was so _not_ little in any shape or form. About to protest, Hunter was caught with his mouth idiotically open, when Dave said,

 _Ever think that maybe I was saving that for later?_

Blink.

Well no... Hunt hadn't given Dave's erection a moment's more thought than _pretty_ and _mine_. He'd been on a proverbial roll when it came to his one man 'get David off' show and when his dark lover hadn't smacked him upside the head, Hunt had figured he'd had a green light. What had Dave been saving himself for anyway? Shawn was paralytic and if he hadn't wanted Hunter's mouth then... oh...

Blink.

Dammit.

The problem with coming down from a sex high, was that several hours earlier, logic had gone out the window right after embarrassment and denial. Even Dave pulling him up over the long, dusky body wasn't enough to stimulate Hunter's over-sexed brain into anything more than a weird, stuttering... _but it was good_! The distinctly naughty grin spreading across Dave's handsome features should have clued him in, should have reassured the pole-axed part of his mind that Dave was just fucking with his head.

 _just kidding_

Hunter was seriously considering biting Dave's nose... in a non-painful 'don't fuck with me' kinda way, when he was soundly kissed and tossed into Shawn's lap like a light-weight.

"I will never get used the idea that he thinks I'm _little_." Hunter commented to Dave's butt as it moved to the bathroom again. Of course he was 'managing', that was just part of who he was and most people liked someone else doing all the organisation stuff as it took a load off their backs. Although Hunter wasn't too proud to admit that organising several wrestling shows over three states wasn't quite the same as giving orders in the bedroom. But he hadn't even said anything... much. Hunter resolved he'd just have to let Dave have his way sometimes. When it was a good idea. That Hunter also thought was a good idea. Smiling at his benevolent self-sacrifice, Hunter then snuggled down into his blond bombshell's lap and looked up pleadingly into his beloved's beautiful blue eyes.

Shawn would understand. Shawn loved him.

 _He's right, you know,_

It was a good thing Shawn was fondling Hunter's hair right now or he'd be on the end of a not-pout too, instead he was witness to Hunt's eyes rolling in bliss at the warm, massaging movements. Still, something of his attitude must have been obvious as Shawn shoved and pushed till they were lying down and Hunt could fall into those grey-blue depths as he drifted off to almost-sleep. Shawn's goodnight kiss was everything Hunter had never dared dream off, soft, loving and oh so sexy.

 _...are incredibly bossy, Hunter... You'll just have to learn how to take orders, too_

"Oh will I now?" he asked drowsily with a raised brow, although Hunter was happy to have a challenge ahead of him. He had the unpleasant feeling that he'd need some more distractions when it came to their bedroom habits in the future. While the tying up had been successful... mostly... and a turn-on for sure, Hunter knew they couldn't do that every time, or he'd be paying for beds from one end of the country to the other.

Shawn snuggling into his arms, brought Hunt's attention back to the here and now, Dave was standing at the end of the bed, looking indecisive and Shawn was not-so-subtly indicating their dark lover should climb in behind him. Pleased with the idea, Hunter decided to push a few more buttons. Just because he could.

"Bed David... now."

He didn't get smecked, but Shawn's stifled giggle was reward enough, as Dave put out the lights and they shifted and cuddled until all knees, elbows and chins were comfortably arranged. Hunter had never... to his knowledge... slept in a bed with more than one person before and figured that as long as Shawn didn't get squished in the middle, then he was all for it.

"'night Loves." He murmured as the comfort and security emanating from the two most important people in his life slowly tugged Hunter into sleep. "I'm having coffee in the morning Dave and you can't stop me."

There was nothing like the body heat of three people to warm a once-lonely heart.

\------

Sometime during the early hours of the morning, Hunter woke up, saw where he was, saw who he was with and panicked. The urge to run hit him like a sledge-hammer, but when he tried to get up, he was caught by two sets of strong arms and warm bodies. The panic tried to rise again but was smothered by the heat of lips pressing against his shoulder and the comfort of a large hand on his hip. He made a last, half-hearted effort to leave before succumbing back into sweet sleep, lulled by the sound of twin breathing that brought his own back to a deep steady rhythm.

It was okay... he was allowed to be here.

****

 _if you decide to do that, please let me know…_

Ha. Chris felt his brief flare of grumpiness fade away at Adam’s gentle words. God did he love this man. No-one else in CJ’s life had ever played with him like Adam did, had ever joined in on a joke rather than just rolling his eyes to the heavens and saying ‘why me?” He’d been called a ‘handful’ enough times in the past to know that his somewhat impetuous ideas were often a turn off for most men rather than the opposite. Except for Adam. The glorious man beside him not only was prepared to put up with all Chris’ wild antics but was actively encouraging him to go on a rampage. Even the promise of punishment was merely a game between them to see if they were going to conform to stereotypes, Chris as the outrageous, juvenile one, Adam as the long-suffering mature one.

Well yeah… and the stuff Adam had done, like siccing Shane and Rosey onto Austin, was the sign of a totally responsible adult. Feeling the lovely buzz that came from knowing he might have found a true kindred spirit, Chris smiled up at the ceiling and tried to guess what Adam’s ‘idea’ would be. He doubted it would be anything he wouldn’t do… there wasn’t much that could cause Chris Jericho to blush in this world, he was friends with Stone Cold after all.

 _I'd have to take away every stitch of your clothing and keep it from you for... oh, say 24 hours._

Chris’ smile widened to jubilant proportions. That was his punishment? But that would be fun… particularly if… oh yeah. It was fortunate for Chris that Adam wasn’t able to see the evil tinge his grin had just acquired, because if he knew his friend and brand new lover at all, he’d definitely suspect something. The fingers tangling in his hair caused CJ’s smile to soften into an affectionate bow, leading him to place his own hand onto Adam’s hip to complete the circuit of body contact.

 _I'm sorry…_

“Don’t be,” Chris murmured, although he thought Adam might be too far gone into dreamland to hear him. “You’re still a dream come true, even playing Oscar the Grouch every hour… still my dream come true.”

As they settled once more for their required forty-eight minutes of sleep, CJ contemplated the day they had before them. Even if Adam did turn into MonsterPsycho when he hurt was fine by Chris, as long as they could do it at home. He didn’t even care which home they were in as long as it had a bed, Adam, food and a stereo, then Chris was easy. Blissfully surrounded by ideas for what he would now call ‘Naked Tuesday’ with Adam, Chris almost didn’t catch his lover’s sleep drowsy words.

 _You're laying on the wrong side._

Nodding, Chris sat up and picked up his pillow. Almost asleep himself, he gracefully climbed over the body of his prone boyfriend without bumping so much as an elbow. Tugging the sheets back into place, Chris tossed down his pillow than went for the more pleasant option of Adam’s shoulder. Pressing a small kiss into the warm tanned skin, CJ once again curled his damaged hand into his chest and brought his knees up so they rested against Adam’s hip bone. It was probably a good thing that they were only cat napping, because Chris knew he tended to take over a bed when he was in it and Adam’s condition didn’t allow him the luxury of dealing with LimpetChris.

Oh well, so he couldn’t shut up while making love and was a cuddler in bed… there were worse things to be.

 _5.15am_

 _“Fuck!”_

Chris instinctively curled himself around Adam’s hunched form, the waves of pain radiating off his lover enough to cause sympathetic spasms in his own ribs. He didn’t know where he could touch Adam without perhaps causing more hurt, so he settled for stroking his hair briefly and rubbing gentle circles on the safe area of his shoulder. His own string of curses joined in with Adam’s muffled ones as Chris deduced what had happened. His wristwatch and wallet were now on the floor of the room, while his phone sat innocently not far from Adam’s other fisted hand.

When Chris had changed sides he’d forgotten to bring his phone with him. Hoping whatever impact had caused Adam’s agonized reaction wasn’t something that required another hospital visit, Chris moved swiftly over his lover’s body again and climbed off the bed. Placing one hand over Adam’s eyes, he switched on the bed side lamp and searched for the bottle of pain meds Dr. Tom had given them. Reading the label, Chris counted the hours and decided that Adam didn’t have a bleed… his command of English swear words certainly wasn’t in doubt… and that he could handle the prescription they’d been given.

“Here Babe, time for the drugs I think.” Chris sat beside Adam who was still curled in a fetal position and pulled his free hand into his lap. Gently stroking the clenched fingers, Chris waited until they unfurled before dropping two of the white pills into Adam’s hand. The bottle of water by the bed would be tepid by now, but at least it would let Adam get the medication into his system and perhaps a few more hours sleep. This time he’d set the alarm for nine am, that would at least keep them functional for the next day.

After taking the pills, Adam seemed to relax a little as the pain from his abused torso receded and CJ was able to climb back in beside him… on the right side… without causing too much drama. Phone now beside his ear rather than his lover’s, Chris smoothly tugged Adam into his arms, situating the blond head onto his shoulder.

“Some language you have there Lover. I thought I was the one with the trash mouth in this relationship, glad to know you’ll be able to hold your own.” Feeling Adam’s sigh, CJ settled back to sleep for hopefully the last time this morning. “And as to the ‘naked’ thing… well, I think I’ll take my chances. If anyone needs to lighten up a bit it’s Shelton.”

Trying not to grin, Chris sank into an exhausted sleep.

****

After stripping off his T-shirt, Sean laid claim to Glen's mouth with passionate intensity. Tonight was going to be one of those times that they tucked away in the back of their minds to take out at a later date when they were old and gray. One of those memories that started with... 'Remember the first time that...'

Sean was determined that when they pulled out that memory, there would be nothing to mar the event. Glen's first time, and only time, hadn't been worth remembering. This one... this one would be.

Slipping off the bed, he rummaged through his bag for the necessary item before turning back to the bed. Glen was still sitting where he had been and truth be told, he looked a little green about the edges. The best thing that Sean could do would be to not give Glen time to think about what was coming. Raising a brow at his lover, he smirked.

"You know, this will work much better if you're naked. A little cooperation, lover?"

A quiet snort and a roll of his eyes were pretty much the expected reactions and Glen didn't disappoint him. The shy smile was a nice bonus. Sean watched appreciatively as Glen stood and stripped off his jeans. The strength of his lover's body was something that Sean loved, even if it did occasionally work against him whenever Glen decided to haul him around like a sack of feed. As his eyes roamed over all that milk-white skin, it came to Sean in a flash how to set his lover more at ease. Tossing the tube he'd grabbed from the bag back inside, he bent to dig through Glen's bag instead.

In a smooth motion, he snagged a bottle from the bag, rose to his feet, and sauntered to Glen's side. Tracing one finger over an angular hip, Sean tilted his head slightly to the side and smiled up at his lover. Glen raised a brow over this unusually demure display by Sean. In the blink of an eye, the flat of Sean's hand landed sharply on Glen's bare ass, the sound of skin meeting skin echoing loudly in the room, and the shy smile melded into an utterly wicked little smirk.

"Ow! What the... Sean!"

Despite the glare now aimed at him, Sean continued smirking. "Lay down on your stomach and I'll kiss it better." Glen's eyes narrowed at him for a moment before the big man turned and did as requested.

Jumping agilely onto the bed, Sean straddled Glen's thighs while being sure that the towel separated their skin from touching, except for where his knees framed his lover's hips. Contorting himself like a pretzel, Sean dropped light scattered kisses all over the now dark pink handprint on Glen's behind. At the first touch of his lips, Glen had tensed but by the time he was done with the loudly smacking pecks his lover was laughing and trying to turn to swat at his head.

Perfect.

\-----

He was terribly nervous, yet at the same time incredibly determined. It was something he wanted to share with Sean and he wasn't going to let one incident with some idiot from years ago stop him from having it. That didn't mean that he wasn't going to be affected by that incident, but with the trust he had in his lover he'd get past it. Sean's teasing lightened his mood, though he played at being irritated as he always did when Sean started his teasing, Glen smiled while he stripped off his jeans.

He hadn't fallen for the innocent act when his lover approached him, but he honestly hadn't anticipated the slap... or the offer to kiss it better. Sean was definitely up to something... he just wasn't sure what. Still he stretched out on the bed, laughing when Sean spread loud tiny kisses over the abused area. Sean was insane, but it was only one of the reasons he loved his partner.

Once he was done with the butterfly kisses, Sean shifted his position so that he was now sitting just above the swell of his ass. The towel was still present between them so except for a small grunt, which he knew would annoy his lover, he didn't react at all to the new positioning. The splash of something wet against his back surprised him momentarily. He'd thought that Sean had grabbed the lube from his own bag, but obviously he'd changed his mind. The sensation of warmth spreading at the top of his spine as Sean blew against his skin and the smell of watermelon confirmed it. Sean was giving him a massage...? Now...? Well, okay then.

"Jeez, Glen, you need to get some sun, babe. You're whiter than I am and I just didn't think that was possible."

His irritated growl dissolved into a loud moan as Sean's fingers dug into tensed shoulder muscles and an agile tongue swirled over the top of his spine. The heating properties of the oil warmed his skin with each stroke of Sean's hands and each slowly expelled breath from Sean's mouth. He was feeling incredibly relaxed by the time Sean reached the area between his shoulder blades... until Sean moved. The slightest wiggle of those slim hips and his lover's hard length was now settled along the cleft of his ass... minus the towel. He was well aware of the way his body immediately tensed and he knew without a doubt that Sean had noticed it as well, even if he didn't acknowledge it. Sean's hands continued their work without so much as a pause and eventually his magic fingers had Glen feeling like a puddle of goo once again.

When those spellbinding hands reached his lower back, Sean shifted once again, wedging one knee between Glen's and spreading them so that he could settle between. Another brief moment of tension and then he settled once again, the prodding fingers relaxing the muscles at the base of his spine.

All of a sudden that wet warm liquid was spilled in a stream between the pale white globes of his ass. Glen braced himself, somehow knowing that it wouldn't change what was about to happen. The expected breath of air followed almost immediately and Glen's back arched at an almost incredible angle as his fingers tangled in the sheets.

"Oh f... fuck... Sean!"

Sean's laughter was just barely audible underneath Glen's loud roar. As he fell prone on the sheets, his breathing harsh and uneven, Sean made his move. Glen was so busy focusing on trying to breathe that he barely noticed the small finger slipping inside his passage. He did notice the increased heat as Sean ran his tongue around the edge of that finger. He also noticed the intense tingling sensation shooting through to his cock as Sean withdrew the finger part-way and then slowly pushed it back in. Gasping and moaning, his fingers clenched once again on the sheets beneath him.

As he became accustomed to Sean's repetitive actions, his body slowly relaxed once again. No sooner had he caught his breath than he asked for more. Sean kept up his actions for another minute with no indication that he'd heard his lover's plea and when Glen wasn't expecting him to give in, Sean did. The second finger was more noticeable than the first, but aside from a slightly uncomfortable pressure, his body accepted it readily. A heartbeat later, Sean blew his warm breath over the lotion that had splashed over his balls and simultaneously nudged his prostate.

Glen roared once again, this time wordlessly, but at twice the volume, the needy sound echoing loudly in the small room. His hips shifted erratically, forcing his steel-hard length against the mattress below. As Sean withdrew and thrust his fingers, repeatedly nudging that sensitive spot inside him, Glen buried his face in the mattress to stifle the moans and whimpers falling heedlessly from his mouth. Finally he could take no more. If Sean didn't take him soon, he wouldn't get the chance... it'd be all over.

"Sean... please... now."

\-----

By keeping Glen preoccupied with other things, Sean had managed to get him prepared in little time. It had worked... thankfully. Sean smiled as Glen finally gave him the words he'd been waiting for. Glen's little whimper as he pulled his fingers free sent a sharp throbbing through the length of his shaft. Without thought, he grabbed the bottle and splashed some in his hand, stroking it quickly over his entire length.

"Oh my god... " The strangled words barely made it through his lips. He hadn't been thinking... obviously. The heat rocketing through his cock had him clenching his teeth. He should have grabbed the regular lube for this part... it was a mistake he wouldn't make again. At least he didn't have to worry about lasting too long. Glen was on the verge already and his reaction to Sean's blunder should be quite... interesting.

Taking a very deep breath, he poised himself at Glen's entrance. "Ready baby?"

The vigorous nod would have sufficed, but Glen had gained his second wind again. "Please Sean... now... I need..."

If not for his barely held control, he might have laughed. Glen just didn't have a quiet mode when it came to sex... this time was no different.

One hand on Glen's hip, the other steadying his shaft, he pushed slowly forward into Glen's warm entrance with one smooth stroke until he was fully seated... and just about stopped breathing. He thought Glen might have joined him... until his lover bellowed.

"Are you _trying_ to kill me?"

Sean's head dropped forward, his laughter smothered against Glen's back. Once he finally gained control of himself, he sat up, his hips shifted and a bolt of electricity ricocheted through his groin in accompaniment to Glen's sudden intake of breath.

"I forgot."

"You forgo... ? You forgot?" That shout was followed by a hearty growl.

Sean slipped his hand underneath Glen's hips, wrapping it around his lover's satin-covered steel shaft. Withdrawing slowly, he thrust firmly back inside while swiveling his hips. The motion forced Glen's length through his hand and he was rewarded with a low husky moan. The next stroke of his shaft sent a ripple of heat through him, head to toe, and earned him a loud gasp of pleasure from the man beneath him. A slight shift of his body and he was rewarded with the wail that he'd been hoping for.

Having found Glen's prostate, Sean exploited it ruthlessly in a bid to have his lover reach his release first. The heat from the oil was in-fucking-credible and he knew he wasn't going to last for much longer.

Despite the fact that Glen could no longer form words, it didn't quiet him down at all. Each thrust evoked a reaction... all of them loud. Luckily for those in neighboring rooms, it didn't last long at all. Another dozen strokes, give or take a few, and Glen managed to find one more word as he drug Sean over the edge with him.

"Sean!"

****

He was still grinning, Dave noted as he washed his hands once again. People were going to think he'd lost his mind if he didn't manage to find his control by Sunday. Thank god he wasn't wrestling Shawn or Hunter at the pay per view. Surely he'd be able to summon up a nice healthy 'Animal scowl' for Maven... surely.

Sunday... pay per view... Shawn and Hunter... 'Hell in a Cell'...

Well that did it. He was going to have to watch Shawn and Hunter beat the living hell out of each other... in the 'cell'... from backstage... by himself. Looking into the mirror once again, he saw that he had indeed found his scowl.

No.

He was not going to dwell on this right now. He could hold it off until Saturday at the very least... then he could turn into a basket-case, though he'd be damned if anyone else knew it. He'd already watched the previous 'Hell in a Cell' matches that both his lovers had been in because he'd known it would be a rough match for him to sit through as just a friend. Now though... knowing what he knew, having acknowledged his own feelings for both of them, knowing how they felt about him... it was going to be a thousand times worse. And he so did not have time for this...

Sure that if he didn't find his way out of the bathroom soon, Shawn or Hunter or both of them would be coming in to drag him out, Dave scowled at himself one more time in the mirror before turning and walking back into the bedroom. As he passed through the doorway, he found his smile once again, gazing upon the two cuddled up in the bed. Who the hell wouldn't smile when faced with the prospect of joining them?

 _"You'll just have to learn how to take orders, too."_

Oh... maybe someone that had just been handed some incredibly hot fantasy material yet couldn't put it to the test at the moment? Biting his lip, his nostrils flaring, Dave settled his hands on his hips and stared at the floor for a full minute as he fought the shiver trying to work its way through his frame. Not that he could actually _do_ anything about it right now anyway... he was wiped out. Shawn was a terrible, terrible tease. Dave would so make him pay up for that later.

Looking up again, he caught the unspoken request in Shawn's eyes. His eyes shifted to the spot next to Shawn, but his mind chose that rather inconvenient moment to remind him of something Shawn had said earlier.

 _"And even if I hadn't heard you moan both mine and Hunter's names while you were dreaming... "_

He swallowed harshly even as he forced himself not to fidget. How in the hell was he going to sleep in the same bed with both of them? After the events of the day and all the teasing, his dreams were bound to be even more detailed. Thanks to Shawn's last comment they might even bend towards the bondage and domination variety. Wouldn't it be just lovely if they ended up thinking he was a complete psycho because he couldn't control his mouth while he was sleeping?

He couldn't chance it... he just couldn't. An excuse... he needed an excuse. Working out? Yeah, right. Like either of them would buy that at this time of the night. Shower? Ha! They'd accuse him of hiding out in the bathroom for some insane reason that would be nowhere near the truth. He wasn't tired? Meh... they'd both know better. Maybe he could just lay there and not go to sleep and then once the two of them went to sleep he could...

 _"Bed David... now."_

A gag. That's what he was buying Hunt for his birthday next month. He might even get a ball gag, just to see the look on Hunter's face when he opened it.

Walking to the head of the bed, he turned out the lights, stuck his tongue out at Hunter, and then climbed into the bed. He managed to spare a big grin for all the wiggling required to make them all comfortable.

 _"'Night Loves."_

"'Night darlin'. 'Night sweetheart."

 _"I'm having coffee in the morning Dave and you can't stop me."_

He didn't think Hunter would have heard him even if he had replied. Too bad. Hunter'd have to figure it out all on his own when Dave found a way to substitute decaf for his regular coffee.

Maybe if he'd consider taking up coffee himself, he would have managed to stay awake longer than he did. Before he could stop himself, the comfort and heat of his lovers' bodies lulled him into an easy slumber.

****

Clenching his teeth, Mark fought back the growl that wanted to escape as he watched Jeff smile wickedly before... not moving. The tight heat pulsing along his length was almost torturous as he waited, his eyes never leaving Jeff's face. He wanted so badly to move, to thrust, to do _something_ to soothe the burning that was itching along his nerve endings, but he wasn't about to force Jeff to do anything. No matter how much it was killing him, he'd wait until his lover---ignoring the bright flash in the back of his mind and the odd tightening in his heart at that word---was ready.

The sensation of Jeff squeezing against him nearly made Mark's eyes roll back in his head. The repetition forced a muttered curse out of him as he unconsciously tightened his grip on the slender hips, his eyes burning from the lust sizzling through him. Resolving that if Jeff didn't move soon, he was going to turn them over and drive into that body like he wanted to until they were both screaming.

And then Jeff moved. A low moan matched the deep purr emanating from the younger man as Mark's hips rose to match Jeff's slow movement, his hands shifting to support his lover. The slow drag upward, the hard push down... The sensation of that satin heat grinding against his aching cock brought noises to Mark's lips that he wasn't aware of making as his body shuddered closer to its goal, his hips rising and falling to meet each movement. Staring unblinkingly as Jeff leaned backwards, Mark's eyes were drawn to the hard shaft rising from between Jeff's thighs, the head already slick. Forcing himself to release Jeff's hip with one hand, he wrapped his fingers around the silky flesh, rubbing the slickness into the soft skin as he learned its contours, stroking in time with their movements, Jeff's gasps and whimpers a counterpoint to his own low growls as they increased their tempo.

A shift, a whimper... a hard thrust and a groan... a stroke and a gasp... Mark's movements lost their regularity as he gave himself over to the need burning through his veins, his sight narrowing, pushing upward with hard thrusts of his hips as Jeff ground down against him. A sudden cry, and he was captivated by the sight of Jeff arching impossibly further back as the cock in his hand swelled against his tight grip, pulsing out his lover's release. The sight was all it took for his own climax, his hips snapping upward one last time as his back arched, his orgasm taking his breath away, leaving only a deep growl behind.

Eyes shut, Mark was aware of Jeff falling against him and his arms wrapped around him, not wanting Jeff to leave him just yet. To be honest with himself, he didn't want Jeff to _ever_ leave him... but that was something to be dealt with later. Pushing the thought away, he raised reluctant eyelids to savour the sight of a tousled, well-fucked Jeff looking contentedly back at him and discovered that he was smiling at the sight. Making a wordless noise, he leaned forward to press a gentle kiss against the surprisingly soft lips, his hands stroking idly across the expanse of Jeff's back as he lost himself to the moment.

****

No more tonight, Kevin reminded his body with a resigned thought. Even if watching Scott eat his dessert _was_ incredible torture... Watching the pink tongue flick at the white cream on his lips sent a faint shiver down Kevin's spine, but he resolutely ignored it. Not that he was oblivious to the fact that Scott was doing it on purpose, but he'd worry about that later. Both of them were too wiped out for anything else to happen right now, and honestly, he was more looking forward to just holding his lover while they slept. They'd been back together a short enough time that just that simple act was still a gift to him. Being able to sleep together with Scotty in their own bed in their own home would be even better, but Kevin was going to treasure every moment they spent together. Their time apart had taught him how valuable those moments were.

Taking the dish from Scott, Kevin put it back on the tray and moved the cart enough so that he wouldn't trip over it in the morning. He'd intended to put it outside the room for one of the bellboys to pick up, but with the way Scott was looking at him he wasn't about to get up unnecessarily. He did take a moment to strip his jeans off again, but that took barely any time, and then he flicked the light off and laid back again, barely sitting back before Scott pulled him down and kissed him. Just a gentle kiss, but the pure love in it sent a twinge to Kevin's heart as he returned it, smiling at the quiet noise that Scotty made. His lover was always vocal, no matter what he might claim, and Kev would never get tired of hearing him.

Shifting slightly to get comfortable against the pillows, he sighed softly himself in contentment as Scott draped himself over Kev's body, curling his own arm around Scott's body as he pulled the blankets into place.

 _"Love you, Kev."_

Smiling as he felt Scott relax into sleep, Kevin pressed a kiss to the dark curls that would probably tickle the sensitive spot under his ear all night long. This was what he'd missed, the sheer presence of Scott, knowing that the last thing he'd see at night was the familiar face relaxing next to him and that the first thing he'd see in the morning would be those beloved eyes sparkling back at him.

Rubbing his thumb in a circle against the skin of Scott's back, Kevin silently thanked whatever power had allowed them to work this out and come together again. He hadn't been complete without Scott, had been utterly miserable by himself, and now that they had each other again, _nothing_ would ever come between them again.

"I love you too, Scott," he said quietly into the darkness before allowing his eyes to close.

****

The tickle of Sean's beard as his lover pressed feather-light kisses across his back were the first thing he became aware of as the languorous fog cleared from his head. His harsh heavy breathing echoed by Sean's was the second. The comforting weight of his lover molded against his body was the third.

"You enjoyed it."

He could hear the smug smile in Sean's voice, even if he couldn't see it on his face. Shivering as Sean withdrew from his body, he had to agree with what Sean had said... at least in his head. He certainly had enjoyed it. In fact it most likely ranked right up there in the top three experiences of his life... the other two involving Sean as well. Still... Sean sounded just a little bit _too_ smug and a little bit of teasing never hurt when it came to the two of them.

"Maybe."

"M... maybe? Are you kidding me? You were screaming like a porn star."

Smothering his grin in the sheets, Glen had to admit that his lover certainly had a way with words. Rolling to his side, he dumped Sean off his back and then turned to face the man. His face as straight as could be, he shrugged lightly. Awww. Sean was pouting. He'd end up giving in... he always did, but not just yet.

"Don't I always? Maybe I was just practicing... you know for that contest you're so hyped on having."

He finally allowed the grin he'd been holding back to shine through. Sean's mouth dropped open and it was all Glen could do not to laugh.

"Prac... practicing? Are you trying to tell me that you were... faking?"

The narrowing of those beloved chocolate eyes and the accompanying growl finally set him off. Glen laughed loudly and reached out to tweak Sean's nose. He found himself flat on his back a second later.

"You are _such_ a bitch."

"I know, but you love me anyway."

"God knows why."

Glen poked Sean lightly in the ribs and got a scowl in return. Flipping his curly hair back out of his eyes, Sean folded his arms atop Glen's chest and rested his chin against his crossed forearms. His eyes were still flashing a few sparks. He'd have to give in now.

"I wasn't faking. It was everything I was hoping for... better actually. I'm glad that I asked. I'm glad that I waited. And I'm glad that it was you. I love you, Sean."

By the time he was finished Sean's glare was replaced by a sweetly goofy grin. Moving one hand slightly, Sean pinched Glen's nipple... hard.

Chuckling over the 'Ow!' that his pinch had elicited, Sean leaned forward and pressed a sweet kiss against the big man's lips.

"I'm glad too, Glen. Love you." Pillowing his head on his arms, Sean closed his eyes. "'Night 'night... my big slug."

Glen's quiet snort was muffled against dark curls as he pressed his lips against the top of Sean's head. "'Night baby."

****

Thankfully the bedside light didn't send shooting pains through his head when Chris turned it on. His headache seemed to have disappeared sometime during the hours they'd been napping, which was probably a good thing considering the state of his ribs at the moment.

 _"Here Babe, time for the drugs I think."_

He managed to swallow the pills with a sip of water. In all honesty, he hadn't really wanted to take them because of the risks, but in this case he would make an exception. He made a decision that he'd take some for the trip home tomorrow, but after that he'd make Chris promise to put them up somewhere and then forget where he put them. Having managed to make it through major neck surgery without acquiring an addiction to pain medication, he wasn't about to let a few cracked ribs pose a threat. It would be much easier to avoid this time as well since he had Chris to see him through his recovery.

Besides the threat of addiction, there was also the problem he seemed to have with Codeine. In the past when he'd taken it, he'd had one of the unusual side affects of extreme euphoria. One of his big problems was that if he didn't feel the pain then he tended to pretend the injury didn't exist at all. The incident where Chris had found him writhing in pain was a prime example of what happened when he medicated his pain... he ended up in even worse pain by overdoing. It also tended to make him act... just a bit goofy. He really didn't need any help there at all.

As Chris settled on the bed and pulled him close, Adam thought that maybe this was the best medicine in the world. Cuddling close to Chris, the smooth warm skin of Chris' chest against his face, was already making him feel better. The quiet hum of Chris' voice almost echoed in stereo with the vibrations in his chest. He smirked as he considered the obscenities that he'd most likely verbalized. Through the blur of pain, it had been an instinctive reaction and he couldn't really remember what all might have left his mouth. He could imagine though. He'd hung out with some rather interesting people when he was younger and had picked up an extensive range of curses. He still wasn't sure he could match up to Chris though.

 _"And as to the ‘naked’ thing…well, I think I’ll take my chances. If anyone needs to lighten up a bit it’s Shelton."_

He was definitely charging the battery for the video camera as soon as they made it home. The camera would be the first thing he packed when they got ready to leave too. No way was he going to miss that kind of footage. Shelton certainly did need to lighten up, but Adam was actually more interested in the way Randy would react. It would be especially interesting if they managed to somehow sneak the IC championship out of Randy's possession and Chris wore it when he performed his little visual exhibition. He'd suggest just that in the morning.

As he felt the tug of sleep pulling at him, he tossed an arm carefully across Chris' abdomen. Thinking of Randy's reaction naturally led to thoughts of the conversation he'd had with Steve earlier that night. He wondered how that conversation had gone. Maybe they'd run into Steve in the morning and find out. If Randy had turned Steve down then the guy was a complete fool.


	69. Promises

Who would've thought that Big Bad Triple H would be cuddly in bed? Shawn certainly hadn't, although he'd tried his damnedest not to let himself wonder, too. Of course, given what he'd managed to piece together over the last twenty-four hours of Hunt's personal life for the last few years, he shouldn't be surprised. His lover was probably starved for physical attention of _any_ kind; fortunately for him, Shawn was more than willing to give him as much attention as he could stand---and more, actually. And so was Dave---and that thought sent a pleasant warmth spreading through Shawn's body even as Dave climbed into bed behind him.

Now, they just had to work on that bossiness.

 _"Bed David... now."_

Stifling his laugh against Hunter's shoulder, Shawn shifted as needed to accommodate their lover, reveling in the pleasant struggle for the three of them to get comfortable, hazily familiar from his days with Kevin and Scott. Oh. He should probably call them tomorrow... later today, he amended after flicking his eyes toward the bedside clock. They'd worry otherwise, no matter how much they should know better.

 _"'night Loves."_

Smiling into the darkness, Shawn leaned his head against Hunter's shoulder and murmured, "Good night, love. 'night sweetheart," reaching back to pull Dave's arm up around his chest, tangling their fingers together. He was exhausted... but after the last day, who wouldn't be? And what a wonderful reason to _be_ exhausted... for the first time in far too long, he was on the verge of passing into sleep between one breath and the next because he'd made love to both of his incredible lovers so many times that he couldn't stay awake any longer rather than because he'd worked himself into exhaustion to avoid thinking about his empty life.

 _"I'm having coffee in the morning Dave and you can't stop me."_

The quiet mumble brought another soft laugh, and then all Shawn was really aware of was the warmth from the bodies surrounding him, the two not-quite-in-synch heartbeats lulling him to sleep.

****

Mark’s hand on his cock just served to bring Jeff even closer to the edge that he’d been climbing. The insistent piercing heat of Mark’s shaft deep within him, rubbing over and over on that small cluster of nerves, sending ice-white waves of pleasure through Jeff like electric shocks. Wild moans and desperate gasps for breath were the only sounds to escape Jeff’s swollen lips, the noises seemingly lost to Jeff in the gorgeous running growl issuing from the man beneath him. A deep, primitive sound that pulled at Jeff’s cock with almost the same result as the warm hand engulfing it. Mark wasn’t just bringing him off with his sure, intent movements, he was stroking Jeff exactly the way he liked it, slightly tighter than could be called pleasant but with lovely little tugs when he reached the head.

The combination of sensations from his ass and his cock were enough to steal Jeff’s breath as he rose and fell, leg muscles bunching at the repetitious strain, grinding down as Mark thrust up, both voices hitching at the feeling.

Tipping his head forward from its wild tossing, Jeff forced his eyelids up by sheer effort of will and became fixated on the man he was fucking. A fine sheen of moisture dewed across the rippling expanse of Mark’s chest, satin skin shifting and tightening as his lover lifted his hips to send another blast of white heat across Jeff’s nerves. But it was the green eyes, almost incandescent with wicked fire that truly pulled Jeff over into ecstasy, the hard length deep within him and the reaction of his pulsing sex merely the physical connection to his inner climax. Looking down at Mark, beautiful, dark, intoxicating Mark, was all Jeff needed to do.

He had honestly never seen anything more spell-binding.

Lost in the blistering almost-pain of his orgasm, Jeff’s eyes traitorously closed, blinding him to the magnificent sight of Mark coming. But in his hazy ‘oh... yes, oh…yes’ of bliss, Jeff could just feel the deep ache of Mark’s climax inside his body and reveled in it. Obscurely flattered and childishly proud that he’d brought Mark over the edge with him, flying as one into a blissful darkness.

\----

Blinking, Jeff came back to awareness wrapped in Mark’s arms, the taste of hot skin on his lips as he pressed a lazy kiss into the wide shoulder beneath his cheek. If you’d asked Jeff Hardy a week ago, _hell_ an hour ago, if he’d get such great sex tonight that he’d black-out, he’d have smothered a laugh and called you an idiot. If you’d said it would be from great sex with Mark Calaway… well… if he hadn’t punched you then some very nasty words would have been forth-coming. Just goes to show why Jeff didn’t like to do too much planning in his future. It never, ever, worked out the way he expected.

Drifting on that luxurious line between wakefulness and sleep, Jeff moved as Mark did, their bodies sliding easily under the cotton sheets, words unnecessary in the post-sex afterglow. A faint smile touched Jeff’s lips as an errant pillowcase was used for some token cleaning and then he was dozing, still engulfed by strong, beautiful arms, warm breath tickling his temple as they settled in.

An errant thought sabotaged Jeff just on the verge of slumber and he wrestled the warm beast of sleep momentarily to murmur,

“Have breakfast with me?”

Not hearing Mark’s answer, Jeff went into the sweet blackness for the second time that night.

****

He couldn't sleep.

Staring into the darkness, Mark traced invisible patterns on the ceiling with his eyes as he listened to the man in his arms breathe, the slow even breaths of someone deeply asleep. His fingers traced soft patterns across the pale skin of Jeff's back underneath the blanket, not able to keep from touching him even in rest. Every so often he'd tilt his head and watch Jeff's face, lashes lying thickly against the cheek that was pressed into his shoulder even now, some unknown length of time after he'd maneuvered them under the blankets.

What was Jeff dreaming about? A small smile turned the lips upward, but there was no other sign of what he might be thinking of.

For Mark it wasn't so easy. It probably should be: They'd danced around each other all night, finally had it out, declared their interest in each other, and had sex. What was the difficulty there?

Sighing, Mark pressed his head back into the pillow, his eyes closing. That _was_ the difficulty. He wasn't interested in a one-night stand, and he normally didn't just jump into bed with people. But Jeff was different. He hadn't been able to keep his mind---or his hands, or his body---off the younger man, and that was more than a little out of character for him. Jeff had said that he didn't want just one night... but that didn't mean that he wanted a lifetime, either.

And to be honest with himself--- _for once_ , a small voice snickered in the back of his mind---Mark _did_ want a lifetime. With Jeff? He wasn't entirely sure. No, that wasn't right. He _was_ sure... and that scared the hell out of him. Jeff had haunted his thoughts for two years now, he reluctantly admitted to himself. Maybe it was time to take a look at that.

The first image that came to mind was one of those impossibly deep green eyes looking up at him, filled with respect and not a little arrogance, and absolutely no intimidation whatsoever. That had been refreshing; most of his co-workers were intimidated by him at first, whether they'd admit it or not. Jeff never had been... but he'd done his best to avoid Mark, for some reason. After this evening, Mark could piece together some possible reasons, but they involved any number of assumptions that he just didn't want to make. There was no way that someone as vibrant and beautiful and _young_ as Jeff was could feel that seriously about _him_. There wasn't.

Unfortunately for Mark, he _did_ feel that seriously about Jeff.

Somewhere in the vicinity of his heart, a joyful sort of pain passed through his chest at that admission. Mark cared that much about Jeff... he wanted that _togetherness_ that Jeff seemed to be offering. Even with the newfound self-honesty, though, he avoided _that_ word. The last time he'd used _that_ word, it had been to Shawn... and although he didn't begrudge Shawn his happiness or the love that had existed before Mark entered his heart, the experience had been shatteringly painful. When they were together, he'd seen that lifetime ahead of them, had been able to imagine the forever that they would have... only to have to rip that vision out of his heart and leave it behind as he walked away from Shawn.

Could he possibly take that sort of risk again?

Lying there in the darkness, Mark could feel every single one of his years weighing him down, and for the first time in years, he cursed them. For the last few years, he'd been accepting of the fact that he was getting older and slower and greyer... but now... now he wanted to rage and scream and fight against it, for all the good it would do him. Having his whirlwind within his grasp just pointed up the differences between them and made them all the more painful.

Another sigh, and Mark shifted, pressing his face down into the rainbow-hued locks and wrapping his arm around Jeff, still not quite able to keep his fingers still against the smooth skin as he breathed in that same mix of scents that had caught him earlier, the scent of shampoo and musk and something indefinably _Jeff_. Bodies intertwined, he tried to lock away the doubts that were filling him. Up through his slowing thoughts drifted to the question that his lover had murmured earlier.

 _"Have breakfast with me?"_

With his lips pressed to Jeff's hair, he finally answered, sleepiness making his words thick, his heart in his voice as he whispered, "Every morning."

****

 _9am_

Chris awoke to a gentle breeze causing the curtain in their room to bump against the window with a quiet ‘fwapping’ noise. He didn’t open his eyes at once, preferring to laze in the blissful comfort of morning. The sheets were cool and smooth against Chris’ skin, his body spread across the mattress and his bed mate in a boneless sprawl that had Chris doubting whether he _could_ move even if he wanted to. His limbs were heavy like lead but not aching or sore as he’d expected after last nights tension. It was amazing what just a few hours uninterrupted sleep could do for a man.

Turning his face across his pillow, CJ smiled as he felt the cool draft from the A/C drift over his naked shoulders and blessed hotels with good facilities during summer. No matter that he liked hot weather and was extremely happy to live in Florida on his time off, he had been raised in Canada after all. Searing heart was no friend of Chris Jericho, even with the tan.

Flexing his fingers where they rested under his pillow, Chris’ smile turned to a grimace at the ache the movement caused. It had been pretty fucking stupid to try and catch Adam like that, but he had the feeling he’d try it again if the situation ever arose. Hopefully not. If Chris had his way, Terry would never even look at Adam again, let alone get within touching distance, but he certainly wouldn’t mind having another ‘chat’ with the Man-Beast. Just to see who could fuck who up if they really got down to it. But CJ was trusting that Vince would do the right thing by them and keep ‘the Rhyno’ out of their faces for the foreseeable future. He wouldn’t be able to break the guy’s other hand just yet, but Chris could wait… he had a good memory.

Opening one blue eye, Chris scanned the table next to the bed and reached for his cell-phone with his good hand. Once again he’d managed to wake up three minutes before the alarm was set to go off and clicked it off before its irritating buzz could awaken his sleeping lover. Grinning, CJ rolled onto his side and slipped a leg out of the tangled sheet to catch the cool air. Resting his chin in his hand, he examined the figure of the man next to him.

Adam lay on his back, one arm flung across the pillows towards Chris and had at one time probably been enmeshed in his hair, the other lay across the smooth, muscled stomach, fingers curled just slightly. Chris was pleased to note that Adam didn’t snore while on his back and placed another tick in his mental "Adam Is My Love God" column. Some of the wild hair had come to rest across his brow and CJ’s fingers itched to stoke it back onto the cool cotton of the pillow. Unfortunately, in the light from the window, Chris could see the tangles where blood from Adam’s head wound had flooded into the honey strands. Just the sight before him was enough to send most of the blood in his body into his groin.

Even beaten and needing a brush, Adam was still the most beautiful thing Chris had even seen.

Here. Naked in his bed.

Long, sexy body just asking Chris to climb all over it and rub against him like an affectionate cat.

"Now _that_ sounds like a good idea," Chris murmured to himself.

Shifting closer, so their body contact from last night was renewed, Chris repositioned his elbow next to Adam’s ear and leaned down to nuzzle against one warm, beard roughened cheek. Sneaking one hand underneath the sheet, he bypassed the temptation of Adam’s quiescent sex and stroked small patterns on the opposite hip bone. Bending his knee, Chris draped his leg over Adam’s extended one and cuddled his morning erection into the warm flesh of his lover’s thigh.

He continued to nuzzle and stroke and cuddle until he felt Adam wake up.

"Good morning Babe. Glad to see you’re not in a coma."

****

Adam was finding that in addition to being the highlight of his night, waking up with Chris wrapped around him was definitely the highlight of his day. He was still a little muzzy due to the medication, but his body wasn't shrieking it's aches and pains at him for the moment so he was sublimely happy. In fact, he felt pretty damn good... which was another indication that he was still under the influence of the drugs. The gentle nuzzling that Chris was doing against his cheek almost tickled, but the stroking over his hip was having a decidedly more arousing affect. Or maybe that was due to the press of hot flesh against his thigh. Either way, Adam was more than happy with this particular brand of wake up call.

 _"Good morning Babe. Glad to see you’re not in a coma."_

He was glad as well, mostly because he would have missed being woken up in such a delightful manner. Rather than a verbal answer, Adam decided on a more direct route of convincing his lover that he was fine... more than, actually. With a hum of happiness, he lowered his hand from the pillows and tangled it in Chris' hair once again, where it belonged. Half-rolling towards the blond, he dipped his head and caught his lips in a slow, searching kiss. The hand that had been draped across his stomach found a new home at Chris' waist. With a quiet growl, he tossed his leg over Chris' thigh, trapping it between both of his own.

After a long moment or two, he pulled back, smiling down at his lover. "Nice bedside manner, sweetheart. I wouldn't have been nearly so grouchy if you'd used _that_ method to wake me up every hour."

Spending a lazy moment carding his fingers gently through Chris' hair, he recalled a promise he had yet to fulfill... two of them actually, but one would have to wait until he figured out how to carry it out. For now though... he shifted his leg slightly, hiding his smile against the top of Chris' head when the brush of his leg against Chris' hot, hard length elicited one of those cute little noises he loved so much.

"Speaking of bedside manners, I forgot mine at some point last night and I remember promising to make that up to you." Slipping his hand between them, he ran his fingers lightly along Chris' shaft. "Since I'm making up for my bad behavior, I think it's only fair that you get to pick the method, so..."Adam wrapped his hand around the hardened flesh under his fingertips, content to keep his hand still for the moment. "Choice number one would be a repeat of last night. Though if you pick that one, it's kind of a positive reinforcement for my bad behavior, since I love having you inside me," he said with a grin.

Leaning in, he kissed Chris softly while moving his hand in a slow glide from the bottom to the top of Chris' length and back again. Then he stopped. "Choice number two would involve you climbing on my lap and making use of my poor body in whatever way you see fit, but that means you'd have to do all the work."

With another long slow stroke, he stopped and ran a finger over the head of Chris' cock, collecting the tiny drop of moisture there. Adam pulled his hand from Chris then and lifted it to his mouth, grinning rather wickedly before sucking the moisture from his fingertip, making sure to swirl his tongue around his finger so Chris could see it. "Your third choice would require just a bit of patience from you, love. First you'd have to do a bit of watching and you'd have to promise to keep your hands to yourself. If you are very, very good and manage to keep your hands off yourself as well, then I'll demonstrate my rather extensive oral talents."

"So... pick your poison, sweetheart."

****

It was time. Picking up the phone, he dialed the room number of the man that was going to help him make everything right. It would happen. He would be methodical and convincing until the other man couldn't help but agree with him. Too many people had taken advantage of the younger man, mostly due to his own attitude, but it was just that that would allow Terry to worm his way into the other's world. He would stoke the fires of revenge that were not yet awaked in young Orton. And in the process he'd get his own revenge. Then he could keep Randy for himself. The perfect plan.

The ringing of the phone was music to his ears... now he just needed to wait.

 _"Orton. This better be good, 'cos I'm not in the..."_

Ah... success.

Best to start off sympathetic. Randy would have to be curious over his call. It wasn't like they were friends or even well acquainted. Terry wasn't worried about winning the respect of the younger wrestlers... it was the stars' respect that he yearned for. The younger guys were simply stepping stones in his opinion.

"Randy, Randy, Randy... had a rough night of it last night didn’t ya?"

 _"Yeah... kinda."_

Good... good. Easy now, he told himself. He needed to toss out the bait. If he could sound confident, yet sympathetic at the same time then he'd be able to reel Randy in like a trout on a line. So simple really. And then he'd get what he wanted...

"First Hunter ditches you so he can get all hot and heavy with his bitches. I heard Michaels trying to pawn you off with that pathetic lie. I'm sure a smart guy like you didn't buy it though, not with the way Dave was looking at you like you were dirt beneath his boots. Then you had to deal with that psychotic whore Austin. The day that man settles down with one person, I'll kiss Vince's ass. Speaking of Vince... rumor has it that he's going to be jobbing you out of that IC title within a month after Bad Blood and you'll never guess to who..."

He gnashed his teeth as Randy interrupted. 'That was a mistake, Randall... but you'll learn. Yes, you will.' Terry didn't honestly give two shits for what Randy thought of Michaels or Batista, though he thought the man was ignorant for ignoring both men. If they weren't handled correctly, they would be threats to the other man's future. Not that Terry cared... by the time it became an issue, Randy's usefulness would be over and Randy would have to fend for himself. An evil grin slid across his face as he stretched out on the bed. Despite the trouble he was stirring, he was completely at ease. He could hear the worry and anger in the younger man's voice. It was like taking candy from a baby.

"Vince is going to job you out to Copeland... it was his idea. My sources say that he's talking a shot at the championship for ya Randy, but those same sources say it's going to come with a price. They're going to make you look like a fool. Less than a month after you get your hands on it, you're going to job it to Hunter again and then you get the boot from that cozy little faction you're a part of. So much for the legacy of Randy Orton."

 _"What sources Terry? Who says I'm getting the Title then getting fucked over and dumped from Evo? Who Terry? Was it Hunter?"_

So easy. He could feel the anger radiating through the lines themselves. He'd play on it. No reason to keep his source secret... not since the bastard had treated him like garbage and after all he'd done for the man too. He wouldn't be able to take his revenge there right away. He'd have to get Randy under his thumb first, then he could force him into doing whatever he wanted him to. Randy would have no choice.

The power he could feel within his grasp was an incredibly strong aphrodisiac. Too bad he couldn't talk Randy into coming down to his room now... but, no. It would be better to wait until Randy couldn't refuse him. It was too early. Still, he couldn't help but run a hand over the denim covering his half-hard member. Stifling a growl at the tingle surging through his body, he forced himself to continue on... laying the groundwork for his plan.

"It was Heyman, man. You know how he likes running his mouth. Yeah. He had a lot to say about the plans that Vince and Hunter came up with for ya... none of them good, Randy boy."

Despite Randy's denial, Terry could tell that he was wavering. Proof... what would convince Randy of Hunter's less-than-stellar intentions? Hinting that Hunter would ignore him just to get a piece of ass? Oh yeah. Playing on the fact that Hunter rarely let go of the title even if it was because McMahon didn't trust anyone else to carry the company? Yeah that'd work too. Jealousy amongst the members of his faction... no question there.

"Hunter blocked you from the locker room so he could get a piece of ass and just who do you think came up with the idea for him to take the championship from you rather than Benoit. While you're in the process of losing your IC title to Edge of all people and sitting on the sidelines until you get a random shot at the championship, he's going to push for Dave to be working the main-events. He's not going to let one of his whores linger in mid-card status. Then he's going to give you that one moment in the sun just to snatch it back and grind you under his boot-heel. Look what happened this week, Randy, my boy... he couldn't even push to get you a clean win over Michaels before you have to defend your title. Maybe if you offer to suck him off he'll let you keep the championship for an extra month or two."

The resounding silence that met his suggestion was encouraging. Randy was thinking... at least he was thinking in the direction that Terry wanted him to think. All of the things he'd suggested were logical without him having to verify the truth of them. If it came out later that things didn't work quite the way that Terry'd hinted, it would be too late. Next, he'd hit on Randy's other sore point... his one-night stand. Then... then he could suggest what he was really after... revenge.

Oh this was going to be such fun.

****

Randy swiped away the moisture that had clouded the mirror and looked at his tired face through the streaks. Maven had left ten minutes earlier, after apologetically waking him with the news that Randy had to be ready in an hour to take them to the airport. With his room-mate... god... _friend_... doing a quick run at the hotel gym before grabbing them breakfast, Randy had dragged his pathetic ass into the bathroom to sit under hot water until his brain came online.

He ruthlessly avoided thoughts of anyone he had spoken with the previous evening. Not Hunter, not Shawn and certainly not...

No.

Not going there.

The water pounded onto his upturned face until the sleepy residue last night was cleaned from Randy's eyes.

Jesus. He hadn't cried like that since his uncle had died fifteen years ago and had forgotten the horrible aftermath of such an emotional explosion. Randy felt lucky that the only witness to his minor breakdown was Maven, as piling humiliation on top of a self-broken heart would have just taken the fucking cake. But he felt curiously calm this morning, as if all his anger and confusion had been bled right out of him the previous night. Right now Randy wanted nothing more than something to eat, a quick flight home and hopefully nothing shitty happening for a few days.

Pulling on his pants, Randy sighed for the first time over the WWE dress code. Normally reveling in the designer suits he was required to wear, this morning he really, really wanted to put on his jeans and favorite 'Live' t-shirt for the trip. Reaching for his shirt his musings were interrupted by the sound of the phone breaking into the silence.

Feeling a flare of irritation spark, he snatched at the receiver.

"Orton. This better be good, 'cos I'm not in the... ."

 _"Randy, Randy, Randy... had a rough night of it last night didn’t ya?"_

Terry? They weren't supposed to catch up today as far as Randy knew and what was up with the other man knowing about last night? Mav wouldn't have said anything of that Randy was sure. Thinking that Terry must be fishing for gossip, he decided to play it cool.

"Yeah... kinda."

The other man's voice had a bizarre almost pleasant note to it as he recounted the details of Randy's night from hell.

 _"First Hunter ditches you... you had to deal with that psychotic whore Austin..."_

Randy felt his lips tighten and his grip on the phone become almost painful as all those wounds from last night began to crack open.

 _"...he's going to be jobbing you out of that IC title within a month..."_

The wounds were starting to bleed and Randy had to shut Terry up... now.

"Terry? Terry! Taking a fucking breath man. I know what shit went down last night, I was there okay? Whether Michaels lied or not I really don't give a shit and Batista can kiss my ass. The day Randy freakin' Orton cares about what that meat-head thinks is the day hell fuckin' freezes over."

Because once upon a time he'd thought he was Batista's friend... fortunately he got over that assumption pretty damn quickly.

"But what was that about McMahon... what've you heard about my title?"

They wouldn't do that to him. They wouldn't.

 _"....Copeland... he's talking a shot at the championship for ya Randy...going to make you look like a fool."_

NO! Hunter had promised him that if he got a run at the Championship it would be a genuine run and not just a 'fuck you' to Brock.

 _"...So much for the legacy of Randy Orton."_

The words resounded in Randy's ears like a bell tolling the quiet end to his career. Feeling a distinctive anger well up inside him, Randy was in no doubt as to the target of his ire.

"What sources Terry? Who says I'm getting the Title then getting fucked over and dumped from Evo? Who Terry? Was it Hunter?"

Because if Terry said yes, then Randy wasn't going to the airport.

 _"It was Heyman, man... plans that Vince and Hunter came up with for ya."_

Deep breath. He hadn't said Hunter.

"Nah, Hunter may be wrapped up in Michaels and the meat-head but he's played me straight so far..."

 _"Hunter blocked you from the locker room... just who do you think came up with the idea... he's going to push for Dave... he's going to give you that one moment in the sun... he couldn't even push to get you a clean win over Michaels."_

All of it, every single word, was true.

 _"Maybe if you offer to suck him off he'll let you keep the championship for an extra month or two."_

At that point, Randy went ballistic.

"Fuck you Terry! Randy Orton isn't anyone's bitch. I'll get the fucking title and keep it, you just sit back and watch. I don't need to fuck a McMahon just to get a shot... I'll leave that shit to Michaels and Hunter."

Damn Terry for phoning him, damn Hunter for being such a fucking politician and damn everyone for thinking they could fuck over Randy Freakin' Orton.

They would all learn soon enough just exactly what he was capable of.

****

A small frown and then Adam’s eyes were blinking open, the warm green dazed with sleep and painkillers. Less than a moment and the frown was gone, replaced by a smile that curved wickedly at the edges. Chris was just rubbing the tip of his nose over Adam’s sideburn when his lover moved. The hand in CJ’s hair pulling his lips into intimate contact with Adam’s own, mouths indulging in their own version of ‘good morning’, while another very awake part of his blond lover, pressed into Chris’s thigh with greedy interest. When Adam moved, Chris’ hand moved as well, somehow finding its way from his lover’s hip to rest on the delicious curve of Adam’s ass. Shocked at his hand’s uncontrolled behaviour, CJ decided to punish it by leaving his fingers right where they were... he even made them start up the stroking again.

 _wouldn't have been nearly so grouchy if you'd used that method to wake me up every hour_

"Yeah right." Chris muttered under his breath, as Adam tried to coax his hair into some semblance of order. It would have been fun to grope Adam every hour on the hour, but given the brief play they’d had with Adam’s wandering hands, Chris knew _he’d_ have been Mr. Grouchy if he’d let the torment go on all night. It had been difficult enough for them both to sleep as it was, adding their unfulfilled sex drive into it would just have made it harder… err less fun.

Chris wasn’t sure if Adam had heard him, but suspected he might have if his lover’s sudden move and shift of his leg was anything to go by. He’d just had to press harder into Chris, Adam’s muscled thigh rubbing over CJ’s dick in a manner that could never be described as accidental. An involuntary noise that was NOT a whimper broke from Chris' throat at the contact, or maybe it was the growl. The tone of Adam’s voice was just contributing to the slow build up of desire he was feeling this morning, the slightly roughened tone shooting straight down CJ’s spine and making his toes curl into the sheets.

Then… _fingers_. Fingers around his cock, stroking and teasing in a manner guaranteed to have Chris start babbling incoherently very soon. Funny, because Chris could have sworn after last night that he was the ‘take charge’ one of this relationship, but it seemed like Adam was definitely a morning person.

 _making up for my bad behavior_

Huh? CJ hadn’t honestly thought that Adam had been that bad. Besides, he kept warning Chris that he was going to be an awful patient, so perhaps CJ had prepared himself for much worse than he was getting. In fact, right now, what he seemed to be ‘getting’ was everything but _bad_.

 _Choice one would be a repeat of last night._

Chris’ shaft, resting happily in Adam’s hand, thought that was a fantastic idea and twitched to show its ‘yes’ vote.

 _Choice number two would involve you climbing on my lap and making use of my poor body in whatever way you see fit._

Given more encouragement, as Adam’s hand started to move in a slow, teasing stroke, Chris’ cock thought that option was pretty awesome too. It seemed like years since he’d had Adam’s hard sex buried deep in his body, yet it had only really been just over a day…and CJ was really just dying for it.

 _Your third choice… you'd have to do a bit of watching… then I'll demonstrate my rather extensive oral talents._

After a moment’s mental conversation, Chris and his dick were in complete agreement on this last, final choice.

"Well now," forcing his voice back into its normal register, Chris tried to ignore the admittedly very hot sight of his pre-cum on Adam’s fingers disappearing between his lover’s lips. "Much as I’d like to take the first two options, I just can’t resist the promise of the third." Suddenly jealous of Adam’s fingers, Chris reached up and snagged Adam’s wrist away from his mouth and replaced it with his own lips. Letting his teeth linger for a moment in Adam’s full lower lip, Chris finally let go and pulled back to give them both space to breath, while his eyes fell into smiling green ones.

"Such pretty poison."

****

 _"Much as I’d like to take the first two options, I just can’t resist the promise of the third."_

With the taste of Chris already on his tongue and aching for more, Adam couldn't say he was disappointed with the choice... in fact, he was looking forward to it eagerly. His mind was already racing ahead with plans when Chris snagged his wrist, pulled his finger from his mouth, and replaced it with his lips and tongue. That sent his brain in an altogether different direction and gave him a jump-start on getting through the first part of his proposal. When Chris pulled away, he was so lost in his brilliant blue eyes that he almost missed Chris' words.

 _"Such pretty poison."_

He didn't even try to withhold the snort of amusement that inspired. Pretty? That reminded him of another one of his favorite Chris Jericho promos. He remembered too how much ribbing Chris had gotten over it. That didn't stop him from bringing it up though.

"Pretty? This from the man that had an entire feud revolving around how pretty _he_ is?" He barely managed to duck the smack aimed at his head, then snuck in a quick kiss against pouty lips. "Sorry, love. Couldn't resist an opening like that," he said with a wicked grin.

Making sure his thigh brushed Chris' hard length once more, he rolled onto his back leaving his knees slightly bent and smiled up at his lover. "Remember now... hands..." After a moment of contemplation he decided he'd better add to that statement. "And mouth... off or I'll have to torture you before I let you come."

Vaguely remembering that during Chris' quick cleanup the night before, the blond had tossed the lube on the floor of all places, Adam rolled to his other side and reached for the small tube. His ribs gave just the tiniest of complaints, a small twinge, which left his face before he returned to his former position. He tossed the lube in the small space between them and then caught his lover's eyes.

Keeping his eyes locked with Chris', he dropped his hands to his abdomen and let them rest there very briefly. When he did move them, instead of working his way immediately south, he ran them lightly up his ribs. His lips quirked upwards when he noticed Chris' eyes flicker towards his hands. He hissed quietly as his fingertips brushed over his nipples, the sensitive tips pebbling instantly under the light touch. His lids lowered to half-mast as he circled two fingers around each small bud, a quiet moan slipping from his lips. There was no problem at all imagining that it was Chris' hands rather than his own causing the stimulation. The events of the past 24 plus hours and the presence of those gorgeous blue eyes more than enough to support the contention.

He felt the mattress shift slightly and caught the sight of Chris' hand hovering just above his own. He caught Chris' eyes and shook his head slightly, throwing in a teasing lick of his lips. A quiet tsk tsk was the only other warning he gave and he caught the quick flash of frustration in Chris' eyes.

One hand left off its task, heading slowly towards his stomach in a meandering path. His abdominal muscles clenched in anticipation of the teasing touch. A sidestep had his fingers dancing over the sensitive skin covering his hip. His swollen cock twitched against his stomach and a husky moan erupted as he felt an answering caress on the opposite hip. A quick swat with his hand was answered with a surprised yelp. He raised a brow as he looked at his lover, the warning obvious.

Both hands now at his hips, he lowered them along the outside of his thighs. Nimble fingers danced over kneecaps before starting the climb up sensitive inner thighs. His back arching, his feet braced against the mattress, he whined quietly in anticipation. One hand proceeded on as he eased back down against the sheets, cupping and rolling his balls in a torturous prelude. The other dropped to search along the mattress seeming to encounter Chris' hard length by pure accident before locating the object of his search... on the third attempt. He managed to keep the wicked grin off his face, but only by pulling his lower lip between his teeth.

Quickly popping the lid open, he squeezed some of the gel into his other hand not bothering with the nicety of warming it up before wrapping his hand around his swollen shaft. Snapping the lid shut with his other hand, he tossed the tube somewhere in the vicinity of the bedside table. His eyes once again sought out those of his lover, his breath catching at the pure lust reflected in the deep blue pools. He tightened his fingers slightly, a sound closely resembling Chris' name spilling from his lips as he slid his hand up the taut length.

His free hand searched along the mattress until he found one of Chris'. Entwining their fingers, he lifted the hand to his lips and kissed the back of it softly before lowering them to the mattress. His slow even rhythm was occasionally punctuated by a sharp thrust of his hips, forcing his solid length through his hand, and a whimper. His eyes remained fixated on Chris' face, noting almost vaguely the direction of his stare. Another sharp thrust of his hips and he felt a hand wrap around his own, fingers interlacing around his shaft, forcing a firmer grip.

"Oh sweetheart..." The husky moan was ripped from within.

He was too far gone to offer the admonishment that he should have. His fingers pulled from the comforting grip atop the mattress and found purchase in Chris' hair. He lurched upwards even as he tugged Chris' head down, capturing soft lips in a ravenous kiss. Each stroke of their joined hands resulted in a whimper passed from hungry lips to hungry lips as the pressure built. Knowing that he was on the verge of his release, he finally broke the kiss, falling back to the mattress just in time.

"Chris... oh god... Chris," he yelled, his back contorting at an unnatural angle. The answering pull of his ribs had no impact whatsoever on the force of his release, his hips snapping upward as it spilled forth. Warm and sticky, his release spurted over his stomach and their twined fingers.

As he collapsed back against the bed, he turned his head and nuzzled his face against Chris' shoulder while he fought to calm his breathing. After a moment or two he pulled back, a wicked twinkle in his eye. He shook his head slightly and grinned.

"Christopher, Christopher, Christopher... you bad, bad boy."

He'd never, ever leave Chris wanting, but he saw no harm in teasing his lover about his lapse in following directions.

****

 _"Fuck you Terry! Randy Orton isn't anyone's bitch. I'll get the fucking title and keep it, you just sit back and watch..."_

The explosion when it came was lovely. So much passion... so much anger... all his to leash. He couldn't wait. Now he needed to give the little pretty just a bit more bait, then he'd have him on the line. It was a short step from there to reel him in. Terry jumped right in since he needed to keep that sympathy/empathy thing going. What a load of shit. But if it gave him what he wanted in the end... it was worth it.

"Well _I_ don't think you're anyone's bitch, Randy, but you're going to have to give them proof. You think Vince is going to tell the writers to dump the title change just because you ask him to?"

Like any of them had any control over the writers? Yeah, right. Only those with clout could change the way Vince wanted things to go. Or those that had the crowd behind them... still maybe Randy wouldn't see that particular route unless it was pointed out to him. Terry certainly wasn't going to do the pointing. Now to hang old Stone Cold out to dry. No love lost there... he never had liked the man. Way too full of himself was Terry's opinion of the Rattlesnake.

"But I know you're a smart guy, Randy. Popping Austin in the face last night was a good start towards proving it. He deserved it. The man has a set o' balls on him... accusing you of using him when he's the one that does the using. Hell Austin's a bigger man-whore than Copeland and that's saying something... at least Copeland sticks to one sex. I'm really glad you didn't fall for that line of shit he was feeding you. Steve Austin isn't capable of sticking to one person. You and I both know why he wants to be with you, Randy. He's on his way down in this business, but you Randy... you are on your way up. He'd use your relationship to keep himself in the limelight. And the whole time you were busy worshipping him, he'd be nailing anything that moved right behind your back. We all know how cozy he is with Vince and Chris Jericho. I wouldn't be surprised if he nails them both on a regular basis."

Now Terry didn't have a clue at all if Steve was nailing Vince, but he was well aware that Austin was not doing Jericho. He'd seen the blond brush off the other man's teasing come-ons on a regular basis. No way was the little blond going to be giving it up to Austin now... especially since he had Adam... Terry's Adam... Terry's light.

Forcing down the surge of anger that thought stirred, he tried to focus on Randy's reaction. He couldn't lose it now... not when the trap was so close to taking root. So very close.

 _"...He's all over Jericho whenever that little loud-mouth's around... yeah... he'd just be using me... He's a fucker Terry..."_

Yes. Oh yes. That had worked so much better than he planned. Hearing the rage in Randy's voice, his breath hitched slightly. His hand once again wandered over his groin in a casual caress. He bit his lip to stifle a moan as Randy swore to kick Austin's ass. He could just picture the serious chocolate eyes burning with an inner fire... the need to avenge himself against someone who had done him wrong. Those pouty lips would be pressed tightly together... how he'd love to have just a little taste.

But not now... not yet... still more work to be done... time to plant the seeds.

"So why don't you show him Randy. Show him you aren't someone to be toyed with. You have a match with Jericho and his little bitch on Monday. Take Copeland out. If Jericho is crying over his bitch being hurt, well then how do you think Austin's going to feel about that?"

 _"Shit man, you're serious? Fuck I don't know. In the ring? Shit Terry... .I... Fuck it! You're right. Fuck them ... Austin will suffer just by fuckin' proxy... Didn't you pick a fight with the guy last night anyway?"_

Terry took a long slow breath. He'd thought maybe he'd pushed too soon, but he hadn't. He had played it just right. Randy had fallen in with his way of thinking with just a little nudge. Terry was a little irritated that Randy brought up the incident from the arena last night, but apparently the younger man wasn't privy to all the details of what had happened. All the better for Terry. He'd be able to spin things to his advantage and Randy wouldn't think to question anyone about the incident. Who was he going to ask that had been there anyway? The Smackdown talent was no more enamored of Orton than anyone else... and Terry had already driven a wedge between the trio and Randy. Yeah... he was safe. He'd just have to stick to half-truths and hope it held up.

"He threatened me, man. All I did was defend myself. What was I supposed to do? Guy tells me he's going to cripple me... all because I made an innocent comment about his pretty little piece. So I did what I had to do. Now you need to do what you have to do. Get back at Austin."

He waited. He could feel it. Randy was going to snap at the bait. And as soon as Randy took out Adam, then he'd own Randy... own him body and soul. He'd blacken Randy's soul with the need for yet more revenge and he'd have that sweet lithe body for his very own... for a time anyway. In the end Orton would end up broken, but that wasn't Terry's problem... not his problem at all.

 _"But that smart-ass Chris has been asking to be smacked in the mouth for years Terry. ... That messes with both Adam and St... Stone Cold's heads at the same time, right? Gets two birds for the price of one pain in the ass."_

Oh for pity's sake. Terry scowled at the phone. 'Don't try to think, pretty boy, it's not your forte,' he thought silently. Besides... Adam'd kill the little idiot and put an end to Terry's plans for Hunter, Vince, and Heyman before they even had a chance. He had to nip this in the bud... and _now_.

"No! You don't want to take out Jericho. You wouldn't make it out of the ring. If Copeland threatened me over a simple little comment about the two of them fucking, what do you think he's going to do if you hurt the guy? Besides... there's another advantage here that you're not thinking about Randy. If you take out Copeland, Vince can't go and give him your IC title, now can he?"

Now that he had that out of the way... he needed more of a lure for Randy. And he had just the ticket...

"Now... if you do me this fav... take out Copeland as planned, then I'll be more than happy to help you with your plans for Hunter and Vince. I mean they aren't looking out for you Randy. You need someone that's on your side... someone that will help you prove to them that you are the future of the company. If you get Vince's golden boy out of the picture for awhile, he'll need someone to carry the company... and if you are already slated to get a shot at the title, who do you think that someone will be Randy?"

So close... so very, very close. Just one more little bit and he'd have him... hook, line, and sinker. Terry could _feel_ it. What he wanted was almost his.

"After Raw on Monday, then we can meet up. I'll head to Dayton and wait at the hotel. I'll help you figure out how to get back at them. I'm thinking our best bet is by going through Dave. It's obvious Hunter has a thing for the guy and he'd be pretty unhappy over losing such a nice looking piece of ass. Shawn would be a better idea, but he has too many liabilities. You don't want to deal with the Clique. They'd eat you alive, baby."

The endearment has been as much a plan as everything else. Let Randy think that Terry might have a little crush on him. Let him think that was why Terry was willing to help him. It didn't matter. Once Randy figured out the truth... it'd be too late.


	70. Mornings

An intense feeling of warmth and comfort greeted him as he woke, though he really could have done without the light shining in his eyes. Dave buried his face against the warm shoulder beside him for a moment, as he considered going back to sleep. With a quiet sigh of resignation, he knew he wouldn't be able to. He'd come awake as usual with crystal clearness and once he was actually awake, it was futile to try to snatch any extra time at all.

Climbing quietly from the bed, he rearranged the sheets to cover Shawn's side. Raising his hands over his head, he stretched the normal daily kinks from his body. One didn't work in their business and not wake up with a few points of irritation at the beginning of each day. Luckily he was still at the point where a bit of stretching rendered him mostly pain-free for the rest of the day.

Walking over to the curtains, he adjusted them so that the pesky beam of light wouldn't disturb his lovers. He took a moment to watch them, completely conscious of the beautiful picture they made together. Wrapped around each other, they slumbered, looking almost innocent. Yeah, right. The thought still made Dave smile though.

He couldn't just sit and watch them until they woke up. They might find that kind of creepy. Showering was out of the question, because he didn't want to disturb them. They both worked way too hard most of the time and any rest they could get, they deserved. What to do with himself...?

The gym. Perfect! He could get in a workout and take a bit of time to think as well.

Grabbing a pair of black cotton briefs --while mentally sticking his tongue out at Shawn-- a pair of sweatpants, and a T-shirt, he slipped them on quickly. A pair of socks and his sneakers from his suitcase completed his ensemble. Dave grabbed the keycard off the dresser and stuck it in his workout bag with a fresh change of clothes... he'd shower in the gym before he came back. Only one thing left to do...

Scribbling out a quick note to let Hunter and Shawn know where he'd gone, he placed it on the nightstand by the telephone. With one last look at his lovers entwined together on the bed, he headed out the door and down to the gym.

\-----

Surprisingly, even though it was close to 10:15 in the morning, there were very few people in the gym. Luckily the few that were in there didn't seem to be fans of the show. No nasty glares, no one trying to size him up, and no one asking for autographs... not that he had much of a problem with that yet. He just had too much on his mind to try to stay in character right now... then again... maybe not.

Serious thoughts seemed to be the theme of the hour as he sat down at the rowing machine. He still had an occasional worry about his previous injury and tended to work his back, shoulders, and arms regularly even if he didn't get in a full workout. That wasn't what was on his mind today though as he went through the repetitious motions.

Today he focused on the two men that he'd left upstairs. Despite the fabulous night they'd shared, he couldn't help but wonder if this would all work out for them. There were a few things riding against them, though they seemed to have sailed past other problems with flying colors so far. Steph seemed to be on their side and that thrilled him. Though it might take awhile to get used to her, having Hunter's wife's approval was a huge plus for them. They also had Ric's support, if his comments on the plane and in the locker room were anything to go by. And as far as he knew the rest of the members of the Clique had no objections.

Still... the negatives were sort of daunting. Vince having been forced to accept their relationship against his will did not settle well with Dave and he was curious as to what exactly Vince's objection had been. The fact that Vince had requested that he stay and the others leave the office was like a flashing beacon. Obviously there was a problem regarding him and he'd have liked to know what it was. Maybe he'd corner Vince on Sunday or Monday and figure out exactly what it was... if he could get away from Hunter and Shawn long enough. Somehow he doubted that Vince would be open about it in front of them, but maybe if he could get the man alone...

Dave sighed as he climbed off the rowing machine and walked over to a treadmill, wiping his face with a towel as he went. As he settled into a comfortable jog on the machine, he admitted to himself that Vince wasn't the biggest obstacle he was facing. The reason that he was still so unsettled about this relationship... the reason that he was down in the gym at 11:15 in the morning instead of upstairs in bed, lazing around... was Shawn.

He was being terribly impatient and it wasn't really fair to examine the thing so closely this early on, but quite honestly he was nervous as hell. What if Shawn, for some reason or other, just couldn't love him in the end. Would he be able to walk away from both Shawn and Hunter if it came down to it? Would he stay even if Shawn's feelings didn't change... could he?

Dave knew the answer to that if he were really honest with himself. It would be unbearable being around his perky blond lover if those feelings didn't develop. Within less than 48 hours he had already invested his whole being in this relationship on the chance that it might work out. If it didn't, he wasn't sure how he'd survive having to leave, especially knowing that Hunter returned his feelings. Walking away from both men would leave bleeding wounds that he wouldn't get over for a very, very long time.

Would walking away now be for the best? It wouldn't get any easier if he had to do it later. The longer he stayed with them, the deeper in he'd be... the harder it would be to let them go if he had to.

But, god help him, he didn't want to walk away. He wasn't sure that he could now that he knew what it was like to be with them... to feel their hands on his body... to have Shawn inside him. He'd given them every bit of himself that he could so far... and he would keep on doing so. He couldn't leave. He just couldn't.

****

Randy hadn't realised he was doing violent laps of the room until he almost broke his knee on the coffee table. Never in this lifetime would Randy Orton whore his ass out for a title, any title. It was just the 'idea', that Hunter, a man whom Randy had felt a boatload of respect for, would use someone that way, that caused Randy to feel almost sick. Glaring down at the bible resting innocently on the laminate surface, he let Terry's soothing words of support wash over him, even as they sparked his anger even further.

 _Well, I don't think you're anyone's bitch, Randy._

Good, because if he did then this call would be over, there would be imprints from his fingers in the phone and something medieval would be happening to the coffee table. And the door.

 _Popping Austin in the face last night..._

His knees buckling beneath him Randy sank to the floor and rested his naked back against the bed. Just as it had last night, his anger drained out of him and became something else... but this time it wasn't tearing sobs. No. This time, that horrible headache behind his eyes and the trembling of his fingers was converted into white-hot rage that left him scarily calm.

Terry had seen them.

Randy and Steve.

Breathing evenly, Randy listened as Terry talked. The other man was on Randy's side apparently.

 _He deserved it._

Yes, he did.

 _Austin's a bigger man-whore than Copeland..._

Yes, he is.

 _Steve Austin isn't capable of sticking to one person._

No, he isn't.

 _...he'd be nailing anything that moved..._

More than likely.

"I... I wouldn't be surprised either. He's all over Jericho whenever that little loud-mouth's around..." showering Chris with affection and laughter, "...yeah... he'd just be using me. I can see how it would be. He's a fucker Terry and if he thinks he can string me along then he's gonna get his ass kicked..."

Because nobody played Randy Orton. He didn't care if he wasn't as experienced as his opponent, Randy was feeling pretty psychotic and ready to show the world exactly what he was made of.

 _So why don't you show him Randy?... Take Copeland out... how do you think Austin's going to feel about that?_

Randy knew exactly how that would make Steve... _No! Stone Cold dammit, he's not your boyfriend,_ feel. But even so, the thought of deliberately hurting a fellow wrestler was something Randy had never before contemplated. It was a pretty sick way of getting revenge though. His shield of rage flickered for an instant.

"Shit man, you're serious? Fuck, I don't know. In the ring? Shit Terry... I..."

If was going to do this, do it right, then he couldn't back down now. This was the only way to get rid of the white-hot shield around his emotions, the ugly plan they were making the only way to get rid of it all. Infusing his voice with all the malice he hadn't known he was capable of, Randy joined his mind to Terry's.

"...Fuck it! You're right. Fuck them. If Copeland's out of commission again, then that little blond bastard will be so messed up Austin will suffer just by fuckin' proxy."

But from what Maven had said, Terry had already taken Copeland out last night. Why go after the man a second time, when they had plenty of other targets for their ire. Feeling himself relax somewhat as his plans began to formulate, Randy snagged the shirt he dropped on the floor and slipped it one, switching the phone to his other ear as he listened for Terry's explanation.

"Why don't you do it yourself man? Didn't you pick a fight with the guy last night anyway?"

 _All I did was defend myself... I did what I had to do... you need to do... Get back at Austin._

The thing was, the person Randy was right now knew a much better way of hurting Austin than Terry did. Surprised that Terry wouldn't see the obvious target, Randy did up his belt while asking.

"But that smart-ass Chris has been asking to be smacked in the mouth for years Terry. Why not go after him? That messes with both Adam and St... Stone Cold's heads at the same time, right? Gets two birds for the price of one pain in the ass."

Although anyone who thought they could easily hurt Jericho in the ring was a fool. Randy wasn't about to take his task lightly. He'd thought this was going to be a hell of a week and it looked like it was going to be fucking unreal if Terry was serious about this. The other man's reassurances and promises, Randy just filed away under the cool overcoat of his rage, the actual plan didn't matter, it was the concept that had brought him in to this rotten little thing.

 _You wouldn't make it out of the ring... Vince can't go and give him your IC title... your plans for Hunter and Vince... you are already slated to get a shot at the title..._

Nodding his agreement even though Terry could see him, Randy fixed his watch to his wrist and neatly packed his bag. His rage protected him now, all of last night's emotions had shriveled under the blistering heat and Randy found he really didn't care. Only Terry's mention on Dave Batista sparked the slightest reaction from him, strong brow furrowing for a second in thought before smoothing back into the pleasant 'fuck you' face he was such a master at.

 _I'll head to Dayton and wait at the hotel._

Fine by Randy.

"Good, see you there." He barely even registered the 'baby' as they hung up. By Monday night, Terry could call him anything he wanted as far as Randy was concerned.

After next week's Raw, he'd have nothing... or maybe everything.

****

Jeff had been watching Mark sleep for nearly an hour, his internal alarm waking him at 7am and then every subsequent hour until he got his lazy ass out of bed. This morning however, he hadn't needed to get up. There was no flight to catch, no breakfast to cook and no brother to annoy. Instead he'd awoken still cuddled into the large warm body wrapped so intimately around his. Jeff had thought he would have liked to remain in bed forever.

This last awakening though, almost ten by his watch, Jeff hadn't curled back around Mark, hadn't kissed the long arm he'd pillowed his head on and blissfully shut his eyes. No, this time, Jeff had moved away, careful not to wake his sleeping lover, until he could sit cross-legged in the middle of the bed and just look his fill.

Mark looked ten years younger when he was asleep... as most people did. The concerns of their day to day lives falling away while their minds wandered in shifting dreams, slow even breaths relaxing tension tight shoulders and iron jaws. Slowly pulling back the sheet until Mark was bare from the hips upwards, Jeff memorised every inch of skin, every fine trace of ink and warm pulse of flesh until he was sure he'd have a perfect mental image.

It would need to last a lifetime.

But when his eyes had finished feasting, Jeff knew his body was demanding it's share. It was morning after all and he was only twenty-six. Some things were a given. Sexy, naked man in the same bed and Jeff was horny as hell, fortunately a long lingering glance showed that Mark felt the same... even if he was still asleep.

While last night's love-making had certainly been _fucking hot_ as well as mutually satisfying, Jeff knew there were a million and one other things he wanted to do with Mark or more importantly... have Mark do to him. But first on his list, was something he'd been too greedy to allow himself last night and now had the time, and stamina, to fully indulge.

Scooting back, Jeff gently insinuated himself between Mark's long, long legs and began to slowly kiss the strong, muscular thighs banding his head. The brief touches weren't enough to jolt Mark awake, but if they were duplicated in Mark's dream-fogged mind, then Jeff could bring his lover to reality in the best of possible ways.

Changing from kisses to delicate licks, Jeff reached the half hard, and getting harder length and stroked his tongue lovingly around the base. Peppering the satin-like skin up the shaft with small playful nips, he parted his lips to suck slowly at the enlarged head. Now fiercely interested, the cock in his mouth twitched at his attentions, while the man beneath him moaned at what was, hopefully, some damn fine sensations.

Feeling his own erection jump at the sound, Jeff put little more enthusiasm into his task. Taking a tour of the skin around Mark's cock and the wild weight of his balls, he committed every scent, every sound to that same mental picture. Jeff craved the taste of Mark's seed in his mouth, wanted the slight stickiness on his lips like it was still in his ass from last night. He needed to be marked, body and soul by his lover, even if it was only a temporary ownership.

Even if it was already over.

Mark's burning green eyes had opened by the time Jeff finished his little oral tour and were looking at him with an expression at once stunned, half-asleep and turned-on. Feeling a delighted bubble swirl up from his stomach at the look, Jeff was on the verge of winking naughtily and going back to his task when he saw it.

Again.

The barest hint of imperfection in an amazingly perfect man. It had been there for years, that shard of sadness and although Jeff didn't know who it was for, Shannon had never said, he still had his suspicions.

Everyone did.

A man as compelling as Mark didn't just drop off the dating radar for months without people noticing, but despite all speculation the name of his mystery lover never became common gossip. It was a credit to Shannon that his relationship with Mark had remained private in the face of speculation backstage. But really, it didn't matter who it was. The person who had won Mark's heart still owned it and strangely enough, Jeff didn't even really feel jealous.

Feeling that bubble burst under the weight of reality, Jeff still winked but his smile might have also been tinged with sadness. He knew how he could take away that spear of pain he had seen smoldering in Mark’s beautiful eyes, take away the concern and the emotion Jeff guessed all too quickly was guilt. Reaching up, he traced his fingers across Mark’s eyelids, the whisper light touch causing those beloved eyes to close

“It's okay Mark… It’s okay,” his voice was wrong, but it was close enough.

Everybody always said how close he was.

“Just… pretend I’m him… it’s okay… just pretend..."

****

Ignoring the reference to the "pretty" feud, Chris’ lips twitched up into a naughty smile as Adam moved his hands away from their skin. He severely doubted he’d have the ability to keep said hands off his lover’s gorgeous flesh, but for Adam he was willing to give it his best shot. Knowing his limits would be tested, CJ let the languorous mood of morning flood through him like the sunlight spilling onto their bed. They weren’t in any hurry here, all the time in the world belonged to them until they felt like flying home. Chris moved about ten inches to the side of his prone lover then sat up, his weight resting on hip and hand so he could look down at the lovely body sprawled so enticingly close to his.

Not close enough, became CJ’s mantra thirty seconds later, as Adam’s fingers started skimming over smooth tanned skin with deliberate, teasing strokes. Feeling his hormones begin to start a war with his iron control, Chris’s fingers twitched against the area of sheet between them, mirroring the circles and directions taken by Adam’s hands, but onto a far less erotic surface. His hand was just moments away from participating in the sensual journey, when Adam’s reprimand caught Chris and the knowing smirk forced his palm regretfully back to it’s original position. This at least gave Chris’ willpower some very much needed ammunition and he managed to keep his fingers curled into the sheet rather than reaching for that smooth as silk patch of skin on Adam’s hip. He was really getting quite fond of that small territory and felt ready to declare it a state of Jericho. Knowing he was on the verge of vocalizing some kind of bizarre frenetic commentary, he firmly bit his lower lip between his teeth to stifle any misplaced words. Sometimes being a ‘talker’ was a good thing. While watching your boyfriend pleasure himself in front of you wasn’t really one of those times.

Besides, he’d die if he threw Adam off his stroke.

Speaking of noises, which Chris dutifully wasn’t, it was also the sounds that were causing his willpower to attempt a strategic retreat. Particularly sensitive to music in all its varied forms, Chris felt the noises coming from his lover’s lush mouth were the finest notes ever made. The combination of their rampant breathing, interspersed with quiet groans was becoming almost melodious. If you could call something that might belong in a porno, a melody. Even the briefest hitch of breath, as Adam’s wandering hand finally reached his raging hard-on, was enough to bring forth an answering gasp from Chris, another note in their harmony.

He was seriously thinking he’d made the worst possible choice of three, no way could this kind of torture be legal, when CJ’s hormones launched a nuclear strike on his willpower. Entirely unsurprised when his misbehaving hand was swatted away, Chris lifted his well-smacked hand to his mouth and replaced his lip with his forefinger. Fortunately at that moment Adam took pity on CJ and caught up his soon to be bruised by his teeth hand, into a loving kiss. His damaged hand, lay obediently on the pillow, unable to move without CJ doing a face plant into the mattress, so it was under control. But Adam… beautiful, sexy Adam, had just started to thrust his hips up into the air, the strong, skilled hand on his sex, moving and twisting in such a way, that Chris was hypnotized by the rhythm. A small, clever part of Chris’ brain was furiously scribbling notes as to what caused what kind of reaction in Adam. A moan from this, a gasp from that and most interestingly, a silent shudder with just the faintest of touches on the round, swollen head.

Knowing that Adam couldn’t be far from climax, if his symphony of groans was anything to go by, Chris dragged his eyes away from the long fingers causing such beautiful reactions and swept his gaze hungrily up the strong muscled chest to Adam’s face. What he saw there almost caused him to bite off his tongue. Not only was Adam’s face suffused with the pleasure at the feel of his actions, but he seemed to be getting off on something other that just his hand.

His eyes were locked on Chris’ face.

Happily surrendering his willpower to the overwhelming forces of love and hormones, Chris moved without even being aware of it. Adam’s heated length felt so incredibly good in his hand, the sight of their fingers moving as one, bringing a surge of unrestrained lust pulsing through Chris’ body, ending in an agonized throb that almost brought him undone. Watching his hand move to Adam’s cock, Chris was startled by the violent rush of desire that coursed through him at merely the faintest of contact of his fingertips on silk. Considering what they’d done last night…and the previous morning…and the night before that, he was kinda surprised that he was still this electrified by just touching Adam.

 _Oh sweetheart._

The endearment caused Chris’ silence to explode into a stream of love and compliments.

"Love you… love you… so sexy… God you look so hot… feel just perfect… love you…"

When Adam came it was like… like… nothing Chris had ever experienced. His own neglected member, throbbed enthusiastically, but was too under-stimulated to join in the fun. Chris didn’t mind. The look of sheer bliss on his lover’s face sent a rush of contentment through CJ that felt remarkably like the come-down from orgasm anyway. Their last times had been simultaneous, a fact for which he was feeling especially proud, but this? Well. That had just been the best sex Chris had ever experienced… and he hadn’t even come.

 _Christopher… you bad, bad boy._

Chris smiled at the use of his full name and moaned resignedly at the response in his cock to that tone of Adam’s voice. Slowly he leaned down and lapped at the warm creamy fluid on Adam’s stomach, taking an occasional sneaking bite of equally warm flesh.

"I know… I’m bad," he acknowledged with mock sorrow. "But I think your list of punishments might need to be a long one Babe."

Pulling away, Chris scooted towards the end of the bed and relaxed back on his elbows, lifting up one knee comfortably. Between them now lay Adam’s legs and CJ’s rather obvious erection.

"So… am I gonna get punished?"

****

Hunter knew the instant he awoke that Shawn was there. It could have been his scent, his warmth or perhaps simply the sound of his breathing, but it was Shawn. The person he couldn't sense, however, was Dave. There was only one other man in the room, so their dark lover must have skipped out without waking them. Not an easy feat by any imagination, Hunt was usually a pretty light sleeper. But given that he'd only managed a not very revitalising passed-out four hours the previous night, it wasn't much of a stretch to think he'd snored through Dave's leaving.

The key component to determining Hunter's next course of actions was where Dave had gone and when he was coming back. If he'd stolen Hunter's pathetic corner of the market on 'running like a ninny', then he would have to wake Shawn so they could go find the big lug. If 'not a lug' Dave had simply gone for breakfast or god bless him... coffee... then Hunter could stay in bed, grope Shawn and wait for his lover to return.

With coffee.

Luckily for Hunter, the first thing he saw when he cracked his eyes open was Shawn's head. Hair a honey cloud, face planted firmly into the pillow. Beyond that wonderful image was an expanse of bed that should have held his bronzed lover and then the bed stand, on which rested a small folded piece of paper. Shifting slowly so he wouldn't wake the sleeping man beside him, Hunt leaned over Shawn and picked up the note. Yep, it had definitely been Shawn's scent that had reassured Hunter. He'd been almost intimate with Shawn in a lot of ways over the years, they'd bled, cried, sweated and laughed all over each other until Shawn's body was as familiar to him as his own. Except for that one, most fantastic of ways... till last night. When Hunter had added the smell and sight of a just-fucked Shawn to the mish-mash of images in his soul simply labeled 'Beloved'.

Glancing at the note, Hunter smiled in very real relief.

The gym. Good. No need to summon a posse then. But no mention of coffee either so Hunt would have to do some work on Dave's training. That ridiculous thought caused Hunter to have to stifle a choked laugh at him being able to pressure Dave to do anything the big man didn't want to do. His lovers may call him 'bossy', but he might just have to be, with boyfriends as stubborn as those two.

Realising he was still comfortably draped over Shawn's back, Hunter settled in so he wasn't poking a hole through the blond's spine with his cock and wondered how to wake his sleeping beauty. Shoving one arm underneath his pillow, Hunter lifted the note and traced the tattoo on Shawn's bicep with a paper corner. First the snake got outlined, then the darker lines of the dagger, before over and over around the heart. Heartbreaker.

Not really. His beautiful friend had never broken Hunter's heart. Not even threatened it really. Sure, he'd had as big a crush on HBK as the youngest of fans, but instead of his love shriveling without any kind of affection, Hunt's heart had been bathed by a friendship that was his most cherished of relationships. He'd never hated Shawn for not loving him, or hated himself for loving Shawn. It was part of who he was, this crazy, bursting, happy person so enamoured of the man sweetly dreaming next to him. When Shawn was around... hate just wasn't possible.

His playful and, Hunt acknowledged, probably irritating caress, had seemed to awaken his handsome prince, if the muffled grunt and pseudo-glare from one blue-grey eye was an indication. Keeping the paper moving, Hunter grinned into that heart-stopping, sleepy face.

"Good morning Mr. Michaels, this is your wake-up call. Would you like breakfast in bed today?"

****

It was out of character for him, Chris knew, but he didn't care. Lying in bed, listening to Eddie breathe against the back of his neck, he couldn't help but smile... and it probably wasn't going to go away anytime soon. After this long apart, the simple fact that he was with Eddie was enough to make him happy... and if he was smiling more than normal, so what? Who wouldn't be pleased to find themselves in bed with their lover, late in the morning, and not having to rush anywhere?

They had a flight to catch to Atlanta in the afternoon, but they didn't have to be anywhere else until Friday, and since that was Eddie's signing, Chris was going to go with him. Knowing that they'd only have to be apart on Saturday was almost a blessing, with the hectic schedule they'd had for the last few months. Knowing that after Sunday, they'd have nearly a week before they'd see each other again... that wasn't so easy to take. But that was something that he'd worry about when they got there. For now... he had much more pleasant things to think about.

The realisation he'd had the night before was enough to make him much more aware of the casual touches that Eddie used so liberally, and obviously without thinking about it. Part of it was probably just because of how and where he'd grown up, but part of it was just Eddie. Chris had resolved as he'd drifted off to sleep the night before, Eddie's arms around him, that he was going to do his damnedest to start reciprocating those touches, no matter how difficult it might be to overcome his ingrained distance. If there was anyone he didn't want to be distant from, it was his lover... especially not with the physical distances they'd had to deal with so much lately.

"Hey, _mango_... what're you thinking about so hard?"

The soft drawl in his ear startled him, and he turned his head to find Eddie smiling at him. Fighting back the blush at the endearment, Chris doubted that he was all that sexy right now... although he'd be more than happy to apply that epithet to the man looking up at him, hair all tousled and sleepy brown eyes.

"How long have you been awake?" He didn't really expect an answer; this was a game they'd played as long as they'd been sharing a room, whether as lovers or as friends. Early on, the first one awake had been prone to play minor pranks on the other. As things had changed between them, though, so had the nature of the pranks, and Benoit had many fond memories of hearing Eddie cry out his name as he woke up to find Chris's mouth wrapped around him.

"Long enough, Chris. Long enough." The warm gaze that swept over him left no doubt as to his lover's sincerity, and knowing that Eddie had lain there, just watching him, made him feel incredibly loved. "But you looked awfully thoughtful, _papi_. Something wrong?" Seeing concern in the warm eyes, Chris shook his head, turning to face Eddie without dislodging the arm still draped across his waist.

"No... I was thinking about how right things are, actually." Reaching up, he brushed his fingers across the wrinkled forehead, smoothing away the slight frown before sliding his hand back to cup the back of Eddie's head as he pressed a soft kiss to Eddie's lips. Seeing the surprised smile on his lover's face, Chris laughed to himself. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to teach himself to touch Eddie more often, after all.

****

Slowly swimming up through the fuzzy layers of the dreams he'd been caught in, Shawn was first conscious of how warm he was and smiled vaguely into his pillow. This wasn't just any warmth; it certainly wasn't the so-so warmth of his own body heat underneath the blankets, and it wasn't the fake warmth of a heater left turned up too high. It was the unmistakably delicious warmth of another body next to his.

Close on the heels of that cotton-wrapped realisation followed another: ...Shouldn't there be _two_ bodies... ?

As he tried to piece together that thought, he felt the surface beneath him shift and then a warm weight draped across him. Heavy, but not painful. Enough to make him realise that the person lying behind him had just leaned over him... Hunter. He'd recognise Hunter's scent anywhere. That particular spicy musk was probably more familiar to him than his own, after the years they'd spent together wrestling, partying, helping each other drunkenly down halls, and sharing rooms and sometimes beds.

Bed. Hunter. _Hunter_.

Shawn kept his eyes closed as memories of the last day crashed down over him. Waking up in Dave's arms, fighting with Hunter, flirting with both of them... making love with them. Little tingles ran through his skin at those memories, and he wondered for an instant if maybe his body wasn't trying to make up for the last few years of rarely-broken loneliness all in one day. Hunter was still pressed up against his back, and Shawn could feel a hard length pressing against him. God. How many times had he dreamt of things like this? As tempting as it was, though, he couldn't quite muster the willpower to lift his head yet, let alone turn over and do... anything he was thinking of.

Still caught up in the hazy half-awake thoughts, he was aware of Hunter moving again, taking away that lovely weight and tantalizing pressure. And then there was... _something_... on his arm. It felt like a fly. No... an itch. No... dammit. Whatever it was, it was irritating. A soft noise that was probably a curse escaped him, muffled by the pillow as he reluctantly opened an eye and glared at Hunter.

 _"Good morning Mr. Michaels, this is your wake-up call. Would you like breakfast in bed today?"_

Now that was a lovely idea... especially if that glint in Hunter's eye meant what Shawn hoped it did. Looking up at his grinning lover... _lover!_... Shawn could feel his own lips curving in response, no matter how much he wanted to keep his morning grumpiness. He'd never been a morning person and had always hated getting woken up... but this, he could get used to. Just seeing Hunter looking at him like this, with that familiar gleam in his eye that meant so much more now that Shawn _knew_ what it meant, was enough to make him half-wish that he could fall asleep again just so that Hunt could wake him up again. Speaking of which... Squinting down at his arm, he glared at the piece of paper that the tanned fingers kept moving.

"Only if you stop that." As soon as he'd said it, he regretted the grumpy tone, but Hunter's smile reassured him. Turning onto his back, he reached up and hooked his arm around Hunter's neck, pulling him down for a long, leisurely kiss. Wonderful. And the insistent hardness pressing against his hip didn't hurt, either. Letting his head fall back against the pillow, Shawn smiled crookedly at Hunt as he let his eyes travel over the familiar body draped half-across him. Familiar, but not. As well as he knew it, there were still some lines waiting to be crossed... and he was more than ready to start crossing them.

Running his fingers through Hunter's hair, Dave's absence finally hit him, and he forced back the initial panicked response, his eyes flicking to the folded piece of paper still grasped in Hunter's hand. If something were wrong, if Dave was gone for any not-completely-normal reason, Hunter wouldn't be looking at him like that, all relaxed and smiling, and pretty horny if the erection was anything to go by. Wherever their errant lover had gone, he was going to get an earful when he returned---it had been a long, long time since Shawn was able to enjoy spending time in someone's arms, and even longer since he'd experienced that with two people. Even if Dave was a morning person, he was going to have to learn to stay in bed later... at least some mornings.

Like this morning.

And on that note... Letting his smile curve into wickedness, Shawn ran his hand oh-so-casually down Hunter's neck, pausing long enough to feel the pulse beating against his fingertips, before moving down the wide chest with a brief stop to tweak a nipple. On to the hips, and such nice hips they were, fitting into his hand like they were made for it, and then...

Trying not to smirk at Hunter's reaction as his fingers wrapped loosely around the hard shaft, Shawn asked innocently, "What sort of meal did you have in mind, love?"

****

Chris' version of cleaning up was damn near enough to kill him. The tongue swirling over his skin was short circuiting his over-stimulated nerve endings. Still... he wouldn't have stopped it for anything. The intermittent flash of pink against his tanned stomach was entirely too sexy. If he hadn't _just_ come, he'd have been all over hard again... no doubt about it.

 _"But I think your list of punishments might need to be a long one Babe."_

No problem at all there. He'd had years to think of all the ways that he'd like to 'punish' Chris. The fact that none of them were truly punishments didn't matter. If you stretched anything out long enough it could be a form of gentle torture and that worked just as well to his way of thinking.

The sexy sprawl Chris ended up in at the end of the bed was a beautiful picture. What he wouldn’t give for a camera right now. That picture would end up in a private collection, never to be seen by anyone but him.

 _"So... am I gonna get punished?"_

Trotting out his best 'You are sooo screwed' grin, he ran his toes slowly over Chris' calf.

"You betcha... all in the interest of consistency, you understand. Far be it from me to reinforce _your_ bad habits."

Feeling the sticky residue on his hand, he grimaced and rolled off the bed. He didn't want anything to mar the taste or feel of his lover's skin, at least not until after a certain point, not to mention that this particular lube wasn't exactly tasty. Dropping a kiss in the middle of Chris' forehead, he headed to the bathroom. "Hold that thought, love." He washed his hands quickly, used a cloth to clean the rest of his sticky skin, and grabbed something from his shaving kit before hurrying back out to the bed. Phase one might include making his lover wait as torture, but it wasn't one of his favorites and not one that he could use in abundance. Chris was just impatient enough that he might take things into his own hands and that was definitely not on the agenda.

As he climbed onto the bed, he slipped the item in his hand surreptitiously under the edge of the sheet. Lying on his side, he plastered his body against that of his sexy and clearly impatient lover. Dipping his head, he nudged aside the waterfall of silky blond hair and traced the shell of Chris' ear with his tongue. Laying his hand gently over rippling abdominal muscles, he made small circles with his fingertips.

"You've left me in a bad position here, sweetheart. See I promised you a certain demonstration and yet you didn't follow directions very well at all." Pulling a lobe between his lips, he licked it and then scraped it gently with his teeth. "I really should punish you, but I still want to give you that demonstration, so I've had to come up with a way to do both." Lifting the hand from Chris' stomach, he laced it gently in his lover's blond tresses and turned his head slightly towards him. Letting his breath wash slowly over lush, smooth lips, he laid out the terms of the punishment, which when you looked at it was as far from a punishment as one could really get... unless one was already worked up to start with. "I hope you've got patience, Christopher, because I plan on stretching this out as long as I possibly can. No amount of begging or pleading is going to make me move any faster. That, my love, is your punishment."

Gifting his lover with an evil grin, he set out to fulfill his promise. With the tip of his tongue, he slowly traced the outline of those pouty lips in perfect detail. Sucking the bottom lip into his mouth, he tugged it gently with his teeth, growling in satisfaction. From there, he pushed slowly inside that sensuous warm cavern, exploring every inch of it... twice.

When he finally pulled away, they were both gasping for breath. He paused for only a moment before giving a light tug to Chris' hair, tipping his head backward to give him access to the smooth expanse from chin to chest. With lips, tongue, and teeth he covered it all, with a special scrape of his teeth over his lover's Adam's apple. Each side of his neck and both broad shoulders were treated to the same thorough canvassing. Adam spent extra time on the skin above the throbbing pulse on each side of his neck, lingering long enough on one side to leave a solid red bruise, marking Chris as his.

As much as he was enjoying all the sexy little noises his lover was making, he had to remind himself that he was _supposed_ to be going slowly. He raised his head and let his eyes linger on perky bronzed nipples before shaking his head and changing direction. Releasing his hold on Chris' hair, he grabbed the hand opposite him, drew it up to his mouth and pulled the index finger between his lips. He made a slow circle around the digit before hollowing his cheeks and sucking firmly on it. He bobbed his head slowly, simulating the act he planned to perform later on another part of his lover's body... much later. As he drew back on Chris' wrist, the finger slipped from his mouth with a huge pop.

He grinned over that for a moment before directing the middle finger between his lips. He brushed his tongue over the pad while nipping gently with his teeth. Each successive finger suffered a different form of teasing. With a smirk, he nibbled at the wrist, swirled his tongue over the bend of the elbow, and scraped his teeth over a bulging bicep.

When he picked up Chris' other hand, he growled quietly, the splints on Chris' fingers a stark reminder of what had happened the night before. Thanks to Terry, Chris was hurt and someday he'd be sure to pay the dark-haired man back for that. But for right now, Terry was the last thing he wanted to think about. Naked Chris was ever so much more interesting than thoughts of revenge, especially when he had a mission to taste all that lovely nakedness with his tongue. Pressing a gentle kiss to the injured fingers, Adam moved on to each of the others, giving them the same treatment that the others had received. By the time he'd completed the ritual on the fingers and arm closest to him, Chris was starting to get just a tiny bit impatient. At least that was Adam's guess according to some of the things coming out of his lover's mouth.

 _"You lied when you said you loved me Babe… just… not… fair."_

He should feel bad and maybe just a little sympathetic... but he didn't. He was quickly becoming addicted to the slightly salty taste of his lover's skin and it was a known fact that he liked to overindulge on occasion. If he were going to gorge himself on anything, then Chris' taste was at the top of his list. He didn't want Chris to get too frustrated though, so he moved on to another choice target.

Sliding a little lower along Chris' side, he wrapped his lips around one of the small nubs on Chris' chest. Interspersing light suction with swirls using the tip of his tongue, he teased until the flesh between his lips was drawn into a taunt peak. A gentle nip with his teeth netted him his name interlaced with a quiet moan.

Another quick swipe of his tongue and he shifted to his hands and knees, sliding one across Chris' thighs so that he was now hovering over top of his lover. Settling his bottom on those warm, hard thighs, he moved on to the mate to offer the same torture.

 _"Mmmph… yeah… well, I’m not gonna give in… you hear me you, you… incubus!"_

Having just wrapped his lips around the second tempting bit of flesh that adorned Chris' chest, Adam dropped his head against his lover's shoulder. He was caught somewhere between a grin and trying not to laugh. Exactly _what_ was Chris accusing him of? The firm hard length pressing against his stomach confirmed two things for Adam... first, Chris was definitely not a woman, the usual choice of most incubi and secondly, Chris was definitely _not_ asleep.

Lifting his head once he had himself under control, his eyes were caught by the sight of Chris' tongue slipping from his mouth to trace his upper lip. The completely entrancing view pulled a quiet moan of appreciation from him, the sound muffled against Chris' nipple still caught firmly between Adam's lips. He was starting to get a bit impatient himself, but he was determined to carry through on his punishment, even if it was punishing _him_ more than Chris.

Flattening his tongue, he traced the outline of each rib along his lover's chest working in a pattern from outside to inside then inside to outside on the next. After covering both sides of his chest, he moved on to the well of Chris' navel. A dip of his tongue here, a tiny nip along the edge there, he covered the surrounding area completely. Tilting his head to the side, he rubbed his short whiskers gently over one jutting hipbone, before laving the area with his tongue. Encouraged by Chris' reaction, he performed the same actions on the opposite hip before sitting up and slipping into a kneeling position between Chris' knees.

"Are you absolutely sure that you won't give in, sweetheart?" he asked with a wicked twinkle in his eye. "Not that it would do you any good if you did... you _are_ being punished after all."

****

Chris had to wait less than a moment for Adam’s reply to his dare. A moment in which the upper-hand in this sexual encounter, which he had smugly believed to be his, went swinging straight from him to rest firmly with his grinning lover. Up until that moment, Chris hadn’t known a single grin _could_ promise both sex and agony at the same time, but Adam managed it easily. Hoping that the expression would lead to him getting some skin contact in the near future, Chris tried to look as easy and sluttish as possible when his wicked, evil, sex promising boyfriend moved in Chris’ direction…

…and got off the bed.

Chris blinked down at himself and decided that he really needed to work on his ‘slut’ look if it made people run away. Even hearing the water running in the bathroom as evidence of Adam’s purpose wasn’t enough to pull CJ’s mind from plans to find some vinyl pants that were cut even lower than the ones he already owned. Wondering briefly where those red ones he wore during their feud few years back were, Chris tilted his neck until he could watch the bathroom door upside down from the end of the bed. Smirking at a new plan to give Adam a blow-job from this position, Chris impatiently drummed his fingers on the mattress until Adam returned.

Because Adam better return.

He really, really better, because while some punishments were fun, being left in the middle of the bed while Adam messed around in the bathroom was the kind of thing that just got Chris more and more determined to not give in. To whatever would happen. Adam could do his worst, could come back with all sorts of weird toys, could paint Chris blue and make him tap dance, but Chris wouldn’t give in… he was made of sterner stuff than that.

Ahh good. Adam was back. Now they could have sex.

"Don’t rush or anything Babe, I’m fine by the way."

Ignoring the contradicting scream from somewhere between his legs, Chris relaxed as Adam climbed up beside him and started with some nuzzling and stroking. Hmmmm… punishments were fun.

 _you didn't follow directions very well at all_

"You try it." Chris’s protest was lost in a small intake of air as Adam mouthed at his earlobe.

 _hope you've got patience, Christopher, because I plan on stretching this out as long as I possibly can. No amount of begging or pleading is going to make me move any faster. That, my love, is your punishment._

Jaw dropping in a bewildered expression of "tell me you’re kidding me Babe. Babe? _Babe_?" Chris’ desperate verbal reply of "how long?" was lost in the brain melting kisses his mouth was then subjected to. In fact, after Adam decided to chart every millimeter of CJ’s mouth with his tongue… twice… it resolved that speaking coherently of any kind was no longer its primary mission. Being kissed by Adam was what it was designed for. While his mouth was having it very own little renaissance, Chris' brain tried to ignore all the lovely sensations that French kissing Adam Copeland caused and thought desperately about surviving his potential ravishment by the same Mr. Copeland.

It would be a massive understatement to say Chris Jericho had pride. A whole lion’s worth had been one witty comment over the years, but he had never denied it. Having an ego about the things you were good at didn’t bother CJ, it was the people who thought they were hot shit when they really, really weren’t that stuck in his craw. So when his gorgeous, sexy, orally talented… "fuck!" his _collarbone_ was horny… lover decided Chris’ punishment would be to endure a prolonged tongue-bath without benefit of release… Y2J would answer… "try me."

Unfortunately for Y2J, Chris mentally flattened his alter-ego with a blunt object and started to give in to Adam after the honey streaked head with the ‘mouth from heaven’… "oh Jesus God"… _bit_ him.

"…Baby… you just… just bit… Jesus… ow… ahhhh…"

Adam was stimulating every single nerve ending in Chris’ body with his passionate caresses, causing a responding twitch in Chris heart that made him love the guy all the more. And if the man didn’t look so damned pleased with his little ‘ole self, Chris would be inclined to tell him so. Instead what CJ managed to gasp out between little… wow… hiccups of sex induced nonsense was more like,

"…not fair… gonna make you pay… punish you right back… love…"

When Adam went to work on his fingers, Chris’ pride completely gave up any hope of winning this battle and sat back with a cool drink to enjoy the show. The gentle treatment of his damaged fingers brought a small loving smile, while the momentary flash of anger in his lover’s eyes pulled at his heart. Yeah… he knew that feeling. Each finger was slowly sucked into the hot, wet cavern of his lover’s mouth and Chris gave a pathetic little moan as Adam’s head bobbed, causing CJ’s dick to be monstrously jealous of his hand. As if that wasn’t the point. Chris was hardly blind to the knowing look in his lover’s deceptively mild green eyes and couldn’t be sorry for it. It’d never been his privilege to be the subject of someone’s complete and unswerving attention before and CJ was finding the feeling almost addictive.

Although if he could have an orgasm in the next year or so, he be even more grateful.

"You lied when you said you loved me babe… just… not… fair."

Not that he really believed that, but giving his current ‘punishment’ should be against international law, Chris felt he was justified in the accusation. Because… because… damn nipples, _nipples_ … Adam could rule his own country if he kept meting out this kind of punishment for so called ‘crimes’. Except of course Chris would be the only citizen of said country. While no less pleased with the attention than his earlobe and fingers, Chris nipples were at least old hands at this kind of foreplay and since his pride had finished its drink and was beginning to get sleepy, CJ made one last effort towards some sort of… self respect.

"Mmmph... yeah…" oh yeah _nipples_ , who knew how good that would feel? "...well, I’m not gonna give in… you hear me you, you… incubus!"

Because Christian had once read him some porn about a beautiful male demon who seduced people just because he felt like it. Chris thought the similarity was obvious.

 _"Are you absolutely sure that you won't give in, sweetheart?"_

Adam’s question, asked from his position kneeling between Chris’ wantonly spread legs, was almost enough to kill his pride dead to rights. It would have too, CJ might have pleaded, might even have apologized for giving into his lust and touching Adam’s tempting dick, if Adam hadn’t continued speaking.

 _"Not that it would do you any good if you did... you are being punished after all."_

"Fine then!" Chris flopped down onto his back and tried to focus of the ceiling rather than the delicious sight of Adam almost… almost… touching his straining, red shaft. He hadn’t completely lost the power of speech and talking during sex was his forte after all. "But I’m gonna be a sulky brat just so you know. I never could take my just desserts like a man. In fact…"

Chris let his voice drop a register to that ‘ten packs of cigarettes’ husk that he was told was a natural for a late night phone sex line.

"…speaking of ‘taking it’. Do you know I have a fantasy about you fucking me in the toilet of a plane? We wouldn’t have much room, probably not even enough to get my jeans off past my ass, but you could still fuck me… hard… I could watch us in the little mirror over the sink and come right there, just from the sight of us………. we’re _flying_ home today aren’t we love?"

****

Stripping out of sweat-drenched pants and briefs, Dave headed to his solitary shower. As he turned on the water, he thought that he really wouldn't enjoy today's shower as much as he had the one yesterday. Though that was an obvious point... shower alone versus a shower with your two lovers? No contest there. The memory of yesterday traipsed through his mind, not really the sex aspect of it, but the fact that he'd finally been able to touch both Shawn and Hunter... something that he'd been aching to do for so long.

Despite having to shower alone, he lingered under the relaxing heat of the water, rolling his arm and shoulder while checking for twinges. It was almost instinct ever since his injury. Most of the time he didn't notice a thing, but sometimes if he overworked himself he would be served a reminder of his triceps tear. Today seemed to be one of those middle of the road days... a minor ache running the back of his arm that would be eased by the hot water. He was surprised that that was all he had to put up with since he hadn't really been paying too close attention to how much he was doing.

Finally deeming himself both squeaky clean and mostly pain free, Dave turned off the water, wrapped himself in a towel, and headed back into the locker room. Toweling off, he dressed quickly in black dress slacks, a short-sleeved black silk shirt, and his ever-present sunglasses. While picking up his bag and leaving the gym he reflected on one other niggling little problem that had cropped up with this new relationship... Hunter's 'little' problem. Though it seemed not so little to Dave.

He loved Hunter and Hunter said he loved him as well, yet there was just something wrong about having to tie the man you love to the bed in order to be able to touch him without him fleeing. And just because Hunter had given him a wonderfully hot blowjob didn't mean that the problem was history. It seemed there wasn't a problem with Hunter touching him... it only became a problem when it worked in reverse. Most guys might not see getting all the attention as a problem, but Dave did.

Even the scene in the shower, where he'd finally had the opportunity to taste his lover, had been fraught with tension... all coming from Hunter. The few precious minutes before Mark had interrupted them was the only time that Hunter hadn't frozen under his touch. Dave was holding onto those few minutes like a miser. He had to hope that Hunter would work through his issues with time and patience.

But was that really the route he should take? Dave's mind warred fiercely with itself. Those few minutes had been fraught with emotion, Dave almost feral in his possession of Hunter's mouth and Hunter had responded to it. He'd have to give that more thought, maybe test the theory. He wasn't going to do anything to scare the man after all, but if he had to be a little more like his namesake to get Hunter to accept his touch, then he was willing to try it. Maybe grabbing the man and kissing him senseless was worth a shot.

So caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't really paid attention to where he was going, Dave found himself in front of the doors to the small café in the lobby downstairs. An almost goofy smile on his face, he walked in and ordered two cups of coffee and three bottles of orange juice to go.

\-----

Juggling his gear bag and the cardboard tray filled with coffee and juice, Dave fumbled through his pocket for the keycard to their room. Their room... that sounded so much better than _his_ room that he found himself smiling again. He finally managed to get the door open and walked into the room, kicking the door shut with his foot and dropping his gear bag off to the side.

The sight of Hunter and Shawn kissing was surely a pretty picture. Standing at the end of the bed, coffee tray in hand, he noticed the location of Shawn's hand. Nice... very nice. Hunt was obviously awake. Dave couldn't really help himself after Hunter's taunt just before they fell asleep, he just had to say it.

"I stopped and got you coffee, but it looks like Shawn found a better way of waking you up. Good thing too, because this is not going to be a regular occurrence."


	71. Provocations

_Only if you stop that._

Well, well, well. If someone wasn't Mr. GrumpyPants then Hunter would eat Dave's note. However, the tone and the 'you might die' expression bounced off Hunter easily, only making his grin even wider and the movement of the note even more annoying. He and Shawn had shared enough rooms in enough hotels for Hunt to be painfully aware of his beautiful friend's morning nature. On one memorable occasion Hunter, 'disgustingly cheerful' as usual, was treated to Shawn Michaels giving him the finger, while simultaneously stretching his back into an unnatural posture and smothering a huge, jaw-cracking yawn. All he'd asked was "sleep well?" Grumpy and snarky the famous HBK might be, but in Hunter's mind he was a tousled, sleepy puppy-dog, all frowning and knuckling sleep from his eyes like a four year old after a nap. He was just flat-out adorable.

Of course, Shawn would probably rip his nuts off if Hunt ever said it to his face.

This morning Shawn didn't seem inclined to hurt Hunter for being a morning person, in fact, Shawn seemed to be in an unusually good mood if the arm around Hunt's neck and the tongue plunging into his mouth was any indication. Returning the delicious lip-lock with a fair amount of 'cheer', Hunter pressed his hips closer to the lean form beside him and traced Shawn's other tattoo... with something a lot harder than paper.

He was feeling particularly relaxed this morning, no sigh of panic attacks anywhere on the horizon. Hunt hoped that maybe last night had been the catharsis he'd needed to have to solve his 'problem', but then, he'd thought that about the shower as well. Needing to be tied to the bed was hardly a solution, even if it had added its own sense of erotica to their love-making. Maybe he... god help him... needed to _talk_ some more about it. Shawn had understood, sorta, and was taking steps to kick Hunt's ass over the bump, but Dave had just been presented with the situation and told to 'give it time'. Probably the best solution but something about that felt weird. He'd had all the time in the world without these two fantastic men in his bed, time was something he didn't want to waste being the 'fucked-up' one.

Still feeling all chilled out and good, Hunter remained half on top of Shawn, looking deep into the grey-blue eyes of his gorgeous blond and wondering how long Dave was going to be at the gym. His erection was starting to steal all the blood from his brain, killing off any neurons that wanted to dwell on his issues and replacing them with 'sexy, bed, pretty, fuck now please' types of thoughts instead. Shawn, Mr GrumpyPants no longer in evidence, was smiling up at Hunt with such a delightfully naughty smile, that Hunter started sending mental messages towards the gym.

 _Come back now David... and don't call me 'bossy'._

Hands traveling down his body had Hunter cuddling in closer. Shawn's warm fingers around his cock had him leaning almost completely on top of his lover and rubbing their stubbled jaws together. Shawn smelled so fucking _good_. Putting his own hands into play, Hunt shifted so his weight rested mostly on the elbow he had planted beside Shawn's pillow, while the other dragged the note across Shawn's collarbone. Flat edge cruising over a small nipple before lazily combing across the fine, silken chest hair.

 _What sort of meal did you have in mind, love?_

Lips on Shawn's throat, Hunter could feel the vibrations of the words on his tongue when that husky voice spoke. Damn. It sounded kinda painful for his lover to be talking at any decibel right now, the usual deep sexy tone, scratched and parched into near inaudibility. Okay. Sex first, Dave better walk through that door soon, then coffee, then throat lozenges. But right now...

"Meal Darling? Well, there is this delicious looking dish I've had my eye on for a while..." Hunt kept on with the nuzzling, face moving down Shawn's neck, lapping at the satin-like skin as he spoke. "...just looking at it takes my breath away. I wanna nibble...." kiss to that sweet junction of neck and shoulder, "...and lick and suck..." small bite to that divine little spot, Hunter's weight keeping Shawn on the bed as the blond tried to moving under him, "...oh and did I mention bite?"

The sharp noise of their room door closing didn't cause Hunter to move from his lovely breakfast, instead his smile became the almost-famous smug pleased-with-himself Triple H one, that many men had wanted to wipe off with a fist. Good thing his face continued its culinary journey down to Shawn's collarbone or he might just have to add two more names to those on that list of angry men. Dave came closer to the bed and Hunter smelled the smell of the divine and blessed...

 _I stopped and got you coffee,_

He was gonna marry Dave within the year, no question.

 _this is not going to be a regular occurrence._

"Sure, sure. You say that now. Just wait till I have you trained properly." Hunter realised that he had actually said that out loud, when Shawn's burst of laughter bounced Hunt's chin from his chest. Steadily ignoring what had to be an 'interesting' expression on Dave's face, Hunter threw an arm in his dark lover's general direction and made an unmistakable 'come here' gesture with his finger.

As he pressed a deep kiss into the hollow of Shawn's throat, Hunt wondered if his hand would have all five digits when he next saw it.

****

He could do this all morning, Kev thought to himself with a smile. Watching Scott sleep was a rare joy, even though it was becoming more common these days. For so long, he'd been the one to _have_ to get up, to go take care of packing and checkout and car rentals and schedules and everything else... But this wasn't the time to think about the old days. Lots had changed, and not just Scott. Judging from just the last twenty-four hours, there would be changes for the foreseeable future, even if it was mostly going to be internal changes about how they dealt with each other.

Turning his head slightly to glance at the clock, he was mildly surprised at how late it was... but they'd had an awfully late night. And a pretty emotionally draining one, in more ways than one. At least the aches in his own backside seemed to have faded. Facing a decently long plane ride with aches down there wasn't his idea of fun. Frowning slightly, he made sure that the tube of cream was still on the nightstand---Scott was going to need it today.

Propping his head on his hand so that he could see better, he couldn't resist the temptation to smooth the dark curls away from Scott's face, running his fingers through the tangled locks with gentle motions. He could probably do that for hours... well, actually, he _had_ done that for hours. Just not recently... and not with Scott's knowledge. But there had been more than one night that he'd sat up stroking Scott's hair through the dark hours. Not all of those nights had been happy ones, but he tried to remember the good parts rather than the bad ones.

Shaking his head as his stomach rumbled, he had to smile. Scott had called him a bottomless pit for years, and as much as he denied it, there was truth to the accusation. Of course, they'd used a lot of energy last night... but he wasn't about to call down for room service while Scott was asleep. These quiet moments weren't as painfully rare as they had been in the past, but they were something he treasured, and he wasn't going to interrupt this one unless he had to.

Feeling Scott start to shift, Kevin brought his attention back to the man lying next to him, his fingers still running idly through the dark hair. A shift, a muffled groan, fluttering of eyelids... some things never changed. Just because Scott usually woke up in a disgustingly good mood didn't mean that he woke up _easily_. Smiling a little, Kevin watched as Scott's eyes opened enough to squint at him.

Scott's sudden movement caught him by surprise, and he pulled his hand out of Scott's hair as his lover half-turned and pressed his face against his chest. The feeling of the stubble on Scott's chin rubbing against him made him sigh a little, and he wrapped his arm around Scotty, relishing the feel of his lover in his arms.

"Good morning, babe," he said with a smile, kissing Scott's forehead. Half-hoping that Scott hadn't heard the noise from his empty stomach, he suspected he was out of luck with that one. Looking at him, Kevin tried to keep his voice matter-of-fact as he asked, "So... you hungry? I thought I'd order breakfast once you were up."

****

 _"Sure, sure. You say that now. Just wait till I have you trained properly."_

Tell me he did not just say that. Well, thank you Booker T.

Dave was stuck somewhere between hilarity and disbelief that Hunter had actually said that out loud. Shawn seemed to find it rather funny himself. Obviously the lack of blood flow to Hunt's brain was causing oxygen deprivation, because though Dave had no trouble believing that that thought had crossed Hunter's mind, he wouldn't have spoken it out loud if he'd been thinking clearly. Of course in his current position, Dave could hardly blame the guy.

He wasn't about to let him get away with it though. Setting the tray on the nightstand, Dave crossed his arms over his chest and raised an inquiring brow in his lover's direction. And was promptly ignored in favor of a one-fingered summons.

Hunter was really pushing his luck with this whole bossy thing. Dave was beginning to suspect that Hunter was doing it on purpose, just to see how far he _could_ push him. Since Hunter wasn't looking at him, he felt safe shaking his head and smiling. Now the only question was... how to deal with his summons? He had an idea and it was worth a shot as long as Hunter didn't wig out on him.

Grabbing Hunter's wrist, he ducked his head and wrapped his lips around the wiggling finger. Teasing the length of the now still finger with his stud, he then sucked fiercely before releasing it with a pop. Ignoring Hunter's reaction, Dave changed the grasp on Hunter's wrist and gently twisted Hunter's arm behind his back. Leaning down, he pressed a soft kiss against the top of Shawn's head and smiled.

"Sorry sweetheart, but I need to borrow him for just a moment... if you don't mind?"

Shawn let go of Hunter and Dave winked at his lover. Having Shawn's approval, Dave sat on the edge of the bed and with a few deft maneuvers he would have used in the ring, he had Hunter sprawled across his lap, face down and hips braced against his thighs. He laughed quietly as Hunter protested being manhandled. Dave splayed his hand over the smooth honeyed skin of Hunter's ass, smiling at the hiss of swiftly drawn in breath. Feeling the bed shifting, Dave turned and found Shawn sliding closer for a better view. "Now, now darlin'... I'm just teaching you a little lesson. You should never tease a wild animal because you never know how it's going to react."

Giving the warm flesh beneath his hand a gentle caress, Dave lifted his hand without warning and brought it down swiftly three times in succession. The loud thwack of skin on skin belied the actual force applied to the blows and was partially drown out by Hunter's protests. Dave didn't want to actually hurt Hunter after all, it was more in the line of playing. The final time that his hand settled against Hunter's skin, Dave maintained the contact, gently caressing the now slightly pink flesh. Bending over, he pressed a kiss against the smooth warm skin and released his hold on Hunter's wrist.

"Now, have you learned your lesson or do I need to continue?"

****

Mark was dreaming again. Dreaming about the fantasy he'd had earlier in the shower, about Jeff looking up at him with glowing green eyes even as he wrapped his lips around Mark's straining length, sucking eagerly. His cock throbbed at a particularly skillful movement of the clever tongue and he moaned, his fingers clenching.

It had to be a dream. The half-coherent thought floated across his mind even as some part of him wanted to argue. It _had_ to be. Jeff wouldn't be doing this... wouldn't be in his bed... wouldn't let Mark fuck him into a screaming orgasm. Flashes of memory from the night before followed close on the heels of the instinctive denial: Jeff wrapped around him as he stole Mark's breath away with his kisses, Mark's fingers traveling over the slim hips, watching as Jeff prepared himself...

His eyes shot open.

It wasn't a dream. Still fighting sleep, his shock and lust wound together as he stared at the unbelievable sight of Jeff between his legs, licking his lips as he raised his head to look at Mark, a smug smile on his face. Ignoring the yearning of his body as it cried out for Jeff's touch, he blinked incredulously at his lover, his mind still struggling to catch up to reality. Jeff was here, in his bed, going down on him. They'd had sex last night---he resolutely pushed away any other terms that might come to mind---and now... now...

God, what had he done? This was exactly what he hadn't wanted: He hadn't wanted to make Jeff feel obligated, hadn't wanted to bring back the old power-play maneuvers... and yet, here they were. But... Jeff didn't look like he was reluctant. In fact, he looked positively eager to be there. The smile on his face only reinforced that, and Mark could feel the sudden guilt fading away as quickly as it had arisen. Except...

The light touch against his eyes made them flutter closed instinctively, but the sudden sadness in those wonderfully green eyes made him wonder. Jeff had looked pleased... even happy. So why...

 _"It's okay Mark… It’s okay."_

What? What was okay? How could things be okay if there was that sadness lingering in Jeff's eyes, a sadness that he could hear tingeing the softly accented voice. Mark found himself tensing, dread starting to fill him as Jeff paused. How had things gone so wrong so quickly? What had just happened? Jeff couldn't have seen the momentary guilt in his eyes... could he?

 _"Just… pretend I’m him… it's okay… just pretend..."_

What the _hell_?

Mark's eyes opened again as he sat up, the unexpected words sending a shock of emotions through him that he wasn't entirely willing to look at. Eyes wide, he met Jeff's startled gaze, vaguely aware of a burning sensation in his chest, the desire pulsing through him only a moment ago gone, turned to fuel his shocked reaction.

"Pretend you're _who_ , Jeff? Why? Why the hell would you think I'd need to..." Pausing in realised outrage, Mark's eyes narrowed. He could his heart going cold, the burning sinking down into an icy coating. "Just exactly what sort of person do you think I am? You think I'd use somebody like that? That I'd use _you_ like that? I may not have gotten down on bended knee, but I thought I made it clear that I don't do things like that."

Another, darker thought came to mind and his eyes closed for an instant before opening again, his growing anger visible. Hopefully the matching pain wasn't.

"Unless this was all a game to you." The words were almost deadly quiet, dropping into the silence of the room as he watched Jeff, a coldly burning tangle of hurt and anger and shock growing in his heart.

****

Hunter had just gently dragged his teeth across the point of Shawn's collarbone when his imperious finger was taken and lovingly sucked into Dave's mouth. The sensation of warm metal teasing the inside of his knuckle was serving to aid Hunters cock in its quest for some hanky-panky. While he'd never thought of his fingers as being particularly sensitive, Hunt was determining that having any part of his body in Dave's mouth was a huge turn-on. Lifting his face reluctantly from Shawn's golden skin, Hunter turned to look into Dave's wicked chocolate eyes with an enquiringly raised eyebrow? To say erotic tonguing  _hadn't_ quite been the reaction Hunter was expecting would be a mild understatement. Maybe something more like a sarcastic 'sir, yes, sir' or a smack on the back of the head, but if Dave wanted to reward Hunter's 'tude with fore-play the he wouldn't be the one complaining. In fact, Hunter could think of several other places he'd like rewarded in the immediate future.

"You gonna joi... ..."

'It's funny,' Hunter thought several seconds later, as he was expertly pulled across Dave's lap via a rather frighteningly competent arm-lock, 'I still can't read the guy for shit.' 

Because, even as that arm-lock had pressed him down into Shawn's delicious body, Hunter's cheek resting on the blond's sternum, while Dave's clothed form had fitted so snugly against Hunt's naked back, he'd honestly thought the big man was kidding. A show of power to tell Hunter in no uncertain terms that his sass wouldn't be appreciated in the future.

He hadn't expected... this.

And Hunter sure as hell hadn't expected to like it.

 _I need to borrow him for just a moment._

Shawn's instant compliance with Dave's actions had shown Hunter he'd have no help from that end, but he honestly couldn't blame his friend. If he'd been in Shawn's position, instead of this one where he was splayed across Dave's thighs with a large warm hand on his ass, he could guarantee he'd be pretty fucking compliant as well. That same warm hand was just stroking him at the moment and the sweet nature of the caress coupled with the luscious friction of Dave's pants against his hard-on, brought a sharp hiss from Hunter's lips.

Still. There was no way he was gonna let Dave _spank_ him, for Christ's sake. It had been thirty years since he'd last been paddled and he certainly wasn't five anymore. Just because Dave had him in really, really good hold, one Hunter couldn't break no matter how hard... _hard_... very, very hard he tried.

Really... he had no chance. None.

 _... just teaching you a little lesson... You should never tease a wild animal because you never know how it's going to react..._

"That's..." smack "..ow…fuck..." smack "...The..." smack "...fuck... Point." Hunter ground out through gritted teeth, while his non-existent inner five year old wailed. His outer thirty-five year old cock was delighted with the progress of events. Each smarting 'thwack' causing Hunt to jump slightly and his hardened flesh to rub against taut cotton over warm muscle. The blows hadn't been that hard, he'd certainly had worse in the ring. Although... his ass hadn't been on the receiving end of any blows as far as Hunt could remember, but still...

The once-again gentle touches and soft press of lips to his only really marginally abused flesh, brought another wicked grin to Hunter's face. Fortunately his teeth were fast enough to stop his tongue issuing any sentences containing the works "kiss" or "ass" while he was still in such a vulnerable position. Just as was considering saying something just for the hell of it, his wrist was released.

 _Now, have you learned your lesson or do I need to continue?_

Given that Dave had responded to his continued pushing with something more off-beat than Hunter had been planning, Hunt felt he should rise to the standard his lover was setting.

"No... no... I'm fine thanks." Hunter got his feet back up on the bed and rolled over in Dave's lap so his back was resting against those supporting thighs. Suspecting that support might disappear shortly and leave him on his ass on the floor, Hunter curled a fist into the front of Dave's shirt and tugged his dark lover down towards him for a long, apologetic kiss. "I'm not sorry," Hunt murmured against Dave's incredibly soft lips, "because if I get reactions like that, then the training program is working just _fine_."

Feeling the supporting thighs begin to go, Hunter rolled onto the floor and up to his feet pretty quickly for a man his size. Three big strides and he was in the bathroom, moving as if those 'spanking hands' were coming after him. Not bothering to shut the door, he turned on the shower and dived in before leaning out to check if anyone was coming after him. Dave had been dressed after all and the man would need a few moments to roll up his sleeves at least, if he planned on dragging Hunter out by his hair.

Dipping said hair under the warm stream of water, Hunter reached around to his touch his pink buttocks..

Ow... hot water on a spanked ass hurt.

****

Jeff had been about to trace his tongue down the side of Mark's beautiful erection when he was suddenly leaning back away from his lover's violent movement. Looking up Jeff saw a myriad of emotions in the burning green eyes, a rolling cycle of shock, hurt, anger and then shock again. No wonder he'd rarely been able to bring himself to look into Mark's eyes, seeing the depth of feeling in them, sometimes... sometimes it _hurt_.

 _Pretend you're who, Jeff? Why? Why the hell would you think I'd need to..._

The clearest emotion of all, the brilliant jade wave that overwhelmed all the others and came crashing at Jeff like an executioner's axe.

Ice cold rage.

Jeff felt a terribly heavy weight settle in his gut. Oh no... oh no...

 _what sort of person do you think I am?_

Not seven hours ago, those eyes had laughed with Jeff a loving warmth over an unfortunate lounge singer. No... no... .

 _You think I'd..._

They'd burned as Jeff had made love to Mark with everything in him. Oh please... no..

 _That I'd use you..._

Once that warm happy green had been something Jeff could easily become addicted to. Please...

 _...thought I made it clear that I don't do things like that..._

Now it seemed he'd killed that warmth dead. No...

 _Unless this was all a game to you._

"No!" The word burst out of Jeff, coming from somewhere inside him that refused to let this monstrous misunderstanding go on. 'Or was it a misunderstanding Mr. Hardy? Did you or did you not just _assume_ that your lover, a man you have firmly established as one hell of a fine human being, would use you for sex without caring about your feelings?'

'But that wasn't what I meant...' Jeff yelled at his conscience while Mark stared at him with eyes gone hard as flint.

Oh damn. That was _exactly_ what he'd just done.

Fix it, fix it, fix it. Lie if you have to... just fix it.

No. He'd _never_ lie to Mark.

"No... not a game... I swear...." Jeff had never felt so fucking stupid in his entire life. What the hell had he been thinking? "...I..." Part of Jeff wanted to sit back, to give Mark some space because he was so very obviously extremely pissed with Jeff right now. But another part, the saner voice said that could look bad, given what he'd just said. The thing was to not be a coward, to not go all passive-aggressive and try to be the victim here. He'd done something really shitty and Jeff should be man enough to apologise and beg Mark to forgive him.

Mark may kick him out on his ass, and he'd certainly deserve it, but at least Jeff would set the record straight. Taking a deep breath, Jeff reigned in his wildly chaotic thoughts, pulled himself into a cross-legged position and reached a hand out to touch Mark's leg. Hoping against hope that it wouldn't be moved as far from Jeff as it could get, Jeff met Mark's frozen eyes and tried to repair the damage he'd just done.

"Not a game Mark, not for a second." The words were tumbling out now, pushing past Jeff's lips in their desperation to be heard, to be accepted... to be forgiven? "That was just about the shittiest thing to say and I am a complete prick for saying it. I didn't think that you would... I mean... not like that... just you looked kinda like you were upset that I was here... and I do know that's my own crap talking not yours... and I did think... I'm so sorry Mark, but I did think... that maybe you would have wanted... him... instead." Jeff lifted one shoulder in an embarrassed shrug because, hey, could he get anymore pathetic? "I don't even know who he is, but I got that you're not over him totally and that's okay. Really. And shit... I'm making this worse aren't I?"

Mark's expression had changed, but for the life of him Jeff couldn't read it. He was frozen out now, unable to pick what Mark was thinking and honestly... Jeff couldn't blame him for it.

"L-last night," and yeah, so he couldn't keep his voice steady when he thought about last night, it had been... everything, "last night was amazing for me, you were... you _are_... probably the best fucking thing that's ever happened to me and if I've fucked this up by being an idiot and insulting you, then I know I'm gonna regret it for the rest of my life. I'm really, really sorry I thought that shit about you... again. Shit!"

Jeff scooted to the edge of the bed and looked around desperately for his pants.

"I can't believe I fucked this up twice! Twice!" Spying them on the floor, Jeff ached to reach for the soft mass of cloth, to put his armour on and run away from what he'd done here. He would be the fuck-up, the failure, the poor 'woe is me' pretty boy who's never been treated nice so pity him 'cos he's so screwed up...

Except it was all bullshit, because Mark had been treating him like a fuckin' prince all night and look what Jeff had done. 'Suck it up Jeff.' Looking at his naked feet, because looking into that frozen jade would just break his heart, Jeff gave it a last, desperate shot.

"Okay... okay... this isn't me trying to be the victim or putting more shit on you, I swear. But, do you want me to leave? I would totally understand given that I keep punching these big fucking holes in you, that you might be sick of the sight of me... it's just... I don't _want_ to go. I can if you need me to, but if I could stay Mark? If you could give me one more chance I would try my fucking hardest not to do that stuff, not to put my crap on you."

Jeff so badly wanted to be forgiven by Mark, because he'd  _never_ forgive himself if Mark told him to go.

"I'm sorry Mark. Can I stay?"

****

As he drifted from the depths of sleep and one really hot dream, Scott became aware of three things almost simultaneously... he was wrapped around the warmth of Kevin's body, Kevin was awake and petting him, and damn did his backside sting. Right on the heels of that came the knowledge that Kevin was hungry again, noticed by the distinct rumbling of the stomach he was half draped over.

He was warm and comfortable and didn’t really want to move right now, but nature was calling and he knew it'd take him awhile to make it to the bathroom. Shifting in Kevin's arms, he moaned quietly and forced his eyelids open. Kevin was all smiles this morning and Scott could hardly blame him. Last night had been good, both in revelations and their mutual satisfaction. Turning his head slightly, he rubbed his face against the broad chest he was resting against with a smile of his own.

 _"Good morning, babe."_

His reply was muffled against Kevin's chest, but surely his lover got the point. How he loved that deep scratchy morning rumble in Kev's voice. Lifting his head slightly, he looked up at Kev, waiting for his lover to broach the subject of food. He knew it wouldn't be long in coming, not with the way Kevin's stomach was growling.

 _"So... you hungry? I thought I'd order breakfast once you were up."_

Scott laughed, the sound husky and loud in the quiet room. "How did I know that was coming?" he asked with a grin. "Actually... I was thinking..." Ignoring Kevin's reaction to that statement, he continued. "I'm not sure I like the idea of not checking in with the guys until the pay-per-view. Maybe we should call around and see if anyone is up for lunch?"

The guys might say no, depending on what they were up to, but Scott at least wanted to make the attempt. Even with all of his personal issues with the bottle, he and Kevin had still kept an eye on Shawn, Hunter, and Sean over the years. They had taken care of the guys when possible and Kevin had taken care of Scott. Scott might insist on taking care of himself now, at least the majority of the time, but keeping an eye on the other three was almost ingrained and not something he wanted to change. They were family after all. Glen and Sean seemed to be happy and Glen was now considered part of their family as well. They would accept Dave as well, Hunter and Shawn were smart enough and old enough to make their own decisions after all, but it would be nice to have a chance to get to know the guy a little better. Besides, after Dave ending up with shiners yesterday and what Kevin had told him had happened in the locker room with Hunter, Dave, and Mark, Scott thought it would be a good idea to check in on them, just in case.

Stretching enough to press his lips to Kevin's, Scott then crawled over top of him and eased himself off the bed for the long journey to the bathroom. He'd let Kevin put the cream on and then he'd be all set to sit in the restaurant, unlike Kev's uncomfortable experience yesterday. "Why don't you start calling the guys? We can shoot the breeze while we eat and then head to the airport." Stopping at the doorway to the bathroom, Scott turned and looked back at Kevin. "I think... I think we should tell the guys that we're going... home... together, if you want to." Sending a gentle smile in Kevin's direction, Scott slipped into the bathroom.

****

 _"But I’m gonna be a sulky brat just so you know. I never could take my just desserts like a man. In fact…"_

Since Chris was staring at the ceiling rather than at him, Adam felt safe grinning about Chris' little declaration. He was familiar with Chris' occasional sulky fits and in most cases he would be tempted to give in and just give the man what he wanted... but not right now. Chris was getting a just punishment, darn it all, and Adam wasn't going to cave in just because of that cute little pout on that adorably luscious mouth. He wasn't. Nope.

 _"…speaking of ‘taking it’... fantasy about you fucking me in the toilet of a plane? We wouldn’t have much room... but you could still fuck me… hard… watch us in the little mirror over the sink and come right there... we’re flying home today aren’t we love?"_

His emotions flying all over the place, from a shiver of desire to a growl of mock irritation to amusement, Adam kept his eyes on his lover's face. He'd known that Chris would try to push him to hurry so he wasn't truly aggravated at his tactics, but damn did it tempt him to get right to the heart of matters. A temptation that he was _not_ going to give in to, despite his body's urging.

"Nice try there babe," he said with another grin. "I think that's number twelve on my list of thousands and," he said as he grabbed one slim ankle and lifted Chris' leg upwards, "I would certainly be willing to give it a shot on our way home today, but..." Adam swirled his tongue over the arch of Chris' foot just enough to feel him try to flinch and pull away. "It's not going to make me give you what you want any sooner."

Stopping his verbal taunting for a moment, he sucked the big toe between his lips and teased it just as he had Chris' fingers. "I mean if I give in now..." A quick swipe of his tongue across the pads of all the other toes within his reach. "You'll think I'm going to give in all the time. Bad precedent, babe."

Ignoring the fact that Chris was trying to draw his foot out of his grasp, Adam nipped the heel and then worked his tongue slowly over the sensitive arch again. From there he worked his way over the top tendons stretching into the trim ankle. Lifting Chris leg at an even greater angle, he tongued his way over the bottom of a tightly clenched calf with slow, swirling circles. A lick over that delicious patch behind Chris knee and a gentle scrape of his teeth was damn near a requirement... Chris' response bringing another wicked smile to Adam's lips. With an outline of his kneecap and a gentle kiss, Adam figured that was a good place to stop with that leg... for now.

Gently lowering the limb to the sheets, he winked at Chris before turning to the perfect match of the leg he'd just tortured. Chris couldn't withstand the onslaught against his foot this time, jerking harder against Adam's grip.

 _"You know… tickling is outlawed… by amnesty international..."_

The little gasps and hiccups between Chris' words had him working that much harder to hear more of them. So incredibly cute, he noted, filing away the ticklishness of Chris' feet for future reference. Oh yeah. He'd be using that one again in the near future for sure. By the time he'd covered foot to knee on this side, Chris was obviously getting a bit... anxious. Ignoring the glare he spotted on his lover's face, he laid the second limb back on the bed and then wiggled his brows at Chris.

He had to admit that he was having loads of fun, tasting his lover head to toe, but he was as anxious as Chris to get to particular points on this lovely tour. Easing onto his side between the deliciously wicked sprawl of Chris' legs, he continued his torture along the curve of a tanned, sensitive inner thigh. Licking and nipping his way towards the juncture of Chris' legs, he stopped to suck harshly on one smooth spot. His hair spilled across Chris' balls and the base of his shaft, rubbing silkily over them as he teased the reddened spot with his tongue. The hitch in Chris' breathing and the quiet, husky whine of his name spurred him on in his task.

One teasing swipe of his tongue along the heavy fruit so near his cheek and he peeled himself away to devote equal care and teasing to the other golden thigh. He could smell the pervading scent of Chris' arousal, his nostrils twitching as he worked his way along the sentient path. Everything about this man beneath him held him captive, drew him further into the snare of his love for the man. He had no urge to fight it, surrendered willingly to the all-consuming bindings around his heart.

 _"Adam..."_

Startled by the needy whimper, he realized that he'd paused, the scruffy hair on his cheek nestled against Chris' groin. Whoops. He'd be content lying right here for awhile, but somehow he doubted that Chris would be happy if he did.

Turning his head slightly, his eyes traveling the long expanse of Chris' body, he searched for the perfect blue of his lover's eyes as he nuzzled his nose and chin against Chris' balls. Catching a flash of blue, he smiled and set his tongue and mouth to work. Wrapping his lips around one of the firm fleshy fruit at the base of Chris' shaft, he alternately teased it with his tongue and sucked firmly on the ball, reveling in the sounds that spilled from Chris' mouth.

Deciding that since, in essence, Chris had cheated earlier he was allowed to do the same, Adam ran one long finger up the length of Chris' hard shaft as he switched his attention to Chris' other twin. Sure he was supposed to be displaying _oral_ talents, but he doubted that at this point Chris would object to whatever means he chose to use. Since Chris had already threatened revenge, why then he might as well make it worth his while. Right?

The resulting moan convinced him that he'd done the right thing.

He was tempted to move on to the straining length of flesh lying proudly against his lover's stomach, but there was something else he wanted first. He had a favor to return and Adam was a big stickler for doing that sort of thing after all.

Nudging his arm and shoulder under Chris' thigh, he pushed gently until Chris' foot rested firmly on the mattress, his knee bent. Wrapping his arm around the bulging muscles, he laid his hand firmly against his lover's hip as he dipped his head, his tongue running firmly down the crease between his lover's firm golden mounds. Chris obviously sunbathed in the buff and if that wasn't a thrilling bit of information for living out future fantasies, Adam wasn't sure what might be.

While considering the possibilities of a nude picnic on a private beach, he circled his tongue around the small pucker of flesh that was now his primary focus. Tightening his arm around Chris' muscular limb, Adam scraped his teeth gentle over the rosy circle before pushing his tongue firmly into the silky warm tunnel. Teasing and taunting, he thrust and withdrew his tongue in mimicry of another act. Chris' warm lightly musky flavor burst over his tongue and the wildly uninhibited reactions his exploration was causing kept luring him back over and over for another taste... until Chris' words finally registered in his mind.

Taking pity on his lover and his obviously over-stimulated state, he lifted his head, his eyes locking with those endlessly deep blue wells. The need burning within the depths was almost startling, the near-desperation for release shining vividly. With a small smile of understanding, he pushed to a kneeling position and ducked his head to take a long, wet swipe along the hard flesh lying against Chris' stomach. As his tongue wrapped around the swollen, weeping crown he reached for the tiny packet of lube that he'd hidden under the end of the sheet. He hadn't wanted Chris to know it was coming or that he was planning on cheating just a bit himself.

With one hand he snapped the tip of the lube free and squeezed it onto his fingers before tossing the packet to the side. As he wrapped his lips around the purplish head, he slipped two lubed fingers slowly into the hole he'd just snacked upon. Swallowing around his mouthful, he sucked Chris' length into the back of his throat as he located the small bundle of nerves with his fingers. With small firm strokes against that sweet spot, he started bobbing his head in a slow, lazy manner.

Chris' hips snapped upward and Adam moaned in encouragement around the hard cock in his throat. As his lover's hips descended towards the mattress, he held his position, and as Chris' ass settled against the bed just the tip of his cock remained within Adam's mouth. Circling the engorged head with his tongue, he waited, prodding gently with his fingers in hope of a similar reaction. Rewarded with another impatient thrust of hips, Adam hummed happily, but still didn't move. He wondered for a moment if Chris' voice had failed him, but the gasped plea answered that question.

 _"Adam... please."_

With renewed vigor, he fell upon the steely length, sucking and licking. A gentle fondling with his free hand of Chris' balls and it was all over. With his eyes locked on his lover's rapturous expression, Adam swallowed quickly as the warm salty cream burst into his mouth. While Chris collapsed bonelessly against the mattress, Adam gently cleaned him with his tongue... very thoroughly.

Sitting up, he smiled down at his lover. They would definitely have to do this again someday.

****

Chris thought it might just work. There was a cessation of activity near his hip bone and while this was actually the _opposite_ effect Chris had been hoping for, there was a chance the pace would pick up in a second. While his body literally hummed with tension, Chris’ brain began debating the merits of his spur of the moment plan. Getting Adam to ‘fucking get on with the fucking’ had been his intention, but some other, twisted little part of him was threatening to mourn the loss of Adam’s punishing tongue. Having every square inch of your body teased, tasted and adored was a luxurious experience not to be missed and CJ was almost hoping Adam wouldn’t give in. The deep, rumbling growl coming from Adam brought a pleased smile to CJ’s face and a desperate twitch to his aching erection.

God, it felt like he’d been hard for weeks.

First waking up ready and roaring to Adam’s sleepy naked body, then the live-action porn of his gorgeous boyfriend jacking off in front of him and finally the kill Chris with my mouth main feature. Really, if Adam didn’t finish him off soon then CJ was gonna kick his lover off the bed… carefully ‘cos you know ribs… and get to work himself. If his verbal taunt didn’t work, then he’d be on the edge of begging and no pride in the world was going to stop him. The question truly was just how stubborn and strong-minded Adam was going to be, or if he would give in to CJ’s verbal dare and get on with it.

With something.

Anything to take away the coiled spring of desire currently residing directly under Chris’ cock.

Chris’ vain hope that his ‘fuck in the toilet’ gambit would pay off was firmly squelched when the sexy growl mutated into…

 _Nice try there babe._

Dammit, dammit, dammit, fuck, fuck, FUCK!... ... ... ... yay

 _twelve on my list of thousands_

List of…..? Chris blinked at the ceiling as he tried to process those words. Adam had thousands of fantasies where he fucked Chris? Or Chris fucked him? Wow. Looking at his mental pile of daydreams, CJ could only come up with about twenty different scenarios where they did the dirty. Mostly involving locker-rooms, showers, airplanes and Chris being bent over something with Adam’s cock up his ass.

Thousands?

Cool.

Taking Adam’s commitment to their mile-high liaison as gospel, Chris flinched slightly as Adam took his foot and began to treat it with the same delicious attentions as he had the rest of CJ’s desire-soaked body. Not many people knew how ticklish he was and those that did, knew they were walking the very fine line of _agonizing death_ if they ever used it against him. Fortunately, at least, it wasn’t just any touching that sent Chris into convulsions, it was when it the caresses were feather-light….like now, like, _like now_!... that started the giggles.

 _I mean if I give in now… think I'm going to give in all the time_

Adam narrowly avoided a foot in the face, but strengthened his grip enough that Chris’s feet weren’t over stimulated and his jaw remained intact.

"No… I... wouldn’t…" Chris’ voice was still all torn up with sexual agony. "… you’ll… always… be a… sadistic… ah… Babe you…"

The toe sucking still got gurgled at though, as did the scrape of teeth over the fine skin of his leg. Chris honestly hadn’t been aware that _kneecaps were an erogenous zone_! But his had apparently put in for club membership as Adam’s tongue on them were sending those tingling little buzzes straight to CJ’s cock. He was almost aching now as Adam continued his torture of Chris' other leg, sinful mouth and wicked eyes embedding themselves in Chris’ soul. No had ever, ever made him wait this long and CJ was now wondering if he didn’t have some sort of masochist streak, because this punishment, the sex torture and the denial were seriously becoming the new black in his kink fashion.

Although he’d be thinking a bit more carefully about any future public nudity.

A too-soft touch had Chris’ leg moving without permission from his brain. Giggles dropping from his lips in a way that shouldn’t still have felt sexy, CJ writhed and twisted under that tormenting mouth. Adam was killing him… this was supposed to be death by sex, not by the tickle-monster.

"You know… tickling is outlawed… by Amnesty International..." and if it wasn’t, it should be.

Okay… this was starting to be not fun. Adam must have sensed Chris’ growing frustration, because he suddenly changed gears, letting the imprisoned leg drop back to the bed and finally… _finally_ , touching CJ where he so desperately wanted to be touched. That smooth twist of honeyed hair across his groin was sweet agony, the touch of his lover’s lips on his balls like a grip of fire. Arching up into Adam’s warm, wet mouth, Chris scraped his fingernails into the cotton sheets as he tried to control a primitive urge to thrust. To move just those few inches and press his cock into that same heat that was almost going to bring him to orgasm as it was.

Chris’ world then turned upside down as Adam fondled and savoured his body like a feast. Looking at the back of his eyelids, he dived into the pool of lovely sensations flowing through him, wallowing in the feel of his Adam’s tongue on his balls and… and…

Adam was just like... _chilling out_ down there.

"Adam..." Pride comatose in the corner, Chris was all for acknowledging and begging, even if it had sounded suspiciously like a whimper.

Yep, that’s it baby.

Now Adam was really going to town, tongue all over, fingers getting busy and Chris was just a boneless pile of goo supporting a ridiculously painful erection that was so hard a cat couldn’t scratch it. Feeling his body being opened up with Adam’s tongue, Chris’ own mouth lost all sense of responsibility and began to babble like a mad thing.

"…please… please… Adam… love… you… baby… so good… to feel your mouth on me... not a punishment… reward Adam… this is a… reward… please… please… Adam… please… please… please…"

please

Warm, wet fingers inside him and warm, hot mouth sucking him down and Chris was pushing, pressing and thrusting his cock past Adam’s lips and spiraling…

…right out of the galaxy.

****

Crawling up next to Chris, he laid down on his right side, in deference to his injury, and cuddled up next to his dazed lover. Even sweaty and mussed, Chris was still so damn cute it made his heart ache. And to think that this beautiful person was the one he planned on waking up next to for the foreseeable future, and if he had his way a long time beyond that. Rather proud of himself for Chris' currently spaced-out condition, Adam gently stroked a calming hand over his lover's smooth, warm skin. Nuzzling gently against Chris' neck, he ran his tongue over the slightly reddened spot he'd left earlier.

"As much as I'd love to linger here with you all day, we do have a flight to make later, and I don't know about you, but I could really use something to eat." With one last lick to Chris' neck, Adam pushed himself from the bed and started tossing their things into various bags. Grabbing the pills from the nightstand, he quickly shook out two, going into the bathroom for a glass of water to take them with. When he walked back out, he ran his fingers through Chris' hair, then tossed the pills gently on Chris' chest.

"I took two for the plane trip, but once we get home, put those somewhere and forget about them, will ya sweetheart?"

While he gathered the rest of their things together, Chris slipped into the bathroom and Adam could hear the shower running. He'd liked to take one as well, but knew he probably shouldn't get his hair wet just yet... which really sucked. Slipping into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt... screw Vince's dress code... Adam pulled out a baseball cap and slapped it over his head. Eating in the restaurant with a cap on was kind of rude, but it'd be a lot less disturbing to people's sensibilities than the sight of the blood in his hair. He wanted to scratch at it because it was starting to itch and it really bugged the hell out of him, but he knew there wasn't much he could do about it until they made it home. He'd wash it tonight, even if he had to wait until Chris fell asleep to do it.

He wondered how long it would take for Chris to get irritated with him. He was already out of bed and had packed all their things, he was going to sit and eat in the restaurant, they had to fly home, and he fully planned on being up long enough to shower and wash his hair. So much for staying in bed. Whoops. And he had a feeling it would get worse. He hated being inactive anymore. Having been forced to take so many precautions and the time he'd been forced to 'relax' after his neck surgery had taken its toll. Even if bed-rest was what he should be doing for his ribs and the concussion, he just wouldn't be able to handle laying in bed 24 hours a day for the next four days... and without the medication, his restlessness would only get worse.

Chris walked out of the bathroom then, his hair still wet, and shivering slightly. Chris was insane with those ice cold rinses and Adam was going to tell him so. Pulling his lover into his arms to warm him for a moment, Adam smiled at Chris. "You're nuts, sweetheart." Pressing a gentle kiss against his lips, Adam then pulled away and handed Chris his bag so that he could find something to wear. While Chris found his clothes, Adam went into the bathroom to gather their personal items and saw the mini-cast sitting on the sink. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed the splint and carried it back into the bedroom, pausing long enough to grab a roll of tape from his own bag.

Ignoring the flash of irritation from Chris, he helped his lover re-bandage his fingers with a reproving looking. Internally, his irritation flared at the man responsible for Chris' injury. He'd love to get his hands on Terry, just for five minutes. Long enough to put the fear of the psychotically insane into him, whether Adam really was or not, he knew he could convince Terry that he was. Trying to shake off his anger, he faked a smile for Chris' benefit.

"So are we meeting Jay and Bunnykins for eats?" Bunnykins... still so damn funny. "I'm starving. Oh... and no matter what, Jay is _not_ driving to the airport. I'd like to reach the plane in one piece or at least as close to one piece as I already am. I would volunteer, but the codeine's going to have me acting a bit... odd... fair warning. You only have one good hand, so it looks like Bunnykins gets the nomination."


	72. Consequences

Chris came back down to earth feeling as if every muscle in his body, including his brain, had been turned into cotton wool. It was a kind of light, airy feeling, like when you put on a new pair of ultra-expensive runners and felt all strange and bouncy. Chris wondered for a moment if his fingers were hovering over the sheets, because he couldn't seem to feel anything but tingles. Eyes closed, he just enjoyed the happy, blissed feeling cradling his limbs courtesy of the wonderful, wonderful human being currently stroking his chest and licking his neck.

Wow. Talk about a rush with a capital R. Having just experienced possibly the hardest orgasm of his life, Chris's eyelids fluttered open and tried to focus on the blurry black spots that were jumping all over his vision. Maybe he'd been holding his breath or something because this lightheaded, dazed feeling was kinda funky. He'd never been this wired from anything without a prescription before and was beginning to wonder if Adam could be persuaded to punish him more often. A small, sneaky smile curved the corner of CJ's mouth, he'd just have to do more things deserving of punishment then wouldn't he?

 _much as I'd love to linger here with you... but I could really use something to eat._

Nodding mutely up into Adam's affectionate look, Chris pulled his brain back from its 'happy place' and listened to Adam start packing their things. They really did have a plane to catch and Chris was hoping that a hearty lunch might make some headway in stimulating his lover's refractory period. They had a date in a very small room after all. CJ lay for a moment on the edge of the bed after twisting around so his feet were on the floor and ran his fingers through his wild hair. It was tangled at the back from where he'd been thrashing his head back and forth during the final stages of Adam's 'lesson' and was in desperate need of a brush.

A snag caught his broken fingers, causing a wince; he kept forgetting he was hurt until something painfully reminded him of the fact. But that pain soon disappeared as his lover's warm fingers trailed through the mass without catching a lock. Deciding he could get to like this view of Adam... CJ being flat on his back... he frowned slightly at the small pill bottle bouncing on his chest.

 _once we get home, put those somewhere and forget about them, will ya sweetheart?_

O-kay. Not one hundred percent sure he agreed with that plan, Chris would nevertheless give Adam the benefit of the doubt. Personally he loathed any kind of medications that masked pain too much and was fine with Adam not wanting to become an addict. But there was being careful and being an idiot and Chris was going to make sure he wasn't dating an idiot.

Dating. Equals date, equals food, equals... lunch.

Although the chicken last night had been perfect considering their 'more violent than usually violent' evening, that had been many, many hours ago and Chris was starving. Nothing like a good erotic wake-up to get the stomach growling. Speaking of a wake-up...

Shit that water was cold! But the brisk spray woke CJ right up and turned all the cotton wool back into useful flesh. Dragging his wet hair back into a pony tail, he came striding and shivering out of the bathroom, fully awake and hunting for clothes and boyfriend. Not necessarily in that order.

 _You're nuts, sweetheart._

"And you're warm Babe," Chris complimented, happily groping Adam and pressing his cold hands underneath the edge of his lover's t-shirt. The smooth skin of Adam's lower back was so toasty compared to Chris's fingers that he ignored the small jump the touch produced. But after a few seconds of sweet contact, he finally released his human hot water bottle and dove into some clothes. Given Adam's tres casual attire, he pulled out jeans and a short-sleeved black shirt. If anyone tried to take them to task for ignoring the dress code, CJ could run interference and besides... fuck them... Adam was _hurt_ , he could wear whatever he fucking well wanted.

His plan of avoiding his own injuries was stymied by his taller lover returning from the bathroom with his cast in one hand, a roll of tape in the other and an exasperated expression. The 'not, really, really not' in any way pleasant experience of having his fingers taped again was mercifully brief, then he and Adam were soon on the way towards the elevators.

 _no matter what, Jay is not driving_

Amen to that, Chris would like his hand to be his only injury for the next little while.

 _the codeine's going to have me acting a bit... odd... fair warning_

Intrigued, Chris wondered what 'odd' meant in this scenario.

"Oh yeah, definitely Bunnykins. If Jay drives again, I swear I will throw myself from the moving vehicle and take my chances with the traffic. I did always wonder though..." Chris smiled up at Adam as the elevator door pinged open, allowing them to walk into the foyer. "...did _you_ teach Jay how to drive?"

Dropping their bags at the desk, Chris led Adam into the restaurant and surveyed the available tables. They'd missed the breakfast rush and had beat the lunch crowd, so were able to avoid any fan-related stoppages while heading for the food. Halfway along the buffet, Chris froze and began to curse fluently under his breath. The lack of sound was in deference to the three small children four tables away, but didn't make the words any less virulent.

"I'm gonna kill that prick." A brief squeeze to Adam's arm and Chris was stalking across the room towards a far table. Placing his plate down with a care that belied his expression, he looked down at his friend's cold, unhappy face.

"I'm guessing _someone_ needs to be in a lot pain right about now?" Chris asked Austin.

****

As Austin came into the restaurant, people moved out of his way with an alacrity that would be almost funny, if he hadn't been in such a foul mood. While J.R. snored with all the force of a small earthquake, Steve would have to admit that it hadn't been that thunderous noise that had rendered him sleepless. No... not the snoring. Instead he'd been plagued by visions of warm, tanned skin marked with erotic curls of ink and the feel of short, velvet hair under his fingertips. They wouldn't really have been the worst images in the world to fall asleep to, it was just that each one was coupled with a vicious, stabbing pain of grief and anger that kept Steve's eyes open for hours so they wouldn't play across the back of his eyelids like a silent movie.

Loading his plate with a suspiciously small amount of food, Steve stomped towards the back of the room and annexed a table near the window. The area two tables deep around him became vacant within minutes and Steve felt perversely proud of his room-clearing abilities. Glaring into his coffee didn't help, ruthlessly stabbing innocent sausages didn't help either, but several staff might have some issues in the near future if Austin received just one more offer of "juice sir? grapefruit or guava?" Resisting the urge to ask for beer at nine am just to see the look on their faces, Steve's scowl became progressively lower and lower until it achieved almost Neanderthal proportions.

The biggest, worst thing about the whole damn thing was that he felt completely, fuckin' helpless. There really was nothing he could do to change the situation. Short of tracking down the lil' shit to have it out again... and really... what the hell would that accomplish? He could get rejected again, and that would probably just make Steve madder than he already was, which to be honest, was pretty damn high on the mad scale. But there was the chance, very small he admitted but still there, that the kid might decide it was worth a shot and was just waitin' for Steve to make another move. Thing was, while Austin hoped for the second option, he was pretty fuckin' certain that he'd get the first and wasn't quite prepared for another disembowelment this early in the day.

Austin consoled himself with one, gratifying thought.

 _He_  hadn't actually said no.

He just hadn't said yes.

Which could mean 'no', but could also mean 'I'm thinkin' about it'.

Might also mean 'leave me alone you freak,' but Steve was trying to be positive in his rage and wasn't going to dwell on the negative.

Much.

Staring into space with a look more commonly seen on large Rottweilers looking at poodles, Steve tried to not think about it.

 _I'm guessing someone needs to be in a lot pain right about now?_

He hadn't heard Kitten approach, which was an indication of his severe off-kilterness, since CJ hadn't tried to be quiet at all. In fact the blond had breached Austin's 'Area of Massive Scowl' and was sporting an expression set to rival the time when a big moron from his WCW days had walked into the locker room with a smug grin and Vince's favour. Steve realised that, for all his sassy, smart-mouth attitude, Jericho rarely ever got really angry... at anyone.

That this rare event was coming about on his behalf was sweetly flattering in a 'I Am A Man And Do Not Need A Hug' kinda way. Feeling his own sour mood lighten somewhat in direct proportion to a rise in Chris', Steve shook his head slowly.

"Nahhh. Forget it Kitten, I ain't gonna sweat it." Because having Chris go toe-to-toe with the kid, while something out of a weird porn-induced fantasy, was the last thing Steve really wanted right now. With another desultory stab at his scrambled eggs, Austin indicated for his Kitten to sit with a jerk of his chin and went back to staring into space.

"For some reason I actually thought better of him." Chris' voice had lost most of the ice-cold rage Steve had detected earlier and was now coloured with disappointment. "Sorry I pushed you at him Austin, I shoul..."

Steve cut him off with a wave of his fork.

"Shut it Kitten. You ain't ever had a chance of pushin' me somewhere I didn't wanna go." Locking blue eyes with guilty sapphire ones, Austin smiled in a way that was quite scary. "We tussled some, he gave me lip, I asked fer more, he punched me, then I left."

Chris blinked slowly at the crib notes version of the most important conversation of Steve's life and the Texan felt his smile stretch into almost feral proportions as Copeland joined them at the table. Noting the ginger way the taller blond moved into his seat, Austin asked,

"Nice night?"

****

The tinny sound of the phone ringing pulled Glen from the exceptionally pleasant dream that he was having. It wasn't hard to have pleasant dreams with a human blanket covering him, especially when that blanket was the man that he were head over heels for. The disturbance of the phone was less than pleasant and he would have let it keep ringing, but he didn't want it to wake Sean. Reaching out with one large hand, he snagged the phone from the cradle and lifted it to his ear with a sigh.

"Don't you have better things to do than call around waking people up?"

 _"...too sore this morning... had to find someone else to bother."_

Glen chuckled sleepily into the phone. Leave it to Kevin to give him that kind of answer. He was comfortable enough with the various members of the family to reply in kind now, though it'd been a different story when he and Sean had first started seeing each other.

"Don't look at me man, much as I like you Kev, you're just not my type," Glen said with a sleepy grin.

As if that weren't a gigantic understatement. Glen just couldn't imagine being with Kev when he considered their personalities. Last night had been perfect with Sean, but he just couldn't see himself submitting to Kevin and there just wasn't another alternative when it came to the man... unless your name was Scott Hall. Scott was another matter altogether. He didn't have actual evidence, but he was pretty sure that at least from time to time, Kevin was not top dog in their relationship, so to speak. Anyone else would probably have to fight Kevin for the honor and frankly Glen wasn't at all sure he'd come out on top in a contest between them. Considering how long it'd taken him to ask the man he was completely head over heels for to make love to him, he couldn't imagine doing so for anyone else.

Glen was pulled from his wandering thoughts by Kevin's suggestion that they all meet for breakfast. Agreeing to wake Sean and meet them in the restaurant shortly, he hung up the phone, then wrapped his arms around his dark-haired lover.

"You're going to have to wake up sleepyhead. Kevin and Scott are arranging a family breakfast and knowing how curious you are over the whole Hunter-Shawn-Dave thing, I'm pretty sure you'll want to be there."

"Just carry me down and pour me in my seat," Sean replied, his voice husky with sleep, while rubbing his face against Glen's chest.

Sean did want to find out how things were going with the trio. Who the hell wouldn't be curious about how _that_ had come about? That wasn't his only point of interest though. Maybe they would all finally find out what the heck was going on with Kev and Scotty. The two had been so close-mouthed that he couldn't help but be curious.

He discounted the fact that Kev and Scott had been all over each other in the limo and the fact that they were rooming together wasn't really an indicator of where things lay either. They might be sleeping together, but that didn't mean that things were back to where they once were. The relationship between Kevin and Scott had been severely strained after Scott left rehab. Scott had moved his things from 'their' house the same day. Sean had been there the day that Kevin had returned to find all of Scott's things gone from the house and he had never been scared of Kevin until he saw his reaction that day.

Until a couple of months ago, the two had avoided each other like the plague, though Sean knew it was because of the strength of their feelings for each other rather than the lack of. Scott had told him once that he wasn't sure he could be around Kevin unless he could actually be with Kevin... it was just too hard for him. As far as any of them were aware, Scott was still living in his apartment and Kevin was living in the house that the two had bought together. It wouldn't be the first time that someone had succumbed to the old 'sex with the ex' lure or it could just be that Scott had finally admitted he couldn't live without Kevin in his life in some capacity. None of them really knew and neither of them were talking... yet.

"Ow!"

He'd taken too long thinking about it. Lifting his head and scowling at Glen for the smack to his ass, Sean then leaned up and kissed his lover just to be perverse. "Okay already, I'm moving."

Glen grinned at him, despite the scowl. "Good, because I'm not carrying you."

Sean stuck his tongue out at his lover before scrambling off the bed and hunting for some clothes. Once they'd both tossed clean clothing on the bed, they headed to the bathroom to shower. Glen slanted a look at the wall separating their room from Mark and Jeff's.

"Wonder how things went over there last night?"

Sean grimaced as he continued into the bathroom and turned on the water. "I don't know, but I think I'll be avoiding Mark for the next few days."

Glen sighed as he joined his lover under the water. He wondered himself exactly how mad Mark might be about what Sean had done yesterday so he couldn't quite blame Sean for his caution. And maybe once Mark had a chance to get over it, he'd have a talk with his friend about why Sean had done what he had. It might not make a difference, but he could always hope that Mark and Sean might eventually find a way to get along.

****

Sitting there, watching Jeff intently, Mark could feel rage and shock roiling inside him, almost burying the incredible _hurt_ he felt at Jeff's almost careless words. Almost... but it was still there, piercing through him, wounding the brand-new tiny little kernel of hope that he'd allowed, against all his better judgment, to come into being last night as he fell asleep with his whirlwind momentarily still in his arms.

Stupid of him to forget that a whirlwind at rest was still a destructive force, just one posing as something other than what it really was. _Stupid_ , a hollow voice laughed somewhere in the back of his mind. And short-sighted. How could he have forgotten so easily what this felt like? He'd been through it before, after all; Shawn might have loved him, but in the long run he'd never been anything but a substitute for the person Shawn _really_ loved, the one that he could never have. The bitterness in that thought shocked him in and of itself. All this time, he'd thought he was over that, thought that he'd moved on... apparently not, if part of him still blamed Shawn for what had happened. But that was something that would have to be dealt with later.

If Jeff thought that Mark was capable of doing that to anyone else, then last night had been more than a simple mistake. It had been the worst possible thing that he could have done. And this deadly silence stretching between them wasn't helping. Mark knew that his eyes were showing everything he was feeling, but he couldn't help it. However controlled he might be normally, he could never hide emotions that he felt deeply.

 _"No!"_

The almost desperate word split the air between them, Jeff's voice sharp with anxiety and... fear? Mark continued to watch the younger man, trying to ignore the sliver of hope waving for attention behind the growing wall of hurt anger. As he listened to Jeff as he spoke in half-coherent phrases, the other man's own emotions washing up against him like an ocean of confusion, the soft touch against his leg felt almost like a hammer blow, but he didn't move. If he moved now, he'd crumble, and he couldn't afford that. Not now. Not ever.

 _"Not a game Mark, not for a second."_

There was sincerity there, hiding behind the desperate pleading tone. Mark could hear it, although he refused to let it touch him. Not yet.

 _"I didn't think that you would... I mean... not like that... just you looked kinda like you were upset that I was here..."_

God dammit. Jeff _had_ seen the guilt in his eyes, had misinterpreted it... not surprisingly. But if he didn't think that Mark would do what he'd practically accused him of, why the hell had he _said_ it? He didn't have anything to be afraid of---he wasn't the one who was falling apart at the seams with grey hair and arthritis and back pain when he twisted wrong. No, Jeff was young and beautiful and full of life and...

 _"but I did think... that maybe you would have wanted... him... instead."_

Mark had to bite back laughter. Not pleased chuckles, but bitter barking sounds of ironic amusement. He hadn't been able to escape how much Jeff reminded him of Shawn, although he _knew_ there was more in what he felt for the younger man than mere reminiscence, and here Jeff was, throwing that very thing back in his face. Why Jeff would've felt that Mark wanted someone, _anyone_ , other than him, was beyond him at the moment. He still wasn't sure why _Jeff_ would want _him_ , after all.

Oh.

Shit.

Suddenly the completely distraught, almost _destroyed_ expression on Jeff's penetrated the icy wall he'd instinctively drawn around himself. This hurt... this hurt a lot... but Jeff looked like... like... like he'd just lost something he'd been dreaming about for his entire life. He was partially right, Mark had to admit; Mark _wasn't_ completely over Shawn, but to be honest, he never would be. That didn't mean that he wanted Shawn back or harboured some hidden longing for the man; he didn't. Regardless of the bitterness he'd hidden even from himself until now, he _had_ moved on.

Feeling the tremble in the fingers still on his skin, he forced himself to stillness. If he did the wrong thing now, this would be over... and the anger still pulsing through him with every heartbeat practically demanded the wrong thing. Whatever else happened, this had to be dealt with, but he couldn't just open his mouth and let the hateful words hovering behind his lips come spewing out. Especially not to someone like Jeff, someone who was practically _begging_ , acting like... like...

Mark's eyes widened a hair, thawed softly, as he looked at Jeff with heightened awareness. Jeff was acting like the most insecure person he'd ever seen in his life. Like he couldn't _believe_ that Mark would want _him_.

 _"...you were... you_ are... _probably the best fucking thing that's ever happened to me..."_

Letting the apologies wash over him, the sheer emotion in that unsteady voice caught at him, clawing at that hidden spot of emotion as it demanded attention, demanded _acknowledgement_. No. Not that. He fought it away, not willing to look at that spot now; with this sort of misunderstanding between them from such a simple thing, he wasn't about to open up that particular Pandora's box, no matter how much part of him wanted to. This wasn't the time or the place, and certainly not when he didn't even know if they'd be on speaking terms an hour from now, let alone ready for... anything like that. He shook his head slightly as Jeff tore his eyes away, searching for his clothes, probably. They were more alike than he'd guessed.

 _"I don't_ want _to go. I can if you need me to, but if I could stay Mark?"_

This was it, then, wasn't it? This was the crux of the matter, the moment of decision. Before he even opened his mouth, he knew what he was going to say.

"Yes." It was nearly a growl, just one short sharp syllable, almost barked in a gruff voice. But it was there. Before Jeff could move, he held up a hand and continued, the anger and hurt still filling him obvious in his voice. "But we need to talk. Now."

A deep breath, and he shifted slightly to relieve the pressure on his knee. It had never quite been the same after the last injury, and he didn't want to strain it now of all times. He'd really prefer to be dressed for this conversation, if only for the symbolic shield, but he wasn't going to move any more than necessary until they got things sorted out. It was incredibly likely that they wouldn't be able to make this work out, at least not on a personal level, but if they could at least keep the mentoring relationship reasonably intact, Mark would be content with that.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, that hollow voice shrieked with laughter.

"I don't know what you think of my past, boy, but you obviously have some misconceptions about me." Pausing, he debated what he should say, but knew even through his immediate reluctance to broach the topic that nothing less than complete honesty would do. His voice slowed as the words came reluctantly, his drawl broadening as the old pain came back up. "The "him" that you seem to think you know so much about is real... and he isn't. I was involved with someone for quite a while, very seriously. When it didn't work out... it damn near killed me. It wasn't Shawn's fault, and it wasn't mine, but I had to end it, and I've never... I've never felt like that for anyone else."

Casting a look back up at the wide green eyes in front of him, he frowned. He wasn't making his point clearly, and he wasn't entirely sure that he _could_. But he had to try. "I have _never_ used somebody for sex. I don't do one-night stands, and I don't do them for a reason. I've been on the receiving end of a few and I don't like feeling used. For you to accuse me of _that_..."

A short laugh, and he pushed his hair out of his eyes, shaking his head again. This was going to hurt more than he knew, and he could feel his anger draining away in the wake of his agonizing honesty. He _wanted_ to be mad, dammit, wanted that anger to hold on to... but he couldn't. Instead, he lowered his gaze, not willing to watch the disgust that he knew would be growing in those captivating eyes as he started speaking again.

"I _was_ feeling guilty when I woke up. Y'know why? Because I fucking _fought_ with myself all goddamned night last night _not_ to do what we did, because I didn't want you feeling obligated to me. I didn't want you to feel like you had to fuck me just to get another chance, because you don't. Even if things still worked like that, _I_ wouldn't do that. Hell, I helped _stop_ that kind of thing. And when I woke up with you going down on me like a starving man, all I could think of was that you must feel like you had to do it, because why the hell would you _want_ to do that? I'm no prize; I'm not young, and I'm not pretty and I'm falling the hell apart."

Pausing again, he looked at Jeff with mild bemusement. "Why do you _want_ to stay, when you don't have to?"

****

Too busy shuddering under Hunter's careful ministrations to actually respond verbally to the teasing words his lover was giving him, Shawn heard the door open and close even as his back arched in response to a bite on the same spot Dave had marked the day before. Apparently his lovers wanted to put a bull's-eye there... not that he was going to be complaining about that. Oh no. Not if it meant that they were going to make him feel like this.

 _"I stopped and got you coffee, but it looks like Shawn found a better way of waking you up."_

He couldn't stop the snort even as he winced at the soreness it left behind in his throat, but still... just because he'd been moderately polite the morning before---to Dave, anyway---didn't mean that he always woke up that way. Of course, Dave hadn't seen him wake up yet, had he? They'd have to discuss that little sneaking-off thing that he'd done... later. Right now he was too wound up in trying to keep up with Hunter's caresses. He suspected that his body wasn't going to be able to keep up to his spirit, but he'd be more than happy to do whatever Hunter wanted him to... of course, if he could sneak in the suggestion that Hunter and Dave should have a turn, he'd be _thrilled_ to watch his lovers together.

 _"Sure, sure. You say that now. Just wait till I have you trained properly."_

Oh, Hunter had _not_... he had. Seeing the mix of insult and amusement on Dave's face, Shawn couldn't hold back his laughter, ragged as it probably sounded. Not to mention the gasps mixed in, since Hunter didn't seem to want to be stopping his exploration of Shawn's chest...

Ohhh. Now _that_ was nice. His eyes were practically glued to Dave's lips as the big man teased Hunter. Just the memory of Dave's tongue piercing was enough to send a new round of shivers through him.

 _"Sorry sweetheart, but I need to borrow him for just a moment... if you don't mind?"_

Like he was going to complain, with what Dave so obviously had in mind. He'd never dreamt of seeing Hunter in this kind of position... well, no. To be honest, he _had_ dreamt of seeing Hunt exactly in this position... just with him in Dave's place. That didn't make seeing the reality any less sweet, or any less arousing. Before he realised he was even moving, Shawn was sliding closer to his lovers, hovering just behind Dave's shoulder for the best possible view. God, that was tantalizing: Hunter over Dave's lap, squirming and protesting and... Shawn jumped a little at the first blow almost in time with Hunter's reaction.

Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. Talk about dreams come true... only these were the sorts of dreams that you never shared with anyone else and could only hope that you had again. Now he could have them every day... in real life. The spanking was brief, but Shawn knew he'd remember every second of the little scene until the day he died. Hunter might have been shocked, might have been protesting... but he'd liked it. That much was obvious.

The kiss that Hunter bestowed on their lover afterward had Shawn's breathing quickening even as he wished somewhat ruefully that he was still twenty. He'd have to be a spectator to whatever games Hunt and Dave decided to play this morning... but he'd be a more than willing one.

No sooner had he thought that, missing whatever words Hunter had said so quietly to Dave, then Hunter was up and moving and... gone. Blinking slightly as he tried to hold back the worry that wanted to come swimming up, Shawn shared a look with Dave. Before either of them could say anything, the sound of running water was audible, and Shawn's lips curved as he realised that Hunt had left the bathroom door wide open. That was definitely _not_ an accident. His smile turning a little wicked, he tilted his head at Dave.

"I think, sweetheart, that _you_ are more than a little overdressed for this particular workout." Reaching down, he tugged the pastel button-up shirt out of the slacks that it was so carefully tucked into even as he wrapped his other arm around Dave's neck and kissed him. Not too intense, since he didn't want to tease---too much---but enough to make up for the lack of a kiss when he'd woken up. Speaking of which...

"We have got to talk about this morning thing." He'd even managed to get the pout down without laughing and ruining the effect. Shawn was rather proud of himself for that. "But right now, I think that someone's waiting for us. Definitely no hiding in the bathroom today." Another smile, and he was off the bed, putting a little extra sway in his walk as he headed into the bathroom after Hunter, making sure to leave the door open behind him.

Shawn paused just inside, though, as he got an eyeful of naked wet Hunter. Yum. Especially with that lovely pink tinge to his ass. Realising that he was licking his lips, Shawn smiled at himself and joined his lover in the shower, running a gentle hand over said tender skin.

"Very nice, Hunter. You will have to share, you know."

****

 _"No... no... I'm fine thanks."_

Dave's brow started a climb upward; he was surprised that Hunter was going to give in that easily. He should have known better.

The hand tangling in his shirt stopped his brow before it made it into a position of question and the kiss that followed distracted him very nicely. Warm, soft, moist lips claimed his along with a rather wickedly probing tongue... not that he was going to complain. The exploration of Hunter's tongue and the weight of Hunter's torso pressing against his thighs was incentive enough to forget for the moment why he'd spanked him in the first place. Hunt saw fit to remind him a moment later though.

 _"I'm not sorry, because if I get reactions like that, then the training program is working just fine."_

Smartass.

Dave shifted his legs once the final word had left Hunter's mouth, intending to dump his ornery lover on the floor. Hunter gained his feet quickly and darted out of the room. Dave knew that Hunter wasn't upset with him, so he didn't worry about the flight. He was pretty sure that Hunter hadn't considered what reaction his comment would prompt, but he apparently hadn't minded Dave's manhandling of him in that circumstance. With his second taunt, it seemed as if Hunter was trying to get him to be a bit more forceful when it came to contact between them, without actually having to ask for it. Since that thought validated his earlier mental wanderings about their relationship, he might just have to try out being a little less thoughtful and a little more proactive when it came to his lover.

The look he caught on Shawn's face pulled him from his thoughts for the moment. He could see the slight flare of worry buried in his lover's eyes and planned to soothe it away by repeating Hunter's words to him, but the sound of the shower starting up took care of that for him. The wicked smile that curved Shawn's lips told him that Shawn's worry was being replaced with a much happier emotion.

 _"I think, sweetheart, that you are more than a little overdressed for this particular workout."_

Smirking at the tug of his shirt from his pants, Dave didn't bother mentioning that he'd already taken a shower. There was obviously another point to this shower altogether. He hadn't missed the press of hot, hard flesh against his thigh through the material of his pants. Shawn's gentle kiss smothered his own devilish grin, though it made an appearance as soon as Shawn's lips left his own.

 _"We have got to talk about this morning thing."_

Aw hell. He probably should have stayed in the room this morning, but he had really needed the time alone to think. Now wasn't a good time to bring it up though. He didn't really want Shawn to know about the doubts he'd been having earlier. He had promised to give it some time and that was what he was going to do. The only thing that would come out of bringing it up would be making Shawn feel bad and that definitely wasn't something he wanted to do.

 _"But right now, I think that someone's waiting for us. Definitely no hiding in the bathroom today."_

Shawn's words jerked him firmly back into the present and Dave had to smile over the hiding comment. Good thing that wasn't Hunter's aim, because he'd have hated to add a bathroom door to the damages that Hunter was going to owe for the room. Holding his smile as he watched Shawn cross the room, he then flopped back on the bed for a moment, the wicked smile curving his lips once more. He would definitely never be bored between the two of them, not that that had ever been a real possibility.

Unbuttoning his shirt, he sat up and stripped it off. The rest of his clothes quickly followed and a minute or two after Shawn had entered the bathroom, Dave followed. He stopped in the doorway, looking at the two men in the shower. Wet, naked, hands roaming and lips tasting... what an absolutely beautiful sight. He was hard-pressed to decide which view he enjoyed more... the two of them showering together or cuddled up in bed. Either one was enough to drive him crazy.

Crossing the tile silently, he slipped into the shower almost as quietly, standing just behind Hunter. He grinned for a moment at the tight fit. Lord, they had to be crazy. Luckily it wasn't quite tight enough that they had to worry about getting stuck in the damn thing. Pressing his body firmly against Hunter's back, he smiled at Shawn over Hunter's shoulder. His hands wandered slowly over the plains of Hunters shoulder's and down the shifting muscles of his back. Keeping his movements fluid, he lowered his hands further still, over smooth skin. Waist, hips, on down to the slightly pink curves of his lover's ass... steady and firmly. He didn't linger on any particular spot, moving his seeking hands over taut thighs before curving around to the front of Hunter's body. Sneaking his hands between Shawn and Hunter, he relished Hunter's reaction as he pulled Hunter's ass into the cradle of his hips.

One hand moved slowly upward, seeking the hard shaft hidden between Hunter and Shawn's bodies. Pressing his open mouth along Hunter's neck, he licked and sucked gently as his hand wrapped around the warm straining wet flesh.

Lifting his head for just a moment, he winked at Shawn. "My, my. Someone's most definitely awake now. You didn't need that coffee after all, did ya?" Scraping his teeth slowly across the tendons of his lover's neck, he lifted his head once more. "We'll just have to do something about this," he said with a gentle squeeze of his hand, "won't we, darlin'."

****

 _"...did you teach Jay how to drive?"_

Adam wasn't about to dignify that with a response... he was a _good_ driver and Chris darn well knew it. With a huff and a scowl at his lover, he followed him to the desk so they could drop off their bags. While they were standing in line for the buffet, Adam was wishing a severely bad hair day on his lover for his obnoxious question because that would surely be a tragedy for Chris, he thought with a grin. Oh yeah. The codeine had definitely kicked in if he was having thoughts like that.

He was looking at a kinda scary looking pasta salad of some sort and poking it with the serving spoon when Chris started swearing under his breath. Ohhh. Someone was in trouble! Adam grinned and moved on to poking the Jell-o sitting next to the salad. He wasn't quite far gone enough to sing the 'watch it wiggle, see it jiggle' song, but he was fuzzy enough around the edges to wonder if Steph's implants were made of the stuff. Fortunately that was not a thought he voiced out loud either.

 _"I'm gonna kill that prick."_

Who? What? Where?

Adam turned and followed Chris with his eyes until the blond reached an occupied table. Austin... and he looked like someone had just pissed on his shoe or something similarly offensive. Austin, Austin, Austin... there was something he ought to remember about good old Steve, but he couldn't quite remember what it was at that particular moment. He took a few more steps in their direction before he was overwhelmed by the smell of... chocolate cake.

Yay!

Grabbing an extra big slice with thick white frosting, he walked over to where Chris and Steve were sitting just in time to hear Steve's comments.

 _"We tussled some, he gave me lip, I asked fer more, he punched me, then I left."_

Ouch.

Yesterday's conversation with Steve came flooding back just then and Adam felt just a bit bad that his analysis of Randy's character had been so far off. Good thing he hadn't mentioned that he'd actually caught ol' Randall mooning over the Rattlesnake on an occasion or two. What the hell was wrong with the little shit? He'd be having a serious talk with Mr. GQ Legend Killer come Sunday since they had a match to plan for Monday anyway. But for now... he'd just have to try to cheer up Stone Cold and if anyone questioned his sanity, he had a convenient excuse... drugs. Settling into his seat next to Chris, Adam racked his brain for a plan.

 _"Nice night?"_

Adam looked up in surprise that Austin had acknowledged his overly cautious movements. It wasn't so much from pain but from the blurry little fog he was wandering in and he wanted to make sure the chair didn't jump right out from under him. It had happened before!

"Great. Well... except for having to wake up half a dozen times when I'm supposed to be resting. I had this really hot nurse though with one hell of a bedside manner," he said with a wink in Chris' direction. "You don't look so good though Steve-O and I've got the perfect thing to make you feel better."

Pushing his chair back a little, Adam stood up, then promptly wished he hadn't. Freaking codeine... he'd forgotten about the dizzy spells. Luckily, with his grasp on the table, he managed to stay on his feet the few seconds it took to clear his head... or clear it as much as it was going to get. Now, on with the plan that he'd managed to come up with just seconds before. Steve couldn't kill him... right?

Grabbing the side of Steve's chair, he pulled it back just a bit from the table and promptly sat himself on the Rattlesnake's lap, a huge grin on his face. Ignoring the looks of surprise on both Steve's and Chris' faces, he turned and grabbed the plate with the slice of cake on it and scooped up a forkful. "Sex with Chris would make you feel better, but then I'd have to kill you, so how 'bout some choc'late cake instead? Come on... you know it'll turn that frown upside down. Open wide." If he were going to act insane, he might as well give it his best shot, so he added airplane noises while zooming the fork around in circles. Steve didn't look very impressed, though he did look as if he were considering calling the men in white coats to come pick him up. Time for extraordinary measures!

Adam dropped the fork back on the plate and pouted at Steve with his most pathetically sad pout. That didn't work either. Time for super-extraordinary measures!

"I'm sorry I was wrong. He's an idiot. I mean, if I weren't already head over arse in love with Chris, I'd go out with you..." Nope, he just couldn't say and make it sound like he meant it. Steve was a nice guy, really, but so totally not his type at all. "Okay... maybe I wouldn't, but only because you're really scary and always threatening to stick something up someone's roody poo candy a... oh wait. That's not you. I got it! You're really scary and you are always threatening to break someone's ankl... wait, that's not you either." From his perch atop Austin's lap, Adam could see the lights reflecting off the top of Steve's head. He spent a few seconds rather fascinated with the way the light was playing over the smooth surface. "Oh! I got it. You're the one that threatens to stomp a mudhole in people... and... do you shave your head?"

He knew he was pushing his luck. In fact he was surprised that Steve hadn't already tossed him on his ass. His sole saving grace was probably the fact that CJ would be upset if Steve did anything to aggravate his injuries, because he was pretty sure that was the only reason he hadn't been dumped on the floor yet. Still, he'd get a smile out of Austin if it killed him... an honest smile, not one of those 'I'm smiling so you think I'm fine when I'm really not' smiles. Blinking quickly, like he'd lost his train of thought, he smiled down at Steve as he raised a hand and rubbed it all over the man's bald head.

Hopefully Chris wouldn't kill him for what he was about to do, but it was one thing that he knew would be guaranteed to make him happy, so he figured Steve might get a kick out of it as well. "Can I shave it for you? If you let me, I'll let you hold the video camera when Christopher flashes Shelton before his match on Sunday. You have to promise not to drool on it though, cause it might ruin the tape." Adam fiercely nodded his head and then wished he hadn't... at least the dizziness made keeping the goofy smile on his face that much easier and it kept him from noticing whether or not Chris was ready to kill him.

****

Seeing Austin's sudden start at his words, Chris realised that the bald man hadn't heard him approach, too lost in glaring with dangerous intent at his food. He couldn't normally surprise the Rattlesnake under any conditions, certainly not in the bright sunlight streaming through the restaurant windows. The man was completely off his game and Chris had a nasty feeling he knew why. Mind spinning with speculations that were all most likely untrue, he quickly assessed and discarded each thought before moving onto the next.

Austin was alone... therefore Randy was still in their room.

No. Austin wouldn't leave a brand new lover alone for a second after a night of happy, make-up sex.

Austin was alone and pissed off... therefore Randy had left again after a night of happy, make-up sex.

No. Austin would be in a large vehicle chasing after his lover and on the way damaging as many expensive cars as possible.

Austin was alone, pissed off and not doing anything but performing vivisection on an innocent sausage.

Therefore... Randy had turned Austin down flat and the man had spent the night in someone else's spare bed glaring at the ceiling.

 _Dammit_. CJ had been certain Steve had gotten lucky when he'd noticed the absence of Austin's bags earlier. It really wasn't fucking fair. There were very few people in this world that were on a par with Steve Austin. Now most of the sane were pretty thankful of that fact, but CJ knew his friend well enough, that even with all the crazy, rough, tough, 'kick your ass as soon as look at you' edges Austin had... the world was a better place with him in it. He deserved to have the same chance at happiness that everyone else did, yet time and time again it didn't work out. Mostly, CJ was honest enough to admit, because Steve was a pain in the ass 97% of the time, but he imagined...and deep down CJ acknowledged he  _had_ imagined... those other 3% would be golden.

Feeling the cold anger begin to flood through him, Chris began to calculate just how quickly he could find out Orton's room number and what kind of implements were normally part of hotel room bar fridge. Difficult as it probably was to injure someone with a coffee bag and miniature Toblerone, Chris mentally braced himself to do his very best with what he could get.

He could always pour hundreds of mini bottles of alcohol on the asshole's head and set him on fire.

Chris' anger and the freaky revenge thoughts had to be showing, because Steve was looking at him with grumpy unhappiness fading slowly into rueful affection.

 _Nahhh. Forget it Kitten, I ain't gonna sweat it._

'Sure you aren't.' CJ agreed sarcastically but in his head. Taking a seat opposite his friend, Chris gave Steve another hard, assessing look before beginning his own meal, appetite lost despite his midnight activities. With his thirst for vengeance stalled by Steve's words, Chris began to feel an unpleasant tide of guilt rise up inside him. A conversation in a car park came back with startling, painful clarity.

"For some reason I actually thought better of him." Chris had thought so too. Thought there was more to the gifted young star than just bluster and good genetics. "Sorry I pushed you at him Austin, I shoul..."

 _Shut it Kitten..... We tussled some, he gave me lip, I asked fer more, he punched me, then I left._

Chris blinked and began trying to sort out what had _actually_ happened from the brief spurts of information he'd been given. Blue eyes narrowing, he located the faint bruising around Steve's chin and caught himself before a brief flash of admiration could appear. So Steve had propositioned Randy and the guy had _punched_ him? Just then Chris decided that maybe things weren't quite as bad as he'd imagined when he'd seen the downtrodden scowl on Austin's face. If Randy had demonstrated the balls to belt Steve and the ability to walk away from him, then everything wasn't lost. In fact... Randy may have just assured himself a permanent place in Steve's huge rock-like heart with his actions, however cruel they may seem on the surface.

Chris' contemplation of Austin's love-life was interrupted by the arrival of his own love-life, chocolate cake in hand. Hang on a minute... _chocolate cake_ for breakfast? Glancing at Adam with a questioning look, CJ stared wonderingly as his beloved proceeded to have some kind of mental break. The words _really hot nurse, Sex with Chris would make you feel better, but then I'd have to kill you and head over arse in love with Chris_ , left happy little trails of pleasure in Chris' heart to be rejoiced over later, but in essence were ignored. Because... well... because Adam seemed to be trying to cheer Steve up.

In a drugged out, 'three year old on red food colouring' kind of way.

Frankly Chris was kinda impressed that the fork didn't end up tines-first in Adam's ass. Austin must be mellowing in his old age. When his beautiful lover began wiggling in Steve's lap and rubbing the bald man's head to coos of _Can I shave it for you?_ , CJ dragged himself back to this reality.

"Um. Adam... Babe?" When the gorgeous green eyes swung back to him, Chris wasn't surprised to see the glazed look in them. Ahhh... yeah. "Codeine _is_ your 'happy place' isn't it Lover?" he asked, more to let Austin catch on to the reason for Adam's strange behaviour, than anything else.

Seeing the look of understanding in Austin's eyes, Chris relaxed somewhat. Till Steve grinned at him like the evil bastard he was and cuddled Adam more comfortably onto his lap. Oh no. CJ really, really should have considered the consequences of Adam and Steve being part of his life.

At the _same_ time.

 _"He always this friendly first thing in the mornin' Kitten? Or did you actually screw his brains out last night?"_

Eyes narrowing at the lust-filled speculation in Steve's words, Chris looked pointedly at the hand resting on Adam's cotton clad rump and bared his teeth at the bald man.

CJ's hand had been suspended in midair during Adam's eclectic performance, the piece of fruit speared on his fork unmoving inches from his lips. Elbow resting on the table, Chris lowered the utensil back to his plate and determined how best to remove Adam from Steve's vicinity without the three of them ending up hurt... or naked.

****

 _I had this really hot nurse though with one hell of a bedside manner..._

Oh hell yeah. Steve could just imagine his Kitten playing nurse. More likely to verbally tear strips of ya for bein' an ass while rubbing in the ointment. Still... Austin couldn't deny the thought of a different pair of hands tending his own aches and pains was one he might come to like. He'd even take the mouthy comments if he could get the rubbing. Steve felt he and Copeland were obviously on the same page if the blissed-out smile the taller guy was offering was any indication.

Austin smiled at the slightly unfocussed look in Copeland's eyes and pushed his plate away half untouched. Leaning back in his chair, Steve took a deep breath and enjoyed the undeniably pretty sight of his two companions. Seems that the only thing this 'ole redneck needed to take his mind off a certain brunette was the presence of his favorite blond... and his blond's shiny new boyfriend.

 _You don't look so good though Steve-O and I've got the perfect thing to make you feel better._

Huh? Wha... ?

'Shiny' was certainly the word, Steve thought a few moments later as Adam made himself far too comfortable in Austin's denim clad lap. Sure, the man wasn't poured into his usual black-as-hell leather pants, but there was no question as to the condition of the backside contained within the loose cotton sweats currently wiggling on his knees. Having his head irrevocably turned by one stunning fair-haired handful had left Steve almost immune to the charms of other beautiful men, but Copeland was truly edible and Austin would take his groping where he could get it. Excluding a tanned, toned 'someone-that-Steve-really-really-wasn't-thinking-about', having Copeland in his arms was just this side of the sexiest contact he'd ever had.

Damn. He really needed to get laid more often if some fully dressed squirming was his best chance at it.

 _Come on... you know it'll turn that frown upside down. Open wide._

Hands catching Adam's hips to stop the man from tumbling off his lap, Austin eyed the proffered chocolate cake with misgivings. _Airplane noises?_ Okay... now that fork was gonna be bent in half in a second if Copeland didn't stop waving it under Steve's nose.

Uh oh... even Steve wasn't immune to a pretty, pretty man pouting at him.

 _"I was wrong. He's an idiot... only because you're really scary... stick something up someone's roody poo candy... threatening to break someone's ankl... wait, that's not you either... stomp a mudhole in people... and... do you shave your head?"_

Steve's laughter roared out of him in a brilliant guffaw, arms tightening around Copeland as he strained to control his wild chuckling. This man... this beautiful, obviously crazy man had just paid Austin one of the biggest compliments he'd ever heard. While he could admit that the thought of doing some 'horizontal dancing' with the blond hadn't really crossed his own mind either, that Adam might consider it was certainly flattering. Being compared to Rocky and Kurt however was more a sign of the mentally challenged than anything else. 

Boy better stop touching his head too, or that 'horizontal dancing' might as yet still be in the cards.

 _Can I shave it for you?... let you hold the video camera when Christopher flashes Shelton._

Austin felt his typical surge of 'over my dead body Kitten' be submerged by his amusement at Adam's antics. Looking over at said flasher, Steve caught the stunned expression in Chris' sapphire eyes and the fruit stilled in midair. Obviously Adam's wild and too-friendly behaviour was as much a surprise to CJ as it was to Austin... if not more so.

 _Codeine is your 'happy place' isn't it Lover?_

Adding two and two together, Steve got the requisite number despite opinions of his brain power to the contrary and loosened his grip on Adam a fraction. While he'd baby-sat a number of friends on all manner of benders, Austin could honestly say he'd never seen a reaction to painkillers quite like this one. It wasn't all the drugs either, if he was any judge. Copeland sure had let his guard down, but the sentiment was honest and Steve was humble enough to accept it with gratitude.

Still...

Running his palm down the lovely curve of Adam's back to rest on one tight butt-cheek, Austin shot a vicious smile at his Kitten and settled his passenger more comfortably.

"He always this friendly first thing in the mornin' Kitten? Or did you actually screw his brains out last night?"

Damn... he'd never seen Chris with quite that look in his eyes before.

Fortunately, CJ's fork wasn't rammed immediately into the back of his wandering hand... or his eye, as the blond calmly placed the silver back onto the table and rose fluidly to his feet.

 _"C'mon Babe. I think Steve might want his legs back sometime soon."_

Chris had cupped Copeland's cheek and was bring his attention away from Steve's head. With a show of reluctance, he let CJ tug Adam from his lap and situate the man back into his chair.

 _"Babe... ?Adam...?"_ Steve continued to smile as Chris tried to catch Adam's eyes, it was like dealing with a distracted child. _"Can I have some cake Love?"_

Once again pushing thoughts of feeding cake to _him_ firmly away, Steve settled back to enjoy the show... smirking all the while.

****

Looking at that beautiful, untouchable expression on Mark’s face, Jeff legs were almost twitching from his instinctive need to run and hide. Running away wasn’t normally his forte; more often than not, Jeff was the one to take a fight to the bitter, wrenching end, no matter the consequences to himself or his opponent. ‘You just don’t have the ability to take a step backwards do you Jeffy?’ had been one of the more memorable comments thrown at him over the years. But hiding? Oh yeah. He was more than a master at that. Of the emotional if not physical kind. ‘An enigma.’ Huh. Such a stupid, fucking nickname he’d earned and hadn’t Jeff hated that line? He may have appeared to be a goddamn mystery to everybody, but that essentially came from _Jeff_ not even knowing who the fuck he was either.

Having spent far more time than was healthy on trying to get his fucked-up self-esteem back on track, Jeff was sick and tired of analyzing himself, his feelings, his place in the world, his purpose, his life, his sex-life and his career. Who the fuck knew what they wanted and who they were? Jeff sure as hell didn’t. Example number one… hot-as-sin guy wants to keep you in bed for a week so what do you do Mr. Hardy? Why, yes indeedy… you not only insult him for the second time in as many days, you also guarantee he’ll doubt your interest for the next fucking year! Bravo Mr. Hardy... not many manage to mess up that badly in such a short space of time.

The truly deplorable thought that crossed Jeff’s panicked, desperate mind as he waited the long, long moments for Mark to tear him to shreds, was _Did I do that on purpose? Did I tell him to think of someone else hoping he’d react like this? Did I want to fuck this up because I can’t handle it?_ Knowing his eyes would start to water soon if he didn’t blink, but really not caring, Jeff kept his gaze on frozen jade until the cruel, nasty end. Those questions were echoing over and over in his head, bold, honest queries that Jeff had been too blind to see until he sat here, naked amongst the tangled wreckage of what might have been.

The answer to those questions was something Jeff would have to face if he could fix the damage he’d done.

If Mark would let him fix it.

 _Yes._

Unconsciously, Jeff’s fingers became white-knuckled where they were clenched in cotton sheets. The relief he felt was palpable, but he couldn’t trust it… not yet. Mark was letting him stay, but they were a long way from… anything.

 _But we need to talk. Now._

Jeff couldn’t hide his wince, not only at the potential tragedy of tearing themselves apart like this, but also the harsh, unfriendly note in Mark’s deep voice. Understandable, given what Jeff had done, but his sensitized flesh still felt blistered by a tone Jeff had never experienced directed at him. When Mark shifted to get more comfortable, Jeff became aware of his own position, perched on his ass halfway down the bed, naked as the day he was born. The covers they’d kicked back during last night’s wild love-making were bunched at the foot of the bed and Jeff uncurled his cramped legs to settle against the soft fabric. The added foot of space between he and Mark was almost painful, but Jeff reasoned that touching of any kind right now would be the absolute _worst_ thing to do. Uncaring of his own exposed skin, Jeff pushed his hair back behind his ears and scratched his blunt fingernails across the satin edge of the blanket in a minor nervous habit.

 _what you think of my past, boy… you seem to think you know so much about…_

By not so much as a flick of an eyelid, did Jeff react to that continued matter-of-fact tone, or the obvious pain colouring the words. This time, Jeff kept his response quiet, unwilling to allow more guilt, self-reproach or plain old angst to get the better of him. ‘You fucked up Jeff’, his conscious pointed out coolly, ‘now he’s telling you how much, so take it and move on.’ Jeff could do that, he could take anything Mark threw at him without question.

 _...it damn near killed me… Shawn’s fault…_

Thought so. The similarity was obvious… especially to Jeff.

 _I've never felt like that for anyone else._

Unsurprised by this revelation, Jeff kept his mouth shut and his ears open.

 _I have never used somebody for sex… For you to accuse me of that..._

…was just about the nastiest, cruelest thing I could have done.’ Jeff finished the sentence mentally, his own heart cracking just the littlest bit at the hoarse, hurting laugh that came from Mark’s throat. Jeff wanted so very much to reach out and wrap his arms around Mark’s broad shoulders, but he couldn’t risk the damage that might do. The last thing Jeff wanted right now was to make things any worse than they already were.

 _I fucking fought with myself all goddamned night… I didn't want you feeling obligated to me… I helped stop that kind of thing._  
v  
So, Jeff hadn’t been the only one unsure if they were welcome last night. It was _strange_ … to think that Mark was trying to protect Jeff from the WWE’s ‘casting couch’, even one that didn’t exist. Mark had been dead on. That kind of thing just didn’t happen any more. Jeff had never needed protecting from anything in the WWE, most officials and higher ups had seen the large ‘warning, tends to fuck you up’ sign over Jeff’s head and run a mile. Hell, he’d even had to go outside the workplace just to get laid, he was so notorious. That’s why the shower and this morning had seemed so unreal, such a nightmare and dream all rolled into one.

The question was, could it stay a dream, or was Jeff just playing in his own nightmare at Mark’s expense?

 _…why the hell would you want to do that? I'm no prize; I'm not young, and I'm not pretty and I'm falling the hell apart…Why do you want to stay, when you don't have to?_

Jeff’s eyes roamed over the beautiful, strong, decent, interesting, fascinating, sexy man lying naked before him and felt his jaw drop.

Huh?

It didn’t matter that it was wrong, totally inappropriate or more than likely to be construed as an insult, Jeff burst out laughing. Genuine, unexpected hilarity echoed in the hotel room for several seconds as Jeff’s slight body rocked with amused disbelief. Fortunately for Jeff’s future ability to breathe, the laughter slowed down quickly into chuckles, tinged by a note of almost-sadness at the relative states of their emotional well-being. Mark hadn’t moved a discernable muscle at Jeff’s outburst, a fact for which he was profoundly grateful. If it had been any….

“That says it all really,” Jeff leaned back against the cushions, one hand dangling as his forearm rested on an upraised knee. Tilting his head, Jeff looked deep into Mark’s entrancing eyes and with far more calm that he felt, tried to explain himself. A difficult task to be sure, explaining Jeff Hardy was like walking on broken glass… painful, difficult and eventually pointless. “I swear Mark… if it had been any other man.” Swallowing, Jeff got on with it. “If any other man but _you_ had just explained his feelings to the person who’d insulted him so completely and was answered with laughter… well, I’d probably be dead by now.” Jeff knew it was true. “But you don’t have that in you Mark, I know that. Even now, even with that anger at me burning in you, you’d never hurt me. It’s true…” Jeff wanted Mark to see how certain he was in this, “…even in your anger you are… _more_ … than anyone I’ve ever known. You say you’re no prize? I say bullshit Mark Calaway, you’re a prize I’d like to win… if I can stop ruining it with my own damn problems. You are….”

How? How can Jeff put into words the complete _adoration_ he felt whenever around Mark. The tantalizing mix of hero-worship, school-boy crush, hard-core sex appeal and tentative friendship that was Jeff’s attraction to the tall, dark-haired legend. How? Maybe…

“You are beautiful.”

It wasn’t enough, even though it was everything he felt, so he tried again.

“I mean… I like watching you, looking at you. I don’t care if you’re working or sleeping… I like to look at you. You have a great face and wicked hair and it just really turns me on how much taller than me you are. Do you know I used to have this fantasy about running my tongue over your tattoos? Well... huh... did that. Fantasy come true, but way better. You are such a mystery to me and I find that really enthralling, I wanna know everything about you, what you like, who you are. I know so little Mark, you are the most dedicated worker this industry has ever seen, everyone and I mean everyone, respects you and not just ‘cos they’re scared or anything, in fact no-one is scared of you at all. You could be the biggest bastard in the locker room but you’re not, you’re decent and creepily funny and you’re friends with some amazing people and I’m just as hooked as everyone else on the person inside the Undertaker. Last night I got another little hint… you’re a romantic at heart… and it’s like the first sip of expensive wine… such a small taste, but I don’t just want more. I want to devour the whole bottle.”

Almost embarrassed by his meandering compliments, Jeff tried to bring himself to a conclusion.

“So I guess… I want to know you, be around you and if you’ll let me, I want to fall for you Mark.” And because that could be taken the wrong way, Jeff qualified, “In a totally non-stalkerish, I _can_ take a hint, kind of way.”


	73. Decisions

Feeling the mild burning in his ass begin to relent as the warm water drizzled over it, Hunter fiddled momentarily with the small packet of complimentary soap, before giving up and tearing the pale blue paper with his teeth. The absolute best thing in the world about being rich and moderately famous was the luxury of Hunter’s living standards. Showers he could actually step into without needing to duck his head or scrape his shoulders, beds that were long enough to accommodate not just one guy, but three. Such small, insignificant little things that when found, made life that much more comfortable.

A sharp hiss from his own lips had Hunter looking down at the sudden pain coming from his wrist. He hadn’t noticed it last night what with the mind-blowing orgasms and all, but he had more than one graze on his skin from the bindings he’d been in. Rinsing off the sting-causing soap, Hunter spied a small splinter just near the base of his thumb that must have been the bedhead’s final retaliation before its death. No chance of getting it out with water gushing down on his head, he’d just have to ask one of his two... check that TWO… gorgeous lovers to play doctor for him.

Smirking a moderately-famous smirk at that salacious thought, Hunter was pulled from images of Shawn and Dave in lab coats and very little else, by a change in the air temperature near his ass. The slight puff of breeze heralded a soft as a feather caress over the sensitized flesh of his backside and that sinfully hoarse voice near his ear teasing,

 _Very nice, Hunter. You will have to share, you know._

‘Anything,’ was Hunter’s genuine, nauseatingly romantic mental reply. Having the benefit of a brain that could master his tongue… when he chose... Hunt decided to save the love-talk for when he and Shawn weren’t sliding slippery naked flesh against slippery naked flesh. Keeping his reddened wrist under the water, Hunter reached his arm back towards Shawn and gently looped his best friend around the neck. Tugging him around, Hunter stood them both under the spray for several seconds, enjoying the simple, lovely sensation of his beloved resting against him. Holding Shawn’s temple against his collarbone, Hunt rested his cheek on the darkened gold of Shawn’s hair and soaked up more than the heat of the shower.

“I never thought I’d have this.”

It wasn’t his perennial guilt speaking now, only Hunter’s honest sense of wonder at the turn of events that had shattered his life in one night and given him heaven not eight hours later. Pulling Shawn back so Hunt could look into the mesmerizing dusky blue eyes, Hunter ran his fingers up to those dangerous cheekbones and back down to rest on Shawn’s neat-muscled shoulders.

“Next time I try to run, you have permission to use a tranq gun ‘kay?” Seeing the humour sparkle in Shawn’s eyes, Hunter was glad, so very glad, that they still had this. Because if they couldn’t be friends, couldn’t give each other hell while holding hands then Hunter would just give it all up. He needed his best friend’s smile like he needed air and breathing was the third most important thing in Hunt’s life right now. “Have to share do I? Well, you don’t take up much space so I guess I can be generous.”

Leaning down just enough to brush his lips over Shawn’s, Hunter sank into the sweet taste of his beloved, wet skin conveying deep throbs of pleasure to Hunter’s long neglected sex. He’d been horny when he awoke to a naked Shawn in his bed, grappling with Dave certainly hadn’t cooled him off and if he didn’t do something about it soon, Hunter was almost ready to believe he’d never have blood above his navel again.

Then ‘Naked Dave’ came into the shower and Hunter never had a chance. Relinquishing control of his body to his cock with a happy sigh, Hunt leaned into those large, caressing hands as they worked wonders across his back and legs. The slide of soap bubbles had created an easy glide between burning skin and Hunter gave a small moan at the sensation of being surrounded by his lovers' bodies, pressed so intimately close to his. Shawn at his front, Dave against his back, treated to the glorious feel of smooth flesh and drugging kisses on all sides.

Not even entertaining any thoughts of panic, Hunter released one hand from Shawn’s back and reached up to stroke the hot satin along Dave’s neck and ear. Motions that became more urgent as one large, too-clever-for-words hand, wrapped around Hunter's aching shaft. Dave’s strong shoulder took the weight of Hunter’s head as he tossed it backwards, spine arching against the simultaneous pleasure of Dave’s hand and Shawn’s rapacious lips. His free hand tangling once again in Shawn’s glistening hair, Hunter tried not to pull too tightly as Dave’s wonderful strokes brought him closer and closer to completion.

 _Someone's most definitely awake now. You didn't need that coffee after all, did ya?_

Much as he enjoyed banter during sex, Hunter had lost any brain power the moment Dave had touched his cock and anything more witty than “Guh,” was beyond him at that point.

 _just have to do something about this…won't we, darlin'?_

Maybe it was the _darlin’_ , such an unlikely nickname for him that Hunter couldn’t help the curl of his lips every time the dark man said it, maybe it was the increased pace of Dave’s strokes, that had Hunter panting and groaning like a wanton. More likely though, it was just the presence of them, of Dave and Shawn, skin to skin, touching him, loving him, near him, that sent Hunter spiraling over the edge and into the blistering ecstasy of climax.

How he managed not to drown was anyone’s guess.

****

 _"How did I know that was coming?"_

Manfully restraining from sticking his tongue out at his lover, if only because he could already hear Scott's instant response, Kevin's lips curved in response to the grin on Scott's face. Damn, was he getting soft. But... for Scott, he wasn't going to complain. For Scotty, he'd do anything... even sacrifice his tightly-held grumpy tough-guy image. Not that the man in his arms would ever ask him to do such a thing, but if the choice were ever there to make, Kevin knew what his decision would be.

 _"Actually... I was thinking..."_

Chuckling slightly, Kev bit back the too-obvious response---this time---and waited. Scott's thoughts were more than worth following up on most of the time, no matter what Scotty might think. Of course, he seemed to have gained confidence over the last year, which made Kevin happy. Their separation had been hell, but it seemed to have had good results for both of them, if only by making them both face themselves.

 _"Maybe we should call around and see if anyone is up for lunch?"_

That was an _excellent_ idea. Shawn had not-so-subtly told them yesterday that he didn't need their watchful eyes on him anymore, thankyouverymuch, but Kevin knew that he'd never get completely over the need to make sure that his family--- _their_ family---was safe. Shawn was undoubtedly in good hands, some of the best, really, but he still wanted to see him. And seeing Sean and Glen would be nice... and maybe he'd give Mark a call, too. They'd blown the poor guy off the night before, and he felt a little bad about that, since Mark had really looked like he needed someone to talk to, especially after their little "conversation" about the Hardy kid and that encounter with Dave. Yeah, he was going to invite Mark. And maybe... grinning to himself, Kevin couldn't stop the semi-hopeful thought that maybe he'd be inviting Jeff, too. An odd pairing, maybe, but if Hardy didn't stomp all over Mark's feelings, the kid might actually be good for his long-time friend. Mark had been far, far too withdrawn for the last few years... and very much too alone.

Returning Scott's kiss, allowing himself a soft caress across his lover's shoulder blades as Scotty moved slowly across him and off the bed, he watched carefully as Scott walked gingerly across the room. He would _not_ offer to help. He would _not_. As much as he dearly wanted to, he would _not_ trample on Scott's feelings like that. Even if he did wince every time Scotty had to pause in his steps.

 _"We can shoot the breeze while we eat and then head to the airport."_

Nodding, Kevin started to reach for the phone, but stopped at Scott's next words.

 _"I think... I think we should tell the guys that we're going... home... together, if you want to."_

If he wanted to? Scott was gone into the bathroom before Kevin could respond, but he was _sure_ that the smile on his face would be lighting up the room if it was still dark. Telling their friends and family that they were _together_ again was something he'd been dreaming of being able to do ever since he'd walked into their house and found Scott's belongings, his _presence_ , gone. His reaction to that hadn't been pretty, and he still winced a little as he remembered it. Poor Sean... but he was incredibly glad that he hadn't been alone to make that particular discovery. Without Sean there, God only knows what he might have done. Shaking his head a little at his wandering thoughts, he picked up the phone. He'd start with Glen and Sean, since they'd probably need the most time. Shawn might not be a morning person, but Sean made that statement seem like nothing.

 _"Don't you have better things to do than call around waking people up?"_

Laughing outright, Kevin smirked into the phone as he answered. Glen should know better than to hand him an opening like that; with family, he was _never_ afraid to say exactly what he wanted to. "Nah... Scott's too sore this morning after last night, so I had to find someone else to bother. Your name just leapt to the top of the list, for some reason."

 _"Don't look at me man, much as I like you Kev, you're just not my type."_

Snorting into the phone, Kevin assured Glen that the feeling was mutual. The guy was a hell of a nice guy and perfect for Sean, but Kev had only had eyes for Scotty since their first meeting, even if it had taken some years for them to even become friends through Shawn, let alone anything more. Shawn had been different---he was... _Shawn_.

"Anyway, Scotty wanted to invite you all down for lunch. For some reason, he thought it might be nice to see your annoying faces before we all split up for the week." God, he was in a good mood. Winding up the conversation quickly, he dialed Hunter's room, somehow not surprised when he was put through to leave a message. Leaving a short invitation, and thinking that he _really_ wouldn't be surprised if the trio showed up late, he dialed up Mark's room, his eyebrows raising when he realised it was right next to Sean and Glen's. That must have been interesting.

Listening to the phone ringing, he frowned a little when he had to leave a message for Mark, too. That was unusual... he was usually up before _anybody_ in the morning, but who knew what might have happened last night. Maybe he and Jeff had screwed each other senseless and were still recovering.

Snickering at the unlikely image, Kevin hung up the phone and waited for Scott to come back. If Scotty wanted to invite anyone else down, he could make the calls while Kev took his shower.

****

Letting his eyes drift shut under the hot spray of the shower, Shawn wrapped an arm around Hunter's waist for support as he settled his other hand on Hunter's shoulder. Just standing here like this, the two of them together, felt so _right_... so peaceful. All the fantasies he'd had for nearly a decade, all the dreams... they all paled in comparison to the reality, and it had only been a day. The start might not have been anything he'd fantasized it could be, but somehow, even the pain and the fight the previous day were right. Without that start, they wouldn't be where they were now: with each other... and with Dave.

 _“I never thought I’d have this.”_

Only the obvious quiet joy lacing Hunter's words kept Shawn from smacking his lover. The surprised contentment running through the soft statement took away any immediate response he might have had, though, and left him opening his eyes to smile up at Hunter instead. The soft caress across his face stopped his words as a quiet sigh escaped him, unheard in the surrounding noise of falling water, but he knew that Hunter could see the answer in his eyes anyway.

 _“Next time I try to run, you have permission to use a tranq gun ‘kay?”_

Laughing at that, Shawn nodded. That was one of the first things that had drawn him to Hunter---that goofy sense of humour that was so ever-present, that ability to never quite take himself seriously. Funny... Dave was similar in that regard, if not nearly so obvious about it most of the time. But it was good to know that taking their relationship to this next level hadn't changed the quintessential nature of it; their friendship was one of the supports of Shawn's life. Without Hunter at his side, he wouldn't know what to do with himself. Fortunately, that would never be a problem.

 _“Have to share do I? Well, you don’t take up much space so I guess I can be generous.”_

Ooh. Now Hunt was just trying to get under his skin. Not that Shawn wasn't willing to let him do just that, but this wasn't the way that he'd enjoyed so much the night before, now, was it? Sticking his tongue out at his lover, his response was thwarted by the soft touch of Hunter's lips against his. Melting against Hunt with a sigh, Shawn returned the kiss, his fingers tightening on the slick skin underneath them.

And then other fingers were on that same skin, caressing and touching, and Shawn moved back just enough to be able to see what Dave was doing, without losing Hunter's hand on his own body. Watching with avid eyes as Dave's hands brought Hunter to a squirming, moaning wreck, his own body twitched a little as Hunter's hand clenched in his hair. The sight of Dave nibbling on Hunter's neck, that lovely dusky flesh melded against Hunter's tan... that was something Shawn could get used to very easily. And, lucky him, he _would_ get used to it... as much as possible, anyway. He didn't doubt that the sight would always cause a reaction, but it would surely be just as lovely a reaction when it was a familiar, loved view as when it was, as now, an unexpected pleasure.

 _"You didn't need that coffee after all, did ya?"_

Smiling, Shawn shook his head slightly, leaning forward to lay claim to those lips again as they parted, gasping for breath at Dave's ministrations. Losing himself in the flavour of Hunter's mouth, he could feel Dave stroking Hunter's hard length against his own belly in a way that would have been an amazingly arousing display if he hadn't worn himself out the night before. As it was, he was in the perfect position to enjoy the sight before him, and when Hunter threw his head back again as his body arched between them, Shawn forgot to breathe for a long moment as he stared. That was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen; the only thing that equaled it was the sight of Dave in the same state.

Of course, he was willing to admit that he was biased, but not that he was wrong. Not about this. His lovers were the two most gorgeous men he'd ever seen, and since he loved... Blinking slightly, he stopped that thought abruptly, wondering just what in the world he _was_ thinking. Whatever it was, it was apparently too much for the moment, since he met Dave's somewhat curious gaze as he brought himself back to the moment. The mere sight of those chocolate eyes made him smile, and he leaned up to press a kiss to Dave's lips before turning slightly, allowing the shower to wash away the evidence of what they'd just been doing.

"I know what I want for my birthday," he rasped, feeling his inner aches as he turned away from the hot spray toward the door of the shower. Letting his fingers trail across both his lovers' bodies, his smile turned slightly wicked as he looked at them. "I want to watch you two make love to each other in front of the fireplace. Pictures may or may not be optional."

Laughing quietly at the reactions, he edged past them and out the door, grabbing a towel to dry off with. Wandering out into the main room, he noticed the light on the phone blinking and wondered who had called them. With the goings-on in the shower, it wasn't surprising at all that none of them had heard the phone ring, even with the door open. Sitting on the bed, he bit his lip as the weight of his own body reminded him rather forcefully of what he'd done the night before and he wondered if he'd ever learn to think about the after-effects of his own actions. Probably not, he admitted to himself with a small smile.

He'd been smiling an awful lot this morning, hadn't he? Well, it was only right, he mused as he picked up the phone to listen to the message. Who wouldn't be happy to find themselves in the situation he was in? Two gorgeous, caring, wonderful lovers, both of them friends, and both of them completely in love with him... A small flicker of guilt ate at him at that thought. He'd been in love with Hunter for so long that he couldn't remember what it was like _not_ to feel that way. But Dave... he didn't... he _did_...

 _"...so if you three can drag yourselves out of bed for more than five minutes, and are still capable of standing---I'm not taking any bets on sitting---consider yourselves invited down to lunch. Don't worry... I'm not expecting you on time."_

Shawn couldn't help but laugh at the amusement in Kev's voice as the message played. Big Daddy knew them far too well. Hopefully Hunter and Dave would feel up to joining the others for lunch, because Shawn was sure that there were mixed motivations in the invitation. Scott and Kevin certainly wanted to spend some time with them before the four-day break... and they also certainly wanted to know how things were going between the three of them. Their over-protectiveness might be annoying, but Shawn had to admit, even if only to himself, that he'd miss it if they ever decided that he didn't need it anymore. Well, he'd wait until the other two were out of the shower and see what they thought; the message had been left fifteen minutes ago, so there was a good chance that Kev and Scotty were still in their room.

Leaning forward slightly with a wince after hanging the phone up again, Shawn toweled his hair dry, not hearing any movement from the bathroom. Hopefully it wouldn't be too obvious how sore he was today; Hunter would probably feel guilty even though it had been Shawn's own impatient choice, and Dave would probably worry. His lips curving again, he couldn't help but enjoy the warm flush he felt at that thought. For the first time, he felt _loved_... and he never wanted to lose that feeling.

****

As casual as he'd made it sound when he'd mentioned it to Kevin, Scott was excited about the possibility of telling the others about their plans. It was something he had never thought to have the chance to tell them and that he and Kevin had worked past their problems was damn near miraculous. Scott looked into the mirror and grimaced as he studied his less than pristine reflection. It had taken a good month after they'd started talking before Scott was able to address his real concerns with Kevin. The abandonment issues he'd had from Kevin walking out on him had weighed heavily between them. Even though Scott had known it was Kevin's last resort to make him realize what he was doing to himself, the fact that Kevin had actually left him had had him doubting every truth he'd ever known.

The day that he'd moved his stuff from their house, Scott had felt even more incredibly lost, narrowly avoiding being pulled into another downward spiral. He'd spent the rest of the day locked up in the spare room in his apartment while he set up his motivation to fight the lure of the haze that a bottle of whiskey would have given him.

Turning from the mirror, Scott started the water in the shower, leaving it lukewarm rather than hot as he normally preferred it. No way would his ass be able to handle anything beyond warm at this point. He stepped under the spray and wet his hair as he thought about those first few months that he had gone back to living on his own.

He'd sworn that he was going to try to let thoughts of Kevin go because he was sure his lover was lost to him. It hadn't worked out that way though. Not only had Kevin been a dominating theme in his 'safe room', but he'd found himself seeking out places that they'd spent time together... the park they'd go to for an occasional picnic lunch, the theater where they went to movies, restaurants they'd frequented. It had gotten worse after the first time he'd spotted Kevin eating alone at one of their favorite restaurants. He'd taken a seat in the far corner and watched Kevin until he left, feeling almost like a stalker, yet unable to leave once he'd noticed the wistful expression on Kevin's face. He'd hoped that just maybe that look was there because Kevin was missing him as much as he'd been missing the big man.

As he shampooed his hair, he remembered the day that he'd sat in the park, hoping that Kevin might show up. It was wishful thinking, of course, and Scott had pretty much given up hope. He'd been sitting on their favorite bench, listening to the far off sounds of kids playing, when he'd looked up and fallen directly into a pair of surprised green pools. He'd managed to work up a smile, holding it for an anxious moment or two while he waited for Kevin to make a decision. His hands had been shaking so fiercely that he'd had to clench them over the edge of the bench seat to hide his reaction. Just before he'd been overcome by the urge to bolt and hole up in his apartment for the next year or so, Kevin had approached the spot where he was seated and asked if the seat next to Scott was taken. It was such a trite and obvious line that they'd both started laughing. That had been one of the most emotionally scary moments that Scott had ever faced, but it had also been the start of their new beginning.

And now... they were so much more than they had been, so much more than he'd ever hoped that they might be, that Scott couldn't help but want to share the news of their reconciliation.

Smiling as he ran a soapy cloth over his body, Scott hissed slightly as the terrycloth brushed over the swell of his hip. He'd been so lost in his thoughts, that he'd temporarily forgotten his delicate condition. Snorting as he rinsed the soap from his body, Scott made a note to not ever use those particular words again, especially in Kevin's presence.

After a final quick rinse of his hair, he stepped from the shower and toweled himself off before heading into the bedroom. Kevin was sitting on the bed, looking thoughtful. Smiling, Scott reached for the tube of cream on the nightstand before twisting the cap off of it. He was about to squeeze some into his hand, having decided to take care of the task himself because Kevin seemed distracted, when he noticed the look on Kevin's face change swiftly.

A raised brow and a smile had him rolling his eyes. His name in that 'what do you think you're doing' tone had him handing the tube over to Kevin with a sigh and crawling onto the bed, face down. Shuddering slightly at the first touch of the cool cream against his backside, Scott threw a smirk over his shoulder.

"Ya know, I'm completely capable of rubbing cream on my _own_ ass. I'm a big boy now."

And he was still at the point where he didn't want to fall back into the trap of having Kevin take care of him all that time. Scott was able to admit that that was really the point behind his words. He was capable of taking care of himself, though he'd done a poor job of it in the past, and he was scared of drifting back into their old patterns of behavior. He was over-reacting because he didn't want Kevin to see him as the weak person that he'd been.

 _"Yes, but you don't have to..."_

Shaking his head at the look Kevin included with his little reprimand, Scott buried his face in the sheets and alternated between arching into Kevin's gentle touch and flinching away from it. There were a few spots that were still extremely tender, but he'd be fine and dandy in another ten minutes or so after the cream penetrated into those areas.

Once Kevin was finished, Scott lazed around on the bed for a few minutes as his lover headed off to shower. He was getting all excited again, trying to figure out how to phrase their news and alternating between different scenarios which included letting Kevin be the one to make the announcement. When the sound of the water shutting off reached his ears, he climbed from the bed, a little faster than he had earlier. Stretching and smiling when he noticed that his aching behind was not nearly as tender as it had been, Scott went over to their bags and pulled out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. He was most definitely skipping underwear today he thought, wincing at the idea of the binding material against his tender skin.

Grabbing a brush from a bag, Scott ran it gently through his hair, smiling at Kevin as his lover returned to the room. "So... who did you get hold of? Anyone going to show up to this impromptu lunch of ours?"

****

Getting lost in the sight of Hunt and Shawn kissing like starving men at an all-you-can-eat buffet, Dave was more than thankful that Hunter wasn't in his bolt and run frame of mind. Holding onto a wet, soapy, slippery man bent on escape would have been almost impossible, but he would have had to try so that Hunter wouldn't hurt himself. Imagine having to try to explain to Vince why Hunter had broken his head by slipping on the linoleum all because he'd been trying to get away from them... in the shower. That was definitely not an explanation he wanted to have to make.

Luckily, it seemed that Hunter was fine for the moment... actually more than fine from Dave's point of view and the evidence was the hard straining length sliding back and forth between his fingers. The silky flesh slipped easily against his palm thanks to the water pouring down on them while his other hand latched onto Hunter's hip, bracing his lover's weight against his own body. The fresh clean taste of Hunter's golden skin flowed over his tongue as he licked the curve of his shoulder.

The weight of Hunter's head pressing against his own shoulder and the trail of long wet blond hair brushing his shoulder blade distracted him for just a moment, but that was enough. He tightened his grip at Hunter's hip and he caught the appreciative look on Shawn's face just before turning his head slightly to the side as Hunter moaned and came apart. Absolutely beautiful. It didn't matter at all that Hunter would smack him for saying it, those were exactly the words to describe his lover as he tumbled headlong into orgasm. He continued his smooth stroking, pulling the last of Hunter's release from him until his lover's weight collapsed against his body.

Wrapping his arm across Hunter's waist to help support him, Dave smiled and looked at Shawn as the sticky evidence of Hunter's passion was washed from his hand by the water still showering over them. His expression turned from smiling to mildly curious. Whatever thoughts Shawn had slipped into seemed to have the man locked into an almost catatonic state. Then his lover blinked and Dave shook his head internally at his own fanciful thoughts. Likely it was just that Shawn had blissed out over what he'd just seen. He knew that he was fascinated by the sight of Hunter's passion, had dreamt about it for months on end... wondered what that moment would look like, sound like, feel like... and Shawn had ten years' worth of wondering to appease. Yeah, that was likely it.

The gentle kiss pressed against his lips lured him into a wonderful sense of contentment. He smiled as Shawn declared that he knew what he wanted for his birthday. Whatever it might be, Dave was going to do his damnedest to make sure Shawn got it... no matter what it might be. The smooth slide of warm fingers over his skin kept him from noticing Shawn's expression at first, but once he did he felt a little tug of apprehension over the wicked smirk the blond was displaying. Just what in the world did Shawn want?

 _"I want to watch you two make love to each other in front of the fireplace. Pictures may or may not be optional."_

While Dave had no problems at all with fulfilling Shawn's birthday wish, was even really turned on by the prospect, as soon as the word pictures left Shawn's mouth, Dave's dropped his head to Hunter's shoulder with a groan. He could feel the heat of the blush crawling into his cheeks as he peeked up at Shawn who was laughing himself silly. He was really going to have to get past this instinctive reaction at some point... really. It was just the thought of Shawn calmly moving closer to capture a picture of their joined bodies with the fire crackling in the background, which was the cause of his reaction.

Both Shawn's and Hunter's birthdays were in a little over a month. Dave hadn't even thought that far ahead. The most he was hoping for by that time was that they were still together and that Hunter would have lost the urge to run when they were heading towards being intimate. Just because Hunter hadn't fled from the shower, did not mean that it might not happen the next time. He wasn't going to assume that they would have progressed to that point of intimacy by then either, no matter how much he craved it. Dave wanted Hunter completely comfortable with the idea before they took things that far. Until then...

Dave grabbed the washcloth from the rack and used it to gently clean the evidence of Hunter's release from the golden skin covering his stomach and anywhere else it might have spilled over while pressing soft kisses along Hunter's shoulders. Once Hunter was squeaky clean, Dave shut off the water and hopped out, wrapping a bath towel around his waist. When Hunter stepped from the tub, Dave greeted him with another towel, drying him off slowly with it before kissing him thoroughly.

"Love ya, darlin'," he said, grinning at Hunter's reaction before turning and wandering out of the bathroom.

Drying the moisture off his own body as he walked over to where he'd left his clothes draped across a chair earlier, he shot another questioning look in Shawn's direction. There was that far away look on Shawn's face again and Dave wasn't sure whether to be pleased or worried that Shawn seemed to be so absorbed by his own thoughts. Knowing that his own thoughts earlier had wandered toward the extremes, he was leaning more towards worried. He was just slipping into his slacks when Shawn spoke, surprising him.

 _"So... Kev and Scott have invited us to meet them for lunch... if we can make it out of bed."_

Dave rolled his eyes and grinned. Personally, he was going to guess that Scott and Kevin had very little room to talk about making it out of bed. Especially if Shawn had been correct when he had guessed at their recent reunion.

 _"What do you two think? I think it'd be nice to just sit and visit with them for a while."_

Buckling his belt and then shrugging into his pale blue dress shirt, Dave smiled in the direction of his lovers. "Fine by me. I'm ready for the interrogation," he said with a wink. "But before we head down there, I wanted to ask you both something." Something that he'd been wondering about since yesterday, if truth be told. "What happens after lunch? I have a flight home this afternoon," he said biting his lip slightly, "so... should I pack now or call and cancel my ticket?"

****

His throat hurt. Swallowing, Mark forced himself to relax, trying not to hold his breath as he watched Jeff, waiting for a reaction, an explanation... _something_ to explain why the younger man seemed so damned obsessed with staying with him.

He just wasn't expecting laughter.

Frowning in confusion that was beginning to turn into concern by the time Jeff quieted down again, Mark watched, speechless, as his whirlwind _laughed_ at him. It wasn't derogatory or mocking laughter, but seemed to contain some sort of humour that completely missed him. Trying to ignore the worry and the self-consciousness that wanted to clench his guts, he was aware of the almost hysterical note in Jeff's laughter. It had to be some kind of stress relief... but the almost sad note in the quiet noises as the loud laughs died away made him want to reach out and... Dammit. The simple thought of having Jeff in his arms again was enough to send a hopeful wave through his body, followed almost immediately by the familiar cold of distance as he instinctively tried to wall himself away from those other feelings again.

Not that it mattered. It had been too late for him to do that by the time they'd gotten to the room last night.

 _"...if it had been any other man... was answered with laughter… well, I’d probably be dead by now."_

Mark felt his eyebrows raise. Not simply at the words, but at the sort of pained first-hand knowledge that they implied. God... he'd felt sorry for himself for so long for losing the love of his life... but what had Jeff been through? For the kind of up-and-down reactions he'd seen in the last day, a hell of a lot more than he had ever experienced, and Mark was starting to believe that Jeff had been through more than anybody ever _should_ be. Pulling his attention back to the man in front of him, he realised that his anger and hurt were cooling to a sort of indefinite pain, compared to the blistering agony that he'd felt right after waking up. His instincts were screaming at him to move closer, to pull Jeff into the protective circle of his arms... his brain was telling him to stay the hell away until they figured out what was going on.

 _"Even now, even with that anger at me burning in you, you’d never hurt me. It’s true…"_

It absolutely was... but how did Jeff _know_ that? Because he obviously did. The certainty in his voice would have rocked Mark... except that Jeff's next words made him forget his surprise.

 _“…even in your anger you are…_ more _…than anyone I’ve ever known. You say you’re no prize? I say bullshit Mark Calaway, you’re a prize I’d like to win…if I can stop ruining it with my own damn problems. You are….”_

What?

Breathe. Breathe, dammit. Jeff _wanted_ to win him? Jeff wanted to win _him_? The sheer sincerity took his breath away.

 _“You are beautiful.”_

Thank god he hadn't blushed in decades. That statement was so innately false that he wanted to accuse Jeff of lying to soften him up... but he could _see_ that that wasn't the case. Jeff's eyes showed every emotion he felt, and all that Mark could see in them right now was certainty, sincerity, admiration... and... something else. That locked-away spot in the back of his mind started to scream for attention, and Mark stomped on it. Whatever that "something else" might be, this wasn't the time to ask, let alone start prodding around in his own hidden feelings. Ignoring that Shawn-like voice that pointed out that this was probably the _perfect_ time to do exactly those things, Mark found himself caught up in Jeff's soft drawl as his whirlwind started speaking again.

 _"...I like watching you, looking at you... I wanna know everything about you, what you like, who you are... I don’t just want more. I want to devour the whole bottle."_

Listening to those words, emotion vibrating through each one, Mark felt the icy wall around his heart start to melt. He'd been worried about a one-night stand? This... this was absolutely the farthest thing from that. He knew that his absolute shock at what Jeff was saying was clear on his face, but he couldn't hide it. No one... except Shawn... had ever felt like this about him. And even Shawn hadn't felt like _this_.

Hell, _Mark_ hadn't felt like this before. Wondering just how the hell he was going to put anything he was feeling into words, Jeff solved the problem for him with one last breath-taking demonstration of stunningly brave honesty.

 _“So I guess… I want to know you, be around you and if you’ll let me, I want to fall for you Mark.”_

Smiling a little at Jeff's qualification, Mark realised that he wasn't angry anymore. Still hurt, yes; that would take some time to fade, even after working through the misunderstanding... and there was still more to discuss about that misunderstanding, just not now. But this... this was... beyond belief. This gorgeous, enticing, mysterious man in front of him... _wanted_ to fall for _him. Wanted him._ For more, much much more, than just a one-night stand.

"I..." Mark stopped before he could finish the sentence, not even quite sure what he'd been about to say. Gathering his thoughts as much as possible, he shook his head before meeting Jeff's gaze again. "God, Jeff. You... I don't know what to say. You sit there and tell me that you... you want to fall for me, and I..."

Dammit, he didn't want to just stutter incoherently. Taking a breath, he shifted again to lean forward... only to be interrupted by the phone ringing. Of all times... casting a sidelong glare at it, he waited through the obligatory four rings before it kicked over to the message recording. Looking back at Jeff, Mark gathered his courage. What he was about to say went against every self-protective instinct he'd developed in the last seven years, but... it was the only thing he _could_ say.

"If you want to fall for me... I want you to," he said slowly, his drawl lengthening the vowels. His voice rebelled against the rest of what he wanted so badly to say, but he just couldn't quite verbalise that the reverse was true, too. Hopefully Jeff would be able to see that in his eyes... if not, he'd just have to show him... until he was finally able to say it. He could hear Shawn laughing in the back of his mind, but ignored it as he moved up to his knees, a pained grunt escaping him at the move.

Reaching out across the space separating them, he laid hesitant fingers against Jeff's cheek, his eyes asking unspoken questions. This wasn't the end of the discussion---it was only the beginning. They had so much more that they'd have to talk about, more probably than either of them even knew... but right this minute, Mark didn't care. For the first time in years, he was following his heart. Hopefully it wouldn't be returned to him in pieces.

****

For a breathless moment Chris couldn't be entirely sure Adam wasn't about to take off Steve's hand at the wrist. There was just this 'look' to his lover's face that either meant, 'I've already given you a warning so behave' or 'loss of hand at wrist in five, four, three..." While Austin being handed his ass by Adam would have been a win for CJ in his running game of one-up-man-ship with the bald man, Chris really wasn't physically prepared to handle another fracas... and neither were his lover's ribs, codeine or no codeine. Moving slowly to his feet, Chris shifted around Adam's vacated chair and tickled his fingers softly over his lover's ear.

"C'mon Babe. I think Steve might want his legs back sometime soon." The delicate skin along Adam's hairline was warm to touch and gave Chris an equally warm thrill, despite their morning's romp. Adding to his mental 'to do' list, a note to find out what that drift of skin smelled and tasted like, Chris gently cupped Adam's jaw and turned his beloved's sexy, drugged-up face towards him...

...and discovered that Adam wasn't anywhere near as high as he was making out.

Oh yeah, the blissed out, distracted air was all there and probably genuine, but lurking clearly in those wide, emerald eyes was just, sheer... _wickedness_. Shaking his head minutely, Chris almost mouthed, 'crazy bastard', before the instinct to join in the fun overcame him. Keeping the 'what the fuck' expression on his face, Chris used the slightly tighter grip he had on the back of Adam's neck, to pull the taller man off Austin and into his own non-groping chair. Deciding to let Adam play this out to wherever he wanted was one thing, leaving Adam in another man's lap, with another man's hand on his ass was something else. CJ might be a generous and easy-going lover by nature, but that was the kinda shit that brought out a very well-hidden jealous streak.

Setting himself between the two, Chris smiled indulgently at Adam's warm-hearted and totally trouble-making attempts to distract Austin. He knew the two men didn't have much in common, so for Adam to try and help his friend was just another reason that his beautiful lover made parts of Chris go all soft and squishy... as opposed to the reverse effect on other parts of Chris. Ignoring the smug expression in Austin's pale blue eyes, although he was actually quite pleased to see it instead of that nasty 'lost' look from earlier, he shifted Adam's former seat until he was so close to the other blond that 'personal space' was just a jumble of letters.

"Babe... ?" Okay, maybe 60% drugs, 40% goof. "Adam... ?" Err... Chris felt he might have been being generous with his percentages if his lover's vacuous expression was anything to go by. "Can I have some cake, Love?" Because Adam seemed quite unnaturally possessive of that dark brown confectionary and CJ was trying to assess what in this game was play and what was real.

 _Nope. Angels ain't allowed to eat devil's food cake,_ Chris snorted before he could help himself. Calling him an Angel, no matter how flattering, was just _wrong_ on so many levels, but yeah, cake that rich was all Satan's creation, no question. 

 _...I thought you liked cheesecake... when we get back home._

CJ knew it was now he who was staring into space with an unnaturally happy expression. Home. Sure, he liked his place, he had a music studio, his wall of honour and an obscenely massive pool that totally kicked ass... but... to have a home because Adam was sharing it with him... that was just cool. Looking back towards his lover to check that Adam really was right in the head and he wasn't being just taken for a ride, Chris caught the puckered lips and the 'fish-kisses' expression the moment that Jay and Bunnykins came over to them.

Keeping his expression free of a give-away return of 'kisses', CJ saved the room from mass nausea by shifting his chair again and making even more room between Adam and Austin.

Even loving them both as much as he did, his lover and his best friend touching each other was just... _eeewww_.

Ty and Jay were looking more like a couple today and less like 'people sharing a room and having sex, but not really pleased with each other' as they had yesterday. What exactly had happened was anyone's guess, CJ had been dealing with his own fallout from yesterday after all, but if the assault on Adam... breathe Chris, breathe... had any kind of silver lining, then the minor reconciliation between his friends was it.

"Hello, hello, hello," Jay chorused to the three of them with a smile evolving from concern for Adam, cheerful for CJ and faintly nervous for Steve. " How're your ribs Adam my man... did they... hey! Do you get that? ADAM and RIBS you know? Like garden of Eden? If you keep busting up your ribs like Hardy does that mean we get some naked chick in a fig leaf? You know? ADAM'S RIB?" Jason looked around the table hopefully. "Get it?"

Chris rested his forehead on the table and hoped he wouldn't have cake crumbs stuck to it, Steve was grinning like a loon and looking like he might make comments about Chris in a fig-leaf, while Adam might or might not have been considering more drugs.

Tyson, with ease of long-familiarity, remained silent.

****

 _"Um. Adam... Babe?"_

He'd learned his lesson when he shook his head earlier, so Adam carefully turned to look at Chris. He was thrilled when the room didn't spin out of control, but catching the look in Chris' eyes, he thought maybe he'd rather face the spinning. Chris wasn't upset, but he wasn't thrilled by what was happening either.

 _"Codeine is your 'happy place' isn't it Lover?"_

He wanted to stick his tongue out at Chris and tell him that while codeine certainly gave him an elevated feeling of happiness, it hadn't made him insane... there _was_ a purpose to his madness after all. But if he did that then he'd blow his cover and Steve would know this was all a ruse to cheer him up. No way in hell was that getting out... it'd ruin the brooding, serious reputation that he'd worked so hard to cultivate. Doing this right now was safe because there weren't any witnesses except for Chris and Austin... he couldn't see either of them standing around for a gossip session in the locker room.

 _"He always this friendly first thing in the mornin' Kitten? Or did you actually screw his brains out last night?"_

Okay... maybe safe wasn't the word he was looking for here. Since Austin was focused on Chris, he felt at ease glaring at the man for reducing him to a blond airhead. That glare increased when he noticed the placement of Austin's hand. Oh sure, try to do something nice for the guy and he forgets all about the warning he was issued Monday night. Adam didn't have access to a pool cue at the moment, but he was sitting in close proximity to a fork.

Nah.

If he tried for Austin's hand, he'd end up stabbing himself in the ass knowing his luck. His head was hazy enough that he couldn't quite guarantee his aim right now. Luckily, Chris rescued him before he decided to chance it anyway.

 

 _"C'mon Babe. I think Steve might want his legs back sometime soon."_

 

Uh huh and that wasn't Chris' only motivation if Adam was reading the situation correctly. Had he tried to spark jealousy in his lover on purpose... nope. Was he going to be upset because it had been the result anyway... another huge nope. Grinning vacuously at Chris and nuzzling against the blond's hand, he allowed Chris to remove him from Austin's lap.

Whew. That'd been too close for comfort. He really needed to think his plans through more thoroughly in the future. Of course thinking hadn't been top on his priority list when he'd hatched his plan. It seemed that he had succeeded in his little plot, even if it hadn't ended quite the way he'd thought it would. Austin did seem to be a bit more cheerful and he had laughed. That was something... right?

 

 _"Babe... ?Adam... ?"_

And besides... he was having fun at the moment. It had been so long since he'd done something so... silly, so out of bounds for the character that he'd constructed for his co-workers and the public.

 _"Can I have some cake Love?"_

He'd string it out just a little longer before letting Chris off the hook. Why not? It wasn't any worse than their teasing about Shelton the past couple of days... right?

"Nope. Angels ain't allowed to eat devil's food cake," he said with a grin. "'Sides... I thought you liked cheesecake. I'll save you some for when we get back home."

Chris shifted at that moment, blocking him from Austin's view. Time for the teaser...

Adam puckered his lips and made a kissy face at Chris, then gave him an extremely exaggerated wink. If he knew his lover at all... Chris would catch on to his hints. His sweetheart was an exceptionally bright man after all and more than used to pulling pranks of his own all the time. He caught the glimmer in Chris' eyes and knew that he'd been correct. Chris was obviously willing to let him play, though he hadn't missed the 'shifting of the chair' that seemed to widen the gap between him and Austin. His silly grin grew in proportion yet again. Catching movement from the corner of his eye, he barely managed to keep himself from laughing. Oh, this was going to be fun...

Jay and Ty looked much cozier than they had the day before. He would forget about that little conversation with Jay that he was supposed to have had... for now, but he would definitely have to check in on the two over their break. Adam almost gave himself away when Jay started his little 'Adam's Ribs' bit. He wanted to join Chris in his face plant on the table, but decided to have fun with it instead.

Putting his hand in front of his mouth as if he were supposed to be whispering to Chris, he said in an overly loud voice, "looks like Jay-Jay took his drugs this morning too." Turning to Jay with an unrepentant grin, he asked the question that they all had to be wondering about...

"Why on earth would you want a naked chick in a fig leaf when you've got tall, dark, and growly over there?" Then he caught the reflection of light off of another bald head and tossed in a second question, just to add to his game, of course. "Ty... can I shave your head?" Sending a mock pout in Austin's direction, he turned back to the large man who was standing rigid beside the table with an odd look on his face. "Steve-O wouldn't let me, but I'd do a really good job... really. Watch."

Taking his fork and his almost forgotten piece of cake, he used the edge of the fork to scrape a layer of frosting off the top. It was almost even too... except for the dent in the center, which had been done on purpose... of course.

****

 _I want to watch you two make love to each other in front of the fireplace. Pictures may or may not be optional._

The words penetrated the orgasmic haze that Hunter had been floating in since he'd returned to earth, or more precisely... water. He was leaning back against the large warm form of his dark skinned lover while Shawn was asking them to make love in front of the fireplace. For a second Hunter wondered if he'd missed the fireplace when they'd come into the room, being distracted by Shawn getting naked and all, but then comprehension returned as he realised the other blond meant  _Shawn's_ fireplace. The big blue-stone one at his friend's house *cough* ranch *cough*, in Texas, that had been the clincher when Shawn had bought the place. Ahhh... now he knew why Shawn got a kinda dreamy look in his eyes when he looked at the thing in the evenings. 

Letting a huge, 'I just got off', smile broaden across his features, Hunter kept his eyes closed and just let the images of he and Dave getting horizontal on a rug fill his mind's eye. The face buried in the curve of his shoulder could have been the big, sexy man who'd just bought him to brilliant climax or it might be his friend Dave, who was just a tad shy about their wicked Shawn with his favorite digital camera. The idea of Shawn taking pictures of them really didn't phase Hunter in the slightest... as long as he could reserve the right to delete any he didn't like.

A slight waft of cooler air across Hunt's wet skin, told him Shawn had just swanned out of the shower, probably with a very happy grin on his too-beautiful face. NakedDave was still cuddling Hunter and... oh nice... being Hunt's bath boy as well. The smooth glide of soapy cloth across his stomach was relaxing and Hunter stretched into the embrace like a contented tiger. Morning sex was just so... so...

Blinking his eyes open at last, Hunt found himself alone in the shower while Dave, white towel draped sexily across lean hips, grinning at him with frightening indulgence. Placing a hand on the tiled wall, Hunt assessed his options while assessing Dave's magnificent physique so beautifully displayed, bronzed skin a delicious contrast to fluffy white. Now if the material would just slide a litter bit further south... Seeing that the last towel was held invitingly in his lover's dark hands, Hunter stepped from the shower and allowed Dave to give him a brisk and intimately thorough dry-off. Lifting his arms helpfully, Hunter wondered when, exactly, he'd stepped into this fantastic dimension, where he was loved, washed, fucked and dried by gorgeous sexy, body servants. Because it was _cool_ and he really, really wanted to stay.

 _Love ya, darlin'_

Hunter was never leaving, in fact... he was gonna stage a coup and take over the WWE so that he, Dave and Shawn could just relax in bathing facilities whenever they felt like it. Cursing himself under his breath for being so lost in his fantasy that he hadn't responded to Dave's words, Hunter followed the cute, towel clad ass into the room and simultaneously planned their day, organised the take-over and wondered what to wear.

 _us to meet them for lunch... if we can make it out of bed._

Catching the tail-end of Shawn's sentence, Hunter snickered into his shirt at the joking tone to his lover's words. If Kevin wanted to start teasing them about their brand new bedroom timetable, then Hunt knew Shawn would rise to that challenge with vigour. No-one was better at poking Scotty and the Big Man over their _antics_ than his best friend, he'd seen it, he laughed at it and he just couldn't wait. About to chorus in with Dave's agreement and prepared to defend his dark lover from any unwanted questioning, Hunt was momentarily stunned by Dave's next words.

 _What happens after lunch?... should I pack now or cancel my ticket?_

Hunter's subconscious began yelling _stay, stay, stay_ , but for all their game-playing he wasn't about to give Dave orders about this, it was too important. Some mind for planning Hunter supposedly had, if he hadn't even considered the ramifications of their relationship on their next few days. Hunt had just presumed... arrogantly if anyone could believe that... that they would be spending it together. The three of them. They were together now and he wanted them to stay that way for good. But, romantic and slightly obsessive as that thought was... practical it wasn't.

Hastily pulling on his clothes and mind whirring furiously, Hunter tried to organise his, Shawn's and Dave's schedules together in his head, while figuring a nicer way to put his suggestions than, "You two? With me... now!" Ignoring his shoes, Hunter put his hands on his hips and looked at the other two men. They were watching each other thoughtfully, so Hunter jumped in first.

"Seeming as whenever I try to be tactful, I tend to sound really strange, I'm going to be blunt." Maybe not nicer, but it would cut through any doubts they may have had. "I want go home with both of you and I really don't care which home that is as long as you're both there. Steph's at my place, which would be fun if you're both up to it but also a trial, I kid you not. I haven't stayed with you David and I'm so _hurt_ I never got an invite," Hunt really wished he had the ability to look weepy at will, but alas, it was not one of his gifts, "so I'm happy to go there and poke around all your stuff or..." a pause to indicate the depth of his next words, "...we could go to _The Ranch_."

With more nimble feet that he was often credited for, Hunter kept Dave between him and Shawn as he waited for his lover's reaction.

****

Jeff's fingers hurt.

He was so busy looking at the kaleidoscope of emotions crossing Mark's face that he hadn't realised the white-knuckled pressure his hands were under, bent together to control their nervous twitching. With a conscious effort and a quiet exhalation of breath, Jeff slowly relaxed his screaming tendon and flexed them fractionally to resume circulation. Mark still hadn't spoken and Jeff was beginning to wonder if his heart-gushingly frank spiel had rendered his bedmate permanently speechless. It had been a lot to take in after all and Jeff would hardly blame the man for needing a moment or two to get his head around what he'd just said.

 _I..._

Please. Please. Please. Anything but "I don't feel the same."

 _God, Jeff. You... I don't know what to say. You sit there and tell me that you... you want to fall for me, and I..._

Anything. But. That.

Jeff wanted to close his eyes against the cold ache he felt forming in his stomach, but he also desperately wanted to see everything. To catch every nuance, every minute expression on that handsome face, so that later on, when he was alone again, he could analyze what he'd done wrong.

Or what _else_ he'd done wrong.

Mark was leaning forward, the first time since Jeff's critical, murderous error that the other man had even so much as moved in a direction that wasn't 'away' from Jeff. Curling his fingers into the sheets, Jeff unconsciously leaned towards the quiet heat that was Mark, his body understanding what his mind needed, even without his permission. Jeff kept his gaze on Mark's face even when the phone began to ring, his body motionless, his heart screaming 'No! No! Come back, come back!' as Mark looked at the phone and those few precious inches were lost once more to air.

 _If you want to fall for me... I want you to,_

Jeff didn't realise he'd been holding his breath in anticipation until it left him in a not-very silent rush of relief. Relief that was inexcusably tinged with ardour as Mark's voice slowed to that deadly, sleepy drawl and Jeff's toes curled into the mattress in a way that had nothing to do with fear of rejection. His heart joined his toes as the bigger man reclaimed those frozen inches and shifted down the bed towards Jeff's splayed figure, every nerve ending coming alight at both the proximity and the burgeoning warmth in the beautiful jade eyes. The small noise of pain from Mark didn't go unnoticed, but Jeff was too caught up in the nearness of long fingers near his cheek to say anything. Because when Mark touched him, _speaking_ wasn't the first response that came to mind.

So many questions began to rise within Mark's warm gaze, Jeff couldn't begin to answer them, didn't even know the language they were in, but the intent was clear. Mark wanted Jeff to fall for him, wanted him to keep doing and liking all those things about Mark that could just make Jeff's day. Mark didn't mind if Jeff had the hots for him, Mark didn't mind if Jeff was half in love with him and wanted to climb all over his big, delicious body. But more than not minding... Mark was giving off every vibe that said he may want to want Jeff too. Right then Jeff truly understood that he had been more wrong than he could ever know, for thinking last night Mark had just wanted a warm body with a passing resemblance to the love of his life.

If the skin on his jaw hadn't been tingling from the contact with Mark's fingers, Jeff would have shuddered at his appalling assumptions about the man in bed with him.

 _You really have to stop trying to sabotage this JeffyBoy._

Firmly stuffing all thoughts with Matt's voice away in a dark closet in his head, Jeff's body finally got with the programme and pushed his face up into Mark's hand. Accepting the caress, but as yet not demanding more until it seemed Mark was ready to give it. Tentatively, eyes locked with jade so he could gauge Marl's reactions, Jeff ran his cheek further into the cool, smooth palm, passing the wrist so he could scratch his lightly stubbled jaw on the sensitive skin on the inside of Mark's forearm. Legs curling underneath him, hands braced to hold his weight in position, Jeff continued his facial exploration until his fore-head rested on one strong, pale collarbone, no other contact but them between this.

"I am going to fall for you Mark," Jeff's voice was clear, even when spoken into Mark's chest. "It's gonna be hard, and probably messy. I will fuck up, like... like before and if you give me anything of you I will hurt you, I think." It was the truth and Jeff had promised he wouldn't run away from it, no matter what the cost. "It's the last thing I want to do but... " Jeff pulled back and looked up, still balanced, ready to fall one way or the other. "...I'm not known for looking before I leap. Normally it's the other way around."

Jeff's smile was wry, but he knew his heart was in his eyes. Leaning up, he pressed his lips to Mark's in a soft, chaste kiss. They'd fallen in to bed last night and while that had been heaven on earth, it had also led to this morning's misunderstanding and Jeff wasn't about to shatter the quiet place they'd just found by climbing back into Mark's lap like a little slut. Even if he really _desperately_ wanted to. Mark had given him permission to want more, to take more and Jeff would take as much of Mark as he could get his greedy little hands on. But it had to start with more than just sex. It was a incredible act of trust on the other man's part, considering Jeff's track record and he wasn't about to squander that trust.

"If you take a risk with me, I think... I hope... that this could be... _something_."

Heartbreaking. Magnificent. Hot as hell. Even... love?

Probably all at once... and it would be such a fricking rush!


	74. Distractions

_looks like Jay-Jay took his drugs this morning too._

Chris responded to Adam's non-quiet voice with an agreeing nod, one arm now pillowing his head on the table. Turning to the side so that he could look up at Adam, Chris found himself with a rather unusual aspect of his lover's face. Facing the others as he was, CJ could see that Adam's strong jaw was getting almost scruffy as he hadn't been able to shave this morning, but the darker blond hairs only served to emphasize his high cheekbones and wide, not very clear, eyes. For all his rampant gorgeousness, Adam wasn't pretty in a soft, delicate way. No sir. That handsome face was too masculine to be even remotely girlish, but the perfect symmetry of nose and brow was compelling and undeniably attractive. Hey... all the fans weren't blind after all, they knew exactly what they were squealing over. It just had never hit Chris quite so hard that he was dating such a lovely, lovely man.

So much of his passion for Adam was wrapped up in the man himself, the laugh, the 'on crack' brain and the sheer warmth he exuded even when he was playing Mr. Gothic and Mysterious in a corner. Adam had attracted Chris like a magnet, only the off-putting nature of their original encounters keeping CJ a distance. Stopping what he was only now beginning to discover was his 'be all and end all', letting his eyes rake over his lover, Chris complimented his brain on it's extremely good taste. So totally, totally _hawt_.

And that did not even take into account the devastation of that evil, compelling _smile_.

So. Very. Gone.

Chris blinked away what must have been a pathetically adoring expression and scowled at Austin's knowing look. If Steve even thought about giving him shit, then CJ would start listing Randy's virtues one by one... including his 'coming to his senses' last night. He didn't doubt it would prick Austin's pride, even hurt him some, but they had a long-standing agreement that no punch, however painful, would be pulled if the situation called for it. If Randy never looked Austin's way again, then it would be water under the bridge, if they ended up as some freakish redneck version of bliss... well... CJ would make as many comments as sprang to mind. There were quite a few.

 _would you want a naked chick in a fig leaf when you've got tall, dark, and growly over there?_

Smiling, Chris watched as Adam neatly controlled Jay's effusive babble and directed his friend's attention towards Tyson. Obviously even in his codeine state, Adam had seen the easing of the tension between the lovers and was happily bringing them into his little game of 'Let's Make Everyone Feel Good.' Given that Chris had been the recipient of his own, private version of the game this morning, he wasn't about to begrudge his friends' their share. As long as it stayed PG-rated, Chris was all for that kind of game. The lilt of laughter in his lover's voice gave CJ a split-second's warning before the words came out... but not enough time to stop them.

 _Ty... can I shave your head?_

Looking up into Bunnykin's dark, chocolate eyes, Chris wondered exactly how the big man was going to respond to the question. The tattooed man was a hell of a lot smarter than most people, including their boss, gave him credit for and CJ hoped that he'd seen the state of Adam's eyes, half real as it may be, before he answered. Chris' guess was right as he watched Ty push Jay calmly into a seat with a courteous hand on his lower back, before taking his own chair with little fuss.

Looking carefully at Adam's 'shaved' cake for a few seconds and then at Chris, a minute smile twitched the stoic mouth before he replied, "yes."

Catching the pleased twinkle in his beloved's eyes, Chris sat up properly and went back to his breakfast, watching with an amused gaze as Adam ate his slice of chocolate cake with a pleasure bordering on orgasmic. Taking careful note for future reference, CJ wondered briefly how difficult it was to get chocolate out of bed-linen.

Jay, momentarily silenced by Adam's strange behaviour, belatedly caught on to the situation after putting together the chocolate cake, the conversation, and Austin's hilarious expression, frowned in concern.

"You're not driving home are you Ad? Chriiiiissss... ?" Jason Reso, well-built guy, pro wrestler and trained athlete, looked at CJ with pleading, puppy dog eyes. "You're gonna drive him home right? Because he really shouldn't be driving in this..." a careless wave of a hand at the almost demolished cake, "...condition. We're flying because Ty can't drive all the time and he won't let me drive with my back like this." A perfect pout was aimed at Tyson's completely immune shoulder.

"Not allowed to drive because of your _back_?" Chris was quite proud of the fact that he kept his voice and expression completely neutral. Catching Bunnykin's warning look, Chris swallowed the rest of his sentence and addressed himself to Jay's begging. "I don't really feel like racing imaginary bumble-bees so yeah... we're actually flying in..." Chris checked his watch, "...about two hours." Running his fingers over the back of Adam's knuckles, Chris caught his lover's wandering attention. If Adam hadn't been so enraptured with Chris' hair, he'd have had serious worries he'd be asked to shave his head sometime in the future, given Adam's current fixation with bald men.

He just hoped Kurt wasn't staying at this hotel.

Or A-Train.

****

Scott was moving easier, at least, was Kevin's first thought as his lover stepped out of the bathroom, his hair still wet and clinging to his shoulders. If they hadn't just made plans with their friends, he would've pinned Scott to the bed again. Carefully, of course. Not that Scott would _let_ Kev be careful with him if Kevin ever made the mistake of being obvious about it. He understood Scott's concern about falling back into old, bad patterns, but being able to just take care of his lover every once in a while wasn't such a bad thing to want, was it?

Watching as Scott picked up the tube of cream, Kevin raised an eyebrow when Scotty opened it. Wasn't _he_ supposed to be doing that? Dammit, that was as close as Scott was letting him get right now to taking care of him... Cocking his head a little, he let Scott's name fall from his lips in a warning tone, letting his lips curve a bit to show the warmer emotions that his lover inevitably brought out in him.

 _"Ya know, I'm completely capable of rubbing cream on my_ own _ass. I'm a big boy now."_

Half-expecting the response, he didn't bother hiding his expression at the words; besides, Scott couldn't see him. Whether Scott _could_ do it or not wasn't the point---the _point_ was that Kevin _wanted_ to do this. He'd caused the aches, he wanted to soothe them.

"Yes, but you don't have to. You know that," he said as he applied the cream with gentle touches, wishing that Scott's newly-found independence hadn't come with such a strong defensiveness about it. The fact that his lover was capable of doing things for himself and _wanted_ to do those things didn't bother Kevin at all. It was the accompanying fact that Scott seemed to think that letting Kevin do anything for him now would head both of them back down a dark path that bothered him. A lot.

Biting back the sigh that wanted to escape, Kevin finished up with a kiss to Scott's neck before heading into the bathroom.

A quick shower would have him feeling better... he hoped. Obviously their reconciliation hadn't solved everything yet, but he hadn't been naive enough to think it would be that easy. He just hadn't expected some of the issues that had already raised their heads. This defensive reaction to Kevin doing anything for Scott was the big one at the moment, but he'd wait a while longer before bringing it up. He didn't want Scott to get self-defensive and make it worse, and probably it would get better over time anyway as they settled into being together again.

Wrapping a towel around his waist as he stepped out of the bathroom, he was disappointed to find Scott already dressed again, but then, he really couldn't make Scott wander around the hotel naked, could he? As tempting as the thought was, getting arrested for indecent exposure wasn't something either of them needed. Smiling a little at the direction of his thoughts, Kevin pulled out clothes and started getting dressed as Scott finished brushing his hair.

 _"So... who did you get hold of? Anyone going to show up to this impromptu lunch of ours?"_

"Hopefully. Most people weren't answering their phones, so I left messages... but I didn't really expect the Terrible Trio to answer. They're probably... distracted." His smile widening at the thought, Kevin continued, "I did get hold of Sean and Glen and they'll meet us down there, whenever Glen can get the Kid moving. I tried calling Mark, but didn't get an answer there either. I dunno why... maybe him and Hardy actually hooked up last night." Chuckling at the thought, Kevin reached out for the brush, running it through his own damp hair.

Holding out a hand to Scott, Kevin pulled him close and kissed him soundly, enjoying the moment. They still had things to work out, but they'd get that done over time. No use pushing right now, when everything was going so well. "Did you want to call Eddie? Or just head down there and see who starts showing up?"

****

Scott watched Kevin as he dressed, his appreciation of the man as strong as ever. He was so wrapped in studying his lover's fluid lines that he almost forgot the question that he'd asked just seconds before.

 _"Hopefully. Most people weren't answering their phones, so I left messages...."_

That wasn't so terribly surprising he supposed. With the hours they kept, anyone who didn't have to be somewhere was probably sleeping in, except for...

 _".. but I didn't really expect the Terrible Trio to answer. They're probably... distracted."_

Scott grinned over Kevin actually using tact today. Maybe he had learned his lesson yesterday. Scott still would have said 'fucking like bunnies' since there were no witnesses though. That was just Razor coming out in him. In fact, he might say it just so he could say those words in his accent. It'd drive Kevin nuts.

 _"I did get hold of Sean and Glen and they'll meet us down there, whenever Glen can get the Kid moving."_

Good thing Glen was such a big guy. It'd save him on crane rental to drag Sean out of bed. Kid had to be the worse out of all of them to wake up. Several times, Scott had simply picked him up out of the bed and thrown him in a tub of cold water when they had had no choice about getting moving. His ears had ended up severely blistered from Sean's swearing, but it had gotten the man moving. He was pretty sure that Glen could come up with a nicer way of bringing his lover to consciousness.

 _"I tried calling Mark, but didn't get an answer there either. I dunno why... maybe him and Hardy actually hooked up last night."_

Interesting thought, but nah... it'd never happen. Not until someone whacked both Jeff and Mark over the head with blunt objects by the sound of things. They were both so far in denial that Scott was considering buying them each a life jacket. Mark had probably gone to bed early and had been at the hotel gym when Kevin called. Shaking his head at Kevin's fanciful thoughts, Scott simply smiled while he watched Kevin run the brush through his hair. He wanted to offer to do that for Kevin, but he could imagine the answer he'd get in return. Something like... I'm a big boy, I can do it myself.

Now didn't that just sound damn familiar.

Scott grimaced at his inner voice. He really had sounded like an ass. Surprisingly Kevin hadn't smacked him in the head for it. He knew that he was overcompensating for his previous dependence on Kevin, he just had to figure out a way to stop himself from doing it. If he didn't, then Kevin _would_ end up smacking him and there were many more pleasurable things he'd rather have Kevin doing to him.

Pulling himself from his thoughts, he noticed Kevin's hand in front of him. When he wrapped his hand around Kevin's, Kevin pulled him closer and Scott smiled just before Kevin's lips covered his own. Lips... beautiful, yummy, tasty lips. And that oh so talented tongue of his.

Yep, much better things for Kev to do than smack him.

 _"Did you want to call Eddie? Or just head down there and see who starts showing up?"_

Scott rested his weight again Kevin for a moment as he worked his mind through Kevin's question. The man just didn't realize the effect that he had on poor Scott's brain when he kissed him like that. He was expected to be able to think after that performance?

"I... uh... I'll give them a call real quick, though with the lack of time they get to spend together, I'll most likely be interrupting something," he said with a wicked grin. Running his hand over the swell of Kevin's backside, Scott leaned up to press a quick kiss against Kevin's lips before pulling away and heading towards the phone on the nightstand.

A quick talk with the woman at the desk and he was patched through to Eddie and Chris' room.

 _"Hola! Quien es?"_

"'ey Chico, it's Captain Ramon with the Uniondale police department," Scott said in his best Razor accent. "We've received a complaint about unnatural noises coming from your room and we wondered if you would mind explaining them... in detail."

He tried not to laugh, really he did, but he couldn't help it. Eddie's laughing at the other end of the line didn't help matters at all.

"Seriously though, we're getting together with a bunch of the guys for lunch, so if you two are done deciding whose belt goes where, meet us down in the restaurant as soon as you're... decent. No, make that dressed. We can't expect decent from any of the rest, so why should you be different? _Hasta luego_."

Hanging up the phone, Scott turned to Kevin and smiled. "Let's go Kev, before your stomach shrivels from lack of sustenance." Making sure that he had his keycard in his pocket, he led the way out into the hallway. While they were waiting on the elevator, Scott leaned against the wall. As soon as the bell dinged signaling the arrival of the car, Scott winked at Kev. "You know, the terrible trio wasn't distracted, I'm betting it was more along the lines of fucking like bunnies that kept them from answering the phone, Chico."

With an evil grin, Scott sauntered into the cubicle and waited for Kev to follow.

****

Lifting his head, Shawn watched his lovers wander separately but happily out of the bathroom and enjoyed the sight of them dressing, totally unselfconscious of his own nudity. Not in any hurry to move, he cleared his throat, then passed along the message he'd just listened to.

"So... Kev and Scott have invited us to meet them for lunch... if we can make it out of bed." The grins on Hunter and Dave's faces matched his own smile, and he found himself looking forward to seeing the expressions on their friends' faces when they appeared downstairs. No way would they be able to hide what they were now, and certainly none of them would want to do so.

For some reason, he suddenly pictured Vince frowning at them as they walked through the halls backstage at Bad Blood, and had to bite back laughter. After all the years of tweaking Vince, he'd finally found the ideal way to get under the man's skin... by being happy. That was probably unfair, as Vince hadn't always been an asshole, but the last few years had certainly embittered him. And how the hell had he gotten stuck on _that_ subject?

Shaking his head at himself, he stood up and asked, "What do you two think? I think it'd be nice to just sit and visit with them for a while." Moving more slowly than he would have liked to, he headed for his own suitcase and pulled clothing out: dressy today, with slacks and shirt... but they'd be comfortably loose, which was the point. He wasn't about to go down to eat wearing tight jeans, with his body beginning to inform him just how sore he was.

 _"What happens after lunch? I have a flight home this afternoon, so... should I pack now or call and cancel my ticket?"_

Oh.

Shawn could have kicked himself. He'd _thought_ of this last night... why hadn't he thought to bring it up earlier? This... this moment... God, the look on Dave's face just _hurt_. And for the first time in a long time, he found himself speechless as he met Dave's gaze, the unexpected vulnerability in those gorgeous dark eyes making him silent.

 _"Seeming as whenever I try to be tactful, I tend to sound really strange, I'm going to be blunt."_

The unexpected admission made him smile slightly, but he didn't break the gaze that seemed to hold him under a spell. Hunter's eloquence was usually... amazing. And not necessarily in the normal sense of the word.

 _"I want go home with both of you and I really don't care which home that is as long as you're both there.... we could go to_ The Ranch _."_

Shawn couldn't agree more. It wasn't important at all where they went, as long as they were together. In reality, the three of them being able to be _together_ wouldn't last long, or happen often, and he wanted to be able to enjoy it as long as possible, here at the beginning of things. Thank God Hunter seemed to be able to just blurt out what they were probably---hopefully---all thinking.

Of course... the crack about "The Ranch" was to pull them out of this oddly deep moment and back into current reality, where all the doubts and second thoughts could just go hang. Blinking, finally turning his head to look at Hunter, he rolled his eyes as he saw Hunter hiding behind Dave. Big scary man... hiding behind bigger scarier man.

Right.

Carefully buttoning the last button on his shirt, Shawn just smiled crookedly at Hunter. His blond lover was undoubtedly expecting an immediate reaction... and just to be contrary, Shawn wasn't going to give him one. Hunter knew that Shawn liked to underplay the size and style of his home, since he tended to be fairly quiet about just how much money he had. No, he'd wait until they actually got to the ranch... if that's where they ended up going, anyway. Looking carefully back at Dave, hoping that the man hadn't noticed his own preoccupation this morning because he wasn't ready to explain to himself just what he was preoccupied with, let alone to Dave, Shawn allowed his lips to widen into a real smile.

"If you'd like to come home with me, I'd like to have you." Although he was absolutely serious, and his voice reflected that, he couldn't quite resist the joke and his smile turned just a touch wicked at his final words. "Of course, if you _do_ come home with me..." He tilted his head to include both of his lovers as he drawled, "I may just decide to keep you."

****

Eddie crossed his arms behind his head as he leaned back, smiling softly at the bathroom door that his lover had just closed behind him. Whatever had been bothering Chris last night seemed to be gone now, and it had left behind a different attitude in him; nothing bad... far from, actually. Eddie had long ago accepted the fact that Chris just wasn't as tactile as he was, and was far more restrained outside of their private quarters than he ever could be, and he was fine with that. He loved Chris for who he was, not for who he wanted him to be.

But today... well, starting last night, actually, Chris had been far more hands-on than normal in public. Not that the locker room really counted, but the fact that Chris hadn't pulled his hand away from Eddie's shoulder as they walked into the hotel lobby had been more than surprising, since even that sort of friendly-casual touch was abnormal for him. Maybe Benny was feeling their separation more than Eddie had realised... his lover did tend to hide his emotions, even around him, and definitely wouldn't have wanted Eddie to know if he were upset about their being apart.

Eddie's mouth twisted slightly at that, but he knew that Chris would look at that as keeping additional stress away from him, not as keeping secrets. That was an argument he'd given up on years ago, even before they'd become anything more than friends.

The phone ringing pulled him out of his thoughts, and as he twisted around, he heard the shower shut off. Trying to keep from dwelling on thoughts of a naked wet Chris behind the closed door, he picked up the receiver and greeted his caller absently.

" _Hola! Quien es_?" Oops. Too absently. Before he could add a greeting in English, the person on the other end of the phone answered him.

 _"'ey Chico, it's Captain Ramon..."_

Grinning, Eddie bit his tongue to keep from the obvious reply even as he couldn't help but laugh. He'd roomed next to Kevin and Scott more than once, and if anyone could complain about "unnatural noises", it would be him. But obviously Hall was in a good mood this morning, and Eddie wasn't about to interrupt the unexpected phone call just for a snarky comment. He'd missed Scott over the years, and the thought of getting to know him now that they were both sober was an attractive one. The man was a damned good friend to people, and although Benny was uncomfortable around the Clique because of Bret, Eddie knew that getting to know them would probably wear that wariness away.

 _"...we're getting together with a bunch of the guys for lunch, so if you two are done deciding whose belt goes where..."_

His grin turning wicked as Chris walked out of the bathroom, a towel draped loosely around his hips, Eddie gave his lover a salacious leer, snickering again at the belt comment. Benny had been embarrassed about the... odd request... but he'd certainly enjoyed it in the long run.

 _"We can't expect decent from any of the rest, so why should you be different? Hasta luego."_

" _Sí, ese_ , very true. We'll see you there, then... decent or not. _Adios_!" Another laugh as he hung up, and as he met the puzzled stare of his lover, Eddie's smile softened in belated apology. "We're invited down to lunch with Kev and Scott and the others, Chris. I'm sorry... I told them we'd be there, but if you'd rather not..."

Chris shook his head, looking resigned but amused. "No, if you want to go, we'll go. I suppose I'll just have to put up with the belt jokes, won't I?"

Eddie sat up, running an affectionate hand down Chris's arm as he stood and kissed the familiar lips.

"We should get going, then... I'll get dressed." Turning away, he paused long enough to cast a mischievous glance over his shoulder. "Just don't blush, _papi_... that'll make them try harder." Avoiding the swat that Chris aimed at him, Eddie grinned all the way into the shower.

****

Mark couldn't stop watching Jeff's face, almost entranced as he watched the tension and guilt etched into that face fade away, relief taking their place with an audible sigh as the younger man heard his slow, almost hesitant admission. _Not much of an admission, though, was it?_ a familiar mocking voice asked in the back of his mind. Pushing it away, not ready to face what it was talking about, Mark waited for some sort of response, trying to hide his current vulnerability behind his normal stoic facade.

As the long seconds passed, his worry and paranoia began to rise again as Jeff remained motionless. Just as he was ready to pull his hand away again, though, Jeff moved. Slow, careful movements, so unlike his normal frenetic pace, but obviously set so as not to demand more than Mark was ready to give. If only he knew... if he asked, Mark would be willing to give him nearly anything. _And this is just an infatuation?_ the same voice asked, but Mark ignored it. He knew this was more than an infatuation, had known that since he'd first met shocked green eyes outside the door to his locker room... but just how much more was something they could worry about later. Shuddering slightly at the soft scratch of the stubble on Jeff's jaw against his arm, Mark didn't move, allowing Jeff to control the moment, not wanting to disturb the still-fragile moment between them.

 _"I am going to fall for you Mark.... It's gonna be hard, and probably messy."_

If the first twenty-four hours were anything to judge from, that went without saying. But hearing Jeff say that he _would_ fall for him... The unexpected warmth those words brought to him pushed away most of the lingering pain in his heart. Things like this were always hard and messy, never calm and neat and easy... if it were easy, then it wouldn't be worth doing.

 _"...if you give me anything of you I will hurt you, I think.... It's the last thing I want to do but..."_

Mark nodded slightly in understanding. This morning was a good example, and the potential for being hurt would only increase the further along they went. That potential was a double-edged sword, too, even though Jeff didn't seem to even consider the possibility that Mark could hurt him. Almost like he didn't care if it happened. That thought brought a brief frown to his face, but he let it go for the moment, not wanting Jeff to misinterpret his expression. He had no more plan to hurt the man in front of him than Jeff had to hurt him... and they'd probably succeed equally well in doing exactly what they didn't intend to do.

The wry smile brought a slight curve to his own lips, but the incredible emotion in the shining green eyes looking up at him rendered him speechless. It was like all of the things that he was trying so hard not to consider at the moment were mirrored in those green pools, showing him such hope and vulnerability and... The soft kiss de-railed his train of thought completely and he found himself moving, his arms closing around Jeff without any conscious thought on his part.

 _"If you take a risk with me, I think... I hope... that this could be..._ something _."_

Sliding one hand up the curve of Jeff's side, Mark considered his words before responding to the hope expressed in Jeff's words... hopes that Mark shared, however secretly. For some reason, no matter how much his brain told him not to trust Jeff, not to open himself up and leave himself vulnerable, his heart insisted on charging forward into this risky relationship against all his better judgment. And this time... this time, he wasn't going to argue. Bending his neck, he leant his forehead against Jeff's, his fingers resting against the back of Jeff's neck as he said quietly, "I hope you're right... because this is the biggest risk I've taken in years."

And wasn't that the biggest understatement of his life?

Looking at the indescribable emotion on Jeff's face, knowing that his own probably looked the same, Mark shifted enough to kiss Jeff again, one last caress of lips against lips, and then reluctantly pulled away. "I don't know what your plans are, Jeff, but..." Stopping, he swallowed past a dry throat as he took an emotional leap. "If you'd like to... stay with me, I'd like that. Very much."

****

In the yawning silence of the room, he felt as if he were naked rather than almost fully dressed. So... exposed. What if he was wrong? What if the two of them weren't as eager to spend their time off with him as he was with them? What if...?

His breath caught in his throat as his eyes locked with Shawn's. There was a flicker of something in Shawn's eyes, though he couldn't hazard a guess what it might be. Whatever it was didn't help to settle his nerves in any way.

 _"Seeming as whenever I try to be tactful, I tend to sound really strange, I'm going to be blunt."_

Hunter to the rescue. Dave couldn't tear his eyes away from Shawn though, wondering over that brief flicker, whatever it may have been. The slight smile gracing Shawn's lips eased a tiny bit of the tension wracking his frame, but it wouldn't be gone until he had an answer.

 _"I want go home with both of you and I really don't care which home that is as long as you're both there."_

The solid knot in his chest eased, but didn't leave completely. One down... one to go.

Having Stephanie around wasn't really an issue for him. He'd have to get used to her sooner or later. She was a big part of Hunter's life despite the fact that their marriage was the 'in-name-only' sort. And honestly, he liked Stephanie, he'd just never been on the receiving end of her direct attention before.

He did note Hunter's comment about not having been invited to his home. That was something that could be remedied... soon. He didn't mind at all that they would be poking around in his stuff, but he was half tempted to have Sean come and pick up some of the things he'd left in the spare bedroom. They hadn't seen any use in awhile, but Sean hadn't bothered taking them with him the last time that he'd stayed. Dave had no problem admitting to anything in his past or any of his particular kinks, but admitting it and having your lovers come face to face with the evidence of it was slightly different. He could at least pack the things up until he had had a chance to let them in on his past. He'd like to work past Hunter's intimacy issues to some extent before expressing his interest into the occasional exploration of non-vanilla sex.

 _"...We could go to The Ranch."_

Dave had never been to Shawn's house and the way Hunter said 'The Ranch' certainly drew his curiosity. Especially when Hunter tried hiding behind him after that comment. He glanced quickly at Hunter, his brow raised, and turned back just in time to see Shawn roll his eyes. Obviously Hunter's teasing about Shawn's home was common practice. As long as Shawn wasn't expecting him to jump on a horse or herd cows, then he was all for solving the mystery of 'The Ranch'.

 _"If you'd like to come home with me, I'd like to have you."_

The last bit of that knot melted away with Shawn's smile and his sincerity. He'd known that he was letting his insecurity run away with him, but with the uncertainty of things right now, he hadn't been able to stop it. He'd have to work on that. Who knew how long it would be before he would hear those three little words from Shawn... if ever. In any case, he had to stop expecting the worst and hope for the best. He had to give it time.

 _"...I may just decide to keep you."_

Letting himself get caught up in the humor, he turned to look at Hunter over his shoulder.

"Should I be worried? Stuffed cow heads on the wall? A horse that's living in the house? Or is it something freaky like a dungeon in the cellar? He'll keep us chained to the wall so he can use and abuse us?"

With a wink at Hunter, he turned back to Shawn as he buttoned his shirt. It didn't really matter to him where they ended up now that they'd determined they were going to end up wherever it was together.

"In that case, I'll call and cancel my flight. We could go to my place, but I'm having the upstairs bathroom refinished." It was the truth, it just wasn't the main reason he was putting off their visit. "So unless you want to deal with a contractor tramping in and out all week, we should head somewhere else. You two decide and then Mr. Coordinated can make the arrangements... if that's okay with you."

Sitting down in one of the chairs, Dave pulled on his shoes, then went to locate his cell phone. He had a hard time keeping track of the thing at the best of times. Making a quick call to the airlines, he canceled his flight while the other two finished getting dressed.

"Whenever you two are ready, we can head for the Inquisition," he said with a smile.

****

 _"Yes."_

Whoa.

He hadn't been expecting that. Ty was one brave guy. But since he had agreed, Adam was going to hold him to it later. And he was going to shave a huge "B" for Bunnykins on the man's skull. He'd fix it, of course, but not until after Ty asked the obvious question... what the "B" stood for.

Turning his attention back to his cake, he happily dug in. This was good cake... really good cake. The additional sighs and hums of pleasure were for Chris' benefit, just a reminder of their earlier activities. Not that anyone else would catch on to that, but Chris might.

 _"You're not driving home are you Ad? Chriiiiissss... ?"_

Since Jay was pleading with Chris, Adam felt safe shooting a glare in his friend's direction. Even in his current state, his driving would rate better than Jay's anytime. He wasn't blond enough to consider driving home though and Jay should know better.

 _"Not allowed to drive because of your back?"_

Adam snickered quietly around a bite of cake. Like his back was the reason that Ty wasn't letting Jay drive. The man might be brave enough to let Adam shave his head, but he wasn't insane enough to suffer Jay's driving unless he had to. And speaking of Jay's back, it looked like Adam would have to prod Jay's psyche after all. There had to be some reason that Jay refused to stay home and let himself heal when he knew it would help the process.

 _"I don't really feel like racing imaginary bumble-bees so yeah... we're actually flying..."_

Adam bit his tongue for a moment. Imaginary bumble-bees? He was so not letting that slide and he'd comment on it just as soon as he got done watching the pretty light reflecting off Ty's head. If he tilted his head at the right angle it almost looked like Bunnykins had a halo... yeah, right.

Chris' fingers running over the back of his hand caught his attention and he smiled at his lover.

"You can't race bumble bees, Christopher. They'd win. Besides, if you stop to talk to them, they'll tell you where Winnie the Pooh lives." Under cover of the table, he slid his foot along the outside of Chris' calf for a moment, then stood abruptly. "I have so got this craving for lime Jell-O right about now." With that, he wandered off towards the buffet again. Acting as blond as his hair color was hard work. He needed food.

****

Half-listening to Scott's conversation, Kevin turned to survey the room and make sure that they weren't leaving anything behind. A glance into the bathroom, and he picked up the few personal items on the counter, putting them away with the brush.

 _"...a complaint about unnatural noises coming from your room and we wondered if you would mind explaining them..."_

Shaking his head even as he laughed, Kevin finished packing up their things and took a seat in the chair in the corner of the room, crossing his legs in front of him while he watched Scott. This was the side of Scotty that he'd missed---funny, outgoing, talkative. Just seeing the amusement and openness on Scott's face was wonderful, after not seeing him at all for so long. Moments like these were ones that Kevin treasured, soaking up the details of his lover to put away in his memory, replacing less happy memories. Not that the darker memories would ever be forgotten---or ever _should_ be---but they certainly didn't need to be the first ones that he thought of.

 _"We can't expect decent from any of the rest, so why should you be different?_ Hasta luego _."_

Entirely too true. Returning Scott's smile as he turned around, Kevin stood up, barely managing to keep from making a face at his lover's comment. It had been a while since he'd heard Scott actually speak Spanish at all, and he'd forgotten how incredibly sexy his lover sounded when he did. If only they hadn't made those plans... Well. They had, and it was too late to back out now, or he'd never hear the end of it from Shawn. Following Scott into the hall, Kevin kept a half-pace behind, to enjoy watching the very nice sight in front of him as well as to be able to hover protectively without _seeming_ to hover, and thus avoid catching any flack for it from Scott.

 _"I'm betting it was more along the lines of fucking like bunnies that kept them from answering the phone, Chico."_

The wink should've been a clue. It really should've. Between the Razor accent, the actual words, and the seemingly-harmless nickname that actually meant far more than anyone could ever guess, Scott had just pushed a huge bunch of Kevin's buttons... all entirely on purpose. Shuddering slightly at the flare of heat down his spine, Kevin sent a narrow-eyed glare after Scotty that anyone else would've interpreted as anger. But Scott would know better.

Ruthlessly pushing away the images that were taunting him, Kevin followed his lover into the elevator after a short pause. Purposely leaning close enough beside him to leave him no personal space at all, Kev looked into the mischievous dark eyes and shook his head, just once.

"Very, very bad... Razor." The humour underlying his voice was obvious, but so was the heat. Pushing himself away from the wall as the doors chimed, he took a step before glancing over his shoulder, answering Scott's grin with a wicked smile of his own. "If you keep that up, I might just have to take... steps."

Another step, and he was out of the elevator and heading into the restaurant. Without looking, he knew that Scott was right behind him... but that wasn't where he wanted him. Pausing at the doorway to take a quick look around and verify that they were indeed the first ones there, he stepped to the side slightly to let Scott pass before taking up the position he'd had earlier... just to the side and behind his lover. The perfect place to watch and to protect, and to not get caught out for doing either.

Hopefully someday he wouldn't have to worry about Scotty's reaction to his instinctive protectiveness. Until then, he'd do what he had to... and appreciate the view while he did.

****

Kevin didn't follow him immediately and Scott settled against the wall of the elevator, slanting a look at his lover. Oh mother in heaven... Kevin was not giving him that look _now_.

It was his own fault really. He had firmly jammed several of Kevin's buttons all at once, but he'd figured that his appetite would overrule his hormones at this point and Kevin would laugh it off. Not so by the look Kevin was giving him at the moment. He wouldn't even mind but for three reasons...

One... thanks to the cream, his ass may feel good enough for him to endure an hour in a padded restaurant chair, but if he let Kevin anywhere near it before they made it back home, he probably wouldn't be able to sit for a week. Two... they were on their way to a luncheon that they had issued the invitations for. Not showing would be unbearably rude and though in most cases he might dismiss that, he was too curious to do so. And three... he was so not wearing the clothes to endure _that_ look right now. He was thanking any and every god he could think of that he'd picked one of his longer t-shirts to wear down to this little get together. Even now he could feel his body responding.

Kev finally moved, following him inside the cubicle and invading his personal space. Scott could still read the heat in his eyes.

 _"Very, very bad... Razor."_

Literally biting his tongue was the only way that he managed to hold onto his grin. It didn't stop the shiver working its way down his spine.

 _"If you keep that up, I might just have to take... steps."_

Steps? His body responded eagerly, having communicated with the part of his mind that knew exactly what steps Kevin was talking about. Scott groaned almost silently as he followed Kevin out of the elevator. He really should have known better than to tease his lover, the man always managed to pay him back just as wickedly if not worse.

When Kevin stopped at the doorway, Scott shot him an odd look, wondering why his lover had paused. Kevin stepped to the side and Scott shrugged, walking ahead of him into the restaurant. He felt the unmistakable sensation of Kevin's eyes wandering over his body and he smirked. Maybe that explained Kevin's obsession with walking behind him today, not that Kevin could see all that much with the shirt hanging low over his ass, but that had never stopped his lover from imagining.

Spying a large group of tables that could be pushed together to seat their group, if they all happened to show up, Scott headed in that direction adding just a bit of cocky sway to his walk for Kevin's benefit. While he and Kevin were adjusting the tables, Sean and Glen walked in and joined them.

"Wild night, Scotty?" Sean asked with a smirk as he grabbed Scott in a big hug. Sean then started laughing though it was somewhat subdued for his perky nature. "Not wild enough though."

Scott raised a brow at his friend until he noticed the direction Sean was staring in. He still hadn't settled down from Kevin's comments in the elevator and apparently Sean had noticed his condition during their brief embrace. Lovely... just lovely.

"You should find someone to take care of that for ya Scotty... I've heard that Mark's single, maybe he'd be up for a little..."

Scott aimed a swat at Kid's head, but before he could comment in walked Chris and Eddie. They were both dressed, though it remained to be seen if they would be any more decent than the rest.


	75. Offers

Hunter hadn't actually expected Shawn to chase him behind Dave. The smaller blond had been shrugging off Hunt's teasing for a decade without resorting to violence; even the worst of his verbal idiocy normally received rolled eyes and a 'why me?' expression. One day, Hunter knew, he would get Shawn on just the wrong side of irritated and be made to regret every teasing word he'd ever said. Looked like today wasn't going to be that day though. But well...

... Hunt still lived in hope.

Even if he couldn't get a rise, oh hardy har har, out of his lover, Hunt had still maneuvered himself to the rear of an almost-dressed Dave and that had to be plus in anyone's books. Taking a moment to admire the broad shoulders and long spine clad in crisp cotton, Hunter automatically negated a move to run his hands up Dave's long, smooth back. Clenching his hand into a fist, Hunter stared at the fine short hair at the base of his lover's skull while he mentally cursed his instincts. It had been natural desire, to want to stroke and touch something so beautiful. But, like always, Hunter had caught his hand before it betrayed him.

Damn, damn, damn.

He'd been around this emotional roundabout _ad nauseum_ and was utterly sick of it. His beautiful David had stated, quite categorically, that he liked Hunter touching him, with _like_ being a fairly massive understatement. Caressing Dave would be great, watching Dave smile would make Hunt smile... unfortunately Dave touching him back could risk Hunter freaking.

Since last night, Hunter hadn't felt that breathless panic. That urge to run, to deny himself their presence because _it wasn't allowed_. But it was gone. There had been no hint of it in the shower and maybe... just maybe... he was cured. But if he started relaxing, started acting like Hunt could just grab and play whenever he wanted, he could get bitten on the ass... and not in a good way. Looking over Dave's shoulder at Shawn's sweet, crooked smile, Hunter grinned back although he knew it was a fraction forced. Pushing aside the tooth-ache like niggle of frustration with himself, Hunt saw a promise of retribution in two stunning dusky-blue eyes and stuffed his doubts into a back corner of his brain, along with Vince's words and the heartbreaking image of Shawn's devastated face.

Today was the first day of Dave&Shawn&Hunter and he wasn't about to ruin it.

Looking convincingly scared while hiding behind your lover wasn't as easy as it might sound, especially when the man you were hiding from said,

 _If you'd like to come home with me, I'd like to have you._

With a smile that was both calm and honestly adoring, Hunter's gaze roved over Shawn's form to come to rest on his lover's twinkling eyes. He said nothing, but deep inside Hunt answered, 'you've _always_ had me.'

 _Should I be worried?... chained to the wall so he can use and abuse us?_

"I wish," Hunter joked, his eyes still locked with Shawn's. No, the other blond had remarkably good taste and, in complete contrast to Hunter, spent his money wisely and carefully on only a few truly expensive pieces.

Although Hunter was so going to buy him a moose-head now just because he could.

With Dave's permission to make their decisions, Hunter watched Shawn thoughtfully from across the room as he finished dressing. His friend didn't seem inclined one way or the other on the 'my place, your place' thing and Hunter had some serious paperwork building up at home that if he didn't get to, Greg had threatened to staple to his forehead.

"My place for dinner with Steph and Thursday night, then 'The Ranch' Friday and Saturday?" Hunter offered, feeling he was being pretty polite by tacking a question mark on the end of that sentence. He knew he'd spoiled it by flipping open his phone a milli-second after Shawn's nod and calling Greg, but at least he was trying.

In no short order, Hunter, pointedly ignoring the 'Mr Coordinated' comment, had them booked, car'd, paid, acknowledged and expected by the time they were ready to get some breakfast. Nodding distractedly at Dave's words, Hunter let them pull him from the room and into the elevator while trying to make out Megan's and Steph's timetable on a very bad line from... where?... Phoenix?

"And you are in Arizona because?" Looking up, Hunter realised they were standing in the doorway of the restaurant with what was probably every single eye in the room turned to them. Fortunately, they were all WWE employees.

 _Unfortunately_ , they were all WWE employees.

"...Steph wanted... it's someone... ing with a horse!"

Huh?

****

CJ noted the careful way that Jay sat in his seat and the regular assessing looks sent his friend's way by his tattooed lover. Last night Ty had been angry at Jay for pushing himself and his injury too hard, and it looked like the big man was right on the money. Chris was grateful he'd picked Bunnykins as his side of the equation as Adam had far more chance of getting through to Jay in this situation than CJ ever would. No matter how much he had tried to sympathise, Jay's moan of 'you don't understand' had a nasty ring of truth to it. Much as Chris wished he hadn't had to, Adam did understand a long-term injury and could get in Jason's head way better than Chris could. Maybe his lover would have better luck finding out why the slim man was so desperate to stay at Tyson's side, even risking his own career to do so.

It was almost like Jay thought...

Blinking, CJ watched as Tyson deftly snared the sugar bowl from Jay's reach, nodded his agreement to 'eat tonight at that place with the guy with the eye and the _thing_ ' and gently stroked his fingers through his boyfriend's short cropped, silky hair. Jay hadn't gelled it this morning and Bunnykin's fingers were obviously enamoured of the locks in their natural state.

The big man's actions were cute, sweet and downright adoring.

And Jay was worried someone would get in Ty's pants while he wasn't looking.

Of course the state of Jay's common sense was the object of some conjecture.

Now he just had to figure out a way to let Bunnykins in on the other reason for Jay's mulish behaviour without getting flattened or being subjected to Tyson's own 'stubborn chin' expression. Because with _that_ beard, wow, chin took on a whole new dimension. As Chris would know.

 _can't race bumble bees, Christopher._

Chris smiled slowly at the mildly put-out look in his lover's not-really glazed green eyes. The bumble-bee comment was perfectly normal given his lover's apparent condition and just because Chris knew better, didn't mean he couldn't play too. Putting on his best 'what me?' expression, CJ batted his eyelashes at Adam under the cover of Jay's prattle and was ready to lean in closer when he felt the unmistakable sensation of a foot caressing the back of his ankle.

 _They'd win._

'We'd kick their asses.' Chris murmured warmly while the exploratory foot moved further north. Of course Adam, being Adam _and_ semi-high, got up and left Chris and his ankle completely bereft. Following his lover's extremely sexy cotton clad ass walk back to the buffet table, CJ bit his lip at the almost dirty look the lime jell-o was being subjected to. Throwing up a prayer to the gods of all desserts that Adam wasn't picking them based on _colour_ , Chris finished his own lunch and toyed with a cup of coffee.

Sitting back, he lifted his foot to rest on the edge of Adam's chair and rested his wrist on his up-raised knee. Rubbing the tips of his finger together in thought, Chris caught the amused ice-blue eyes of the man across from him, the smirk hiding nothing of the bald man's thoughts. His own sapphire eyes narrowing, CJ returned the look with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk of his own.

Austin stared.

Chris stared.

Jay talked.

In the silences created by Jason's need to breathe and ingest food, the Grand-Daddy of all stare-downs had begun.

****

Relieved when Dave joined in the teasing, the tension that had been hovering just out of view apparently gone for now, Shawn was caught by a flash of... _something_... in Hunter's eyes. Apparently they didn't know each other quite as well as everyone---including themselves---had thought, because he had no idea what that brief emotion had been. Nothing bad, judging from the look Hunter was giving him, but it was certainly something to think about.

 _"I wish..."_

Later. Because now that little comment was going to _haunt_ him. Shawn couldn't count the number of times he'd fantasized about tying Hunter up and having his wicked way with him. Whether that way involved paddles, riding crops, feathers, or just his own two hands depended greatly on his mood, which was suddenly leaning right back toward that little image, especially now that he had some knowledge of what it looked like in real life. Not, he reminded himself as he finished buckling his belt while smiling at the "Mr. Coordinated" comment from Dave, that last night or this morning gave any real indication that Hunter's interest actually lay in that direction... or more importantly, whether he was ready for something like that even if it did. Relegating his thoughts back to the realm of fantasy, he nodded at Hunter's question as he sat down to pull on his socks and shoes.

 _"My place for dinner with Steph and Thursday night, then 'The Ranch' Friday and Saturday?"_

"Your place would be fine, Hunt... for the whole break, if you want. If Steph doesn't scare Dave off, anyway." A smile at their lover to show the joke, and Shawn stood up, stopping next to Dave to put a hand on his shoulder, reveling briefly in the sheer fact that he _could_. Good thing he'd always been known for being "hands-on" with people, because that tendency was only going to get worse around these two, and he wasn't about to try to fight it. They'd told Vince they'd tone it down around people---at least, Hunter had... and hadn't he mentioned something about a leash, too... ? Pulling his thoughts away from that tantalizing subject, Shawn shrugged mentally. He wasn't planning on performing any tonsillectomies on either of them in public, and if someone got a picture of them with arms around each other or something, it could pretty much be ignored as "just normal" for them.

Waiting for Hunter to finish arranging things, he looked at Dave, one eyebrow raised. "The Inquisition?" he questioned. He was glad for the smile that had accompanied the comment, or he'd be worried about taking Dave to lunch with everyone else who would be there. Not that he was sure who _would_ be there; with Kevin making the invitations, God only knew who might show up. Rolling his eyes again as Hunter dialed the phone nearly the instant he'd finally finished the first call, Shawn decided that he'd have to make sure that the damned thing went missing for a couple of days.

"C'mon... we're going to have drag him out." A quick caress to the shoulder he'd been grasping, and then he was grabbing Hunter's arm and pulling, leading the three of them out of the room and into the elevator. Not that Hunter was paying attention. Even when Shawn leaned against Dave rather than the side of the car, enjoying the weight of the arm around his shoulder, Hunt was too caught up in apparently trying to decipher whatever it was that Megan was telling him to notice. Sighing, Shawn followed Dave out of the elevator, pushing Hunter ahead of him, only to run straight into him when Hunter stopped. Right in the middle of the doorway.

 _"And you are in Arizona because?"_

So much for being discreet, Shawn thought with some amusement as he saw practically every person in the restaurant turn to look at them. Not that he and Hunter were in any sort of surprising position---for the two of them, anyway---but with Dave half-turned to tug Hunter forward, their body language had to be _interesting_. And Hunter was _still_ on that damned phone. Reaching up, Shawn snagged the phone from Hunter's fingers, said, "He'll call you back," loudly and distinctly into it, and turned it off before dropping it into his pocket.

Smirking at his lover's shocked expression, Shawn said in a low voice, "Next time you get too caught up in that thing, I won't hide it, Hunt... I'll break it. Now _move_. I'm starving." With a shove to the broad back in front of him---and a quick grope of the nice backside---he got the three of them actually into the restaurant rather than blocking the doorway. As they entered, Shawn could hear conversations around them resuming, and had to hide another smirk at the thought of what they were probably discussing. A glance across the room and he spotted Kevin and Scott next to Sean and Glen. And there were Eddie and Benoit in front of them... and Eddie was waving a greeting at Scott. Hmm. That could be entertaining... he'd have to remember not to mention Bret, or Chris would probably glare a hole in his head.

Heading for the quickly growing group, knowing that Dave and Hunter were following, Shawn was able to sneak up behind Scott for a surprise hug, grinning when the larger man jumped. Taking in the sweats and a certain familiar look in the dark eyes, Shawn's eyes twinkled as he asked in an undertone, "Did you get _any_ sleep last night?"

****

"Did you actually promise to be decent?" Chris couldn't keep the bemusement out of his voice at that thought as he looked at Eddie after pushing the elevator button. The warm brown eyes that met his gaze practically glowed with laughter as Eddie shook his head.

"No... I knew better than that." Waggling his eyebrows, Eddie leaned back against the side of the car. "Besides, we wouldn't want to act all decent and not fit in."

Rolling his eyes, Chris finally smiled slightly at his exuberant lover, not quite able to restrain himself from reaching out and running his fingers through Eddie's hair. He'd always loved the feel of it, and with his new resolution to touch Eddie more outside of their private times, it seemed like a good idea. Shrugging in mild embarrassment at the raised eyebrow his gesture provoked, he said awkwardly, "I still haven't gotten used to it like this. After all those years with it long..." His voice trailed off, and Eddie smiled at him.

"You don't have to explain, Chris. I'm not going to complain because you touched me, after all." Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to Chris's lips, pulling away just as the elevator doors opened. "But you might tempt me into doing something... naughty." Grinning at the look on Benoit's face, a mixture of amusement, surprise, and just a hint of interest, Eddie strode out of the elevator, pausing just long enough at the restaurant door to spot Scott and Kevin and to give Chris a chance to catch up to him.

As they approached the tables, Chris nodded at Sean and Glen, but his attention was taken by a sudden motion at the doorway. His eyebrows shot up when he saw Hunter standing in the doorway with Shawn right behind him... which wouldn't have been so unusual, except for the fact that Dave was right in front of both of them and was just turning to bestow a look on the other two that was... more than just friendly. What the hell was going on _there_? Surely not what came to mind... then again, with these people, maybe it was.

"Hey, _ese_!" Eddie called as they approached, waving at them. Some of their other friends were already there, he saw, but greeted Scott first, since he'd made the invitation. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shawn walking up, apparently trying to surprise Scott, so he clapped Scott on the shoulder to keep his attention on him. The reaction was well worth it, and he couldn't help but smile as he turned to say hello to Kevin before getting a good look at the strange expression on his lover's face.

"You okay?" he asked Chris quietly. Chris nodded, then gestured to the side. Eddie turned to follow his gaze, and his own eyebrows went up briefly as he watched Dave and Hunter cross the restaurant together... very very close together. And they seemed to be following Shawn... now wasn't _that_ a pretty picture, if he was reading it correctly. "They look good together, don't you think?" he murmured to Benoit. The elbow to his ribs surprised him, as did the narrow-eyed look on his lover's face.

"You can stop imagining them together right now, Eddie." The jealous tone underlying the quiet words brought a surprised laugh to Eddie's lips and he moved before thinking about where they were.

Putting an arm around Chris's shoulders, he leaned in close and said, just as quietly, "Don't worry, _mango_... you're the only one I need to think about." Only the fact that their sheer closeness in such a public place had Chris obviously uncomfortable prevented him from kissing his lover. Instead, he contented himself with a short squeeze of his arm and a leer that only Chris could see before pulling away and returning Sean's enthusiastic hello.

Watching his lover settle easily into the group made Chris a little wistful, but he was too busy cursing himself to really care. All of his resolve and determination... and the instant Eddie touched him in public, even in a way that was as friendly as anything else, and he froze up. Yeah, way to go on that whole "relaxing in public" goal, there, Chris. The odd touch of jealousy had been unexpected, too; maybe that was throwing him off. Sighing, he picked up a plate and gestured to Eddie that he was going to get something to eat. Maybe with some food in his stomach, he could figure out just what the problem was.

****

Kevin was just nodding at Glen when he heard Sean.

 _"You should find someone to take care of that for ya Scotty... I've heard that Mark's single, maybe he'd be up for a little..."_

"I don't think Scott needs anyone to 'take care of' _anything_ for him... unless he wants them to," Kev said with a smile, casting an appraising look over his lover. Apparently his little response to Scott's tease earlier had had... lingering effects. Too bad there really wasn't going to be either time or opportunity to do anything about it until they got home that afternoon. Until then... he'd have to make sure that Scott continued to feel those lingering effects. It was only fair, after all.

Raising an eyebrow at Sean's oddly subdued actions, Kevin gave Glen an inquiring glance. "Everything okay between you guys?" he asked quietly. Glen nodded, although his "Everything's just fine," response obviously wasn't telling everything. Well, they were adults and they could take care of themselves... and if he tried to interfere in whatever the problem was, Scott would probably kill him. Not that his lover had any room to talk when it came to interfering in other people's love lives...

And on that note, the sudden quiet at the front of the restaurant caught his attention. There were Eddie and Chris, waving at them as they approached... and there was the trio.

He couldn't help but glance at his watch. Kevin really hadn't expected them until at least a half hour later, if they showed up at all, but there they were... and Shawn seemed to be a little put out with Hunter. Of course, the cell phone that seemed to be glued to Hunt's ear these days might be the reason, as it had apparently been the cause of their little jam in the doorway, too.

Watching curiously, it looked as though whatever problems they'd had the day before had been ironed out, with the much more relaxed body language that they all had around each other. And whatever had gone down with Vince, it looked like they just weren't going to be all that good at keeping their hands off each other, Kevin thought with a smile. Shawn was heading straight for Scott, leaving the other two behind, but Dave just couldn't quite keep from touching Hunter as they walked at a more sedate pace toward the growing crowd. That was a good sign; much better than the awkward, almost afraid to touch atmosphere that he and Scott had been surprise witnesses to.

"Hey, guys! I wasn't expecting you to make it so quickly," he smirked as they reached the tables. Dave still didn't look entirely comfortable around the group of them, but they did take a while to get used to. Hunt looked a lot more relaxed than he had the day before, too... and Shawn was obviously feeling good, considering the grin on his face at the reaction he'd just provoked from Scott. About to say something to his lover, Kevin felt a slight tickle on the back of his neck. Reaching up to rub at it, he jumped slightly as he realised that someone was playing with his hair... and the person provoking that little tingle was _not_ Scotty.

****

 _"Your place would be fine, Hunt... If Steph doesn't scare Dave off, anyway."_

Dave chuckled quietly wondering about the truth of that threat, but didn't comment on it since he was occupied in basking in Shawn's gentle touch. At one point, he'd been sure that these simple gestures were all that he'd ever be allowed of Shawn's attention and he'd hoarded them and hidden them away for future reference. After last night and the plethora of touches that he'd received from the man, he no longer had to do that, though he most likely would for awhile to come. Each touch, each move, each sound from last night was stored away so that he could remember, just in case...

Snapping himself out of his momentary mood of impending doom, Dave realized that Hunter had already arranged their future travel plans with efficiency. Delegating was a nice luxury, one that Dave as of yet wasn't able to afford, but Dave didn't begrudge Hunter that. It was pleasant to be taken care of... at least when it was something that he'd agreed to have taken care of. He didn't want to fool himself though, this could be a real issue for them in the future. Hunter would have to realize that it had limits. He was not going to find himself at a picnic in the middle of the rain forest, as nice as it might be, just because it was something that Hunter _could_ have arranged.

 _"The Inquisition?"_

Dave didn't drop his smile, but fixed it on his face. If Shawn thought there wouldn't be questions forthcoming during this gathering, he was nuts. Dave was ready to face them, though, as long as they didn't wander into details of what had happened in this room last night. He was in no way ashamed of anything that had happened, he was just in the habit of keeping his bedroom habits to himself. While he had no problem sharing his past with Shawn and Hunter in that area, he was not going to open it to provide fantasy material for the rest of their co-workers, friends or not. At least not yet. Shawn and Hunter might be comfortable enough with Kevin, Scott, or others to share, but Dave didn't know any of them nearly well enough to offer up his own tidbits.

 _"C'mon... we're going to have drag him out."_

Shaking his head, he followed Shawn, who was leading Hunter, out into the hall and into the elevator. He knew well the amount of time Hunter spent gabbing into his cell, but at least he wasn't the gossiping type. That'd be just too much.

When Shawn leaned up against him, he comfortably draped his arm across his lover's shoulders, giving him a squeeze of commiseration. From the look Shawn was giving the small device attached to Hunter's ear, it was going to disappear before long in any case. Dave was not taking either side of that argument unless Hunter ended up bringing the thing to bed with them; he was most definitely drawing the line there.

The doors opened and Dave walked out, casting a look behind him every so often to make sure he hadn't lost the other two. He made it three steps into the restaurant before he realized that Hunter was no longer directly behind him, but stopped in the doorway.

 _"And you are in Arizona because?"_

Leave it to Hunter to announce their presence in that manner. Dave smiled and turned to grab Hunter's wrist hoping to move him into the room. He smothered a laugh as Shawn commandeered the phone and informed Megan that Hunter would call her back. The shock on Hunter's face was just... priceless. Oh to have a camera at the moment. That thought brought back Shawn's earlier tease about pictures and Dave struggled to fight off another blush. He had to stop doing that.

 _"Next time you get too caught up in that thing, I won't hide it, Hunt... I'll break it..."_

Laughing quietly at the look on Hunter's face both from the comment and Shawn's subtle grope of his person, Dave slid his hand from Hunter's wrist, up his arm, to rest against his lower back as Shawn brushed by them and headed across the room. Winking at Hunter, Dave steered him towards the group across the room, noting those present as he went. Shawn was sneaking up behind Scott, Kevin was close by, Sean and Glen were settling themselves at the table, and Benoit and Eddie were saying their hellos. Across the room sat Jay and Ty with Jericho, Austin... and Copeland was inspecting the luncheon bar with a rather odd expression on his face.

Austin...

Considering the last place they'd seen the man, it begged the question of what had happened between the bald man and Randy after the three of them had left him last night. Dave winced as he recalled his behavior with the other man last night. He'd been unsettled with everything that had happened, that was true enough, but it was not an excuse for being rude, which he most assuredly had been. From the behavior of Austin and Randy, Dave had been kind of expecting to see the two of them together, but Randy was nowhere to be seen. Latching onto the excuse that he'd been planning to call Randy to set up a time to go over their match anyway, Dave decided to make the call now before he forgot entirely. With Hunter and Shawn around to distract him, it was almost guaranteed that he would.

Knowing that he was going to get at the least a dirty look from Shawn, Dave slipped closer to him and whispered in his ear, "save me a seat, love. I need to call Randy before I turn off my phone for the rest of the week." Hoping the concession would mollify Shawn long enough for him to make the call, Dave gently squeezed Hunter's arm and made a break for the exit to the restaurant. He'd just set up things with Randy and make sure the guy was all right... no big deal. He'd be back in five minutes.

****

The lime Jell-O turned out to be singularly uninspiring. In fact, it looked a little slimy if truth be told. Settling on the Waldorff salad instead, he put some on his plate and then decided that he should actually eat something good for him. Adam was in the middle of considering the benefits of soup versus the entrees when he heard a voice that he recognized.

 _"And you are in Arizona because?"_

Turning slightly, he spotted the three men standing in the doorway and smiled. He hadn't given the three men a thought since seeing them in the gym yesterday. That was understandable considering the direction that his night had gone in, but now that he had a moment to consider it better... he wondered just how their evening had gone. Had to be smoking considering the men involved. Maybe he'd catch more with the video camera than Chris' streaking next week.

Letting his gaze wander over the rest of the room, he spotted more of their co-workers gathering at a table. Sean and Glen were sitting at the table and Sean seemed rather more subdued than normal. Benny and Eddie were at the table, he'd have to swing by and say hi to his tag team partner. Maybe he'd mention his discussion with Vince from last night. In fact, he could let Glen and Dave know that the matches he was scheduled for were still going ahead as planned. And since Kevin and Scott were here, he could get the scoop on their involvement in the tag match on Sunday. With Vince including the Outsiders, there had to be a twist.

Speaking of Kevin... he recalled his obsession with wanting to shave someone's head. Hadn't Chris and Kevin had a hair versus hair match just before Kevin left the Fed the last time? Hmmm...

Leaving his plate on the side of the luncheon bar, Adam walked up behind the tall man, his fingers itching. Unable to stop himself, he gently touched a few of the soft blond locks. When Kevin jumped, Adam let loose of the strands and graced the man with his most endearing smile, hoping that Kevin wouldn't kill him. Still he couldn't help himself...

"I'm so in the mood to shave someone bald. Hair vs. hair match, Kev? Eddie's impartial," he said with a smirk, "he can referee. What do ya say?"

He didn't get an immediate reply and when he caught sight of Shawn and Hunter, minus Dave at the moment, he got another idea. "Actually, we could make it a tag team match. Me and Benoit," he said using CJ's pronunciation, "against you and Hunter. Not that Benny has much hair to lose, but it'd still be interesting." Cause you know, he suddenly had a deep desire to see HHH without his golden locks. Wonder what Vince would think of that...

****

 _"I don't think Scott needs anyone to 'take care of' anything for him... unless he wants them to."_

Scott sent a quick smirk in his lover's direction when he answered Sean's taunt. Yet another reason to make their announcement to their friends... it'd keep Kev from killing Sean for trying to set him up with people. He took note that Kevin's eyes were now looking in the same direction Sean's had earlier, though Kevin's look provoked a certain innate response, where Sean's hadn't.

 _"Hey,_ ese _!"_

"Eddie... _Que pasa_?" Nodding in Benoit's direction, he greeted Eddie with a big smile, despite his mild discomfort. He was about to turn and answer Sean himself, when Eddie slapped him on the shoulder and Scott focused his attention back on him.

Just as Shawn snuck up and grabbed him from behind. Not that he knew it was Shawn in the first few seconds... he almost jumped out of his pants. And wouldn't that have raised a few brows? Belatedly recognizing the gentle touch, he smiled over his shoulder at the one person that knew him almost as well as Kevin did... almost.

 _"Did you get any sleep last night?"_

Grinning broadly, Scott tossed his arm over Shawn's shoulder in a hug. "Yep. I had a very big pillow and slept like a baby... besides, I know I got more than you did." Scott wiggled his brows at the blond and was just about to ask if Shawn had actually had any at all when he saw someone else approaching out of the corner of his eye.

Looked as if Copeland was mobile today, though he did look a little glassy eyed... and what in the heck was he doing? Scott tilted his head to the side, watching as Adam walked up behind Kevin and started playing with his hair. It was almost funny when Kevin jumped, realizing that it was not his lover that was doing the playing... until he heard what Adam had to say.

 _"I'm so in the mood to shave someone bald. Hair vs. hair match, Kev?"_

Not in this lifetime. Scott was stunned silent by the suggestion. Kev wasn't answering and Scott was trying to remind himself that Adam couldn't possibly understand Scotty's attachment to Kevin's hair. His eyes narrowed to a glare when Kevin still hadn't said anything, though Kevin looked as surprised as he felt.

 _"Actually, we could make it a tag team match. Me and Benoit against you and Hunter..."_

If they were discussing anyone else but Kevin being in the match, it sounded like a blast, especially if Hunter were to lose. He wondered how Steph would react to that before he got hold of himself.

Enough!

There was no chance in hell that Kevin was going to be shaved bald and if Kevin wouldn't object, then Scott would. He'd hate to have to use 'the pout' on his lover, but he would if it was necessary. Before he went that far though, he'd try reason...

"As nice a guy as you are Copeland, I have to ask... what kind of drugs are you on? If you even think of cutting one hair on his head, I'll give you a personal introduction to the Edge... and I'm _not_ talking about your alter-ego," he said with a slight scowl.

A little aggravated that Kevin hadn't objected yet himself when he knew how upset Scott had been the last time he'd lost his hair that way. He decided that Kevin deserved 'the pout' after all and promptly gave it to him

****

Hunter could name every person in the room, from CJ and Austin in the corner to Marchella and Diane sipping coffee over a production schedule not three feet away. They were his friends, co-workers and the occasional enemy. Every single one of them had eyes almost flooded with speculation as they looked over the threesome in the doorway. Shawn and Hunter plastered together from hip to shoulder, the concept of personal space always being alien to them, but adding big Dave Batista, half-hugging, half-dragging them and they were probably a hell of a sight. If he hadn’t lost the ability years ago, Hunt would almost have blushed as conclusions came to several faces along with smirks of understanding. Yeah…and Hunt wasn’t the only one with the word ‘threesome’ in the forefront of his mind right then.

 _He’ll call you back._

Hunter blinked as his phone was stolen from his fingers and placed firmly in Shawn’s pocket. Feeling a momentary flash of envy for the piece of technology, doomed to spend the day nuzzled next to his lover’s groin, Hunter looked a surprised question into Shawn’s impatient gaze. He’d been in the middle of a conversation and the little, little… _Shawn_ had just arbitrarily ended it, without so much as a by-your-leave. Okay maybe _conversation_ was too kind an expression for the ‘can you hear me now?’ pantomime he’d been going through with Meg, but it was the principle of the thing. He may be in a civil war with his voicemail because it hated him, but that phone was brand new and he had calls to make.

 _Next time you get too caught up in that thing, I won't hide it, Hunt... I'll break it. Now move. I'm starving._

Shooting a resigned look at Shawn’s pocket, Hunter was nodding sadly when those same phone-thieving hands became butt-groping, Hunter-pushing hands instead. HBK might have been several inches shorter and a lot of pounds lighter but when he shoved with intent, the shovee got no choice but to move. Ignoring the sweet tingle in his ass from that firm caress and catching himself from the push hastily, Hunter scrambled around for his normal cool composure. His surprise at being such a focus of attention had caused the resultant bottle-neck in the door and he didn’t resist as Dave inclined him in the direction of their friends. Shawn might be all impatient but his dark-eyed lover wasn’t helping matters, or Hunt’s composure, by winking and guiding him across the room with a proprietary hand on his lower back. Well, if their little domino impersonation in the doorway hadn’t given everyone a clue to the change in their relationship, his lover’s free hands on his body certainly would. Squelching a happy little voice that wanted to rejoice at the loving public touches, Hunter strolled slowly across the room towards the area his friends had commandeered.

Watching Shawn ahead of them, Hunter felt his lips twitch at the look of self-satisfied “I got laid last night and it’s gonna happen again, and again, and again” expression on that beautiful face. Not that Hunter wasn’t feeling ‘positive’ about his sex life at the minute, but did Shawn have to swagger quite so sexily? The thing was, of course, that Shawn was incapable of doing anything without looking sexy. Hell, the man could be clipping his toenails and Hunter would get an itch to jump his bones. The lip-twitch became a genuine smile as Shawn crept up behind Scotty and then threw his arms around the man in a sudden hug.

 _Did you get any sleep last night?_

Chuckling at Shawn’s brash question, Hunter nodded his acceptance of Dave’s indicative touch and settled into one of the vacant seats. He’d been inclined to sit near Sean, his radar going off at the mollified expression on his younger friend’s normally animated face, but Glen seemed unconcerned so Hunt took the space next to Big Sexy. It normally took something major to just get their Kid to be quiet for more than five minutes, Sean looked like someone had hidden his favorite pet and Hunter really, really wanted to fix it…whatever _it_ was. Even safely in the powerful social embrace of the Kliq, Hunter kept his ‘Game’ face on for the benefit of every one else in the room, enemy or not. He had too much pull these days, too many years of playing politics to act like the goof in such a public place.

 _Hey, guys! I wasn't expecting you to make it so quickly,_

With a dead straight face, Hunt looked up into Kevin’s amused gaze. “Why not?” he asked with huge, innocent eyes.

Mentally sending a ‘thank-you’ to Scotty for intervening yesterday and helping he and Kevin get over their tension, Hunter realized he’d left the coffee Dave had bought him in their room. Mourning the loss of all that precious black gold and the gesture Dave was unlikely to repeat, he examined the queue at the buffet table and planned his attack. If he took the opportunity to grab a cup while his lover was on the phone…and why Dave got to keep his phone when Hunter was robbed he didn’t know…then he could sneak in a second later with the bigger man none the wiser.

When Copeland came up behind them and proposed his Hair vs Hair match, fondling included, Hunter slid his chair closer to the empty ones he’d left for his lovers and hoped he’d stay out of impact radius. Kevin’s hair was a terrible vulnerability for the ‘in-control’ Big Sexy and Hunt doubted he’d appreciate someone getting more than personal with it in public.

 _against you and Hunter._

Why me? Despite his apparent vanity, Hunter wasn’t that horrified as the idea of having a haircut. Being bald might be a bit much, but long hair could be a real pain in the ass sometimes and he wouldn’t automatically say no. Kevin had had his infamous ‘cut’ for his movie role and Hunter had joined the chorus that had said ‘grow it back, grow it back’ as soon as the film wrapped, but Kevin looked gorgeous with long hair. Cutting it again would be a huge shame. Turning in his seat, Hunt rested an elbow in the table and looked up in surprise at the green-eyed man standing over them.

“Since when did you become a barber Adam?” he asked.

 _nice a guy as you are Copeland… what kind of drugs are you on?_

Scott had stolen the rest of Hunt’s sentence from his lips and by the look in Copeland’s slightly glassy green eyes he was pretty close to the truth. If the other blond’s injuries had resulted in some serious medication, then why was he wandering around the restaurant like an unsupervised child? Ahhh…well that answered that question.

 _“Babe? Somehow I doubt anyone feels like letting you cut their hair at the minute. Maybe later?”_

Jericho had his hand on the base of Copeland’s spine, fist bunched in the t-shirt as he tried to tug the taller man out of Kevin’s personal space. Both blond bombshells looked worse for wear after what had to have been a much less fun night than everyone else at the table had experienced. Hunter’s eyes rested for a moment on the cast encompassing CJ’s long fingers and made a metal note to deal with the ugly situation. Hunter hated that kind of shit going down in the locker-room and he was going to make sure anyone who gave thought to getting nasty back-stage would be well and truly spooked.

“Hey Brat.” CJ looked at Hunter from around Adam’s shoulder. “Please tell me you’re not on the same pills or I’m going to call security.” As soon as he got his phone back that is.

****

Balanced on a knife edge between the faint possibility of happiness and the surety of despair, Jeff kept his skin against the cool perfection of Mark's and waited for the wicked lips to pronounce his judgment. A big hand curved around his side, fingers holding his body steady as Jeff hoped the man's passion could balance his own. The slow touch of forehead against his own, caused a small hitch in Jeff's breathing that couldn't and wouldn't be concealed. Mark was giving him another chance... Mark was going to take the...

 _I hope you're right... because this is the biggest risk I've taken in years._

Jeff swallowed hard at receipt of that confidence, not doubting for a moment its blatant honesty, but feeling a dark churn of fear at its importance. He'd begged Mark to take a chance on Jeff being worth his heart and he'd got that, although part of him suspected that not all of the man lying naked before him was in agreement with the decision. He may not have meant it in that way, but Jeff couldn't help but hear a clear warning in the words, a reminder that it was Mark here taking a risk on Jeff and not the other way around. Considering Jeff's brainless behaviour from earlier, the younger man could hardly blame him but ' _Jesus, no pressure or anything_.'

Knowing that he'd brought it on himself, Jeff didn't say a word, instead letting Mark pull him closer for a sweet, warm kiss that strangely bought tears to his eyes. Quickly blinking them away, Jeff started telling his body to move, to make a decision one way or the other. He could fall back into Mark's lap and probably do something really stupid considering the bludgeoned nature of their hearts or he could sit back and suggest they get something to eat. Almost tipping over, Jeff nearly swayed against the solid, desirable form, a needy whimper rising unbidden from his throat.

 _I don't know what your plans are, Jeff, but... If you'd like to... stay with me, I'd like that. Very much._

If Mark's voice got anymore like roughened honey then climbing into Mark's lap would be the least he would do. But buried deep, Jeff did have a core of steel and he could stick to one of his many resolutions if he put his mind to it. Mark had confided in him that he liked romance, liked being wined and dined, treated like a prince. Well Jeff could do that, Jeff could prove, over and over if he had to, that Mark's risk wasn't that much of a risk at all. Because Jeff would be insane to let one like this get away from him. So...

Leaning up, Jeff pressed a soft kiss onto Mark's high cheekbone and then sat back, letting the space between them fill was something other than uneasy tension.

"Stay with you Mark? You'll be aching to get rid of me by the end of the week I promise." A naughty curl to his lips to indicate the joke in Jeff's words, but also the honesty of the warning. 'Handful' was the nice way of putting it, hell, even his _family_ didn't want to live with him. "But, I'll have to take a rain check for a night." Quickly moving to clarify his words as he spotted a hardening of warm jade, Jeff continued. "I haven't got anything else to wear but what's in that bag," a casual gesture at the floor. "Even _I_ can't work in a suit, so I'll have to go home and get some stuff. Matt'll kill me for not calling last night as it is, so...."

Slipping off the bed and snagging his bag, Jeff rummaged for the clean clothes he'd stashed in the hope of having a reason to stay in the state. Uncaring of his nudity, Jeff tossed the shirt and pants over his shoulder and moved a couple of steps towards the bathroom.

"If you want to come with me," don't sound like such a wuss Hardy, just ask him for god's sake! "..I'd like _that_ and then we could go... wherever you want. Um... I'm gonna steal the first shower and you can think about it."

He really wasn't running to the bathroom.

It was more like a brisk walk.


	76. Looks

Austin had the eyes of a maniac... or a surfer boy. Ultra pale blue that nearly shone a sudden silver in the sunlight from the window beside which they sat. Due to that bright, clean light, the black pupils had expanded until only a pearlescent ring of ice blue remained, almost lost in the red-streaked white around them. If Chris hadn't been who he was and didn't love like Steve like a brother, he would have fallen for those eyes many years ago. Because Austin was such a straightforward man, totally concerned with hunting down all the pleasure in life and experiencing it every second of every day, that Chris could never, ever, have been able to stand being in a relationship with him. In the eyes of the world Steve was shallow, a drunk, obsessed with his dick and pretty dumb to boot.

Sure... and stupid rednecks didn't have the eyes of an angel.

Chris' first salvo was related to the obvious damage he'd noticed earlier.

"Did I mention the nice cuts on your knuckles? Should I even ask who was on the other end? Because I know it wasn't Ran...."

"So, is Copeland any good?" Austin interrupted before CJ could finish his sentence and say the name that had shot a spear of pain into the crisp blue. "I noticed ya walkin' a bit gentle yesterday and reckoned he made his self known a time or two."

Ignoring that, Chris reached towards his plate, gaze still on Steve, and unerringly caught up a smooth, firm peach. It was cheating, it was evil, but it was Austin and Chris couldn't care less how he won as long as he did. The first bite was divine, but some juice dribbled down the corner of his lips, so CJ's tongue just had to lick it neatly back in. In the periphery of his vision, Chris saw Steve's jaw clench and his eyes narrow, blue almost lost to a sweep of pale lashes. Eating the fruit with almost pornographic intent, _thank you Babe for the idea_ , CJ left one large chunk still attached to the rippled knot of seed at the fruit's core. Holding the ripe flesh out as an offering with his other hand, Chris began the slow work of licking his fingers clean.

"Want some?"

Almost, _almost_ , Steve's eyes had gone to the fruit, but the bald man had caught himself at the last moment, unwilling or unable to surrender this fight... _any_ fight. CJ suspected it might have been genetic.

"Thanks Kitten. I'll pass." Sudden silence in the room caused both their ears to prick up and their eyes to become sharply focused as something went on in the room around them.

"Wow," Jay said to Ty in a terribly bad attempt at a whisper. "Hunter, Shawn and Dave? You think they're doing it? Man talk about a power struggle."

Now it was Chris' turn to almost give up, his attention piqued by the possibility at the door. He'd been far too occupied with attempting murder last night to really absorb the idea of Dave, Shawn and Hunter as a relationship, but he had the curiosity of cat when it came to the people he spent time with. He was only human and the need to look, to see what all the fuss was about almost had him. But he was made of sterner stuff than that. Lapse resolved as the noise level in the room rose back to normal, Chris smiled winningly at Austin then ate the last of his fruit.

He didn't even wonder till later how Austin could have possibly known, as the ice-blue eyes didn't once flicker away from his and the voices couldn't have been recognizable in the din of general conversation. But Steve did know and the huge nasty smile widening across his face was Chris' first and only clue.

"Think yer wandering puppy might be makin' some friends Kitten. You pro'bly should leash him in before it gets ugly."

Adam.

Chris looked over his shoulder at the buffet table to find that his lover wasn't there and the lime Jell-O still sat unmolested. The same couldn't be said for Kevin Nash however, who looked as shocked as CJ had ever seen a man, while Adam Copeland, a.k.a. Chris' boyfriend, ran his hands through the man's luxuriant locks.

The intervening moments between Chris standing up and wrapping his hand in Adam's shirt, were lost as CJ tried to guess what part of the game this was. Adam might be enjoying the uninhibited pass ticket his drugged state was granting him, but if he kept messing with people's heads, in the literal sense 'cos Adam had always liked to mess with them figuratively, then he might find someone didn't care if he was high or not. Looked like that man was Scott Hall.

 _you even think of cutting one hair on his head, I'll give you a personal introduction to the Edge... and I'm not talking about your alter-ego,_

The pout that Hall then directed at Kevin was a sight to behold. Such a big, dark scary man, intimidating even when amongst friends and he was _pouting_ in such a way that even CJ might have given in to him... and he didn't even know what the dark man wanted.

"Babe?" Adam was still grinning like the Cheshire Cat so CJ bought his worry scale down a couple of notches. "Somehow I doubt anyone feels like letting you cut their hair at the minute. Maybe later?"

Deciding to give his lover's excuses and play even more into the crazy man's reckless actions, Chris smoothly moved between Adam and Kevin, lifting the offending hands away by the wrists and wrapping the imprisoned arms around his own waist. Talk about public displays of affection, but it wasn't like half the locker room didn't know about them. A fight in the corridor at work is a great way to get news of your pairing across.

"Don't fret it Scotty, Adam and any sharp objects are remaining apart for the near future. He took a nice dose of painkillers earlier and the results are..." Chris, his back against Adam's hard chest, moved to recapture one wandering hand, "... _fun_ to say the least."

Now Chris just had to work out how to get Adam away from the Clique's table....and stop him from staring too hard at Shawn's golden mane.

****

Randy stood at the check in counter at the airport, idly flicking the edge of his ticket with one nail. The woman behind the counter was severe, efficient and thank god, not about to flirt with him. From behind the darkened lenses of his designer sunglasses, Randy looked out over the sea of bodies, all moving in one direction or another, to go somewhere, to go anywhere but where they were.

He was all set to go home, to get some perspective and some advice on what the hell he was supposed to do now. But... he didn't want to go. It felt wrong. Weird and wrong and stupid and hadn't he said as much to Terry on the phone earlier when the man had poured all that lovely, evil revenge into his ear? Yeah. Randy was going to go home, see his family, bask for a while in their unconditional affection.

Then he was going to come back and _Make. Some. Noise._

\----

Austin watched his Kitten weave through the intervening bodies and corral Copeland before the guy got more than a smile for his erratic actions. Sitting back smugly, Steve finished his ice-tea... yeah so what? ya got a question?... and chalked up another victory in his long-time war of wills with one Chris Jericho. Adam was going to be inadvertently giving him heaps of ammunition in the future and Steve would have to make sure that he thanked the blond for being able to distract the normally unfazable CJ with barely any effort at all.

Steve didn't admit that he thought it sweet, Chris hadn't even hesitated when he'd pointed out Adam's current situation. Not that Austin had actually know what was happening any more than Chris did, but he'd given the drugged-up blond seven minutes to get up someone else's nose and his timing had been dead on. Talk about a good guess.

Not that he'd tell Kitten that.

Turning his gaze back to the other people at his table, Steve tried to catch up to where Reso had gone with his convoluted conversation and met the knowing, amused look of one Tyson Tomko.

"Cheat."

Bristling, Steve prepared to defend the accusation from this newcomer, only to be smothered by warm hugs from Trish and Molly as they joined them for lunch. From the number of bags each possessed and the girls' electrified expressions, Uniondale had been hit by the shopping phenomenon known as the WWE Divas.

"Have fun?" he asked the gorgeous blonde, while Molly fell into a discussion with Reso about some new CD she'd bought.

"Too much." A wide, lovely smile that had graced the pages of more than one magazine and website was directed his way. "My feet hurt and it's not even midday." Trish leaned an arm under the table to pull off her shoes and granted the majority of the room a brilliant cleavage shot. "Where's Chris?"

"Off cuddling Copeland." Seeing her astonished expression, Austin's shit eating grin returned in full force. "Ya didn't know yet? Well, two nights ago...."

\----

Waiting in the boarding lounge, watching from one super-plush couch as three drunken business men tried to convince the attendant to give them more liquor, Randy pulled his phone from his pocket and did a double take at the number displayed on the small screen. Hunter had said he wasn't needed till later in the week so why the hell was Batista calling him? Only one way to find out.

Stripping all emotion from his voice, Randy cleared a throat still scratchy from anger and last night's crying jag, and flipped the phone open.

"This is Orton. What can I do for you Batista?"

****

Dave leaned against the wall outside the restaurant as he searched for the number he required in his list. Why he was making this call, he couldn't really say, but he felt deep inside that he needed to do it today... needed to do it now. Finding the number under Randy, rather than Orton, was a remnant from their failed friendship. They'd hung out together during their time at OVW and he'd honestly liked Randy then. His first match on WWE television had paired him with D-Von against Randy and Farooq. Dave had pinned Randy to win that match and afterwards they'd gone out to celebrate his debut in the squared circle. Shortly after when Randy was drafted to Raw and began his first run as a heel, Orton's attitude had changed... about everything. With increasing regularity, Randy had come up with excuses why they couldn't hang out together. Some of them had seemed valid, others were obviously not. Dave finally gave up asking.

Shaking off old thoughts, he dialed the number and waited for Randy to pick up or if things went as usual, to be patched through to voice mail so Randy could call him back later.

 _"This is Orton. What can I do for you Batista?"_

Well... surprise, surprise. The little brat had answered the phone after all. Dave reprimanded himself almost immediately, but old habits die hard. He was the one in the wrong last night, after all. No need to compound it with name calling even if it were just in his head. Besides... Randy sounded a little strange, his voice rough, almost scratchy. Hopefully the kid wasn't getting sick, he had a busy week coming up.

"Randy?"

 _"Yes. I'm in the business lounge at the airport. What do you need?"_

He was at the airport already? Maybe that explained why he wasn't with Steve, or maybe Dave was just making too many assumptions. Oh well. One thing at a time. Taking a deep breath, he tackled the main reason for his call.

"I owe you an apology for my attitude last night. I was feeling a little... off balance with everything that happened, but it's not an excuse for being rude to you. And I'm sorry about the locker room thing too. Next time we'll find somewhere else to hash things out."

There was a definite pause after his words. He'd obviously surprised Randy, shocked him into silence or something. Dave was beginning to wonder if he should repeat himself when he finally received an answer.

 _"...My feelings managed to survive your bad mood. No need to apologize to me, I could see what was up between you three was pretty intense, so I get it."_

Dave bit his tongue to keep from snapping at the other man. The snarky reply to his honest attempt to apologize wasn't really changing his opinion of the person Randy had become. Maybe he shouldn't have made the effort after all, but he'd had to for his own peace of mind. Reminding himself that Randy wasn't aware just how intense things were between he, Shawn, and Hunter, Dave decided to give Randy a little clue as to situation, just in case Randy really hadn't figured it out yet.

"Yeah it was intense, but we've ironed things out. If you find yourself locked out of the locker room again," Dave coughed quietly into his hand to keep from laughing, "it'll be for an altogether different reason. At least I hope so." Rather than give Randy an open shot at his brand new relationship, Dave hurried on with the other reason for his call. "I was thinking about Hunter's comment last night about getting together to work out the match for Monday. I'm not going home during our time off, so I was hoping you'd be okay with working things out before the pay per view? Chris and Adam won't be around all week anyway and we can grab Flair and Benoit then too, if that works for you?"

 _"That's fine with me... I have some... stuff... to work out. Could you let the others know?"_

Despite the 'who cares' attitude, Dave could tell that the 'stuff', whatever it was, was something important. Dave wondered if that 'stuff' had something to do with Steve Austin. If Randy was treating it as nothing, maybe he should just forget about it, but for some reason, Dave just couldn't let it go. Something inside him was pushing him to ask the question. Why did he care? They weren't friends, by Randy's choosing. Still...

"Randy, I know you'll probably just tell me to mind my own business, but..."

Dave paused while he considered the wisdom of extending another olive branch. He didn't like looking like a fool and yet he was going to try once again to open himself up to this man.

"Are things okay with you? The way things looked last night in the parking garage..."

Dave could hear rustling in the background, telling him Randy was in motion. Was the other man heading to the plane, or just finding some breathing room? Did it matter? And how the hell could he phrase his next question without sounding like a sap? As if Randy Orton couldn't take care of himself...

"I know you can handle yourself, but Austin seemed pretty... anxious to talk to you. Everything okay there?"

Austin had seemed more than anxious and the sexual tension had been off the charts. Dave was well aware of Austin's reputation, but if Randy was just another one night stand for the man, why had he sought Randy out? Steve hadn't seemed inclined to let the younger man get away without talking about something that was extremely important to the older man. He'd pushed the point... so what did that mean for Randy... and why the hell did he care again? But for some strange reason, he did.

 _"...Thanks for asking. I mean that... To tell you the truth, no... everything is not okay... I'm dealing with it... I told him it was a fucking joke and I was right, this morning made me see that. So...."_

A fucking joke? This morning? Did that mean that Randy and Steve _had_ spent last night together? And Randy saying everything was not okay... what did he mean by that? Even if Dave didn't know Steve well, he didn't think the other man would push Randy into anything that he didn't want... but if that wasn't the case, then what the heck did Randy mean? Randy was definitely hurt, whether he was willing to admit it or not. Dave's question was... was that hurt emotional or physical? Maybe Steve enjoyed a little rough with his tumble... Dave didn't know. Maybe Randy was just upset that Steve wasn't begging for one more night.

"Randy, I don't think that..."

He had been going to say that he didn't think Austin would have approached him if he saw it as a 'fucking joke', but Randy cut him off before he could finish.

 _"...thing with Austin is gonna be in the past... not a place I plan to live in. But again Dave... thanks for asking and don't sweat last night..."_

Obviously Randy wasn't interested in pursuing this conversation. He wished he could still get into Randy's head like he'd been able to when they'd been closer, but he couldn't. It was clear though that whatever had happened had had a huge effect on Randy. Despite the other man's claims, he didn't think the 'thing with Austin' was going to go away as quickly or quietly as Randy was hoping. Especially if it turned out that whatever had happened between the two had been an Austin hit and run tactic. Even if he and Randy technically weren't friends anymore, Dave didn't like hearing the odd tone in Randy's voice. Maybe he should have a talk with Steve, but first... he should find out what he was going to be growling about.

"Randy, if he did something..."

 _"Can we talk on Sunday? I've gotta go Man."_

Maybe Randy did have to go, maybe he had to board the plane, but Dave had a feeling that Randy was avoiding the topic for other reasons. He'd just have to find the information he wanted from a different source... a big bald redneck one. Randy had already ended the call, so Dave folded his cell phone and stuck it in his pocket.

Walking the few steps back to the doorway of the restaurant, Dave stopped at the entrance and scanned the room. The crowd around the Clique's table had grown, now including Adam and Chris. He wondered for a second how the two were doing after the scuffle yesterday. He'd ask later if he had the chance. For now...

Dave looked in the opposite corner at another set of tables. There sat Steve Austin, surrounded by Jay and Tyson, Molly, and Trish. He wanted to get this out of the way and spend the rest of the week concentrating on Hunter and Shawn. He didn't want to have sympathetic thoughts for Randy, of all people, hanging around in his head. A quick word with Austin and he could dismiss the issue from his head. Dave hesitated a moment, questioning the wisdom of getting involved.

Then he headed further into the restaurant, his mind made up.

****

 _"...besides, I know I got more than you did."_

Shawn shrugged unrepentantly, his smile growing just a touch smug. There would be no complaining about lack of sleep from him today... not given the reasons for it. Shifting around Scott to wrap an arm around his waist, he studied Scott from under his eyelashes for a minute, taking in the relaxation, the smile, and the subtle undertones between him and Kevin that Shawn hadn't seen for too long. Thank God. Kevin had just about fallen apart after their break up, no matter how hard he tried to make it look like he was fine, and Scotty had been a half-step behind. With the way they'd been acting during the Raw taping, he'd suspected they were back together, but this just confirmed it. He very probably knew the two of them better than anyone else save each other, and there was no hiding the signs that they were giving off.

Any further thoughts on his friends' newly-rediscovered happiness were cut off by a certain Animal whispering in his ear... and taking off before Shawn could turn to grab him, of course.

 _"save me a seat, love. I need to call Randy before I turn off my phone for the rest of the week."_

Sending a glare after Dave's retreating back, Shawn decided on a new rule whenever they were at his home. No cell phones. If it was a true emergency, anyone could reach them at the ranch's private number, but hell if he was going to sacrifice his personal time with his lovers to any Tom, Dick, or Harry that had their cell numbers. There was no way he could enforce that at Dave or Hunter's homes, unfortunately, but it was definitely going to be one of the top three at his.

Relaxing back into Scott's hug with a rueful sigh, Shawn allowed his exasperation to slip away. Dave was just being Dave: responsible... and concerned. He might've thought he was hiding it, but Shawn suspected there was some guilt there over the way they'd practically brushed Randy off last night. And looking across the room and spotting Austin sitting across from Tomko and Reso... Shawn couldn't help but feel a twinge of that same guilt. The way Steve and Randy had been looking at each other last night, Shawn wouldn't have taken any bets on seeing either of them until Bad Blood... but there was Steve, alone.

The shift in Scott's posture drew Shawn's attention and he turned to see what his friend was looking at. When he spotted Copeland with his fingers tangled in Kevin's hair, his eyebrows shot up. Very few people had the right---or the balls---to do _that_... of course, not many people knew _why_ Kevin didn't especially like his hair being played with. To the best of his knowledge, Adam didn't fall into the first category, but why...

 _"I'm so in the mood to shave someone bald. Hair vs. hair match, Kev?"_

Shawn blinked, wondering if he'd heard that correctly. If he had, Adam must have gone insane over the last night. That, or gotten into the good drugs... oh. Slanting another look up at Scott, he wasn't surprised to see the growing irritation on that familiar face. Scotty probably hadn't realised that Copeland was going to be on painkillers today, either.

 _"Me and Benoit against you and Hunter..."_

His own eyes narrowed at that one. Taking a good look into the glazed green eyes, Shawn saw a spark of amusement there that didn't quite fit in with the 'flying high' attitude, and his own annoyance flared. Adam might be enjoying himself, but there were limits... and his lover was definitely past them. Slipping out of Scott's embrace with a shrug, Shawn took the few steps across the space separating him from Hunter and slid an arm around Hunt's shoulders, not able to suppress the possessive instinct.

 _"If you even think of cutting one hair on his head, I'll give you a personal introduction to the Edge..."_

Part of him wanted to cheer, but he restrained himself, settling for pulling a chair up next to Hunter and sitting in it without moving his arm. Now this, he could get used to. He caught an amused expression on Eddie's face across the table, and winked at him before he realised he was going to. For some reason, the childish action made him laugh, and the aggravation left, allowing him to see the humour of the odd conversation. It was really too bad Dave had missed it, but then, he'd decided that his little phone call was more important...

 _“Please tell me you’re not on the same pills or I’m going to call security.”_

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Shawn couldn't help but ask as he leaned into Hunter's side. "I seem to recall that you're missing something important, if you want that to work."

****

 _"I'm so in the mood to shave someone bald. Hair vs. hair match, Kev?"_

What the _hell_... ? Too stunned to answer as he turned around and saw who it was talking, Kevin could only stare. The fact that a pleasant little shiver of sensation had gone down his spine at the feeling of fingers twisting in his hair hadn't bothered him... until he realised it wasn't Scott causing it. No one else had the right to do that... and only a few other people would dare to try. But _Copeland_?

 _"Me and Benoit against you and Hunter..."_

Shawn would probably have something to say about that, Kevin thought, but he'd been too caught up in his own reaction to notice his lover's. Apparently he'd been silent for too long.

 _"...what kind of drugs are you on? If you even think of cutting one hair on his head..."_

Not entirely able to stop the upward twitch of his lips at Scott's tone of voice, Kevin knew that he was in for it. He hadn't even glanced at Scott after Adam made his little proposal, and now that he was watching his lover's face, Kev could tell that Scotty was prepared to get incredibly worked up over this. No matter how drug-induced it might actually be, he added to himself after another quick glance into not-quite-focused green eyes.

 _"Don't fret it Scotty, Adam and any sharp objects are remaining apart for the near future."_

That sounded like an excellent plan... and hopefully CJ could keep his little psycho away from him, Hunter _and_ Shawn, if the direction Adam was looking in now was any indication. Now that Copeland was in safe hands... so to speak... Kevin took the chance and looked back at Scott.

Shit.

That was The Pout.

And here he'd been hoping that his own obvious surprise had been enough to save him... Kevin almost laughed, but managed to look contrite as he met his lover's sparking eyes. Laughing would only make it worse, and he knew it, no matter how ridiculous that look was on someone of Scotty's size and build. The fact that the damned thing _worked_ on him every time Scott used it didn't help, either. Moving quickly, Kevin closed the gap between them and pulled Scott into his arms.

"C'mon, Scott, stop that. You know as well as I do that I wouldn't have agreed to it... we talked about this." Keeping his voice low, Kevin tilted his head to look into his lover's eyes. "No hair versus hair match, no shaving, nothing. Besides... I like the way you play with it too much to ever cut it again." A fond smile and his own fingers twining briefly in Scott's hair helped convey the many levels of meaning in his words.

****

Wow.

Note for future reference... Nash's hair is definitely off limits. Although the reactions at the table had netted him a lot of insight despite his drugged state. You could tell so much from body language if you just paid attention to it... and everyone at the table was screaming with their reactions.

Hall was ready to kill him and Shawn wasn't far behind. Hunter had deftly moved out of flying body range. Kevin was speechless and not a little irritated. Adam had felt the shiver go through the man and had known before Kevin turned around that he'd accidentally crossed a huge invisible line. Oops... thus the reason for holding the smile, he was hoping it would save him from getting killed. Benny was looking at him like he'd lost his mind and probably rethinking his intervention with Vince earlier. Sean was trying not to laugh, but that could only be expected from a man that enjoyed provoking startling reactions himself. And Glen was looking at him trying to figure out the real purpose for his little foray into the group. Then again, Glen was used to having his hands full with someone that probably used the same tactics he'd just used.

 _"Since when did you become a barber Adam?"_

Thank god Vince wasn't around to hear that, he'd end up with a new gimmick before he could blink. Adam didn't intend on blinking just yet though... Scott was still glaring at him. So he just kept smiling.

 _"As nice a guy as you are Copeland, I have to ask... what kind of drugs are you on?"_

He almost opened his mouth to answer that question, but he could tell that Hall wasn't finished yet. And he didn't dare laugh even though he wanted too. The dark-haired man's actions confirmed the fact that Kevin and Scott were in fact back together. Scott wouldn't be so riled about Kevin's hair loss unless it affected him personally. He liked being right, but he hadn't meant to get Scott's back up either. Kevin's lips twitched and Adam almost laughed anyway. He bit his tongue to stop himself. Hall would probably kill him, injuries or no.

 _"...Even think of cutting one hair on his head, I'll give you a personal introduction to the Edge... and I'm not talking about your alter-ego."_

Yep, he would be dead on the spot. Though if he weren't hurt, he'd love to take 'the Edge' just for the experience... in the ring, of course. He wasn't crazy enough to want to take that move on say... the table right beside them. Adam was going to apologize right there and then, but what he saw next stunned him into silence. Scott Hall pouting. Good lord. He was struck with conflicting impulses.

One part of him wanted to fall down laughing because it was such an unexpected thing to see from Hall. The other part of him wanted to fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness because he'd caused that look in the first place. Luckily, Chris saved him from doing either one. He immediately recognized the touch of the hand fisting in his shirt. Uh oh. Chris was not going to be thrilled about this.

 _"Babe? Somehow I doubt anyone feels like letting you cut their hair at the minute. Maybe later?"_

Righhhht. Like Chris was going to let him near any sharp objects in the near future. He'd probably insist on cutting his food for him just to be safe. And then Chris was between him and Kevin, pulling Adam's arms around his waist.

"Don't fret it Scotty, Adam and any sharp objects are remaining apart for the near future..."

He should be worried about pacifying Scott, but it was hard to concentrate on anything else when Chris had just given him unlimited access for his tempted hands. Unable to stop himself, he let them wander just a bit, but was promptly corralled by Chris. Damn. Oh well... it'd lend him a bit of credence for his drugged state if he couldn't keep his wandering hands off Chris in public. Another big oops. He was certainly racking those up today.

Kevin had finally noticed the look on Scott's face. Since he was occupied trying to get that look off his face, Adam decided to hold on to his apology just a tiny bit longer. Interrupting that conversation probably would get him killed hands down. Though there was a bit of twinkle in Kevin's eyes, Scott was clearly still aggravated. While Kevin was occupied with that, Adam's eyes wandered over the table once again.

Oh... wonder what Michaels would look like without his pretty blond hair. Adam stared at him intently for a moment before giving a mental shake of his head. Nah. It was too pretty to cut and he wouldn't even want to see the reactions from Hunter and Dave. Speaking of Dave... where'd he go? Eh. He probably wouldn't be gone too long. Not with the body language the three had been exhibiting earlier.

Noticing that Kevin now had Scott pacified and smiling for the moment, he decided to give a shot at that apology and introduce a good reason for having ended up at the table in the first place. He'd have to think these things through a little more next time... when he was actually thinking and not tripping on psychodrugs. He did have a reason though now that he thought about it... though it wouldn't excuse his hair wandering hands.

"Scott? I'm sorry for trespassing, honest. It was a spur of the moment, break the ice kind of thing and I didn't mean to upset anyone. It's good to see that you two are back together though. I think most of us would thank our lucky stars to find the kind of relationship you two have." Adam smiled as he looked at the man he was holding in his arms for just a moment before directing his attention back to Scott and Kevin. "And I wanted to say congratulations on the match for Sunday. I hope Vince is smart enough to give you the win." Noticing that Scott wasn't nearly so upset anymore, he turned to take care of one other small thing before he could make a strategic retreat.

"Glen? Benny? I'll call you guys Saturday so we can set up a time on Sunday to do a run through for the match after my visit to the doctor. And on that note... I'm going to get out of here before someone else decides to add to the damage."

Moving his hands to Chris' shoulders, he steered his lover back in the direction of their table. Halfway across the distance he let out a huge sigh of relief that he hadn't gotten put through a table. That relief lasted until he saw the look Chris was giving him.

****

 _Hey Brat._

Looking towards Hunter, Chris acknowledged the greeting courteously.

"Hey Prick."

He and Hunter shared a unique and long standing relationship, likened to that of an over-achieving school boy with an irritating little brother. From the moment CJ had sat beside a bright-eyed young woman and rehearsed calling her a 'Complete Slut', much to her delight and adoration, he and Hunter had become something less than friends but something far more complicated than enemies. There was absolutely no common ground on which they could function, they'd looked. Once on a memorable international flight, Hunter and Chris had taken a poll and determined that they shared the same opinion in exactly one instance... Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were together, no question. Anakin didn't stand a chance.

It should have been war, or at the very least bloodshed. Fire and ice, country mouse, city mouse, Matrix versus Lord of the Rings. They would have liked to have hated each other guts... they just couldn't bring themselves to do it.

Seeing Michaels move to Hunter's side and the small frown crease the blond's forehead at Adam's suggestion of cutting Hunter's locks, Chris felt his lips twitch. If their body language was any indication, Hunter seemed to be well in hand these days... but then, he always had been. It just looked like someone had finally pointed it out to the big man, grinning at the thought, CJ hoped they'd done it with a sledgehammer.

Chris felt his jeans become a lot tighter in the front, as Adam's hand once again slid down from his waist and curved over his ass. The worn, comfortable fabric was pulled taught against his skin and a strong fission of desire settle deep in his groin. If he hadn't been trying to keep track of two hands with only a single functioning one of his own, Scott Hall's temper and Hunter's words, he'd have been quite proud of his recovery speed after this morning's marathon. But pride, sex and hair were all set aside as, grip once again firm on his lover's fingers, CJ turned to answer Hunter's question while Adam smoothed over his follicular faux par with the Outsiders.

 _Please tell me you’re not on the same pills or I’m going to call security._

"You need to call security when I'm drugged? Why Prick, I'm flattered you think so highly of my trouble-making skills."

Hunter was preparing to respond with a suitably amused rebuke, when he was distracted, and let's face it who wouldn't be? By Shawn Michaels leaning into his side and saying,

 _And how exactly do you plan to do that?... you're missing something important..._

Wow. There were many things impressive about Shawn Michaels, his talent, his charisma, his ability to break hearts without even noticing. But even CJ's hard-fought school-boy crush rose to a new level as he marveled at the Icon's ability to handle the difficult man known as Triple H. If Chris was reading Hunter's peeved expression correctly, Shawn had commandeered the man's phone! Christ. Anyone else tried that and they'd lose a _hand_.

Grinning at the affectionate by-play between the two lovers, CJ soaked up the yummy/warm/sexy feeling of Adam's body pressed against his and thought what half the locker-room must be feeling at seeing Hunter and Shawn as an obvious couple.

About fucking time!

Adam's hands were then on his shoulders as he was being steered, by an erratic captain to be sure, back towards their table. Tossing back over his shoulder at the Outsiders, CJ grinned, "As the only man ever permitted to go to town on _that_ hair, I'll confess I almost had to sign a pre-nup when we did our match. Just in case I got shaky fingers, right Nash?"

Halfway back to the table and Adam was sighing, whether in pain or relief at not loosing a few teeth, Chris didn't know but he and his beloved needed to have a talk... now!

"Babe," his hand on Adam's arm stopped them just short of the table, where Trish was trying to get Austin as happy about her pale pink suede boots as she was. "This is fun I agree, but if you're going to fondle anyone but me give me some warning okay?" A touch of remorse entered Adam's lovely green eyes, so CJ smoothed away the worried frown he knew he'd been sporting. "To have your back, I need to know where it is so I can kick someone in the shins if they make a swing at you."

Not that Hall had looked that angry, but all Adam had to do was cross someone with more of a mean streak and there would be another 'scuffle' to add to their relationship tally.

"Oh and if you sit in Austin's lap again..." Chris threatened while he leaned up to kiss Adam square on the nose, "...I'll have to pour cold water on the both of you."

Speaking of cold water....Chris caught sign of the scene taking place at their table and rolled his eyes. Since when was Jericho the responsible one in the room?

****

 _You need to call security when I'm drugged? Why Prick, I'm flattered you think so highly of my trouble-making skills._

Hunter didn't so much as think highly of the mania a tripping Chris Jericho could cause, was more like severely worried about the loss of limbs and all-around chaos that would fall into his lap to fix. When he'd first met the younger blond it had been dislike at first sight. He'd had no idea why as Hunt was hardly envious of the throngs of crew who fell at the cool blond's feet like adolescents at a Robby Williams concert. Stephanie had once suggested, at a creative meeting no less, that he and Chris were just too alike for words. Simultaneous glares of arrogant disbelief from he and CJ had done little to correct her opinion as the Billion Dollar Princess went into gales of laughter and had to ask for a glass of water. Over the years they'd developed an uneasy truce and were now on much firmer, if not politer ground.

Looking up as Copeland calmed the sparkling anger he'd seen in Scotty's eyes, Hunter rationalised that if the Brat's better half could get up to this much trouble on the painkillers for some cracked ribs, then he was totally justified in being afraid. At least Adam had common sense, he'd never noted that trait in Jericho. Although... given the way the taller blond was staring with momentary fixation at the mass of Shawn's silky hair, Hunter was beginning to have severe doubts in that direction too. There was no way in hell anyone was cutting his lover's hair any shorter than it already was. He'd adored Shawn's long hair for years, the way it curled at the ends and the cock-hardening visual of it pulled into a low pony-tail, emphasising that gorgeous muscled back as his lover bounced cockily around the ring. He'd bitched at his best friend for a fortnight when he'd cut most of the length off some time ago and was prepared to blackmail Shawn to keep it as it was. Now that he had unrestricted permission to stroke those locks whenever he wanted... they weren't going anywhere.

About to respond with that very opinion, Hunter completely lost his train of thought as the man of his dreams slinked into the seat next to him and literally draped himself across Hunt's side. The strong arm across his shoulder was a heavy brand of declaration while the sexy heat emanating from where their sides pressed together had Hunter wanting to fan himself, despite the air-conditioning almost directly overhead. It wasn't that unusual an embrace, they'd hugged and been all over each other in public far more than this. In fact, he'd stood almost naked beside the man in front of three million people, for them this was tame.

But now Hunter knew. He'd been unquestionably told in those magnificent words "I love you," that he, Shawn and Dave were more than simply friends, more than lovers. A potential brilliance that even still in its infancy, was becoming an intrinsic part of Hunt's life. He was still up-close and personal with Shawn at a dining table... but he was also hugging his Lover, the man he'd had fantastic sex with last night and it was so much better than he could ever have dreamed.

 _And how exactly do you plan to do that?... I seem to recall that you're missing something important, if you want that to work._

Then, of course, Shawn was also the little rat who'd stolen his phone. Noticing out of the corner of his eye that CJ and Adam had beat a hasty retreat, Hunter turned to smile dangerously into those gorgeous dusky-blue eyes. Leaning forward slightly so that his shoulders sat more comfortably under Shawn's arm, Hunter sent a caressing hand onto his lover's knee. Pressing his thumb into the outer seam of Shawn's pants, Hunter moved his hand until he reached the pocket not two inches from delicious, warm heaven.

"I could always ask to borrow someone's phone Darling. There are plenty of people in this room just dying to lend me their technology." Hunter's smug smile fell as his fingers found the opening to Shawn's pocket and discovered... nothing. Dammit! Ignoring what he suspected was victorious chuckling, Hunt gave the strong muscle under his hand a loving squeeze and moved to get up. "Fine," he most definitely did not huff at Shawn's expression. "I'm getting coffee and protein, you want some... Darling?"

****

Dave's voice came through the cellular connection, just as a business man across the lounge started getting a bit nasty with the waitress. Unmoving, Randy kept his gaze on them while he spoke.

 _"Randy?"_

Since it was Dave who'd called him, Randy wondered at the surprised tone in the man's voice. Sure, he normally avoided talking with the man if he could possibly help it, but Randy had answered and Dave shouldn't be that shocked. Looking at his watch Randy realised his flight would be boarding in a few minutes.

"Yes. I'm in the business lounge at the airport. What do you need?"

That came out a little more terse than he'd intended, but if Dave was going to start getting up his nose about something or other, then Randy would be getting a lot more than terse. He really, really didn't need that kind of conversation right now.

 _"I owe you an apology... not an excuse for being rude to you... we'll find somewhere else to hash things out."_

Randy could feel his eyes blinking in wonder at the words he'd just heard. Batista was apologising to him for having an attitude? Would wonders never cease? If, as Randy suspected, that the big man had finally got Hunter where he'd wanted him for so long, then maybe this more malleable Dave was the product of a night of fantastic fucking. Randy knew it did wonders for...

Ceasing that thought before it even began, he watched as one of the business men went a fascinating shade of puce in the face and started waving his finger under the waitress's nose. Randy knew she was probably dreaming of biting it off at the knuckle, he knew he would be.

Reconnecting the brain-cells that had loosened as he heard his non-friend apologise to him, Randy dragged in a semblance of his usual snark and replied.

"Ahhh sure." Because really, was he in the twilight zone or something? "Okay man, that's fine. My feelings managed to survive your bad mood." Are you trying to pick a fight Randall? "No need to apologize to me, I could see what was up between you three was pretty intense, so I get it."

A blind man would have seen the flames coming off all three men and that was just them walking across a car park. Randy ignored the almost wistful surge that rolled through him at the thought. Michaels he could take or leave without a backward glance, he barely knew the man, but anything that brought that kind of radiant smile to a person's face had to be good. Once upon a time, when Randy was still a fool, he'd actually liked Dave Batista and because of that long-lost affection, didn't begrudge him any happiness, especially with Hunter, a man still holding a very large chunk of Randy's soul. Hell, Randy'd been the kind of person to like everyone... once.

Batista's voice held that note of wonder and pride that came from the first wild steps of a new relationship. Well good for him.

 _"Yeah it was intense... I was hoping you'd be okay with working things out before the pay per view... if that works for you?"_

The PPV? Oh yeah, Randy would have some things to plan at that Pay Per View, but they were things that a man like Dave Batista would have no part in.

"That's fine with me," Randy agreed without any real caring. "I'll be there early on Sunday anyway. I have some... stuff... to work out. Could you let the others know? I'm going to my parents' place in about four minutes and hope to hear nothing about work till Saturday."

The last thing he was going to do was mention his plans to his family. That way led to nothing but grief.

 _"Randy, I know you'll probably just tell me to mind my own business, but..."_

Mind your own fucking business! Just stop being nice okay? I know it's just 'cos you got laid last night Big Guy, so have some sympathy for the rest of us. 'You could have got laid last night too. But you fucked that up royally didn't you Randall?' 'Shut up,' Randy mentally squashed his much-maligned conscience.

 _"Are things okay with you? The way things looked last night in the parking garage..."_

Randy was on his feet without even being aware that he was moving. Standing at the lounge window, carry bag forgotten as he looked down upon the throng milling around on the atrium floor beneath him, he could see a reflection of the waitress' red uniform in the mirror. Her shoulders were tense and she was inching closer and closer to the security phone on the wall.

 _Austin seemed pretty anxious to talk to you. Everything okay there?_

Randy honestly didn't know how to answer that question, because he really, really wasn't okay about anything right now. Not about Austin, or Hunter or Terry and certainly not about this out of the blue conversation with Dave. But the guy had asked, and the note of concern in his voice was sincere, so Randy paid him the respect of answering him without the attitude.

"Dave... listen... thanks for asking. I mean that. I can see what you're doing man and I appreciate it." Strange as it was, the worry evident in Dave's question melted a lot of the barrier he'd set up to deal with the bigger man. "To tell you the truth, no... everything is not okay, but I'm dealing with it. In my own way. Me and Steve, well I told him it was a fucking joke and I was right, this morning made me see that. So...."

How could he possibly put into words what had happened, what he had done and was planning to do on Monday? Randy's knuckles started to throb.

 _"Randy, I don't think that..."_

'Stop helping Dave. I'm fine.' He rushed to cut off any further conversation.

"...I'm going to spend some time with my Dad and then get back to work. This thing with Austin is gonna be in the past pretty soon and that's not a place I plan to live in. But again Dave... thanks for asking and don't sweat last night. I wasn't in a great mood either."

 _"Randy, if he did something..."_

'What? Like make me fall in love with him after one night?'

"Can we talk on Sunday? I've gotta go, Man." He couldn't... just couldn't deal with this over the phone. Not when his flight was boarding and the businessman had grabbed the waitress' wrist in an inexpert but painful grip.

Flipping the phone closed, Randy pocketed the device before demonstrating the correct grip on the businessman's other arm. Hand on the back of the lout's neck, he forced the man back onto his stool with very little effort and inclined his head towards the security phone. The waitress moved with a small burst of speed.

"You're just lucky my mother isn't here," Randy confided to the sputtering and whimpering drunk as two burly security guys, one almost as built as Randy, came into the lounge. "She would have ripped your balls off for cussing at a lady like that."

Releasing his grip at a nod from one uniformed guard, Randy caught up his bag and boarded his plane without a backwards glance.

****

Seeing the look in Kevin's eyes once he actually noticed the look that Scott was giving him, Scott knew that he'd gotten his point across. Even if everyone else in the room was questioning why Scott had reacted the way that he had, he knew that Kevin was well aware of the reason he was now sporting 'The Pout'. He wasn't sure if Kevin was going to laugh or cry that he was the one on the receiving end of it. Either way, whenever he had used it in the past, Kevin had always given in and this was not a topic Scott was willing to budge on. Despite what other people thought, it wasn't _just hair_ that would be lost if Kevin cut it again. Though he would still love Kevin like crazy even if he did cut it, Scott would mourn the loss of that little shiver that worked it's way down Kevin's spine whenever he touched it, that little flare in his eyes. Maybe that was a little bit on the obsessive side, but he didn't care... it was a reaction he'd had to live without for too long while they were separated and he wasn't about to give it up now, when they had just reconciled.

He didn't slack on the turn of his mouth even though he was now held securely in Kevin's arms. He wouldn't until he heard the words from Kevin's own mouth. Lord, Vince would have a canary if he heard about this. Oh well.

 _"C'mon, Scott, stop that. You know as well as I do that I wouldn't have agreed to it... we talked about this."_

They had... just yesterday. And he had been pretty sure that Kevin would say no, but he hadn't been absolutely positive. He'd never thought Kevin would cut it in the first place, but he had for a movie role. True, they weren't together at the time, but Scott wondered if he would have done it if they had been then. Maybe that was the real issue... they hadn't been back together for very long. Both of them had obviously changed during their time apart and despite the fact that they were back together now, Scott couldn't always predict the way Kevin would react. Before... before he would have known, and that bothered him to some extent. That he just wasn't one hundred percent sure about Kevin's reactions now.

 _"No hair versus hair match, no shaving... I like the way you play with it too much to ever cut it again."_

Thank god. Scott's answering smile was delayed as Kevin's fingers tangled in his hair. Oh geez. Not a canary... Vince was going to have a cow... a big cow. Thankfully the restaurant wasn't crowded with fans, because Scott honestly wouldn't have cared if it had been. The instinctive purr that slipped past his lips was unstoppable, even if Scott had wanted to stop it... which he didn't. Scott's head dropped forward to Kevin's chest and he knew Kevin could feel his other reaction quite well with their positioning.

They so should have stayed in their room earlier... he wasn't going to survive lunch in this condition.

Scott retaliated, unobtrusively nipping Kevin's chest lightly through the cotton shirt he was wearing. Then he forced himself to pull away... at least a half an inch. He looked up at Kevin, knowing his reaction was still lingering in his eyes, and managed that smile that he'd been trying for earlier.

 _"Scott? I'm sorry for trespassing, honest... I didn't mean to upset anyone."_

He didn't move from his position in Kevin's arms, but he did turn to look at the two blonds who were exhibiting as much PDA as they were currently. Thank god Vince was not in this restaurant. They'd all be getting their asses chewed and not in any kind of pleasant way. Nodding his acceptance of the apology, Scott knew without being told that it was a mistake that wouldn't be repeated. And since it had actually helped him sort out a few things in his head, he wasn't going to hold it against the guy.

 _"It's good to see that you two are back together though... thank our lucky stars to find the kind of relationship you two have."_

Scott startled slightly, barely withholding a laugh. Despite his forgiveness, he wasn't ready to encourage the guy to get up to more trouble, but he supposed it was obvious that he and Kevin were back together from this display. He felt a slight blush coming on at the words about their relationship. Even with all their troubles in the past, he'd known early on that he and Kevin were meant to be together. He'd lost that surety for awhile, but the fact that Kevin had given him yet another chance just confirmed it for him. That others had been pulling for them to get back together, even if Scott hadn't known about it, made him even surer.

 _.Congratulations on the match for Sunday. I hope Vince is smart enough to give you the win."_

Scott blinked as he absorbed this last bit. He was surprised Vince had spilled the beans already, but since they were taking Adam and Benoit's place in the match on Sunday, it made some sense. He obviously hadn't shared the outcome though and Scott wasn't going to right now either. The fact that they were taking that spot because of an unnecessary injury didn't sit all that well, but since Adam didn’t seem too upset that they were now involved with the match, it did mitigate the circumstances somewhat. Nodding another thanks just before the blond went off on another tangent, Scott let his thoughts linger for a moment on what had happened yesterday. He'd be checking with Hunt to see what he had planned to do about that. If need be, he'd bring it up with Vince himself, but for now...

Chris and Adam had gone on their merry way and he and Kevin could sit and enjoy the meal with all of their friends. Scott thought about making their little announcement, when he noticed that Dave wasn't with the group. Taking a quick look around the room, he spotted the big man talking to Austin, and things didn't look like they were going well. Lifting a brow, he shot a questioning look at Hunter and Shawn. He wasn't even sure they realized what Dave was up to, but figured they should be aware, just in case... Catching Shawn's eye, Scott tilted his head in the direction of the two men standing face to face glowering at each other. Lunch with their friends was never boring.


	77. Catalysts

If he hadn't been so determined to have a serious talk with Austin, the sight of Trish trying to convince the bald man of the merit of a pair of pink suede boots would have had him smiling. Considering what he wanted to talk about though, he just couldn't summon up a tiny hint of a smile. He stood behind the pair until Trish put the boots back into a bag with a sigh of resignation. That's okay... they weren't Austin's color anyway.

Moving to the man's side, he finally caught Austin's eye. When the man looked at him, Dave studied him for just a second as he thought of how best to handle the situation. Terse, but polite. Somehow he doubted that straight out threats would work, but if it came down to it, Dave was fully prepared to make a few.

"Can we talk?"

He'd phrased it politely, but with the underlying tension there was no doubt that it was a question that required a reply of yes. Ignoring the surprised reactions of the others at the table, Dave gestured to the side and waited for Austin to leave his seat before following behind the man. When they were away from the presence of eavesdropping ears, Dave faced Austin fixing the man with a slight glare, arms folded across his chest.

"When I first saw you with Randy last night, I thought it might be a good thing for him. I've since revised that opinion. I don't know what happened between the two of you, but the kid is a huge mess right now and it has everything to do with _you_. I would like to politely suggest that unless you can fix it, you leave him be."

 _"I'll say this once 'Animal' and only 'cos yer the punk's friend. I ain't the one that's done the messin' up..."_

Dave didn't reply, but he did raise a single brow. So Austin was denying any responsibility for what had happened? He hadn't necessarily expected Steve to take all of the blame, but there had to have been something that caused Randy to term the idea of him and Steve as a joke. Austin was sparing a glare for the rest of the room. Dave wondered if he was looking for Randy... too bad he wasn't going to find him here.

 _"As fer fixin' it? I would if I could 'Animal' but I can't, so quit yer huffin' and puffin'. This is me..."_

A quick gesture at the floor was, Dave guessed, supposed to signify the lack of Randy's presence in his vicinity. Huffing and puffing? Austin hadn't seen Dave's version yet, but he was going to.

 _"...lettin' it go."_

"That's all well and good Austin, when Randy's on his way home right now. Unless you planned to chase him all the way to his family's house? I'm more concerned with when you end up in the same building on Sunday. You'd be smart to keep that attitude."

Austin hadn't liked that reply at all... it was evident in the man's stance, but Dave didn't care and he wasn't quite finished with his warning either. He couldn't escape the feeling that there had to be more to this than what he knew. And he let the irritation at Austin's tossing around 'Animal' like it was a curse get the better of him... something he wouldn't have normally let phase him. Taking a step forward into the man's personal space, he raised a hand to dust off one of the shoulders of Austin's T-shirt.

"Randy wouldn't spill any details. All I know is the kid wants whatever happened with you to become history and fast. I will tell you one thing though... if I ever find out that you _hurt_ him beyond what a therapist is capable of fixing, I'll be back to talk to you. Then you'll find out why I earned that nickname you like tossing around so much."

****

Lunch was turning out to be an interesting spectacle and most of them hadn't even made it to the buffet yet. The trio showing up had confirmed that they were in fact a happy little threesome now. Thank god. Hunter and Shawn had been holding out on each other for years. Apparently it had taken a nudge or two from another interested party to get them both to admit their feelings for each other. He was still terribly curious how it had all come about, but he wasn't going to ask the trillion questions he'd been planning to introduce yesterday. He was still stinging a bit from his failed attempt at helping Mark and Jeff to see their true feelings. And despite the apology from Glen and having explained his purpose, Sean was determined not to give Glen something else to worry about... at least for awhile. He'd try to be on his best behavior.

He'd noticed the speculative looks from Kevin and Hunter both, but answered them both with a smile. He wasn't about to explain what had happened that had him acting this way. As long as he didn't go overboard with the subdued act, then they wouldn't ask, at least not right now. They had other things on their minds. Hunter and Shawn had each other to bask in as well as their third. Sean looked around but didn't see Dave. Where the heck had he gone? Despite his curiosity, he was not going to go look. He wasn't.

And Kevin and Scotty, they had each other to worry about. Sean still wasn't sure that they were back together, but maybe they'd let it be known what was going on with them at some point during lunch. He really hoped they'd managed to work things out. Kev and Scotty just belonged together, like marshmallow cream and hot fudge.

Breaking from his thoughts for a moment, he greeted Eddie and Benoit with a bit of enthusiasm. Had to keep up appearances after all.

When Sean turned back to the pair he'd been contemplating, he was in for one hell of a shock. Apparently Copeland was into hair molesting. Kevin looked shocked to his toes and Scott, well, Scott looked like he wanted to kill someone... that someone specifically being Adam. Sean hid a grin as he watched the spectacle play out. This was better than going to the movies. He'd be one of the first to jump in if it came to blows though. Scotty did not need to be called into Vince's office again so soon after his visit there due to Nitro. Luckily Kevin was able to smooth things over and an apology from Copeland finished the scene.

He could feel Glen's eyes on him and he knew Glen was wondering at his apparent calm during the whole scene. His lover was probably questioning his abject silence as well. Normally Sean would have been the first to open his mouth... most like with a comment about a hot foursome between Kev, Scotty, and the blonds. Sean was still absorbing that Kevin and Scott were most definitely back together. It was apparent in every way except for an announcement. Maybe they'd get one later.

Then just when it looked like things were starting to settle down, Dave reappeared. Only he hadn't headed to their table to rejoin Shawn and Hunter. Instead he had approached Austin with the look of a man on a mission. Sean didn't miss Scott clueing Shawn in on the situation, but apparently Hunter hadn't noticed yet since he was motioning to the buffet.

Sean just couldn't resist.

"Hey Hunt? You might want to hold off on that trip for coffee until you go cage your Animal. I think he's about to try and take a chunk out of Austin."

Dave had in fact just moved unquestionably into Austin's personal space and the look on Dave's face was anything but pleasant. Note to self... do not ever make that man mad at you.

\----

Glen wasn't sure how to interpret Sean's actions since they'd left their room. He was most definitely not his normal bouncy self. This thing with Mark must really be bothering him, despite his having brushed off the topic earlier.

Kevin had noticed Sean's behavior as well, though when Kevin asked about it, Glen hadn't tried to explain. He'd give Sean a bit of time to work this out on his own, then if he needed to Glen would talk to Kevin about it. The man just had a way of getting through to Sean that no one else did. And if that didn't work, then he'd go to Mark and try to smooth things over. Other than that, he was at a loss for Sean's subdued behavior. And to be honest, he missed Sean's bouncy optimistic nature.

Glen sat quietly through the ruckus with Adam, Scott, and Kevin, but that was his usual nature. Though he did wonder at Adam's true purpose... the man just wasn't terribly social by nature. There had to be a reason for his foray into the group. What was surprising was that Sean hadn't said anything. No quips about Adam getting Kevin all hot and bothered, no smart-alec comments about Scotty's possessiveness and what it meant for the Outsider's relationship. It was just so un-Sean-like that it made Glen a little wary.

Even the comment that Sean made to Hunter wasn't as provoking as what Sean normally would have come up with. He was starting to get a little bit worried... make that a lot worried.

****

The soft kiss to his cheek as Jeff leaned into him almost undid Mark, but the space that his lover---the word sent an odd little shiver of emotion through him---almost immediately put between them again kept his control intact. Notwithstanding the incredible emotional highs and lows they'd just been through, his body was insisting on reminding him that they hadn't _finished_ what they'd started earlier. And they weren't going to be, he knew... at least, not for a long while. Last night had been wonderful, but obviously too much too fast, given the fallout this morning.

Not least of which, Mark discovered, was the tension he was trying to suppress while he waited for Jeff's answer to his latest risk. His whirlwind seemed able to tempt him straight into one risk after another, regardless of what his mind had to say about it. His heart was ruling his decisions for the first time in a long time, and even as frightening as it was, Mark was beginning to realise that he was enjoying it.

 _"You'll be aching to get rid of me by the end of the week I promise."_

As much as Mark would love to debate that, the knowing smile on Jeff's lips told him better. This strange relationship that he'd found himself falling into was already pulling him in different directions, and Jeff had never been an easy person to get along with, even in passing. "High maintenance" might just be an understatement, but Jeff would probably be willing to do most of the work himself, the one aspect of his personality that redeemed the demandingly high-energy attitude. The thought of having Jeff at his home... being alone with the man, in privacy... that was enthralling. Enticing. Unbelievable, the voice in the back of his mind added with more than a hint of snark.

 _"But, I'll have to take a raincheck for a night."_

What?

But... they'd just talked... Mark kept the instinctive frown off his face, but he could feel his walls starting to return as all of his doubts, so easily pushed aside just moments ago by his impetuous heart, began to return in full force. They had to work together, so they had to spend time together, even if they didn't try to make this work, but they'd just decided to... hadn't they?

 _"...so I'll have to go home and get some stuff. Matt'll kill me for not calling last night as it is, so...."_

Oh. That made sense. And it was exactly the sort of thing that he should have thought of himself, dammit, he thought as he relaxed again. Usually he was much more with it than this, but this whole situation had him knocked for a loop. Even the fact that Jeff's brother would want to know how things had turned out was something that he hadn't thought of. Not that he had much family to speak of, let alone any that would be interested in his job, but he _knew_ Matt. At least his momentary panic hadn't been too obvious. The very fact that he _had_ panicked bespoke to him a need to do some serious thinking about things later, but this wasn't the time for that.

 _"If you want to come with me... I'd like_ that _and then we could go... wherever you want."_

Before he could even begin to formulate an answer, the bathroom door was closing behind Jeff's surprisingly curvaceous behind. Not, thought Mark with resigned amusement, that he should be looking at Jeff's ass. Not right now, when they wouldn't be able to do anything about it, anyway. Firmly ignoring his body's whines of need, he leaned back against the headboard, thinking.

As incredibly tempting as Jeff's offer was to that part of him that was demanding he not let the younger man out of his sight for... well, for the foreseeable future, it wasn't going to be practical for him to accompany Jeff home. He'd been away from his own house for nearly two months, with only the occasional overnight stay to break that length of time, and that wasn't nearly enough to take care of the things that needed to be done. Bills to pay, housekeeper (weekends only, thank you) to check on, that damned leaky sink in the downstairs bathroom to fix... and if he was going to have company, laundry and food shopping were at the top of his list of things to do.

Reluctantly, Mark decided that he'd have to fly home alone and hope that Jeff really did show up in the next day or two. As he contemplated spending time alone in his house, he was caught unprepared by the wave of loneliness that swept over him. He'd spent too much time alone for too long. Maybe Sean and Glen... no. Sean apparently thought that Mark hated him, something that he really had to try to fix, and if Jeff was going to be staying with him, he was too selfish to want other people around at the same time.

As he sat up again, listening to the shower in the other room and picturing Jeff underneath the falling water, the blinking light on the phone caught his eye. Almost thankful for something to distract him from his apparent obsession with images of naked wet Jeff, he picked up the receiver and played back the message.

 _"Hey, Mark, it's Kevin. Wasn't sure what your plans were today, but we thought you might like to join us for lunch downstairs. We're inviting a bunch of people, since it's been awhile since we've really seen any of you, so feel free to wander by. See you later!"_

Replacing the receiver thoughtfully, Mark looked up as the bathroom door opened, revealing Jeff with a towel wrapped low around his hips, drying his hair with another one. Maybe lunch wouldn't be such a bad idea. Getting other people used to the sight of them together would certainly help cut down on the comments backstage, and maybe give Mark some clue of how Jeff wanted to handle the locker room situation. But first, they needed to talk about their plans for the next few days.

"Hey... have a seat." Patting the bed next to him, Mark waited until Jeff was sitting, trying not to think about how beautiful he looked, wet blue-green hair falling into wide green eyes as Jeff looked at him curiously. "I thought about your invitation, and I appreciate it. I'd like to get to know your family better if we're going to try to make this work." Pausing, he saw the growing darkness in those emerald eyes and put a hand on Jeff's shoulder, the damp heat making him wish that they had more time this morning. "But I have to go home and take care of things there. I haven't had time to pay the bills, or check things over, or anything, really, for the last couple of months, and especially if you're going to be coming to stay with me, it'd probably be a good thing if you showed up to a house with working electricity and real food in the fridge."

Hopefully the touch of humour had conveyed his sincerity, because if Jeff decided not to show up on his doorstep, Mark wasn't entirely sure what he would do, but he knew that it wouldn't be good. Rushing on a little, he added, "If you're hungry, Kevin and Scott invited us down to join their group for lunch, too." Well, Kev had only invited _him_ , but he was pretty sure they wouldn't mind him bringing Jeff along. It was only lunch, after all... even if it was bound to provoke some raised eyebrows.

**** 

Dammit, CJ's grin had provoked one in return, no matter how hard Shawn tried to contain it. Apparently they were a little more obvious than he'd realised... of course, with Hunter obviously _groping_ him, the change in their status was probably hard to miss. The pressure from Hunt's hand as he slid it oh-so-teasingly up his thigh was heavenly... too bad they were in public and there was no way he could respond to that sort of teasing at the moment. However, teasing of a different nature he most certainly could deal with, and he moderated his grin into a smirk as he returned Hunter's wicked little smile.

 _"I could always ask to borrow someone's phone Darling. There are plenty of people in this room just dying to lend me their technology."_

"'Dying' is the key word there, my love," Shawn felt obligated to point out, his lips twitching at the look of aggravation on his lover's face when Hunter found his pocket empty. Good thing that he hadn't realised Shawn had dropped it into his _other_ pocket... but he wasn't about to point _that_ out. Not until later, anyway. Much later. Like, that night when he was removing said pants... or maybe even after they were in bed. That sounded like a plan. He couldn't help but chuckle at the expression on Hunt's face, but he did manage to refrain from sticking his tongue out at him as he stood up.

 _"Fine."_

Oooh... someone was all huffy now.

 _"I'm getting coffee and protein, you want some.... Darling?"_

Yep, definitely huffy. Apparently Hunter was even more attached to his phone than Shawn had realised. Of course, with Hunter's control issues, that shouldn't surprise him. He'd always known that Hunt and his cell phone were seldom parted... he'd just never realised how damned irritating that fact was until it had interfered with Hunter's attention toward him and Dave. No, he definitely wasn't giving the phone back now... not when its lack could provoke such wonderful reactions, anyway.

Leaning back in the chair, Shawn let his eyes travel lazily up along Hunter's arm before dropping down his body, finally returning to those enticing eyes. God, he was gorgeous... and Shawn had every right to look, to touch, to taste... A shudder ran through his body. Allowing his lips to curve upward into a sinfully inviting smile, he asked in a low drawl, "So am I in trouble now, Hunt? You going to spank me?"

As he rose to his feet, still smirking at Hunter's response, Scott caught his eye. Following his friend's gaze, Shawn turned to see Dave and Austin, and it didn't look like things were too friendly. Dammit, what _now_? At least this would be a good time to see just how comfortable Hunter was now with showing concern and/or affection to Dave.

****

That was nice, Kev thought with a smile as he felt Scott melt against him, the purr audible, and the other reaction... definitely noticeable. At least, it was with the position they were in. Probably it wouldn't be too noticeable to anyone else. Probably. Payback for The Pout could be a bitch.

The soft bite to his chest made him jump, and he narrowed his eyes at his lover as Scott pulled back... ever so slightly. His arms tightened around Scotty's body in an instinctive reaction before he relaxed again, his smile softening as his lover met his eyes, the sparks visible in the dark depths even with the smile now gracing those lips.

 _"It's good to see that you two are back together though... thank our lucky stars to find the kind of relationship you two have."_

Apparently they hadn't been very subtle at all... but then, they hadn't really been trying, and subtlety was never something they were good at. Kevin was pleasantly surprised by the words, especially coming from that source. Five minutes ago, he would've sworn that Copeland was the blindest idiot he'd ever seen. Guess not. If that was an example of his normal turn of phrase, no wonder Jericho had fallen for him. CJ was way too much like Hunter sometimes, but just like The Game, he could be a sucker for sweet talk.

Suppressing a laugh at the thought, he appreciated the sentiment that was being expressed. His and Scott's "togetherness" had been in severe doubt for so long that he'd begun to doubt it could ever be recaptured; the last week or so had almost been like a dream, complete with moments that he'd been afraid to blink, in case he woke up and lost the wonderful vision that he was in. Kevin shifted his grasp on Scott so that he could slide one hand up to the back of his neck, his thumb rubbing gently at the almost-always sore spot at the base of the neck.

 _"I hope Vince is smart enough to give you the win."_

That was a surprise, although nice. It even made Kevin feel a little better about gaining the titles due to Adam's being injured... not that the injury changed the outcome for Adam and Benny, but still. Sensing a sudden tenseness in the man in his arms, Kevin looked down at him in concern before following the direction of his gaze. Dear lord... now what?

 _"You might want to hold off on that trip for coffee until you go cage your Animal. I think he's about to try and take a chunk out of Austin."_

"Calm down, Scott," he said softly as he watched Shawn glance in the same direction before pushing Hunter toward the brewing situation. "Whatever's up, I think they've got it in hand."

He sure hoped, anyway.

****

Furiously scrubbing shampoo into his varicoloured hair, Jeff wondered if he'd just made another colossal mistake, but not the obvious one. He'd just blurted out the invitation to Mark to come with him and now that he had a moment to think about it, having Matt, their parents and Mark in the same building was the definition of trouble. Matt, who had the genetic inability to keep his opinions to himself, would probably shower Mark with all of Jeff's nasty skeletons, while his father would make obscene jokes about his sons' sex lives. No... it was a really, really bad idea. Not to mention the awkward concept of bringing a guy home to his family after less than ten hours of a not-really relationship. God! Jeff rubbed the soap across his chest furiously, what the hell had he been thinking?

It took nearly five minutes for Jeff to stop berating himself and finish in the bathroom. Wiping away the steam on the mirror, Jeff stared at his drowned rat reflection and worked on a plan. After his previous verbal mishap, Jeff wasn't about to take back his invitation, but maybe he could change the venue? Instead of staying at the Hardy house, they could use Matt's place not far from there, uninhabited since his brother's knee surgery. Their mother had begged and pleaded for Matt to come home while he recovered and the elder Hardy couldn't resist their mother's stunning, limpid green eyes any more than their father could.

So. Pulling a second towel from the neat pile by the sink, Jeff took a deep breath, opened the door and tried to look as casual as possible while drying his hair and ignoring Mark's still naked, sheet entwined body.

 _"Hey... have a seat."_

Mark's calm, friendly demeanour threw Jeff for a moment before he realised that Mark also had those ten minutes to settle his nerves after their emotional wrangling. Complying immediately with the request to sit, Jeff kept his eyes locked on the warm jade, now blessing him with the smallest of smiles.

 _"about your invitation... I'd like to get to know your family..."_

Jeff kept his expression completely neutral, as he saw Mark was going to continue. He was equally divided between bubbling joy at Mark's flattering enthusiasm and absolute terror at the effect his family would have on their budding romance. The warm hand Mark reached out to cup Jeff's shoulder with was comforting and if Jeff was reading the look in Mark's eyes, filled with understanding.

 _"But I have to go home and take care of things..."_ Oh thank god! _"...if you showed up to a house with working electricity and real food in the fridge."_

The flood of relief following hard on the heels of a hot shower, almost made Jeff's head spin. Mark wasn't just gorgeous, tall, able to empathize and a totally fantastic lover... he was damn smart too. Whether he'd sensed Jeff's nerves or just seen the practicalities of the situation way before Jeff did, it didn't matter. The dark man had given them both the time to get their heads together and think about what was occurring between them.

As long as Mark didn't change his mind about him, Jeff was cool with that.

The longer he could keep his lover and Matt apart the better.

 _"...Kevin and Scott invited us down to join their group for lunch, too."_

Jeff felt a smile growing as he considered the concept of a mass lunch with the Clique and all their sundry attachments. He'd seen the group together on occasion, when they'd all been working together, but had never been a part of what had often degenerated into a riot of teasing and misbehaviour.

Plucking Mark's hand from his shoulder, Jeff brought the palm to his lips to drop a soft kiss into it. They may have to put sex on hold until their brains were on the same page, but Jeff wasn't about to lose all physical contact with Mark. He was beginning to crave touching that pale skin like a drug and denying himself was not something Jeff wanted to do. A second quick kiss and Jeff rose to his feet.

"Sounds like a plan." Catching up his clothes from the end of the bed, Jeff watched Mark walk into the bathroom to take his turn at the hot water. "As long as you promise to keep Glen from glaring at me," he called to that broad, smooth back. "It's my fault they had that huge argument last night and I don't wanna be on that man's bad side."

Jeff didn't catch Mark's reply to his not-quite joking tone, as the water drowned any further conversation. In minutes they were both clean and dressed, okay people might raise a brow at Jeff's fashion sense but he really didn't give a fuck, and ready to beard the lions in the restaurant. It was almost full of WWE crew and talent as it looked like just about everyone had decided to sleep in and hang around for lunch till they all went their separate ways for the 'weekend.'

Catching sight of the group of tables currently occupied by the Clique, Jeff saw that there were indeed several empty chairs. Two of which were right beside Sean Waltman and his lover. Steeling himself for whatever comments would come his way, Jeff moved a little behind Mark's shoulder and whispered,

"Glen won't be _that_ pissed, will he?"

****

"I'm going to wear them for the party on Sunday, after work. They are so sexy with a tiny skirt." Trish stroked one pretty hand down her new pink boots and smiled up at Steve winningly.

As far as Steve was concerned Trish could wear anything and most men in the vicinity would think of sex, even the ones like himself who preferred a bit more muscle on their toys. But that was Trish Stratus, the thinking man's blond bimbo. She didn't just have sex appeal because of her tits and hair, although there was plenty of that to go around, no, the beautiful young woman had a personality like a magnet. One smile and people felt an inexorable pull... normally through their dicks.

Shaking his head, Steve looked over the proffered boots and shrugged his shoulders. He honestly didn't know what Trish wanted him to say.

"Trish, I got a dick," he complained. "I ain't got no frickin' idea if they'll look good on you. They're 'Come Fuck Me' boots Doll, and they're pink. What else can I say?"

Trish rolled her big hazel eyes at him and packed the boots away. Hoping against hope that she wasn't about to show him some panties and ask him if they looked nice, Steve was mercifully distracted by the large form of Dave Batista standing at his shoulder. Looking up, he could see that the big man wasn't in a very good mood, if the scowl and intense tone to his voice was any indication.

 _"Can we talk?"_

With a nod, Austin rose to his feet to follow Batista a few feet away from the boys and girls at the table, towards an area of relative quiet near the empty stage. He could feel the gazes of Trish and Tomko on them and let his usual scowl settle into place, but his eyes held questions. He'd barely bumped shoulders with the man as they hadn't worked together in the months since Batista's return from injury. Steve's own on-again ,off-again relationship with the Fed had meant he'd missed huge chunks of action while traveling around the country-side. Batista was a talented guy, Hunt's favour towards him indicated that, but personally Austin didn't know him from Adam. Why the bigger man would want to talk to Steve with a bug up his butt was anyone's guess.

 _"When I first saw you with Randy last night... politely suggest that unless you can fix it, you leave him be."_

Last night really must have shaken him, because Steve had originally thought the other man was gonna talk to him about Helmsley or Michaels or somethin'. But this? This was way out of left field and Austin was not going to put up with some big lug getting all intimidating with him... polite or no polite. Feeling some of the rage he'd tried to suppress since he'd turned away from beautiful chocolate eyes, return in full force, Austin looked up into the dark, angry eyes of Batista and locked his Ring Face firmly into place. Stepping forward and returning the look with an equal glare of his own, Steve just stopped himself from shaking his head like pit pull. Slowing his voice down into its 'please try and fuck with me' tone, Steve could almost hear the fans screaming "What?" as he spoke.

"I'll say this once 'Animal'.... and only 'cos yer the punk's friend... I ain't the one that's done the messin' up... I'm thinkin' someone else can get the credit for _that_." Austin shot a vicious glare around the room, looking for the bastards, and one day he'd find them, who'd fucked so much with Randy's head that the kid thought he and Steve would be some kind of joke.

Oh hell no. He hadn't got past  _that_ little line at all.

"As fer fixin' it?... I would if I could 'Animal'... but I can't... so quit yer huffin' and puffin'..." It was only the fact that Batista was obviously angry on Randy's behalf that Steve hadn't already given him the finger and kicked his body-buildin' ass. "This _is_ me..." A finger towards the ground to show that he was right here, having some food, with no plans to go scouring the countryside for the little bastard. "...lettin' it go."

 _"That's all well and good Austin... end up in the same building on Sunday. You'd be smart to keep that attitude."_

Austin felt he deserved a medal for not picking up the nearest chair and belting it over the big man's head. Firming his boots' position on the carpeted floor, Steve tensed his shoulder and prepared to go the way of the 'finger' after all.

 _"Randy wouldn't spill... the kid wants whatever happened with you to become history and fast."_

Dammit to all fuckin' hell! Steve ground his teeth together in fury as he felt his gut go hollow at the damning words. The Punk had made himself pretty damn clear last night and there wasn't anything wrong with his fuckin' hearin'. Austin really didn't need some big messenger boy droppin' by just to rub his face in it.

 _"...find out that you hurt him... I'll be back to talk to you...."_

Then Batista got right in his face.

Steve was beyond being pissed at this point. He was an injured rattlesnake and rather than being allowed to curl up in his lair and wait out the pain, he was being raked over the coals for doing god knows what and the shit of it was, he didn't even _do_ it. With incredible slowness, Austin looked down at the shoulder that Dave had just flicked an invisible thread off and then turned eyes gone feral with rage back towards his aggressor.

"I know he doesn't want me ASSHOLE. The little bastard made it perfectly fuckin' clear with his fist last night when I made the invitation. But ya just reminded me of why I'm pissed at the world right now 'Animal', so let's get to it."

The only chance to stop this occurred when Steve hesitated for just a moment, a fraction of an instant while he considered that Dave was acting out of protective affection towards the gorgeous young man who'd stolen Steve's heart and then stomped all over it. He found in that split-second that he could sympathise with Batista's motives.

Of course, Austin wasn't one to indulge sympathy.

His hand was fisted for a blow to the guts and a boot to the knee, gotta take out the height advantage, when his clenched fingers were caught in an almost equally strong grip and a tight arm across his shoulders pulled him against another larger body.

"Let go Hunt." Austin threatened through gritted teeth, without even looking at the man restraining him. "Yer new bed-mate's due to get his spleen handed to him."

****

As Hunter waited for Shawn's answer, he realised he was the subject of a slow, lazy blue-eyed perusal that contained enough heat to keep him warm for a year. Hunt knew he was a compelling man, he'd been told often enough that he was attractive to both women and men. Although he'd never been granted the 'pretty' description to which he was perennially grateful. But he'd never, in his career of running about almost naked in front of thousands of people, been checked out quite so thoroughly and sexily by a lover. It was an indication of the change in their relationship that the beautiful man seated next to him felt comfortable enough to look at him so explicitly in public. It was a look that screamed sex and Hunter felt himself harden slightly at the promise in those eyes.

 _"So am I in trouble now, Hunt? You going to spank me?"_

With a pronounced swallow, Hunter sent a stern message to his groin and leaned his body forward so that he could grip the arms of Shawn's chair while he went nose to nose with the blond. In that kind of contest, Hunter would always be the winner.

"You are in so much trouble, my darling thief, that spanking isn't quite going to cover it." Hunt refrained from actually kissing Shawn, even though he really, really wanted to, because if his father-in-law found out, it might push him into a coronary. Straightening back up, Hunter was ready to turn back to the buffet casually when Sean's words from across the table caught his attention.

 _"Hey Hunt? You might want to hold off on that trip for coffee until you go cage your Animal. I think he's about to try and take a chunk out of Austin."_

Hunter was ten long strides across the room before the smaller man had even finished his sentence. The situation was obvious at a glance. Two men, one bald, scowling and about to throw a punch, the other an intimidating giant of a man, dark eyes full of barely restrained temper. Hunter didn't even consider _why_ they were in each other's personal space, he just acted to help Dave... even if it was against Austin.

The Texan's clenched fist was the obvious weapon, so Hunter sent one hand to control its threat, while he wrapped his arm around Steve's shoulders and pulled the man bodily against him. He had the feeling he'd caught him just in time.

 _"Let go Hunt."_

"No way Steve, not until you calm down and back off."

But if anything, the figure he was holding so tightly became even more tense, knees bending and shoulders bunching in preparation of throwing Hunter off. Damn... and Steve was good enough to do it too. Hunter didn't even want to contemplate what would happen if Austin turned his rage towards him, he could defend himself, but he feared what Dave might do if he were under attack from the bald pit-bull.

 _"Yer new bed-mate's due to get his spleen handed to him."_

Hunter nearly let him go at that, nearly let the crazy psycho try one on his 'bed-mate' and have his ass handed to him with all the lethal power that Dave kept in his gorgeous body. But he knew what the outcome would be. No matter who was at fault, the shit would fall on Dave. Even if Steve admitted his part, and Hunt knew the man well enough that the Texan wouldn't hide from his responsibilities, there was no way in hell Vince would punish Stone Cold for this. His father-in-law was blind in more ways than one.

"Or you might be the one with your guts on the floor Steve," Hunter reminded the man tightly. "C'mon Steve... back off." He didn't used that tone of voice often, it was his 'I'm the top dog and you know' it voice and should have the power to end anything that wasn't done with Hunt's permission. The only problem was, he was talking to a previous top dog, a very dangerous man, who might just decide to motivate his ass and take the mantle back.

Two deep, angry breaths and Steve took a step backwards out of Hunter's grasp. It was a minor concession, but he wasn't about to squander its result. The Rattlesnake dismissed from his focus, Hunter turned and placed himself bodily between the Austin and his lover.

His very angry, very _strong_ lover.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Hunter asked, his voice now containing a soothing blend of curiosity and amusement. He went up on tip toes and tried to catch those dark, exotic eyes, to take their attention away from the crazy man behind him. It was almost as if Dave didn't even realise he was there, that frightening intensity still aimed at Austin.

 _"C'mon Baldy!"_ Dave invited over Hunt's shoulder.

Hunter felt _that_ might have just about been the worst possible thing to say to the aggravated Texan, but he wasn't willing to take bets. Fortunately Hunter had help, as in a flash of blond Jericho snared Austin and saved Hunter from becoming sandwiched between them... and not in a good way. Knowing he had to do his part or Dave might just taunt Steve into throwing off Chris and coming right back, Hunt put his hands on his lover's neck and physically pulled the dark eyes towards him.

"David."

Finally Austin was no longer forefront in his lover's mind and Hunt could see realisation dawn at the proximity he had taken to the bigger man. Relaxing, Hunter stroked his hands down Dave's neck to rest on his shoulders and couldn't resist his body's need to caress the delicious muscles rolling and bunching under his hands. It became suddenly and embarrassingly apparent that Hunter was more than 'interested' in the proceedings. What had started with Shawn's eyes was now well on its way to hard at the vibrating emotions coming off his dark lover and Hunt wondered at his own level of weirdness if seeing Dave get all growly with someone got him hot.

Firmly telling himself it was not the time for such thoughts, Hunter looked deep into Dave's eyes and smiled crookedly into the handsome face.

"Picking fights with Rattlesnakes David? Why on earth would you want to do that?"

He didn't stop the slow movement of his hands... or the stern lecture he was giving his dick.

****

By the nasty little gleam in Austin's eyes, he'd just pushed the man's buttons beyond what he was willing to take. Did he care at the moment? Nope. He wasn't sure why he was pushing this so hard. In most cases he would be considered non-confrontational. He'd much rather take a verbal tack than a physical one... so why was he goading Austin? Maybe he was due after the roller coaster ride his emotions had gone through for the past two days. Maybe he had been spoiling for a confrontation since the incident with Vince yesterday.

 _"I know he doesn't want me ASSHOLE."_

Despite the insult or maybe because of it, Dave smiled... just to piss the guy off even more. His smile didn't falter even when he was informed that Randy had hit Austin during their little talk last night. Internally he was thinking... what the fuck? Definitely not what he'd been expecting to hear. Maybe Steve had deserved it, then again, maybe not. Randy had always been one to act first and think later, but until he talked to Randy, he wouldn't know if Steve had provoked the punch or not.

 _"But ya just reminded me of why I'm pissed at the world right now 'Animal', so let's get to it."_

He'd been aching for it since the first words to Austin had passed his lips. Why not? Dave tensed in anticipation of Austin's first move. If Austin wanted to take a go, he wasn't going to back down.

The appearance of Hunter grabbing Steve's fist and wrapping an arm around the man didn't cause an immediate release of the tension. If anything, Dave tensed even further at the thought of Hunter getting involved in this. He decided at that moment that if Austin backed down, he'd walk away as well. He'd feel unbelievably guilty if Hunter got injured because of something that he'd most definitely started.

 _"Let go Hunt."_

Dave knew there was no way Hunter was going to let Austin go, but that didn't mean Austin wasn't going to get out of the hold. They were wrestlers, trained to get out of just such situations, and he had to admit that Austin was big enough to give Hunt trouble if he wanted to.

 _"No way Steve, not until you calm down and back off."_

Uh huh. Wishful thinking there Hunt. Dave could read the increasing tension in Austin's frame across the short distance separating them. He was ready for anything. For Austin's sake though, he'd better not even think about taking that rage out on Hunter. In that case, Dave wouldn't wait until later to go all feral on the bald bastard.

 _"Yer new bed-mate's due to get his spleen handed to him."_

He'd just changed his mind. All bets were now off. He might have to put up with Vince giving them his two-cents in regards to their new relationship, the man had a vested interest of sorts after all, he was protecting his daughter. But he did not have to put up with Austin reducing their brand new relationship to the status of Dave being Hunt's current sexual playtoy. The only thing he was waiting for was Hunt to get out of the way.

 _"Or you might be the one with your guts on the floor Steve. C'mon Steve... back off."_

If Hunter had asked, Dave would have guaranteed it. Dave was almost disappointed when it looked like Steve actually was going to back off. He wasn't about to take his eyes off the man however, especially not with Hunter now in-between the two of them. He was well aware of Hunter's presence in front of him, despite appearances.

 _"What the hell were you thinking?"_

He heard the question. Most likely he would have answered it too... except just at that moment he caught the look on Austin's face. The derisive look on Austin's face came through loud and clear. It was apparent that Steve thought Hunter could tug the leash of his new fucktoy and make him heel. Steve hadn't actually backed down, he was simply altering the field to non-verbal taunts.

Sorry, Hunt, I love ya, but I'm so not putting up with this shit.

"C'mon Baldy."

He was well prepared to push Hunt out of the way when Steve made his move. He wouldn't have issued the taunt if he hadn't been. In the end it wasn't necessary. Jericho snagged Austin and led him off in another direction, Dave's eyes locked on the man until someone else caught his attention. Strong warm hands cradled his neck and forced his eyes away from Austin.

Hunter.

 _"David."_

A very close touchy-feely Hunter. If they had been anywhere at all with any sort of privacy, he'd have had Hunt pressed against the wall, and been kissing the man breathless. Unfortunately, they were in a room full of people and if he had his guess, even without looking, they were the focus of quite a few pair of inquiring eyes. The hands sliding along his shoulders eased the tension rippling through him due to the almost-fight, but stirred up tension of another sort. The light glinting in Hunter's eyes didn't help his resolve at all. All that adrenaline and no way for him to expend it. He'd have given almost anything to be back in their room at that moment.

 _"Picking fights with Rattlesnakes David? Why on earth would you want to do that?"_

Then again, maybe not. How was he going to explain this? Dave groaned quietly, his eyes closing for just a moment. Hunt was going to want details... details that he didn't have. And how was he supposed to explain the way that he'd handled it? He could have, and should have, issued his warning and walked away. Shawn wasn't going to be thrilled with what he'd done either. He gave Hunter the simplest answer he could...

"Randy. It all started because of Randy," he said quietly.

****

 _"This is fun I agree, but if you're going to fondle anyone but me give me some warning okay?"_

That is what he'd done, although that hadn't been his intent when he headed over there. Honestly. Oh he'd been going to ask the question, no doubt about it. The hair molesting had been an impulse and he really couldn't explain it. So how was he supposed to give advance warning if he didn't know he was going to do it. In fact, he was kind of regretting the thought that had led him over there in the first place. It had been fun, granted, but he'd ticked off a few people that he hadn't wanted to get on the bad side of. Hopefully he had managed to smooth it over.

 _"To have your back, I need to know where it is so I can kick someone in the shins if they make a swing at you."_

That made him feel a little bit better, but he still owed Chris an apology. He wasn't purposefully groping people. The only one he _wanted_ to grope was Chris... at least with any kind of intent behind it. The last thing he wanted was for Chris to think that he actually meant anything by his displays. Although he had gleaned a pretty interesting tidbit about Nash's hair and another bit about Shawn's past and present relationships. Damn. Lucky guy. But...

He was pretty damn lucky too and he didn't want to mess that up.

 _"Oh and if you sit in Austin's lap again... I'll have to pour cold water on the both of you."_

 _As if_... that experience had been traumatic enough to his psyche the first time around, thank you very much. Next time he'd leave the cheering up to Chris. He was just about to inform his lover that that was not going to happen again, no way, no how, when Chris rolled his eyes. Okay... now what had he done? Except Chris seemed to be focused on something happening just behind him. Adam turned slightly and groaned. Oh great.

Austin and Batista, toe to toe, and neither one of them looked like they were enjoying it. As they edged closer, Adam was waiting for the fur to start flying and seriously considered pulling Chris in the other direction. The last thing either of them needed was to be involved in another fight in their conditions. But he knew that Chris wasn't going to go anywhere until he knew what was going to happen.

 _"Randy wouldn't spill any details... wants whatever happened with you to become history and fast... ever find out that you hurt him... Then you'll find out why I earned that nickname you like tossing around so much."_

Holy shit.

Batista sticking up for Orton? He hadn't thought Randy had any real friends, except maybe Maven. Too bad Randy hadn't shared the whole story with Dave or this might have been avoided. It was apparent by the look in Dave's eyes that he hadn't known Randy punched Steve, at least until Steve informed him of that little tidbit. He could see confusion in those dark eyes, but things had gone too far, too much had been said for either man to back down... maybe.

Hunter's appearance on the scene had him breathing a sigh of relief... for all of about a minute. Chris had been standing beside him, tensed to react if need be, but when Hunter showed up, he seemed a bit less on edge. That lasted all of a minute as well.

 _"Yer new bed-mate's due to get his spleen handed to him."_

Adam winced at that pronouncement. Dave was not going to take kindly to that. Adam knew it just from the interaction that he'd seen between the two men today. Bed-mate was hardly the word to describe what was happening with those two. Or with those two and Shawn for that matter. Austin had just treaded on very shaky ground.

Despite Austin's verbal faux pas, it looked like things might settle down after all. Austin had backed away but the look on his face was capable of inciting further reactions from a very angry Batista.

 _"C'mon Baldy!"_

For the love of...

Chris moved faster than even Adam had given him credit for, corralling Steve before the man could reach Dave with fists flying. Adam shook his head as Chris insistently led Austin away from the other two men. He should turn and walk away. Leave Hunter to settle Dave and mind his own business. He really should... but he suspected that things wouldn't have gotten so far out of hand if Dave had the real story behind what had happened with Steve and Randy. Chris had filled him in on 'the night' and he had it from Austin's own mouth what had happened last night.

He so shouldn't do this... Chris was going to kill him if he ended up getting punched for his efforts, but if it could keep Dave and Austin from going at each other on sight again...

"Dave?" Please, please don't let him hit me.

He had both Dave and Hunter's attention now... it was now or never.

"I know this isn't really any of my business, but I just... Steve would never _hurt_ Randy. Not the way you were thinking." Adam bit his lip as he considered what he was about to say. Steve was going to kill him if he ever found out about this. He caught sight of Shawn, now standing just behind Dave and forced himself to continue with his explanation despite the growing audience.

"He's got it pretty bad for the kid and Randy walking out while he was still asleep the other night hit him kind of hard. He went looking for him last night to find out why he left and to find out if there was any chance the two of them could... well, end up with more than just one night. He asked, Randy decked him, and he left. They haven't talked since." Adam took a half step back at the fierce growl preceding Batista's reply to what he'd had to say.

 _"God damn it. I'm going to end up owing apologies to the whole damn company at this rate."_

Dave didn't sound at all happy about that fact, but Adam felt better about having said what he had. Now he was going to get his butt out of Dodge while the getting was good. But first...

"I'm going to leave you three alone now, but before I go... I just wanted to say congratulations on the three of you..." becoming a threesome? Yeah, like he was going to say that. Nuh uh. "...figuring out that you're all crazy about each other. Good luck."

With that, he turned and beat a hasty retreat, running right into Benoit.

"Oh, hey. Benny... um... about earlier..." Adam figured any explanation he tried to make would just make things worse, so he gave up. "Forget that. How are you and Eddie enjoying being in the same place at the same time for a change." He took a glance back in the direction he'd just came from to see the totally hot threesome now talking quietly amongst themselves. When he turned back to give his full attention to Benoit's reply, he moved too quickly and was swamped with a feeling of dizziness. "Fucking codeine," he groaned quietly as he sank into the nearest chair. Great, just great. If Benny didn't lecture him, Chris sure as hell would if he found out about this.


	78. Apologies

_"As long as you promise to keep Glen from glaring at me.... It's my fault they had that huge argument last night and I don't wanna be on that man's bad side."_

Shaking his head as he started the water, Mark called back, "Don't worry about it... I don't think Glen _has_ a bad side... unless you threaten Sean, anyway." Not entirely sure if Jeff had heard him or not, he found himself smiling a little. Glen might be big and scary looking, but the man was one of the _nicest_ people Mark had ever known. Not that Glen would admit that, of course, but it was right there for anyone who watched him for more than five minutes. Of all people for Jeff to worry about, Glen was right down at the bottom of the list. Sean, now... Mark's smile faded into a frown as he moved quickly through his shower. He'd have to figure out how to make that right. Knowing that Sean thought he didn't like him, even hated him, made Mark feel more than a little ashamed of his short temper when it came to the man. Sean was his best friend's lover, and more than that, he was a good person... even if it was well-disguised underneath the hyperactive meddling that he normally indulged in.

And although Mark still wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know exactly what Sean and Glen had been arguing about last night, the fact that Sean's words had broken through the precarious wall holding him and Jeff apart was something that he should be glad of, not angry about. They still had things to discuss, certainly; but that would have to wait now until they had time together again. Hopefully sometime tomorrow night... if all went well. Mark was far too experienced with the realities of life to really expect that possibility to be fulfilled, but he could always hope.

Finishing his morning ablutions, with a stern mental chastisement to his still-frustrated body, Mark dried quickly before heading back into the bedroom to dress. Black slacks and a dark button-up shirt were as formal as he cared to get... and the cowboy boots pretty much killed off any formality that might have been present. Jeff, now... more of that Goth stuff that he liked so much, and nothing Mark would ever have thought of wearing, but he couldn't stop himself from appreciating how very good it looked on his younger lover.

The resulting shiver of emotion at his thoughts made him pause. He definitely needed some time to think about this, because there was more going on than the simple beginnings of a relationship. What he was feeling was more than that... but whatever it was that he was feeling, he wasn't about to try to deal with it now. As much as he didn't want to be apart from Jeff, the separation would probably do them both worlds of good as they wrapped their heads around the changes that had taken place in the last twelve or so hours.

Shortening his stride slightly as they headed down the hallway, Mark's fingers practically itched with the need to reach out and _touch_. After fighting the impulse for the first twenty feet, he gave in and allowed himself to let his hand linger against the middle of Jeff's back, the warmth from the man's skin rising through the thin cloth and soothing something inside him. Letting Jeff lead the way as they exited the elevator and walked into the restaurant, Mark took note of the curious eyes flicking over them but didn't react, well-used to being the center of attention. Being such because of the company he kept wasn't new, although it had been quite a while, but he wasn't about to let it bother him and spook Jeff because of his own reactions.

Catching sight of Shawn standing in the middle of the room looking less than pleased as he spoke in low tones with Hunter and Dave, gesticulating as the two bigger men stood much too close to each other, Hunter's hand lingering intimately at Dave's neck, Mark smiled. Something must have happened before they arrived to put that half-angry expression on his friend's face, but he had to enjoy the sight, regardless. His Heartbreaker was prone to over-reactions and emotional outbursts that were forgotten as quickly as they occurred, but the simple fact that he was mere inches away from his new lovers told Mark that everything Dave and Shawn had said and Hunter had implied last night was if anything an understatement. Shawn seemed to have overcome the problems that had kept him lonely for so long... hopefully Mark was on his way to doing the same thing.

Jeff's uncharacteristic pause and shift to stand behind him pulled him out of his thoughts, although the whisper in his ear almost made him laugh.

 _"Glen won't be_ that _pissed, will he?"_

That answered his earlier question; Jeff obviously hadn't heard him over the shower. Turning to face the younger man, Mark made a decision almost instantaneously with his action. Damned if he was going to hide the fact that they _were_ together, but he wasn't going to flaunt it, either, now with it this new and fragile. His reputation might be restrained, but he wasn't going to restrain gestures of affection toward the somewhat fragile young man in front of him.

"He won't be upset at all, Jeff," he said softly, settling his arm along the thin shoulders and using that leverage to turn both of them back toward the table. The smile on Glen's face as he saw them only proved his point, and he answered it with a short wave while speaking in an undertone as they moved slowly toward the open seats. "Don't worry; he's a big teddy bear." The humour in his voice at the nickname that Glen despised seemed to help reassure Jeff, but Mark's own slight smile faded as Sean saw them and immediately stood up with a quiet comment to Glen before heading for the buffet. Dammit. He _definitely_ had to talk to that man.

Settling Jeff in the seat next to Glen, Mark leaned forward towards Glen, gesturing slightly with his free hand. "Sean okay? He looks... upset."

A shrug and a noncommittal, "Sean's just... being Sean" was his only answer, and Mark's eyes narrowed slightly, the evasion making him worry a little.

"Look, Glen... if it's about last night... I'm not upset with him. In fact, I'd really like to talk to him. About... well..." Words failed him momentarily at the surprise in his friend's face. "Look, Glen, _you_ know that I don't hate him, don't you?"

****

Well, this was just wonderful. Shawn stood watching the byplay between Dave and Steve and Hunter and CJ, knowing better than to get in the middle of something like that unless he had no other choice. Of all people to interfere, Glen would have better luck than he would, by benefit of sheer body weight. Not, Shawn thought grumpily, that he should even have to be considering things like that the day after they'd gotten together.

This had better not set a pattern. Fights in the morning always made the rest of the day... difficult.

Seeing that they'd at least gotten the would-be combatants separated if not calmed down, Shawn walked over to his lovers in the middle of the room with quick strides, knowing that he was practically bouncing with annoyance, feeling the weight of yet more eyes on them, and just not _caring_.

And dammit, there was the psycho drugged-out blond again. _Now_ what did Adam want? Why had CJ left him behind, anyway... oh. Right. Because he couldn't handle a pissed-off Steve _and_ his stoned boyfriend at the same time. Jericho had certainly made the right choice, and as Shawn came to a stop directly behind his lovers, it seemed as though Adam had finally given up on his little "I'm so high" game and come down to earth. As much as he ever did, anyway.

 _"He's got it pretty bad for the kid... He asked, Randy decked him, and he left. They haven't talked since."_

Ouch. Damn. He and Steve had never been the best of friends, but they'd had some unexpectedly close moments over the years---in between the on-again off-again yes-I-really- _do_ -want-to-punch-you moments, anyway. But that little scenario just sucked, and Shawn could feel sympathy for the Bionic Redneck welling up inside him. Resolutely, he pushed it away. Austin had CJ, probably his best friend, watching over him, and anything he might do or say right now would be unwelcome at best. That didn't mean that he wasn't going to try to have a word with Randall backstage at Bad Blood, but that was something to worry about later.

Right now... he had two lovers who were practically groping each other right in front of him and looking incredibly gorgeous and kissable and... and dammit, he was _irritated_ with them. Even if the sight of them almost nose-to-nose and pawing at each other in public _did_ make him want to tear their clothes off and do incredibly obscene things with them in the middle of the room. Hunter was obviously thinking along similar lines, but showing remarkable restraint. Of course, the "middle of the room" part was probably why.

It wouldn't have stopped Shawn.

 _"I just wanted to say congratulations on the three of you... figuring out that you're all crazy about each other. Good luck."_

That surprised a laugh out of him, but even as Adam walked away, he was looking through narrowed blue eyes at the two big men in front of him. Two big, _gorgeous_ men... both of whom he wanted to smack at the moment.

"So what the hell was all that about?" His voice was low, although his exasperation was clear as he gestured vaguely at the area around them. "I hope there's a good reason as to why you nearly started a fist-fight with Austin, of all people, in the middle of a restaurant---and wouldn't Vince have loved _that_ , by the way--- _and_ why you two are practically fucking each other with your eyes right now."

By the time he'd finished, fond admiration for the sight in front of him had taken the place of his initial irritation, but any lust he might have felt was almost immediately replaced by guilt as he saw the look in Dave's eyes at his words.

"God damn it... I will _never_ be able to think, _then_ talk, will I?" Hating the expression that he'd put on his lover's face, he reached up, caressing the dusky cheek as his own eyes reflected his immediate guilt. "I'm sorry, Dave. I didn't mean..."

****

Chris counted down from ten as he watched Austin's scowl become more pronounced and the fingers at the Texan's sides clench into fists. Ten. Whatever Batista was saying had to be something pretty off the rails to get the back of Steve's neck to turn quite that shade of red. CJ'd only achieved that colour once in all their years of snark and banter, the Animal must be a master. Nine. Given that Austin had been in a much better mood since Adam's teasing, Chris made the shrewd guess that Dave Batista was saying something about last night. And he wasn't being nice about it.

Eight. His guess was proved correct when the echoes of the intense conversation reached their ears, raised voices tend to carry across twenty foot restaurants. The body language just screamed that there were two alpha dogs about to go to town on each other and Chris could see that Austin had slipped into his pugnacious "fuck with me if you dare" mode that normally only appeared in the squared circle.

 _All I know is the kid wants whatever happened with you to become history and fast._

Seven. CJ's hand was still tangled in Adam's t-shirt, so he slowly relaxed his tense fingers and moved to slip them underneath the crisp cotton, gaze still on the disaster unfolding before them. The skin of his lover's lower back was warm to touch, almost too warm and Chris made an absent mental note to watch Adam's temperature over the next few days. Because he'd really hate to play nurse again. Sure... right. Six.

Batista reached out and flicked a piece of lint off of Steve's shoulder.

Oh crap. Five.

 _I know he doesn't want me ASSHOLE._

Chris made an abortive step towards the two men, although he really, really doubted he'd have a chance to separate them if they actually did come to blows and he would fillet Adam if his lover so much as even considered getting involved. Four. Thank god there was more firepower in this room than most army barracks, if there was a fight, CJ knew that most of the guys would lend a hand. Scanning the room quickly, Chris spotted the fire-extinguisher by the door and calculated his chances of getting there and back before all hell broke loose.

Three. Naturally, the first man on the scene was Hunter and he'd effectively stalled Steve's movements in his tracks. Another intense conversation took place, causing CJ to wince at Austin's badly chosen words. Now Hunter was also scowling and Batista looked ready to tear the bald man limb from limb. Two. Fortunately whatever Hunter said made Steve take a small step backwards, letting Hunter between them to try and calm Batista down. It would have worked too... if Dave hadn't tried to get the last word in.

 _"C'mon Baldy!"_

One.

Chris was moving before the words had even registered on Steve's face, because Hunter or no Hunter, Austin would have taken a shot right there and then, consequences be damned. Literally throwing his arm around Steve's middle, CJ bodily pulled his friend away from the other two and with a great deal of pushing and shoving got the bald man out past some French doors and onto an enclosed patio. The scattered ash trays gave a clue to the area's function... although Chris bet it had never heard quite so much filthy swearing. Steve was getting really creative, maligning Batista's father, dog and cousin Jed in one long convoluted sentence that had Chris blinking at the result. He seriously doubted Dave even had a cousin called Jed.

Eventually silence fell across the patio.

"I don't think he realised the situation." Chris offered quietly, now that Steve was able to comprehend more than his rage.

A long sigh and the other man turned from where he'd demolished a fake potted rosebush with his boot.

"Yeah." Another sigh and Steve sat down abruptly on a low brick wall, face in hands, shoulders slumped in defeat. "He was thinkin' I musta beat the kid up or raped 'im or somethin.'"

Chris felt his own lips thin in a brief flare of anger at the man still back in the restaurant. It might have been an understandable concern, given Steve's often violent personality, but it was way, _way_ off base. No-one who knew Steve would think he was capable of something so revolting and just the accusation would be devastating to his friend's ravaged emotional state.

"He's just lookin' out fer the kid, can't blame 'im fer that." Steve shrugged again as Chris settled down next to him, wounded hand held comfortably in his lap. Deliberately bumping shoulders, he kept up the nudging until Steve looked up in irritation.

"Awww Steve-o that's so sweet." Chris grinned wickedly. "You mean you'd beat up Adam for me if he bweaks my poor widdle heart?"

He couldn't help but gaze in bemused wonder as Steve replied intently, "Oh hell yeah."

****

 _"Randy. It all started because of Randy,"_

The subdued nature of Dave's voice pulled Hunter from his completely inappropriate thoughts about sex behind the buffet table and back to the moment. Leaving one hand still on Dave's shoulder, to comfort as much as restrain from any further movement towards Austin, Hunter was about to ask for an explanation when Shawn and Copeland joined them. He'd subconsciously sensed his other lover's closeness during the tense little scene, but had been far too focused on Dave to risk even looking in Shawn's direction. Now that CJ had removed the Texan from the picture, he could clear the air and find out what exactly Dave meant.

Randy? As far as Hunter knew, the last he'd seen of Randy he'd been all ready to run home from the arena when Austin had dragged him off for a conver.... ahhhh. Looking appraisingly at Dave, Hunter wondered if he maybe shouldn't have got between the men after all. If Randy was in trouble and Steve the man responsible, then he'd hold Batista's coat while his lover kicked the Texan's ass.

 _"Dave?"_

Looking at Copeland, Hunter could see the green eyes where almost completely clear of their former glassy haze and the tall blond was no longer staring at people's hair with far more focus than was strictly healthy. Thank god.

 _"...isn't really any of my business, but I just... Steve would never hurt Randy."_

Hunter was inclined to agree, but if Copeland was so sure, why would Dave have got in the Rattlesnake's face in the first place?

 _"He's got it pretty bad for the kid... and he left. They haven't talked since."_

Hunter revised his mental position to holding Dave's coat while the big man kicked Randy's ass instead. Of all the stupid, idiotic... Hunter found he didn't even have the words to describe Randy's behaviour. He _knew_ the young man was better than that and was having a hard time believing he'd stomped all over Steve Austin's heart just because he could. There had to be more to it than that... because Hunter would hate to find he'd made such a grave error in judgment.

 _"God damn it. I'm going to end up owing apologies to the whole damn company at this rate."_

Hunter nodded in sympathy. He'd been in the same bind a few times when he'd let his overprotective managing side interfere with other people's business. Hell, just look at his estrangement from Kevin, one of his closest friends. They'd both let things fester when it could have all been settled by one of them being man enough to apologise and forgive. Hunter knew Dave was certainly man enough to suck it up and admit when he was wrong... he just wished his lover didn't have to do it in the first place.

 _"I just wanted to say congratulations..."_

Stunned, Hunter followed Copeland's retreating back and wondered at the man's perceptiveness as well as his well-wishes. Why did it seem like everyone in the Fed knew about their affection for each other before they did? _Because they have eyes Hunter?_ Vince's voice once more offered its commentary on his love life. Oh brilliant.

Speaking of which, Hunter realised he was still stroking Dave's shoulder like he was a mink coat and told his hand to return to his side. Being very happy where it was, his hand ignored him. Dave was just so damned gorgeous, a slight colour on the high cheekbones, exotic eyes that were spitting fire now awash with remorse. The buffet table was going to be in serious danger soon if Hunter didn't keep his hand to himself.

 _"So what the hell was all that about?"_

Hunt opened his mouth to explain and didn't make a sound because really... he still didn't actually know. Looking his own question at Dave, he wasn't ready for Shawn to start barreling into the man with both guns blazing. He could see that his lover was just as riled by the situation as he was, if not more impatient with the fact that they were clothed in front of other people. Wow. He'd always known Shawn in a foul mood could give him a hard-on almost immediately, he just hadn't guessed he'd be affected by both of them _at the same time_.

 _"...and why you two are practically fucking each other with your eyes right now."_

Hunter smiled widely as Shawn's particularly apt description of the high voltage current flowing from his groin to Dave and back again. Hunter turned his smile into a resigned grin and raised both hands, yes, he had finally removed it from Dave's sexy, sexy shoulder, in innocence.

"Hey Darling, don't look at me. I'm just the referee here."

But Shawn was too caught up in smoothing away the frown of guilt from their lover's eyes. Hunter lowered his hands and moved away to give them a little room.

He'd be the one starting the next fight, if he didn't get a coffee _right now_.

****

 _"Don't worry; he's a big teddy bear."_

Jeff was more grateful than he could say at the solid weight of Mark's arm across his shoulders, the big hand cupping his upper arm and steering them easily towards the empty seats at the 'Clique and Friends' table. Of course, comforting as the arm might be, he was entertaining serious doubts about Mark's sanity if he felt that 'teddy bear' was an apt description for the giant man called Glen Jacobs. Of course big scary guys who worked for eight years in a mask normally didn't grant him a slow, sweet smile and wave him over. Maybe Mark was right. After all, the Undertaker was the most intimidating figure in WWE history in Jeff's opinion and yet the man liked candle-lit dinners and had very sensitive fingers.

Mentally throwing all his pre-conceived notions of Glen out the window, Jeff settled into his seat and poured a glass of juice from the chilling jugs on the table, while Mark asked after Sean. Sean who had run to the buffet with a frighteningly subdued gait at their arrival and was now selecting a small plate of sugarless food that caused a number of eyebrows to raise in wonder.

 _Look, Glen, you know that I don't hate him, don't you?_

Seeing the perplexed look on the other man's face, Jeff felt he should jump in to explain. Besides, they'd need to clear the air and Jeff had too many secrets already.

"I'm sorry Glen, but we heard you last night," at the look in the big man's eyes, Jeff rushed on to clarify. "The fight! I mean the fight, the walls were like paper and we heard most of it. I'm sorry."

Hoping he hadn't already said way too much, Jeff left the rest of the explanation to Mark and turned back to his juice. From the corner of his eyes he noticed that Scott Hall was looking at him with a glint of understanding in his gaze as he shifted it blatantly back and forth between he and Mark. Oh hell, that's right. So Raze had been spot on with his suspicions last night at the arena and was probably feeling like cupid if Jeff knew anything of the man at all.

Playing the game, Jeff kept eye contact, took a small sip of his drink and let his eyes travel salaciously over Mark's still standing form. He'd been blessed by having the man naked sprawled underneath him, but he'd been so caught up in the sense of taste and the texture of Mark's skin that he hadn't really _looked_. Up until last night all his glances at Mark had been covert, unwilling to risk seeing disgust or anger in the man's eyes if Jeff was caught peeping. Now he didn't have to worry so much as he was allowed to look. Touching again would come later. From the long, long, legs, up the black clad torso to his lover's handsome, refined face, Jeff feasted one of his senses and looked his fill.

Turning back to Raze's knowing expression... Jeff stuck out his tongue.

****

Picking at his food, Benoit knew that Eddie was watching him with some concern, but he just couldn't bring himself to talk to his lover yet. Whatever his problem was, it wasn't _Eddie_... it was him. For all of his resolutions, all of his efforts, he just couldn't seem to be comfortable with Eddie touching him in public, even in a purely friendly manner. Not, he reflected with a slight smile, that Eddie ever really could keep it purely friendly. Probably it was his upbringing, his childhood, some weird repressed thing... but whatever it was, it had to go. And soon, because if he kept causing that worried look that Eddie was currently wearing, he'd go crazy.

Spearing a piece of chicken with unusual viciousness, the sound of raised voices caught his attention and he looked across the restaurant, to spot Batista and Austin just about ready to tear each other apart. What the hell... ? Last time he'd looked, Batista had been beside Hunter and Shawn, and Adam was demonstrating why Benoit had clearly made a mistake in convincing Vince to let him wrestle...

Putting the fork down, he watched with some relief as Hunter and CJ separated the two... leaving Adam alone to talk to Batista. And Hunter... and Shawn, he noted with some amusement as he watched the apparently awkward conversation. Something must've happened with Austin to tick Batista off, but whatever it was, it seemed to have involved a lot of people. And... Chris frowned as he took another look at Adam.

"Damn. Eddie, I'm going to go check on Adam. Looks like his initial high's wearing off, and CJ just took Austin outside." His voice was short, but he saw his concern mirrored in warm brown eyes and some of the tension he'd been feeling over his own actions melted away at that look. Fighting his body's reluctance, Chris leaned in toward Eddie, his hand lingering briefly on the surprised face. "I love you," he said softly, awkwardly, feeling both exposed and a little embarrassed because of all the people around them... but the surprised happiness reflected in Eddie's eyes made it worthwhile. A last touch to Eddie's shoulder and Benoit was up, heading for the tall blond in the center of the room who was looking increasingly off-balance.

 _"Oh, hey. Benny... um... about earlier..."_

Rolling his eyes, Chris ignored the comment for the moment; Adam was hardly the first person he'd known to take advantage of the fact that he was on prescription drugs to act even goofier than normal, although most people had the sense not to rile up the Clique when they did. Trust Adam to ignore that basic fact of common sense.

 _"How are you and Eddie enjoying being in the same place at the same time for a change."_

"A damned lot," he answered shortly, not meaning to sound abrupt but still fighting with his confused emotions. Adam was a friend, but given the fact that Benoit was still having problems, after all these years, expressing affection to his lover publicly meant that discussing that same relationship with other people in public areas---like, say, restaurants---wasn't something he was particularly fond of, either. Catching the sudden waver in Adam's stance as he turned his head, Chris moved quickly to slide a chair next to him. Shaking his head as the tall blond sank down into it with a groan, he cast a glance toward the side door that CJ had gone through with Austin, only to catch a glimpse of the two of them talking outside. No help there, and whatever the problem was, he wasn't about to go interrupt them to tell CJ his airhead lover wasn't taking care of himself... after a narrowly-averted explosion between Austin and Batista, they didn't need to see one from CJ.

"Just dizzy?" he asked gruffly. The slight nod he received reassured him slightly, and he cocked his head at Adam. "Too much playing around and not enough taking care of yourself. I'm surprised CJ even let you down here this morning. Between your normal attitude and the drugs, it's a wonder that you didn't get yourself knocked out by half the Clique already." Although he probably didn't show it, he wasn't about to leave Adam alone while he was feeling like this... but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to let Copeland know just what he thought of his antics. "Keep this up, and there's no way you'll be getting anywhere near a ring Sunday... no matter how good your acting skills are."

****

Glen was watching the action across the room waiting to see if he was going to have to go restrain one of the two hot-headed men before things got too out of hand. Of course he wouldn't make it before someone threw the first punch, but maybe that would be enough to get some of it out of their systems. He would make it before they destroyed more than a table or two though.

He eased as Hunter finally managed to get Steve to back off, then winced as Dave tossed another taunt over Hunter's shoulder. What was it with this group and all the drama in the last few days? Must be something in the water. Glen shook his head as Jericho made the save and hauled Austin outside with him.

Spotting Mark and Jeff in the doorway, Mark apparently coaxing Jeff into the room, Glen smiled. Well... he hadn't expected them to show up and most definitely not together, but damned if he wasn't happy to see them both. He returned Mark's wave and apparently tipped Sean off to the fact that they were there. With a quiet "going to get food" Sean stood up and walked, not bounced... walked, to the buffet. Glen sighed quietly and shook his head. They really had to do something about this, but now just wasn't the time for discussing the situation. Not at a table full of Sean's closest friends... or it would be a table full if the trio ever made it back to the table.

 _"Sean okay? He looks... upset."_

Okay... Mark seemed to want to talk about this now, however he was still reluctant to tell Mark that Sean thought he hated him. Mark would get... upset.

"Sean's just... being Sean."

That was the best he could do on such short notice. Mark wasn't buying it though.

 _"...If it's about last night... I'm not upset with him. In fact, I'd really like to talk to him... Glen, you know that I don't hate him, don't you?"_

Surprise didn't begin to describe what he was feeling at the moment. Why would Mark phrase it in just those words? He hadn't...

 _"I'm sorry Glen, but we heard you last night..."_

Oh hell. He hadn't realized that they were _that_ loud... and if they heard that part, what _else_ had they heard? Glen could feel his face burning already as he thought about the noise they'd made later on that night... him especially. Geez.

 _"The fight! I mean the fight, the walls were like paper and we heard most of it. I'm sorry."_

He still wasn't sure that they hadn't heard anything else, and hearing the fight was bad enough to be honest. Especially with Sean locking himself in the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, Glen decided on apologies first, answers after.

"No, it's okay. I'm sorry... that we were so loud. You really weren't supposed to hear any of that and... listen Mark, I know that you probably don't hate him, but I'm well aware that he does get on your nerves a lot. Most of the time it's not on purpose, but as you obviously heard..." Glen played with the glass sitting in front of him for a moment while he considered how to phrase his next words before looking back at the two men. "What he did last night _was_ on purpose and he was trying to help."

Flashing a quick look at Sean, who was taking an exceedingly long time for the amount of food he'd put on his plate so far, he wondered if he'd have to go drag the man back to the table. "Whether I think it or not isn't the point. Sean does and no one is going to convince him of that but you, my friend."

\-----

Sean was avidly watching the action across the room, hoping that Hunter actually managed to break up the fight. He watched as Jericho finally took control of Austin and lead him outside, then watched the interactions among the three men, Shawn having joined Hunter and Dave. Damn. He wouldn't be surprised if they ended up in the middle of the buffet with the looks Hunter and Dave were tossing around. And he'd be right there to watch the whole thing Sean thought shrugging mentally. He'd be the first to admit that he was curious about who would end up on top, so there was no chance he'd look away. He'd can the ribald comments that normally would have accompanied such a scene though. He was trying to turn over a new leaf... at least for now anyway. It was kind of tiring having everyone mad at him _all_ the time. He was naturally curious, but he just couldn't help it. Still, he was going to try.

He caught sight of Glen's hand lifting and turned to see who his lover was greeting. Oh great. Speaking of people that were mad at him. As soon as he figured out that Mark and Jeff were heading in their direction, he slipped out of his seat.

"Going to get food." And he was so out of there. Maybe he'd get lucky for a change and Mark and Jeff would sit by themselves. They certainly looked cozy. He'd _known_... just known that he was right. That didn't mean that Mark still wouldn't want to kill him for interfering. And he'd rather not give the man the chance.

Adding a piece of chicken to his small pile of mashed potatoes and a piece of wheat bread, he looked over the desserts before grabbing an apple instead. He didn’t really want the apple, he'd have much rather had the chocolate cake, but if he ate the cake he'd be bouncing all over the place in short order. And since it appeared that Jeff was now sitting at their end of the table, he wasn't going to bounce once with Mark sitting there. Maybe he'd forget he was there?

Wishful thinking there, Sean.

Knowing that he'd stalled all that he was going to be able to, Sean walked back to the table at a sedate pace, nibbling on his lip as he went. Nothing for it... if he went and sat somewhere else, Glen would come and get him, even if he had to drag him there. Besides, it was time to face the music.

With a small smile on his face, he set his plate in front of his seat and said a quiet hello to the new additions before sitting down and immediately focusing on his plate. He so wanted to say I told you so... he really did, but he refused to so much as look at the two on the chance that he'd have Mark scowling at him all over again.

****

 _"I'm sorry Glen, but we heard you last night... The fight! I mean the fight, the walls were like paper and we heard most of it. I'm sorry."_

Biting back the laugh that wanted to escape by turning it into a cough, Mark tried to hide the smirk that crept over his face at the deep flush on his best friend's face. Apparently they'd missed hearing something a little more interesting than that fight... of course, they'd been pretty busy making their own noise, so presumably both parties had missed the other one's... activities... the night before. Eavesdropping on his friends having sex wasn't a thrill for Mark, so he couldn't bring himself to be anything but amused at Glen's immediate, obvious assumption of Jeff's meaning. Knowing that their fight had been overheard couldn't be too comforting, but at least that was _all_ they'd heard.

 _I know that you probably don't hate him, but I'm well aware that he does get on your nerves a lot."_

Dammit. Even Glen, although probably unconsciously, had qualified that statement. How much of an asshole had he _been_ to Sean, anyway? He could remember snapping at the guy when he couldn't stop bouncing around the house or the locker room, growling when he'd tried to play with his hair, glaring at some of the little jokes he'd made about his personal life... Damn. A much bigger asshole than he'd realised.

 _"What he did last night was on purpose and he was trying to help."_

And that really didn't make Mark feel any better. If Sean had deliberately pushed his buttons just to get him to react to Jeff, that did put a different light on things. He'd never _like_ Sean's methods, but at least he could understand them. Even though he hadn't actually said anything to the man last night, his attitude had spoken volumes, and brushing him aside like an annoying insect was probably just the latest in a string of offenses he'd committed against his best friend's lover. Taking another look at Sean, still lingering at the buffet, and noting the decidedly downcast body language, he knew that he had to do _something_ to try to make this right before they all left. He'd wait for Sean to come back to the table, since chasing him down would probably only increase the tension, but he had to figure out something... _anything_... to try to fix the damage he'd done.

 _"Sean does and no one is going to convince him of that but you, my friend."_

His lips twisting, Mark nodded sombrely as he replied, "That's what I'm hoping to do, Glen. If he lets me, anyway."

Watching Sean as he came back, chewing on his lip and looking uncharacteristically nervous, Mark sighed. The quiet greeting and complete lack of eye contact only twisted his guilt more sharply, and after a long, tense moment, he moved. Since he hadn't taken a seat yet, he cast a glance at Jeff, hoping to reassure him, and clasped his shoulder before letting go and walking around the table until he reached Sean's side. Pulling an empty seat over, he sat down, keeping some open space between them, and winced slightly at the painfully resigned expression that crossed the smaller man's face.

"Look, Sean... I wanted to talk to you." Keeping his voice low and easy, Mark hoped to get out what he had to say before Sean interrupted him with a wrong assumption or by just flat-out leaving. This wasn't something he was particularly good at, so hopefully he'd get it right this time---he suspected he wouldn't get another chance. "I want to apologise to you. Not just for last night, although I did overreact, but for... well, for being an asshole to you for years, now." Seeing the shock on Sean's face as he finally looked up, Mark raised a hand, asking for permission to continue, and went on. "You may be hyperactive, bouncy, and annoying as all hell, but I know there's more to you than that. I've seen the way you look at Glen, and how protective you are of your friends, and... well... I really don't know you very well, and that's a damned shame, since you and Glen have been together for so long and Glen's my best friend. But I do know that if you were as shallow as you try to make yourself look, he would've dropped you on your ass years ago. So... I don't hate you, Sean. You're just damned good at pushing my buttons. I'm sorry I've been nothing but a jerk to you, and I'd like a chance to make up for that. If you're willing to let me, I'd like to get to know you, and I'd like us to be friends."

Pausing to judge the reaction to his words, he saw Glen staring at him with wide eyes from the side, but the stunned expression on Sean's face was the one he was concerned with. Glancing over at Jeff, his lips twitched into a smile as those emerald eyes met his, and he turned back to Sean, lowering his voice as he added awkwardly, not sure how to say it, "Besides that, I owe you some thanks. You... you were right, last night. So... thank you." Sitting back, he waited for Sean's answer, suddenly wishing that Jeff wasn't six feet away from him and out of touching range.

****

Dave was completely aware that he'd have to expand on his explanation, but he wasn't quite sure what to say. He could tell that Hunter was thinking back to the last time they'd seen or heard from Randy, rather the last time that Hunter had, and he was wondering as well as Dave what exactly had happened after they left. After all, Steve had made a point of saying he wouldn't break him. Dave hadn't thought twice about it at the time, figuring that Steve might actually be good for Randy, but after talking to him it was apparent that Randy _was_ broken, at least in some way... Dave had assumed that it had to be Steve's fault.

And that was the problem after all. Assumption was the mother of all fuck-ups and Dave _knew_ better. He just hadn't taken the time to reason things through. But that was only part of the explanation that he'd have to make. After hearing that Randy had popped Austin, he'd been close to walking away as long as Steve was willing to do the same. Until the comment Austin had spewed about his relationship with Hunter. That had been all on Dave and he still couldn't really say why he'd reacted that way.

People were bound to make those kind of comments and he knew it. In most cases he'd have blown it off as ignorance... so why hadn't he? Because of Vince's reaction? It was a good probability. After all, Vince had made it perfectly clear without words what... or rather who his problem was with. Having someone else trash on something that he'd been dreaming about for so long within such a short period of time had just set him off. He was going to have to get his shit together... that's all there was to it.

 _"Dave?"_

He was suddenly caught between finding out why Adam would brave approaching him right now after the display that had just played out and turning around to find out how disappointed Shawn was in him. He'd sensed Shawn's approach more than heard it but he was certain if he turned around he'd find him standing right there. Adam won out but only because he was hoping to send the guy on his way before Shawn had his say on his behavior... and he knew it was coming.

 _"I know this isn't really any of my business... Steve would never hurt Randy. Not the way you were thinking."_

The way he was thinking... actually what he'd practically accused the guy of. Dave winced as he recalled that little bit where his mouth got ahead of his brain.

 _"He's got it pretty bad for the kid... Randy walking out while he was still asleep... any chance the two of them could... end up with more than just one night... Randy decked him... They haven't talked since."_

He couldn't help the growl that slipped out almost instinctively. Why the hell would Randy act that way? It didn't make any sense at all. From what Adam was saying, this whole fiasco was Randy's fault and Austin was innocent of any wrongdoing. Which meant that Dave owed 'Baldy' a huge apology and he really needed to have a talk with Randy. Not that Randy had been all that forthcoming on the phone earlier. But then this hadn't been the first time he'd offended someone in the past day either. Shit.

"God damn it. I'm going to end up owing apologies to the whole damn company at this rate."

This one was going to be even harder to make than the one he owed Mark. He was clearly the one at fault here and though in both occasions he'd let his temper get the better of him, what he'd said to Steve was way across the line.

 _"I'm going to leave you three alone now, but before I go..."_

Well that confirmed the fact that Shawn was standing behind him. He'd already known that though and he wasn't looking forward to getting chewed out.

 _"I just wanted to say congratulations on the three of you... figuring out that you're all crazy about each other. Good luck."_

Well at least someone was happy for them. He heard Shawn's quiet laugh behind him and felt a shiver run down his spine. He wondered if Shawn or even Hunter for that matter was questioning the wisdom of getting involved with someone that was obviously nuts. Hunter was still petting him, most likely to keep him from taking after Austin again, but it was still a comfort. He wasn't even sure that Hunter was aware that he was doing it.

 _"So what the hell was all that about?"_

Maybe if Shawn figured it out, he'd explain it to Dave. Hunt looked like he might attempt to try to explain it, but what could he really say? Hunter more than likely didn't have a clue what exactly had set him off... before or after Austin's taunt. It had been Hunter that had warned him how some in the company would view their relationship and Dave had assured him it wouldn't bother him, so how was he supposed to explain that it _had_ bothered him. Even if he'd been pissed at Austin to start with, it wasn't an excuse.

 _"...good reason... fist-fight with Austin... middle of a restaurant---and wouldn't Vince have loved that, by the way."_

He'd thought he had a good reason, but that didn't stop Dave from flinching at the stupidity of what he'd done, especially with as guilty as he was already feeling. Vince... shit. He hadn't given a thought to Vince and he wasn't sure that even if he had, he would have cared one bit. Vince was nowhere on his top ten list of people he gave a shit about right now. Though losing his job would most certainly have sucked, but Dave hadn't been thinking clearly... or obviously at all... of the consequences of confronting Austin in public.

Christ. He was an even bigger idiot than he'd thought he was. He couldn't even look at Shawn right now.

 _"...and why you two are practically fucking each other with your eyes right now."_

Huh? Of all the things for Shawn to call him out about, that had to be the craziest. Although the timing wasn't the best he supposed and he doubted that Shawn would buy his adrenaline excuse. And that's what it was really... though he didn't really need one when it came to wanting to fuck Hunter with his eyes or anything else. Hunter alone was reason enough for that. People always want what they can't have, right? But this was hardly the time for it...

 _"Hey Darling, don't look at me. I'm just the referee here."_

And he'd managed to get Hunter chewed on as well... innocent as he was, though one hesitated to ever describe Hunt as innocent. At any other time he'd have laughed at the idea of it. Hell, his behavior was so erratic, maybe he was crazy.

Shawn's hand caressing his cheek was the last thing he'd expected right then. His lover had every right to take him to task.

 _"I'm sorry, Dave. I didn't mean..."_

He started shaking his head as soon as the first two words left Shawn's mouth.

"Don't apologize Shawn. You didn't say anything that I didn't damn well deserve." Dave looked at both men, knowing he wasn't going to be able to explain this in any way that would make sense. "I made assumptions based on what Randy said... and didn't say... and that was my fuck up. I'm the one that should be sorry and I am... though not for looking at Hunt that way. I just can't help it," he added with a sheepish smile.

His eyes flickered in the direction of the patio and with a grimace he turned back to his lovers. "Right now though, there is someone else I owe an apology to and I'd prefer to do it now before this escalates into something even worse. Don’t worry. I'm not going to take a swing at him. Promise." Dave was turning to take a step towards the patio when he noticed Shawn taking a step in that direction as well.

"Shawn, you know I love ya man, but this is something I really need to do on my own. Why don't you two go get something to eat... and some coffee," he said with a knowing glance at Hunter, "and I'll meet you back at the table."

Without another word, Dave turned and walked towards the patio doors, hoping that Shawn would let him do this without an audience. He'd already humiliated himself enough for one day and doing this in front of Jericho was not going to make it any more pleasant. At least if Steve hit him, he'd have only one witness... that is if Jericho didn't smack him as well.

As he stepped through the French doors, he spotted the damage that Austin had done and knew that his careless words were most likely the cause for the destruction. He felt like an even bigger bastard now than he had before.

A quick scan of the area showed where Austin had come to rest, Jericho beside him. Dave took a few steps in their direction and then stopped. Maybe he'd at least get a few words out before Austin managed to drill him. He'd be thankful for that at least. The men had sensed his presence and looked up at him almost simultaneously. He looked Austin in the eye as he began his apology, he could do no less.

"If you want to hit me, I wouldn't blame you. I know this won't really mean shit, but... I'm sorry. There's no real excuse for what I said to you. I don't know you all that well, but that doesn't give me the right to accuse you..." Dave swallowed harshly as he remembered exactly what he had said earlier. "...of what I did. I had it pointed out to me in no uncertain terms that you wouldn't do something like that. Adam seemed positive that this is all Randy's doing, so... I should have waited to talk to him again. I'm sorry I didn't."

Dave quieted as Austin shifted on the wall he was sitting on. The thick tension in the air was damn near choking him and he was willing to do anything to get away from it.

"So... you want to slug me now and get it over with so I can finish getting yelled at by Shawn and Hunter or would you rather wait and take your turn after they get done with me?"

Smooth Dave, real smooth. He wouldn't blame Jericho or Austin if they both hit him. He was still going to buy a gag, but he was going to save it for himself. Obviously he needed one.

****

 _"Calm down, Scott. Whatever's up, I think they've got it in hand."_

That could very well be the case, but that didn't mean that he was going to calm down, no sir. Dave might be the newest member of the extended family, but his being with Hunter and Shawn did make him family and Scott was going to be protective of him just because of that. And now Hunter was headed in that direction as well... and Kev wanted him to calm down?

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Scott shook his head and smiled up at his lover. "You know I won't until it's all over, Kev."

Still, he stayed put, huddled against Kevin until the action was over. Then he grimaced as Shawn started waving his arms all over, obviously giving Dave hell. Ouch. Not the best course of action on the second day of a relationship, but Shawn must have felt it necessary. He still felt bad for Dave though.

Giving Kevin a light squeeze, he finally tore his eyes away from the sight of the train wreck and watched in surprise as Sean walked over to the buffet. Sean never walked anywhere unless he was sick, upset, or in big, big trouble... most often with one of the other members of the Clique. As far as he knew Sean hadn't done anything lately worth getting yelled at for... at least not by he or Kevin. He didn't look sick really although Scott did wonder for a moment given Kid's lackluster food choices. So that left upset or Kid had gotten in trouble with someone else. He was going to find out sooner or later, even if he had to sit on Sean to figure out what was wrong.

Scott finally dropped into a seat at the table. What the hell was up with everyone today? He was starting to wonder if this little luncheon hadn't been one of his worst ideas. Turning to see how everyone else was faring at the table, his mouth dropped open in surprise to see Mark and Jeff... together.

Well... how in the hell had that happened? Scott was considering offering congratulations to whomever had had the foresight to hit both of them with a shovel. His little bit of nudging hadn't resulted in the new closeness between the two, though he had to smile over the fact that he'd been spot on when it came to the two men. That's when Jeff turned and stuck his tongue out at him.

Scott snorted and shook his head. Mark would have his hands full with that one, happily most likely, but still full. With the smile still on his face, he turned to nudge Kevin and nodded towards the two men at the end of the table. "Today is just full of surprises, Kev. Do you think we'll ever be able to sit down and have a nice calm lunch with this crew?"

Spotting Sean coming back to the table at a slow pace, nibbling on his lip as he glanced at Mark, Scott realized what it was exactly that had Sean acting so uncharacteristically. Obviously, Sean had managed to get up Mark's nose about something. Hopefully it was nothing serious, but Scott had to wonder seeing as Sean had passed up the chocolate cake.

At this rate, he'd never end up making their little announcement. Maybe he should just add to the chaos and jump in Kev's lap right here at the table. At least that would be something positive for everyone to get excited about.


	79. Insecurities

Damn, damn, damn. Once again he'd let his mouth operate without benefit of his brain, and look what he'd done now. Watching the guilt well up in those chocolate eyes made Shawn feel about two inches tall, and Dave's immediate negation of his apology didn't really help, even though he understood where Dave was coming from.

 _"...I'm the one that should be sorry and I am... though not for looking at Hunt that way. I just can't help it."_

Smiling slightly at that, Shawn flicked his eyes towards their lover and was somehow not surprised to see him eyeing the coffee sitting so tantalizingly close on the end of the buffet. Hunter just didn't operate well without caffeine first thing in the morning, and at this point the adrenaline high that had probably been motivating him so far was probably wearing off. At least he'd managed to keep Steve and Dave apart...

Shuddering a little at the thought of what the fallout could've been from that if it had gone any farther, Shawn turned back to Dave, noticing finally that the black eyes from the previous morning were mostly faded, if a particularly nasty shade of yellow at this point. It was an improvement, anyway... and it was a good thing, even if it was yet another thing for him to feel bad about. Dave had only gotten hurt yesterday because Shawn couldn't control his temper, after all. This had better not develop into a pattern; he'd always had issues controlling his mouth, and it had always been a problem in his relationships, whether with friends or with lovers.

 _"...there is someone else I owe an apology to... Don’t worry. I'm not going to take a swing at him. Promise."_

What? Dave was going to go talk to Austin _now_? It wasn't _Dave_ throwing a punch that had Shawn alarmed at that thought, it was first-hand knowledge of how well Steve didn't react to further interference if you'd already pushed his buttons. At least Shawn could go with Dave, maybe just linger in the doorway or something, to make sure things didn't get too far out of hand...

 _"Shawn, you know I love ya man, but this is something I really need to do on my own."_

 _Damn_ it. Standing stock-still as he watched Dave walk across the room, Shawn was taken aback by the sheer depths of the depression he was suddenly wallowing in. Dave's ability to say that particular expression so casually, yet so meaningfully, was just something else for him to feel guilty about. They'd only been together for a day, but Shawn knew that there was more than just attraction between there---he'd meant what he'd said yesterday. If they gave it time, he could easily fall for Dave, but knowing that he hadn't yet--- _oh really?_ whispered a little voice in the back of his head that he firmly ignored---made those three little words hurt a little bit every time he heard them from Dave. Knowing how the big man felt about him was beyond words, really, but Dave had to be worried about the emotion being one-sided, even if he hadn't said anything. And he wouldn't, Shawn knew.

Sighing, Shawn finally turned around and followed Hunter to the buffet, his own step noticeably more listless than normal. Standing next to his best friend as Hunter poured himself a cup of coffee and took a deep drink with a happy noise, Shawn stared at the coffee pot before looking up at Hunter with dark eyes.

"Hunt..." He didn't know what to say, how to express this tangled mass of emotions he was suddenly wrapped in. All he knew was that he desperately wanted Hunter's arms around him. What he'd _really_ like would be to have Hunter _and_ Dave's arms around him, preferably while they were all in bed, but that wasn't about to happen anytime in the immediate future.

****

As Sean came back towards their table, Jeff was surprised by the man's almost somber aura and wondered briefly if last night's fight had gone on far longer than he'd realised. Narrowing his eyes, Jeff noted the lack of bounce, reluctant expression and calm face as the dark haired man finally took his seat at the table, although a quick smile lightened Sean's features somewhat at the end. Returning the quiet greeting, Jeff nodded slightly as he felt Mark's hand squeeze his shoulder for a moment, before his new lover moved around the table. Jeff had very little idea of Mark and Sean's relationship but given some of the words spoken... err well, shouted last night, he could imagine it wasn't particularly warm.

Jeff noted absently that his orange juice seemed to be cut with pineapple.

Even knowing him only sporadically, Jeff knew Mark could be terribly stern and self-contained, his heart well and truly under wraps. This gave him that desirable, untouchable air that made Jeff's knees weak, but also seemed to dampen down the big man's lighter side and made him seem like he had no sense of humour. It was a personality that couldn't be more different to that of Sean Waltman, a playful, laughing ball of humour and passion, desperately covering the vulnerable inner-man with a heart of gold. A man who may not have had such a thick skin as many believed.

The juice probably needed the sweetness of pineapple because oranges were out of season.

Having never been described as conventional himself, Jeff could appreciate Sean in a completely different way to Mark. It was so easy to believe that characters like Waltman were bullet-proof, so easy-going and traveling along in their fun and games world's that they didn't notice when people hated them. Of course Sean would know about Mark's disapproval, just because he didn't have a fit about it, it would still bother him inside. Jeff was brushed with that same Teflon brush and hated it, even though the bed was one he'd made for himself. Yeah... sure... so people thought he didn't give a fuck because he when he was insulted he'd reply 'fuck you' with an easy smile... it still hurt.

Of course pineapples were over for the year as well.

Somewhat like cats, Jeff thought as he watched Mark settle down beside Sean and begin to apologise for his cold-shouldering of the past. If there is a cat hater in the house you can be sure that's the lap we want to sleep on. Kinda masochistic when you come down to it. But at least men like he and Sean were happy most of the time, they may have weaknesses but most of these were only transient bruises to their feelings. See, Sean had smiled at them.... he was bouncing back already.

Shaking his head at his deeper than deep thoughts, Jeff felt he couldn't blame the people who thought he might be high as a kite most days... his orange juice wasn't _that_ interesting and he'd been staring at it for several minutes already. Like a ray of sun on his face, Jeff could feel Mark's eyes on him and met them without a thought. Up until last night, he'd been unable to bring himself to gaze into those lovely jade depths and now he could read the world... or at the very least he could read more of Mark in them than he'd even been able to before.

 _"...I owe you some thanks. You... you were right, last night. So... thank you."_

The words were spoken in a low and deep voice, but Jeff still caught the gist of them. Yeah, he owed Sean his thanks too in a way, because although Jeff had been ready to try and jump Mark's bones last night anyway, it had been the high decibeled declarations from next door that had given him to courage to grab at Mark with both hands. Although, how do you thank a man for arguing with his boyfriend?

Rising from his chair, Jeff abandoned his pineapple-wanna-be orange juice and took the few steps around Glen to get him to Mark's side. Despite all their talking, he and Mark still hadn't covered the public nature of their almost-relationship, so Jeff felt dropping into Mark's lap and peppering his face with kisses mightn't be the best idea at present. Instead he contented himself with a body lean against Mark's side, his hip canted into the side of his lover's chest, while one hand roamed free across broad shoulders before stroking the black hair at the back of Mark's neck.

It was probably a bit too blatant and would fuel the fires of speculation in the locker-room for days... but if Mark didn't mind, then Jeff didn't give a rat's ass how his actions were interpreted by people who needed to be getting laid rather than wondering if he was.

"I'll add my thanks to that as well Waltman, you kinda accidentally helped us to... cut through all the crap?" Seeing the shocked expression begin to morph into something more familiar, Jeff shook his head ruefully. "And yes oh Guru of Love... I have to admit it... you were _right_."

****

Steve Austin was seriously considering going back to the arena and spending some uninterrupted quality time with the punching bag again. Looking at the series of small cuts and bruises across his knuckles though, he felt that wasn't something his body would be able to take. There was only so much punching a man could do before he had to find the source of his rage and deal with that instead.

Problem was, he'd just been firmly told that finding his 'source' wasn't an option.

Not because Mr. Dave 'Randy's-New-Big-Brother' Batista told him to, oh no way in hell, but because whatever the kid had said, it had been enough to send his friend through the roof and come hunting for Steve's head on a platter. In the big man's overly polite way of course. Randy musta made it pretty clear in his chat with Dave that Austin was Unwanted with a capital 'Un' and even though he'd belted himself half to death last night, the knot in his gut tightened at the thought and it still _fuckin' hurt_.

 _"I don't think he realised the situation."_

Kitten's voice came to him quietly from the wall at the edge of the beer garden he'd so briskly hauled Steve into. That the Texan had been moveable at all was due to his inability to risk further hurt to CJ, rather than a desire to walk away from the fight. Looking down at the mess his bruised hands and feet had wrought on some of the weird-ass fake plants, Steve nodded and sat down abruptly.

"Yeah," because the man had been surprised at Steve's explanation. Batista had only continued to be aggressive after Austin' had gone out of his way to push Dave's buttons. An easy feat after Helmsley had arrived on the scene. Christ... the air had almost crackled between the two. "He was thinkin' I musta beat the kid up or raped 'im or somethin.'"

And in that Steve found he could let go of his anger at Batista in one clean wave. Let go of something that, given a reverse of perspective, he knew he would have been a lot less polite... if he'd even have spoken to Randy's attacker at all. It wouldn't be the first time someone had accused him of using his fists to solve his problems, but he'd never hit a lover in his life... at least not outside the ring... and even with Randy going all fists aplenty, he wasn't planning to... ever.

Steve Austin just wasn't the kind of guy to deliberately hurt someone he loved.

"He's just lookin' out fer the kid, can't blame 'im fer that."

The comforting burn of Chris' presence was a balm to his wounded soul, the press of hip and shoulder to his a reminder that though he might have lost Randy, he still had something that was worth getting up in the morning for.

 _"...Steve-o that's so sweet... you'd beat up Adam... if he bweaks my poor widdle heart?"_

'They wouldn't find the body Kitten'. Steve thought, but with his mouth replied, "Oh hell yeah."

Chris' bright gurgle of pleased laughter hid the arrival of a large figure looming uncertainly in the doorway. If body language could talk, and Austin had picked up a lot of dialects in his time, then the man he was looking at was a completely different one than the man he'd left in the restaurant. Hell... it looked like the big man was walking to his execution or somethin'. Maybe he was too, given the likelihood of Helmsley and Michaels attitude to picking fights with people. Thing was, those two pretty boys just didn't get people like Dave and him. They operated on a totally different level, one of charm and beauty rather than ferocity and family. Dave saw Randy as family and would'a kicked Steve's ass with a grin on his face if the kid had been hurt.

Austin was totally down with that.

 _"If you want to hit me ... I'm sorry... no real excuse for what I said... doesn't give me the right to accuse you... positive that this is all Randy's doing..."_

Maybe they weren't quite so alike after all. Steve wondered if he'd have the balls to walk up to someone and cop to responsibility like that. It was the measure of a man that he could admit his mistakes and seek to repair the damage he'd done. The question was whether Steve was also that kind of man.

He could feel Chris' attention move from the conversation in front of him to somewhere in the middle distance and knew his friend was looking to find his boyfriend. This didn't need to go any further and Kitten should be off doin' more of that doctoring rather than minding his sorry butt. Standing up from the wall, Austin mentally ordered CJ to stay where he was, although obedience was another matter, and walked to stand, once again, toe to toe with Dave Batista.

 _"...you want to slug me now... or... take your turn after they get done with me?"_

Well that answered that. Poor bastard had no hope with the Archangels Michaels and Helmsley up his ass. Steve decided then and there to be on Batista's side whenever the man was on the outs with those two.... he'd need all the help he could get.

"Nahh, I don't wanna slug ya 'Animal'," but this time Steve smiled when he said the, admittedly pretty cool, nickname. "I get where ya were comin' from, an' as I said to Kitten, I'd a spoke and done a lot worse if it were one of _my_ friends been messed with." Luckily for the fake fauna, Austin was such a man. "An' I spoke outta turn too, implyin' your new set-up is somethin' shallow. That ain't it, I can tell. Hell my friend, the whole frickin' room can tell ya three are on the same page. So I'll take my share a that blame and say we call it even?"

The surprise on the other man's face as Steve held out his hand to be shaken put paid to the last of Austin's frustration and anger. Maybe he should'a decked the guy just to conform to stereotype.

And because he was a pathetic, needy, sad old fool, he just had to ask.

"Ya talked to the kid? He in a bad way or somethin'?"

****

Hunter poured himself a cup of java that was certainly larger than his normal dose, but screw it, he was 'the Man', he could have a bucket of coffee if he wanted and no one except Vince could tell him off for it. Keeping his body between his lovers and what he was doing, Hunter snuck a deep gulp before refilling the cup and looking over the food on display. He wasn't listening to the conversation just behind his back either... no, not at all.

 _"I made assumptions based on what Randy said... and didn't say..."_

As soon as they all sat down, Hunter was going to ask for chapter and verse on what, exactly, the young man _had_ said. It must have pretty extreme to get Dave to react in such a way, considering the two had been at odds recently over everything from travel timetables to where they put their bags in the locker room. To give him credit, Hunter knew the problem was entirely of Randy's making as Dave had repeatedly tried to make amends until even his lover's almost eternal patience had reached its limit.

Hunt heaved a mental sigh as he decided that the situation with Randy was actually his to deal with. He was the man's 'sponsor' for want of a better term, and if Randy really was causing a mass of emotional mayhem backstage, then it was Hunt's job to bring him into line. He couldn't shrug this off to Ric anymore and pretend the kid was just all show. The confrontation between Austin and Dave proved that. Looked like Vince wouldn't be the only one glaring at Hunter for the next few weeks, Randy could be a complete prick when he was read the riot act, by Hunt in particular.

Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Dave move towards the patio where CJ had taken Austin and tried not to tense up. He and Steve had known each other for years and the Texan was as straight as they come when a man's pride was on the line. If Dave didn't push more buttons, then Austin would forgive and forget and given what he could see of his lover's broad, sexy back, David was being as aggressive as a canary.

 _"Hunt..."_

It was a voice that spoke directly to a part of him that had been lost ten years ago, a part that his lover owned and Hunter could never take back. Never wanted back. It could call to him at four a.m. and Hunt would be out the door before his name was even finished.

Setting his coffee cup down, Hunter drew Shawn into an embrace and tucked his beloved's head against his jaw. The simple need in that roughened voice, the guilt and worry had shot straight to Hunt's heart and he reacted the only way that he knew how. Hold Shawn and take that pain away. Drawing wide circles with his hand across Shawn's lower back... a font of agony for them both at one time... Hunter lowered his eyelids so that their fascinated audience couldn't see the emotion in his gaze and dropped his lips to Shawn's ear.

"Whatever it is... it's okay Darling." And it would be, Hunter would make sure of that. "Dave's fine, see." Hunter turned them so that Shawn could look across his chest at the figures beyond the window. "Steve can be a grumpy bastard but you know better than anyone his ability to get over it. Watch... Dave's saying 'sorry Dude but I thought you smacked Randy around and I had to kill you for that.' " Indeed, his dark lover did seem to be making his explanations, although with likely a far better vocabulary than Hunter was giving him credit for. "Steve's saying 'Man, you are sooo totally wrong Dude, I never touched him,'" okay, so he borrowed a bit from Copeland and Reso there, but he could feel the tension draining from the man in his arms, so he deemed it a successful strategy. "Dave's replying 'I can see that Randy actually smacked _you_ around Steven. Do you want me to beat him up for you? Or do you like being his lil' bitch?" Shawn was trembling slightly against Hunt's shirt and he hoped it was from wonder at his creativity rather than laughter at his bad impersonations. "Here we go, Steven's going to offer his hand in a second.... there... and Dave will pull him into a loving and, totally platonic don't worry Darling... manly hug. Oh. Okay... no hug then. But no further violence so all is good. See... everything's fine. I'm always right Shawn, you know that."

It was a brash statement that neither of them would believe for a second, but if it got the corners of Shawn's lips to curl, then it was worth the sacrifice of his ego. Dropping one arm from the other blond so that they could turn back to the buffet and freak Vince's spies out a bit less, Hunter kept his lover tucked into his side and examined the refreshed offerings

"I'm being good and having the eggs, " it was the most banal of chatter, but it would hopefully take away the last of the tension. "As your Lord and Master I say you may have something with sugar because you're getting skinny." A gentle poke in the ribs. It wasn't true, Shawn was perfectly proportioned and in as good a shape as ever, but given Hunter's bulk, teasing Shawn for not eating enough was his right as best friend.

Just because they were sleeping together didn't mean he was going to stop.

****

CJ managed to not jump to his feet and tell Batista to go fuck himself with a golf club, but only by the skin of his teeth. It was rude, filthy and completely not his business, but right now Steve was hurting and Chris wanted to keep anyone that would pour lemon juice on the wounds at a definite distance. Also, if the big man was still angry then perhaps it was better he be angry at Chris for something that actually was said rather than at Austin for something that had never happened.

 _"If you want to hit me, I wouldn't blame you."_

He was lucky, in a way, that he'd held his tongue, considering Dave's words and actions the moment he passed through the doorway. CJ was even worse at apologies than Jay was at driving. They'd be all tripping over themselves saying 'sorry' at this rate and the last thing he wanted to do was muddy the waters with his very own little hissy-fit. No, this time Chris Jericho was going to keep his mouth firmly shut, something against his very nature, and watch as two grown-ups settled their differences the mature way.

 _"Adam seemed positive that this is all Randy's doing, so..."_

Well, go Team Austin. CJ smiled as he realised that his lover had been the one to set the record straight with Batista and the other two. A surge of pride ran through him at Adam's actions on Steve's behalf. The two men barely knew each other and were really only starting to feel their way into a friendship because of him. It was flattering to know that he'd chosen, or been chosen by, a man who would want to defend someone like Austin just because it was the right thing to do. The rush of hormones at this thought temporarily blinded Chris' psyche and he looked away from the Clash of the Titans to find his noble, heroic, sexy, interfering lover.

Who was collapsed in a chair, white as a sheet with Benoit hovering over him like a nanny crossed with a Rottweiler.

 _"I'll take my share a that blame and say we call it even?"_

"Good, good, fine, fine. You're both hot-heads but it's okay because you both have the same cool-down period as well." Chris muttered under his breath as he got up and moved smoothly past the two former combatants. He'd make sure Steve wasn't alone for the next few days, even if he had to dob the man into Trish to do it, but right now his attention was completely caught by 'not-really-kinda-high should-be-in-bed' Adam Copeland.

Raising an eyebrow at the other Chris and circling around so he stood in front of his lover, CJ noted the less phased-out look in the bottomless green eyes and the slow returning colour to the high cheekbones. He wasn't going to become a nagging fishwife in the first forty-eight hours of their relationship. He wasn't.

So he sat nonchalantly on the table behind Adam's chair and grinned salaciously.

"You look very alluring there, Babe. That deathly white just sets off the traces of blood on your hairline like no-body's business."

His sharp comments were contradicted by his hands, gently pulling Adam's between his dangling knees, rubbing small circles into the back of the long neck and curling his torso over his lover from behind. Draping his arms over Adam's shoulders, Chris rested his chin on the honey-blond head, closed his eyes and spoke to Benoit.

"Chris? Do you find it just as hard to keep your Latin Lover in one place when he's hurt?"

****

 _"That's what I'm hoping to do, Glen. If he lets me, anyway."_

And that was the question wasn't it? Sean was bound to be suspicious of a turn-about in Mark's attitude towards him, especially without the knowledge of the added assistance that they had unknowingly provided the night before. Hopefully his lover would hold his tongue and not run for the hills before Mark had a chance to convince him that he sincere.

When his lover finally came back to the table, Glen was even more worried when he got a look at the plate of food he set on the table. Sean's greeting was so subdued that Glen was starting to think maybe he was sick or something after all. Mark certainly had his work cut out for him. The last time he'd seen Sean act like this had been when he'd come home from a trip to Kevin's with the news that Scott had moved his things out of the house. He'd moped around the house for almost two weeks before bouncing back to his normal attitude and it had driven Glen almost insane to see him like that. But he couldn't help then and he felt just as helpless now. He crossed his fingers as Mark moved closer, hoping that Mark's talk with Sean would restore the bubbles to his somber mood.

He noted the way Sean stiffened and then sighed quietly. It was entirely possible that he'd have to sit on Sean to get him to listen to Mark... but he hoped not.

 _"I want to apologise to you. Not just for last night, although I did overreact, but for... well, for being an asshole to you for years, now."_

Glen was pretty sure that his face was a mirror of Sean's... shock being abundantly clear in both their expressions. Leave it to Mark to put it in quite that way. He'd been fully aware of Sean poking at Mark over the time that he and Sean had been together and Mark's snapping at him in return. Until last night, he'd never realized himself the extent of how Sean had interpreted Mark's actions. Sean had never commented on it, continuing on in his bouncy manner no matter how much Mark had snarled. It had become apparent though with Sean's comment last night that Sean had taken note of it and come to what was to him an obvious conclusion. He'd been just as blind as Mark had of the effects and hadn't given a thought to trying to ease things between the two men. Wasn't he just as much at fault here?

 _"... I don't hate you, Sean... I'm sorry I've been nothing but a jerk to you... I'd like to get to know you, and I'd like us to be friends."_

Whoa. He hadn't been expecting Mark to go _that_ far in all honesty. He wasn't at all sure how this was going to work out, because he just knew that if Sean got to the point of considering Mark as his friend, instead of as just Glen's friend, he'd probably end up pushing even more of Mark's buttons. Sean was notorious for sticking his nose into his friends lives, as he had tried to do last night with the Hunter/Shawn/Dave situation. Glen wondered if Mark had any clue at all what he'd just let himself in for... if not, then he'd probably find out, very soon.

 _"Besides that, I owe you some thanks. You... you were right, last night. So... thank you."_

Glen smothered a grin waiting for the smart-ass comment that he just knew was going to jump out of Sean's mouth. It turned to a frown, when Sean sat there still regarding Mark with a wary air. Then he was distracted momentarily by Jeff's approach and the obvious signs of the new change in his and Mark's relationship. No missing those signals. He wondered how many others in the room had noticed.

 _"...Add my thanks to that as well... accidentally helped us to... cut through all the crap..."_

Sean certainly had and his eyes had grown even wider if possible though he was still suspiciously silent.

 _"And yes oh Guru of Love... I have to admit it... you were right."_

Glen leaned back in his chair and smothered a groan. He'd seen the light flash in Sean's eyes and he knew... just knew... that Sean was going to be impossible to live with for the next week... at least. Both men having told him he was right... he'd be crowing about that for months.

\----

Mark's presence was one of those that you just couldn't ignore. Even if you couldn't see him, you could feel the aura surrounding the man. Despite the fact that he was studiously poking at his mashed potatoes, he could feel it when Mark moved in his direction.

 _Aw, hell... here it comes._ Sean sighed quietly, stiffening in his seat as he waited for the ax to fall. He could already hear the lecture in his head... it would most likely involve a strong hint that he mind his own business and would end with Mark calling him kid. Only it wouldn't be an endearment as it was with his friends. Mark had implied more than once that Sean should 'act his age.'

When Mark took a seat instead of using his looming height to tower over him, Sean flashed a quick look at him from under his lashes without moving his head. Oh shit. So it was going to be an eye level 'glare of doom'? He must have _really_ pissed the guy off this time.

 _"Look, Sean... I wanted to talk to you."_

Whoa. Hold the presses. Where was the growling?

 _"I want to apologise to you. Not just for last night... but for... well, for being an asshole to you for years, now."_

Sean's head snapped up as he looked for a sign of 'ha, gotcha!' on Mark's face. This had to be a joke, right? Where was the real Mark Calaway and who was this impostor that the kidnappers had found to replace him with? He might have stopped Mark right there, but quite honestly, he was too surprised to say anything. The ceiling could have started falling down around them, and he'd still be sitting there looking at Mark with what had to be an extreme look of shock on his face.

 _"You may be hyperactive, bouncy, and annoying as all hell..."_

Now _that_ sounded just like the beginning of a Mark Calaway lecture... this guy was good.

 _"...but I know there's more to you than that... the way you look at Glen... how protective you are of your friends... I really don't know you very well, and that's a damned shame..."_

Ehhh... wrong answer! Had the look alright, but the tone was all wrong. He flashed a quick look at Jeff, who was absorbed with studying a glass of juice, most likely trying to guess the possible fruit combination. Okay... he got it now. Jeff had hired this guy to teach him a lesson. It was just a freak coincidence of nature that he'd found a guy that so closely resembled the real thing.

 _"...if you were as shallow as you try to make yourself look, he would've dropped you on your ass years ago."_

That was the thing that killed him the most. No one could possibly be as shallow as he tried to make himself look. They wouldn't make it past legal drinking age before someone decided to push them off a roof for being such a flighty half-baked idiot. But not too many people bothered to look past the exterior. First impressions were lasting ones. As soon as people saw him they immediately assumed he was cute and bouncy and brainless. So that was what Sean gave them.

 _"...I don't hate you, Sean... I've been nothing but a jerk to you... I'd like to get to know you, and I'd like us to be friends."_

Riiiiiiight... and Sean was the Dalai Lama. This was the punch line... right? He could get all awed that Mark actually wanted to get to know the real him and then next week or next month, he'd be on the receiving end of the Undertaker's patented 'I Own Your Soul, Boy' glare and he'd end up finding a nice closet to go pout in for an hour or two. Just like always. And why had he used that particular word... hate? It was too coincidental. He almost turned to look at his lover. If he didn't know better, he'd think that Glen had spilled about their fight last night, but Glen would never do that. So how... ?

 _"Besides that, I owe you some thanks. You... you were right, last night. So... thank you."_

There! See! He was right. This couldn't _possibly_ be the real Mark. The guy would never, ever in a million years thank him for anything, let alone interfering in his love life. He was much more likely to tell Sean, in a nice growl of course, to go play in traffic until he came to fetch him.

He didn't say anything right away. He was still trying to come up with a suitable way to bust open the prank. He could jump in the guy's lap and just say... the jig is up, but Glen might get a little tetchy if he took that course. While he was considering other options, Jeff sidled up beside the Undertaker wanna-be and started fawning over the guy.

Exactly...

Mark was not a touchy-feely demonstrate your true feelings in public kind of guy. There was no way that this guy was the real thing. It just wasn't possible.

 _"I'll add my thanks to that as well Waltman, you kinda accidentally helped us to... cut through all the crap?"_

Uh huh. Hardy was going to thank him after he'd been itching to gag Sean last night and shove him down an elevator shaft just to shut him up? Maybe it was the real Mark after all... in some psycho alternate universe in a galaxy far, far away...

 _"And yes oh Guru of Love... I have to admit it... you were right."_

He snorted. He just couldn't help it. Of course he'd been right. Luckily for his bodily health he managed not to open up his mouth and blurt that out. The tension between the two had been rolling off them in waves and with all that unusual touching that Mark had been doing, not that it had been the blatant touch-feely kind, it had been obvious even to him.

He had to say something.

Jeff and Mark were both looking at him... waiting. And he knew Glen was watching him as well. Okay then. First things first.

"You're welcome... I guess, but I didn't do anything but point out the obvious. I'm kind of surprised that you told Mark about it, though," he said slanting a look at Jeff, a slight tinge of pink flushing his cheeks.

"And I won't hold you to that friends thing Mark. I appreciate the sentiment, really, but we both know that it won't work. One of these days, you'll come hobbling into an arena because of your knee or your hip and I'll say something without thinking about it. Something like... 'So it must have been Jeff's turn to be on top last night'... and you'll want to kill me just like you always do." He raised a brow at the dark-haired man waiting for him to deny that he'd react that way, but before Mark could say anything he added in the kicker. "And everyone knows that I annoy my _friends_ more than anyone else, so if you'd like to rescind the offer... I won't take it personally. We can stick with you growling at me and me vacating the room before I lose my head. Do you really want to put up with me sticking my nose even further into your business than I already have?"

****

 _"Nahh, I don't wanna slug ya 'Animal'. I get where ya were comin' from... I'd a spoke and done a lot worse if it were one of my friends been messed with."_

Somehow Dave didn't doubt that. Since Steve was smiling when he used Dave's nickname this time around, Dave didn't take offense. He was, in fact, stunned that he wasn't sitting on his ass holding his jaw at the moment. It just pointed out that he really had misjudged the man and he was still stinging with regret over having done so. He was also trying to face the scary realization that he and Steve might be an awful lot alike.

 _"An' I spoke outta turn too... Hell my friend, the whole frickin' room can tell ya three are on the same page. So I'll take my share a that blame and say we call it even?"_

While he appreciated the apology, he didn't bother correcting Austin's misconception. There was nothing shallow about their relationship, but he wouldn't necessarily say that they were all on the same page... not just yet... maybe never. He was not going to reveal that little bit of insecurity to Steve Austin of all people though. As for Steve taking a share of the blame, Dave thought that was more than generous of the man since he wouldn’t have had any reason to get snarky if Dave hadn't gone at him with both guns blazing.

When Steve actually held out his hand, Dave stared at him in surprise for a moment. The emotion was broken when he heard the faintly muttered words of the blond skirting his way around them to head back through the patio doors.

 _"Good, good, fine, fine. You're both hot-heads but it's okay because you both have the same cool-down period as well."_

Chris having confirmed that he and Austin were alike startled a smile out of him. Turning his attention back to the man in front of him, Dave shook the offered hand. He was about to follow Chris out of the room and head back to face the lecture that he was sure would be top on Hunter and Shawn's list, when he heard Austin's question.

 _"Ya talked to the kid? He in a bad way or somethin'?"_

Dave grimaced and tried to decide how exactly to explain why he'd made the assumptions that he had. He wasn't at all sure that Austin was going to understand his interpretation of the way Randy had replied to him. Settling his weight against the edge of a table, he looked up at the bald man, noting the concern etched on the man's face. How could he have ever thought... ?

"This may not make sense to you... how I came to the conclusions that I did, but it has a lot to do with the way Randy is now compared to the way that he used to be. Before we got brought up, we were friends. Maybe not the best, but I like to think we could have been... if Randy hadn't... changed so radically after he started here. He's always worked hard, but he was so... sweet and considerate back then. Willing to help anyone." Dave noted the look on Austin's face and smirked. "Hard to imagine, I know. After I got called up, he made it perfectly clear that he didn't have a bit of time to spare me. I tried... really I did, but it didn't matter. The only one Randy had time for was himself... it was all about what a person could do for him. If you couldn't help his career or bend over to kiss his ass... you might as well leave him alone, or risk suffering frostbite. So I stopped trying."

Shifting his weight slightly he rubbed the back of his neck while he considered how much to tell Austin of what exactly Randy had said. Despite the fact that Randy had said he told Steve that they were a fucking joke, he wasn't sure that Randy had phrased it in quite that way. Then again, knowing Randy, he probably had.

"We've been at loggerheads lately... awful. You name it, we disagree on it. I called him because I needed to set up a time to go through Monday's match, but for some reason... I expected to see him with you in the restaurant. When you came up to him last night, the... tension between you two... I think all three of us expected to see you two together today, to be honest. And I thought then that it would be good for him... that you would be good for him." He saw the surprise on Austin's face. He didn't blame the man after the way he'd acted earlier.

"So when he wasn't sitting there beside you, I just had this feeling that I should make the call right then. So I did. He sounded... flat. Said he had some _stuff_ to work out... that he was heading home and didn't want to hear anything about the business until Saturday. This is where I started making assumptions, I guess... Randy lives and breathes this business just like Cowboy Bob. For him to not want to hear anything about it for four days... something huge had to have happened... and the way he hesitated over the word stuff, it was hedging at it's best." Dave slipped his hands in his pockets as he looked Austin in the eye. Hopefully his explanation wouldn't garner the punch that he'd avoided earlier.

"So I asked him if things were okay with him and I dropped your name because as far as I knew, you were the last one he'd had contact with. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. I didn't honestly expect anything except some snarky reply, but instead he dropped his attitude and told me that everything was not okay with him, but he was dealing with it." Dave hesitated again, debating the wisdom of what he was about to say. "He said that he'd told you that you and him were a joke," he wasn't quite that brave after all, "and that this morning had made him see that. Since Adam said you haven't seen Randy since last night, I don't know what he meant by that, but without that knowledge, I just assumed that you had done something. Something that he was running away from... and that's just not like him Steve. The kid's... broken. That's the only way I can put it. I can't really explain how I got from there to... what I said to you, but if you'd heard him Steve..."

"I tried to get him to talk to me, but he blew it off and hung up. I headed back into the restaurant and you know the rest. I really am sorry. I just... I felt for the kid that I used to know and couldn't stand the thought that you might have been behind him scampering home with his tail between his legs. I guess I should have remembered that he's not that person anymore. It's probably not even really anything to do with you. Maybe Vince is finally going to pull his title off him and he's just taking his snit out on everyone."

Dave stood up and put a hand on Austin's shoulder, unsure of what the man might be thinking. He hadn't ended up getting slugged so he was getting out while the getting was good. "I'm going to go eat and attend to my lecture like a good little boy," he said with a rueful grin. "We're not quite all on the same page, but two out of three ain't bad, right?"

He really hadn't meant to say that and he was definitely going to invest in that gag. Maybe Vince would want to use it as part of his gimmick. It wasn't like he needed to really speak much anyway. And could he get any more pathetic?

"Have a good week... Steve."

With that, he beat a quick retreat back through the French doors. Spotting Hunter and Shawn... Hunter with his ever-present cup of coffee near to hand... Dave headed towards the buffet.

"That stuff'll kill ya," he mumbled quietly as he passed them. "Look, Dad, no new bruises," was his next brilliant comment and he couldn't quite look Shawn in the eye when he said it. Wandering down past the food spread out on the buffet, he picked up a plate though he really didn't have much of an appetite. With all the fights breaking out lately, maybe he should invest in protective padding. Nah. It wouldn't have prevented his injury in any case... he was not wearing one of those nose protectors... no way in hell.

****

 _"Just dizzy?"_

He managed a nod... slowly.

Maybe if he'd claimed to be dying instead, he could have avoided the lecture...

... Nah. He had a feeling that he could be gasping for his last few breaths and Benny would still lecture him... after he'd hollered for a doctor or something.

 _"Too much playing around and not enough taking care of yourself..."_

If he hadn't been still trying to convince his stomach that the world was not really spinning, he would have protested. It had nothing at all to do with playing around. Even if he were sitting perfectly still and propped up in bed, he'd still have suffered the dizziness from turning his head too quickly. It was another reason he hated taking anything at all with codeine. A doctor had prescribed codeine-laced cough syrup for him one time and he'd refused to take it. He'd rather have hacked up a lung than dealt with the side effects.

 _"I'm surprised CJ even let you down here this morning..."_

Ha! As if... CJ was his _boyfriend_... not his keeper. He would have had to sit on him to keep him in one place and he just might have to during the four days ahead. Of course there was only a short list of places that Chris could sit without hurting him so that evened up the odds of it not happening... then again... maybe...

 _"Between your normal attitude and the drugs, it's a wonder that you didn't get yourself knocked out by half the Clique already."_

Well... he had to admit, he'd found that pretty amazing as well. He'd thought for a moment that either Scott or Shawn would have been happy to knock him on his ass at the very least. And considering the huge faux pas that he'd made, he was damn lucky not to have had it happen. Still... knowing that Nash had a hair fetish was almost worth it. Not that he'd ever tell anyone about it... 'cept maybe Chris. Chris was smart enough that he wouldn't divulge it to anyone either. His lover, despite his antics, had an appreciation for living.

 _"Keep this up, and there's no way you'll be getting anywhere near a ring Sunday... no matter how good your acting skills are."_

Despite the argument from his stomach that the world was indeed spinning and Adam wasn't going to convince it otherwise, he really had to object. Since he wouldn't be taking the medicine again after their flight home, it would be a non-issue. A little rib pain was not going to keep him out of the ring on Sunday and he would make sure of it.

"It's the medication, Benny, my love." He'd tossed that in there just to annoy his partner. Swallowing harshly he forced down the lingering nausea. "If I don't take it before the match on Sunday, I'll be just fine. Glen's a pro and I'll even give partial credit to Conway and Grenier. Taking a choke slam will require little to no effort on my part. So..." He stuck his tongue out, once again just to annoy Benoit. "Now if I promise to go home and rest like a good little boy, can we please not say anything to CJ about this?"

Yeah, right... like that was going to happen. Benny was so going to rat him out. He could feel it.

And speaking of CJ... despite him not wanting his lover to find out about this little incident, he was kind of wondering how he was faring with Steve-O. If he got hit by a flying ficus plant, Adam and Austin were so going to have words... though he'd be the first to admit that was all that he and Austin would be having right now. Partially because he wasn't sure he could take it to Steve even when he was 100 percent and partially because he knew if he got into a fight with Austin, regardless of the reason, Chris would be one unhappy camper. He wasn't about to do anything to purposefully upset his sweetheart, not if he could help it.

He was finally winning the war with his stomach, thank god. The sensation of someone watching him and the look on Benoit's face were all the warning he had. He tried to smile. Chris just wasn't buying it though.

 _"You look very alluring there, Babe. That deathly white just sets off the traces of blood on your hairline like no-body's business."_

Great. He'd hoped the cap had covered most of it. Obviously not. And he imagined that he probably looked like something someone had scraped off the road. Nice to have it confirmed for him though, in Chris' own charming way.

The massage on his neck took any sting out of the comments and he sighed quietly, relaxing into Chris' touch... for all of about a minute.

 _"Chris? Do you find it just as hard to keep your Latin Lover in one place when he's hurt?"_

Adam couldn't help himself. He snorted loudly. "Not likely. He just glares him into submission. Gives him that Rabid Wolverine look. Kind of like the one on his face right now. And if that didn't work, he'd just sit on him."

"We're going to have to head to the airport soon... right?"

He really hoped so. He wasn't about to say it out loud, but he was already feeling tired and the flight wasn't going to help. Well... unless they ended up carrying out the proposed tease that Chris had tossed at him earlier. That'd perk him right up. But most of all... he just wanted to be home, with Chris.

****

 _"He just glares him into submission... if that didn't work, he'd just sit on him."_

Chris couldn't help but grin at Adam's comments, their friend did indeed sport his famous 'you are dead you just don't know it yet' glare. Of course, that expression really wasn't far from Chris' normal slight frown/worry so only the traces of anger, this time directed at his stunning partner, demonstrated the difference. CJ somehow doubted that anything, glare or not, could keep Eddie Guerrero in line when the Crazy Latino wanted to do something. In fact the glares probably made Eddie more determined to do his own thing... just to prove them all wrong.

"Don't think the sitting idea would work on you, Babe," CJ leaned down to murmur into the delicate curve of ear just under the band of his lover's hat. "I'd like to think that you couldn't help but move when I'm _sitting_ on you." He added just the right amount of heat to the word to push the sentence from innocent into smutty.

 _"We're going to have to head to the airport soon... right?"_

The tired voice as much as the words pulled Chris out of his teasing humour. Really, Adam hadn't done that much this morning, in the restaurant at least, but his lover's injuries were taking their toll and if the drugs were going to cause this dizziness and erratic moods, then CJ wanted Adam out of there as soon as possible. Still, he brought forward his inner nagging fishwife for a moment.

"Very soon Babe. I'll make sure our car's ready and sort out Tyson, but you have to promise to eat something more than chocolate cake for lunch."

With that CJ pulled Adam gently from the seat and back towards their previous table. Austin still hadn't returned from outside, but the bald man seemed to be lost in thought so he wasn't too worried. Saying thank you to Chris as he gave them one last concerned look-over before heading back to Eddie, CJ smiled a belated greeting to Trish and Molly then filled a plate with food for Adam. He doubted his blond, scowling lover would eat all the pasta and salad he'd loaded up for him, but even if he picked at it then Chris would be happy.

Five minutes later, he returned to the table to find the girls chatting avidly with Jay about a new movie due out while Tyson repeatedly looked at his watch. Chris couldn't tell if Adam had eaten anything or not, he'd put too much on the plate after all, but he knew it was the best he was likely to get for the time being. Taking advantage of a lull in the chatter between Molly and Jay, Chris interrupted.

"Shall we? I'd like to get the Wounded One into a bed in the next few hours..."

Seeing the simultaneous smirks begin to rise on Trish and Reso's faces, CJ reviewed his last statement and grinned amicably at them.

"...yeah, and I might even let him get some sleep too."

****

Allowing Hunter to draw him close, Shawn willingly took the comfort that his friend was offering, wrapping his own arms around Hunter's waist as he breathed in the familiar scent of the large body. The gentle caress on his lower back drew his tension out of him and his eyes closed briefly, shutting out the sight of the prying eyes around them. Hunter made him feel better, made him feel safe, loved... and the hell with the rest of the world. The only thing that would make the moment better would be Dave's presence as well, but this really wasn't the time or place for that sort of display.

 _"Whatever it is... it's okay Darling."_

It would be, Shawn knew. He knew he was overreacting, letting his old insecurities overrule his newfound and still-fragile happiness, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. Maybe someday, he'd be confident enough in this relationship to overcome the old fears, but the second day into it was too soon for that kind of expectation. For now, he'd settle for having Hunter soothe the fears away, just like he had so many times before.

Shivering a little as Hunter's breath blew across his ear, he thought wryly, well, maybe not _just_ like before.

 _"...you know better than anyone his ability to get over it."_

Indeed he did. There were still occasional aches in the side of his jaw that cropped up in bad weather, thanks to a hastily-thrown punch from the man in question, in response to Shawn's own button-pushing. That had led to his own fist flying, and then into a brawl that had only lasted minutes before they'd been pulled apart. Not even ten minutes later they'd looked at each and had burst into simultaneous apologies before stopping again. Shawn's relationship with Steve had been interesting, and although he wouldn't necessarily say that they were good friends, he knew that if he ever needed a strong shoulder to back up an even stronger punch, Austin would be more than willing to volunteer for the job.

 _"...Dave's saying 'sorry Dude but I thought you smacked Randy around.... "_

And wouldn't that be just like Dave? Not in those particular words, of course... Hunter was taking interesting liberties with their lover's normally more refined speech patterns.

 _"Steve's saying 'Man, you are sooo totally wrong Dude, I never touched him.'"_

Biting his lip, Shawn turned his face farther into Hunter's chest, trying not to laugh out loud. If Hunt kept this up, he wouldn't be successful for much longer... which was probably the point.

 _"...'Or do you like being his lil' bitch?'"_

God, he could just picture that... His silent laughter set his body to trembling, no matter how hard he tried to hold it back. Hunter had always been good at this, at cheering him out of his dark moods. Even during the dark days after his back surgery, when Hunt had been possibly even more upset about the results than he had been, Hunter had always managed to get a smile on his face, however weak, on the days when he just wanted to crawl into bed and die.

 _"See... everything's fine. I'm always right Shawn, you know that."_

Snorting out loud at that statement, Shawn lifted his head to meet the warm hazel ones looking down at him, his lips curling even as he shook his head. If he had a nickel for every time that Hunter had so confidently declared that he was right... Glancing over Hunt's shoulder, Shawn saw that this time, it looked as though the big goof holding him was right this time... thank God. Exhaling deeply as Dave and Austin separated, apparently on good terms, he allowed Hunter to maneuver them around to the buffet, glad somewhere deep inside that his lover had kept him close... even if it would come back to haunt him later with gentle jokes about his size.

 _"As your Lord and Master I say you may have something with sugar because you're getting skinny."_

His eyebrows raising, Shawn tilted his head back and gave Hunter a _look_ , both disbelieving and hotly inviting; the commanding tone was obviously to get a rise out of him, and it had, but at the same time, if they hadn't been in public, Shawn would have dared Hunter to follow through on the promise lurking in that statement. The arrival of their lover prevented him from answering verbally, but he promised himself to remember the moment for later.

 _"Look, Dad, no new bruises."_

Although that reluctance of Dave's to even look directly at him brought a pang along with it, and Shawn turned a little, losing his smile. Why couldn't he just control his mouth? If he was better at thinking _before_ he spoke, they could have avoided this entire moment... Rather than pursue that line of thought, he picked up his own plate and piled food on it, only realising as he did that he was ravenously hungry. They _had_ used up quite a lot of calories last night, after all... Smirking slightly at the thought, he cast another look up at the blond beside him as he added the finishing touch to his breakfast-slash-lunch... a slice of moist chocolate cake with a scoop of ice cream on top.

Walking beside Hunter as the three of them returned to the table---coffee firmly in hand for two of them---Shawn placed himself in the middle, taking a bite of his chicken before lowering his fork again and looking at Dave. Placing a hand on Dave's shoulder, Shawn waited until the big man looked at him before saying softly, "I'm sorry, Dave. I've never been good at thinking _before_ speaking, but I didn't mean to make you feel worse. Whatever happened, I know you felt you were in the right."

Stopping, Shawn wanted nothing more than to kiss the lips so close to his, to reinforce his apology with a loving touch, but remembered in time that they were in a public restaurant and that Hunter had promised they'd restrain themselves. Not that _he_ had made any such promise, but he had no wish for Hunt to get in even deeper water with his father-in-law than he already was. Instead, he settled for a gentle caress to the back of Dave's neck and a smile that hopefully reflected his intent.


	80. Announcements

Mark found himself nearly holding his breath as the silence stretched out, Sean's reaction a little more... shocked, than he'd expected. Had he been so horrible that the mere action of his apologizing was unbelievable? The sudden pressure of Jeff leaning against him took him by surprise, and he glanced up, meeting bright green eyes smiling down at him. Unnamable emotion swelled his heart, and he blinked, not quite sure what his face looked like for that moment, as he felt Jeff's fingers combing through his hair. Even that soft touch had him tilting his head slightly, and he knew that the change in their relationship had to be screamingly obvious to everyone in the room... and for once, reserved though he might be, he found that he didn't care. When he'd been with Shawn, he'd always wanted to be able to tell the world, but the realities of life at that point in time had kept them quiet, as well as his own natural discretion. Looking back, it was probably a good thing that they hadn't, but that lingering wish had always remained.

 _"And yes oh Guru of Love... I have to admit it... you were_ right _."_

Somehow, Mark suspected that they'd be hearing about that line for years to come. Ignoring the curious eyes that were practically burning holes in his head, he reached out, sliding an arm around Jeff's waist, and felt a small tension somewhere inside ease. It was more demonstrative than he normally was, but a quiet enough touch that he didn't feel uncomfortable doing it in public. Jeff would probably get him over that uncomfortable feeling anyway, because one thing his whirlwind was not was reserved, and there was no way that Jeff  _wouldn't_ touch him... and no way that Mark wouldn't want him to. Their upcoming separation, while eminently practical and in a very real way _necessary_ , was going to be hell, he could tell already.

 _"...I'm kind of surprised that you told Mark about it, though."_

Raising an eyebrow at Jeff, Mark resolved to ask him just what exactly Sean had said to him when the two of them were out of earshot of himself and Glen. Apparently it had been something... interesting.

 _"I appreciate the sentiment, really, but we both know that it won't work."_

What? While he hadn't been expecting Sean to fall all over himself with joy that finally, the big bad mean Undertaker wanted to stop being a prick and be friends with him, Mark hadn't quite been expecting what amounted to a flat refusal. In a way, he was slightly offended by that.

 _"And everyone knows that I annoy my friends more than anyone else, so if you'd like to rescind the offer... I won't take it personally. We can stick with you growling at me and me vacating the room before I lose my head."_

Well... actually, Mark hadn't really thought about that. He'd watched Sean with the rest of the Clique, but he'd always taken that group's interactions with a grain of salt anyway, so it wouldn't have occurred to him to be concerned about it when he'd made the offer. _Did_ he want to rescind it? Sean would undoubtedly drive him insane, irritate him, and push all of his buttons... For some reason, Shawn's cocky smirk and earlier question came to mind: _"Is it just his talent that's attracting you... or is it just him?"_ Being honest with himself, Mark knew that the same comment from Sean would've prompted a growl and a harsh, "None of your damned business!" in response, not the bluntly honest answer that he'd given. So it wasn't the teasing... was it the person? No, because although he'd been honest in saying that he didn't know Sean very well, he _did_ know Glen, and the effect that Sean had had on his best friend was almost astonishing sometimes. 

Slightly disgusted with himself, Mark realised that a lot of his reaction to Sean was based purely on habit. When they'd first met, years back, Sean had put on his normal bouncy airhead act and had promptly driven Mark up the nearest wall with his nosy questions. Since then, they'd developed almost a pattern to their game... but was it anything more than that?

 _"Do you really want to put up with me sticking my nose even further into your business than I already have?"_

Smiling at that, Mark leaned back and shook his head. "Hell no, I don't... but then, I've never wanted the Heartbreaker to, either, and it's never stopped him." A look down the table, and he was relieved to see Shawn and his new lovers seated together, although things still looked a little tense. Well, they had lots of things to work out just to make that kind of relationship work, and the first few months would probably be all kinds of interesting give and take. It'd been intriguing, if tantalizing at the time, to watch Shawn with Kevin and Scott going through the same sort of thing. Turning his attention back to Sean and the disbelieving expression on his face, Mark shrugged a little. "Look, Sean... you'll always be able to push my buttons and I'll always end up growling at you. If we can both work with that, I don't see why it should stop us from at least getting to know each other better, if not being best of friends. Allow me some room for my reactions, and I'll allow you room for that button-pushing... and give both of us time to get to the point where it really is a reaction instead of just a bad habit."

A pause, long enough this time to see the smile on Jeff's face and the amazement on Glen's, and he leaned forward again, careful not to dislodge Jeff's caressing fingers. "I know neither of us is big on patience, but... I think it's worth a shot. Do you?"

****

Hunter wasn't ignorant of the emotions whipping back and forth between his two lovers. Shawn would feel guilty and unhappy about reading Dave the riot act for the rest of the week if they didn't resolve it almost straight away. Dave's words as he'd returned to them after making up with Austin, his _"That stuff'll kill ya,"_ was barely even critical when compared to his other vented opinions on Hunter's caffeine intake. Even though it seemed he and the Texan had parted without further animosity, his dark lover's shoulders were slightly hunched and the whole not meeting Shawn's eye thing was a dead giveaway as to the state of Dave's feelings.

Well, at least Hunter knew he wasn't the only one with emotional baggage in this relationship.

Wondering if he should shake them both roughly by the shoulders and yell 'Get Over IT', Hunt shelved that option when he realized the pure hypocrisy he'd be spouting. that his lovers. Instead, he calmly followed Shawn as they returned to the Clique's table and smiled brightly at Kevin's inquiring look.

"Nothing serious," he told the table in his not-worried-in-the-slightest voice. "Steve and Dave had a difference of opinion and now it's settled."

Even as the words left his mouth Hunter knew they wouldn't be good enough. Everyone in the room had seen the almost fight that had broken out and human curiosity would rear its head here like it did everywhere else. Two days ago it was Scotty vs Nitro, yesterday Terry vs Adam and Chris, today's topic of gossip would be Batista and Austin going toe to toe in the restaurant of the hotel. If things rang true to form, in twenty-four hours another hiccup would have occurred to take the attention away from Dave and if it didn't, well, everyone would be home by then and have better things to do.

Looking at Shawn running his hand across the back of Dave's neck, Hunter knew he certainly had much nicer things to distract him on the weekend. Relaxing the residue of tension in his shoulders from the aborted conflict, Hunter took the opportunity to look around the table at his long time friends.

Scott and Kevin, being way more than friendly as usual and certainly not giving a damn. They were so together than Hunter was surprised they hadn't said anything to he or Shawn yet. Of course, on the plane yesterday there had been a lot more issues running circles in Hunt's head than his friends' relationship, but he'd have to be blind not to see the long-time lovers were once again in their 'happy place'. To wit... in love with each other. For Hunter, Scotty and Kev as a couple was a reassuring constant, a security of affection for such a great chunk of his life, that when it seemed they were at an end, was akin to the divorce of one's parents. Chuckling faintly, Hunter wondered who would do the killing if he ever expressed that thought to them.

Glancing over to see if Sean had come out of his funk or if something was seriously wrong with his friend, Hunter's jaw fell open with shock at the little tete a trio going on down the end of the table. Glen was looking on with an amused expression as Sean talked earnestly with Mark Calloway and... and _Jeff Hardy_? Jeff 'talented but unfocused' Hardy was leaning into the dark man with body language that just screamed 'Yep, we had sex and it was fantastic!'. Wow. In a million years Hunter would never have picked those two for a couple. But the more he thought about it, the more he could see that yeah, it could actually happen. The two had simply thrummed with _something_ when they'd done that storyline a while back and really, when you put your mind to it... they were almost made for each other.

As long as Jeff didn't flip out and Mark had the patience of a saint... they'd be fine.

Finishing his food, Hunter sipped the last dregs of his coffee and looked back at his beautiful lovers. Now there was some 'people' worth watching. The set of Dave's shoulders had eased somewhat with Shawn's words and touch, his hang-dog expression had lifted when he must have realized that he wasn't going to have shreds torn off him by the two of them. Still, Hunter wanted the big man to know that as far as he was concerned, the confrontation was ancient history.

"David?" Catching the chocolate eyes when they finally met his, Hunter said gently. "It's really not a problem Love. If you'd been right, then I would have raced you to kick his ass so... stop beating yourself up over it. That's our job now remember?"

****

Sean watched as the conflicting emotions flickered in Mark's eyes even though the man didn't give away his thoughts by so much as a twitch. He really was expecting Mark to take back his offer after his revelation of what it was like being his friend. If it ended that way, then he'd be disappointed but not truly surprised.

 _"Hell no, I don't... "_

Exactly what he'd thought. Oh well. He'd tried, right? He'd just stay out of Mark's way for awhile and everything would be fine. Oh. Avoiding Jeff for awhile would probably be a good thing as well, because asking his questions of Jeff would more than likely provoke the same growly reactions from Mark as asking the man....

 _"...but then, I've never wanted the Heartbreaker to, either, and it's never stopped him."_

Huh? Had Mark just compared him to Shawn? Sean wasn't sure whether he should be amused or insulted. Shawn tended to show a relentless side of his personality when it came to probing his friends' psyches, whereas Sean knew when to back off... he just didn't always follow what his head was telling him. Still, he knew if he and Shawn were to ask the same question and got a growling response from the Deadman... Shawn would pursue it despite the growl and he would flit off somewhere to regroup. But if he were absolutely honest, being compared to Shawn was a compliment in any case. Didn't mean he wasn't going to whine about it though, it was in his nature. And if he interpreted that statement the way he thought that he should that meant that Mark was actually going to accept his offer. Who woulda thought it?

 _"...you'll always be able to push my buttons and I'll always end up growling at you... I don't see why it should stop us from at least getting to know each other better, if not being best of friends..."_

Sean just stared. He _was_ accepting the offer. Wow... just... wow. And Sean didn't mind the growling all the time. There were times that he knew he deserved it after all. He wondered if he'd still get growled at for playing with the big man's hair as he had tried to do from time to time. Maybe not if he tried to braid it, but his fingers had always itched to put it in pigtails...

 _"Allow me some room for my reactions, and I'll allow you room for that button-pushing..."_

And the pigtails would garner him an honest growl rather than being just a reaction. Sean smiled as he imagined the strength and volume of the reaction that he'd get for _that_. He supposed that if he really tried, he could talk his fingers into the braid instead... but how would Mark react to it? And Mark was really going to give this a shot. How... odd.

 _"I know neither of us is big on patience, but... I think it's worth a shot. Do you?"_

Hey now! He had a lot of patience. After all, he'd never actually called Mark a crusty old curmudgeon... he'd always patiently waited until he was down the hall so no one would hear his muttering.

So... _did_ he think it was worth a shot?

Slanting a quick look at Glen, he knew that there wasn't really a choice. His lover would greatly appreciate it if they weren't constantly picking at each other. He would probably be stunned speechless if they actually managed to get along, but Sean wasn't going to hold his breath for that. Still... if they could be in the room for five minutes without one of them wanting to run out the door... it would certainly make it easier to be around the two of them. Glen would be happier. No choice really because that was definitely a mission in his life... Glen's happiness.

"Okay. I'm willing to try it... as long as you don't go comparing me to Shawn again, 'cause that was just _wrong_ , man," he said rolling his eyes and sticking his tongue out at the man waiting for his answer. "I'll try not to take it personally when you growl as long as you don't include the 'Deadman glare of doom'. And I'll try to keep the button pushing for things that are really important," he added with a grin.

"Now that you aren't going to kill me, I'm dying for a piece of that chocolate cake. You want some since I'm going that way?" He saw the surprise on Mark's face that he'd made the offer and he almost convinced himself not to do what he was about to do... but being Sean, he just couldn't help it. "I'll get Jeff some too, because if he doesn't stop petting you, Vince is going to have a canary when you end up tossing him on the salad bar."

Grinning over his pun, he stood and prepared to run.

\----

Glen wasn't sure that the two men were actually capable of not irritating each other, but it looked as if they were going to give it a shot. Amazing. It would be very nice if they could stand to be in the same room for more than five minutes at a time. Maybe they'd even make it to the point where they could all spend long weekends in the same place... one of the things that he'd missed.

Before Sean had become a permanent part of his life, he and Mark had often spent their off time at each other's homes... tinkering on Mark's bikes or taking long rides. The only time he and Mark really spent quality time together now was when Sean took off to play with the Clique boys and that hadn't happened as much lately with all the various things that had been taking place in that quarter. Sean hadn't wanted to intrude on Kevin and Scotty since they had admitted to talking to each other again because he'd been hoping they would finally figure out they were meant for each other. Hunter always seemed to be caught up in the business or going to Stephanie's various functions... husband things. And Shawn... he wasn't sure what had happened there, but that hadn't been as frequent either.

Of course he wouldn't take this proposed friendship as a fait accompli until they made it a week without acting like they were plotting to murder each other.

 _"Now that you aren't going to kill me, I'm dying for a piece of that chocolate cake. You want some since I'm going that way?"_

Thank god. That definitely eased some of his worries over Sean's moping earlier. He'd honestly been worried at the lack of sugar content in Sean's meal. It just wasn't Sean if he didn't have _something_ sweet and loaded with calories. Offering to get Mark some was a nice gesture as well, though he wasn't at all sure that Mark would take Sean up on it.

 _"I'll get Jeff some too, because if he doesn't stop petting you, Vince is going to have a canary when you end up tossing him on the salad bar."_

He should have known better... really he should have. Glen smothered a laugh with his hand. Sean was most definitely back to normal. Then he wanted to groan when he realized that his lover had just tagged Mark and Jeff's relationship as 'something important'. That meant Sean would comment on it as often as he possibly could. Glen waited patiently for Mark's reaction. This should be... interesting.

****

As they approached the table, Dave tried his best to ignore the curious looks from the others seated there. He hadn't given a second thought until then about what he was going to say if someone asked what had set off the altercation between he and Steve. Thankfully, Hunter took care of it for him.

 _"Steve and Dave had a difference of opinion and now it's settled."_

Dave smirked slightly at the way Hunter was handling it as he took a seat beside Shawn. Hunt's summary was the truth, but very succinct, and not nearly enough to clear the questions that any of them might have, but it would do for now. Not many would dare to push for more details at that point, though Dave wouldn't guarantee it amongst this bunch. The slight unease he felt under the curious looks was pushed aside, at least temporarily, as a hand landed on his shoulder.

He knew he wouldn't be able to avoid it forever and Dave braced himself for a reprimand about starting fights in a public place. He lifted his eyes to look into Shawn's, hoping that Shawn could read in his how sorry he was for losing control like that. It wasn't like him to do that and it still stung a bit that he'd been so out of control over something that had ended up being a false assumption.

 _"I'm sorry, Dave... I didn't mean to make you feel worse. Whatever happened, I know you felt you were in the right."_

And why was Shawn apologizing to him yet again? Obviously he hadn't convinced Shawn that what he'd said earlier was deserved. Shawn's hand slipping along the back of his neck sent a tingle down his spine and Dave wanted nothing more than to lean in and kiss away that lingering guilt in his lover's eyes, but... he'd already made a public spectacle of himself once today. Twice would be pushing it. Instead, he slid his hand in a gentle stroke down the length of Shawn's thigh, his eyes caressing the blond's lips as he wasn't allowed to do with his mouth.

"Shawn, please stop apologizing. Even if I would have been right, which I wasn't, I deserved worse for trying to prolong the ordeal because of a provoking comment about... us," he whispered back quietly, hoping that he wasn't providing fodder for the group. "I knew better than to take the bait, but with everything that's happened in the last two days... I've been a little out of sorts." His mouth tilted in a half-grin as he admitted to himself how much of an understatement that was. "You'd better eat that cake before all of your ice cream melts."

Dave smiled as Shawn started eating again. At least Shawn hadn't lost his appetite over the whole thing, Dave thought as he looked at his lover's plate. Dave poked at the food on his plate, still not terribly hungry. After all, even if Shawn was over the whole fiasco, that still left Hunter. And he was well aware of Hunter's views on fighting among the talent.

Besides, he was too busy trying to figure out what the deal was with Mark Calaway and Jeff Hardy. Apparently the three of them weren't the only ones announcing a new relationship with their body language. Odd couple really, but then again, many could say that about their little trio. They hadn't actually come right out and told anyone that they were together, but Dave knew it would be obvious to anyone who wasn't blind.

 _"David?"_

Dave turned to look at Hunter, though he wasn't really sure he wanted to. Now? He'd kind of expected Hunter to hold the lecture until they were alone, but if he wanted to do it now... then Dave would just have to suck it up and...

 _"It's really not a problem, Love..."_

He was caught between shock and amusement. Shock that Hunter said it wasn't a problem. Amusement over Hunter's inadvertent announcement of the obvious. If anyone at the table hadn't figured it out by now, the interaction between him and Shawn earlier and the endearment from Hunter would be akin to flashing neon signs.

 _"If you'd been right, then I would have raced you to kick his ass so... stop beating yourself up over it. That's our job now remember?"_

Dave raised a single brow at his lover. It was their job now? But neither of them were doing that particular job, they were both letting him off the hook. Dave shook his head slightly, surprised that he'd been so off about their reactions. Still... just to make sure...

"So... does that mean that I'm not grounded? I still get dessert?" he asked, reaching with his spoon to swipe a bite of Shawn's ice cream. He considered other options as he licked the sweet cream off the spoon. "Unless you're just waiting until we get back to your place to sp..."

He bit his tongue before he managed to finish that sentence. It didn't stop the blush creeping up his face though when he realized that at least one person, other than Shawn and Hunter, had heard what he was saying and most likely managed to finish his sentence just fine. It deepened to bright pink when he noticed Scott cover his mouth, cough, and then smile widely.

The very moment he found himself alone he was going to order that gag...

And have it shipped overnight.

****

 _"You know I won't until it's all over, Kev."_

Smiling fondly at the man in his arms, Kevin did know better. He might've ended up with the "Big Daddy" nickname, but Scott was worse than he was when it came to their little family. Watching the three men in the middle of the room only made his smile wider. Scotty was probably just seeing Shawn being upset with Dave over the scene they'd just witnessed, but Kevin could see the worry underlying Shawn's gestures... and the immediate guilt as he apparently said too much. Hunter's immediate reaction after Dave left to talk to Austin kept Kevin where he was, rather than going to offer the comfort that Heartbreaker obviously needed. Hopefully those two would be able to break Shawn of that habit; the speaking without thinking, you could get used to, but the overreactions when he felt like he'd said something wrong were something else altogether.

Vince would be having a fit, seeing the body language running rampant in the room. CJ was hovering over Adam and looked like he was getting ready to haul the injured blond away, hopefully to take him and put him to bed for a while. Benny was just sitting down next to Eddie again, and whatever was causing the odd little tension there seemed to disappear as Eddie leaned over and spoke quietly into Chris's ear for a minute. The wide-eyed look on Benoit's face made Kevin wonder what exactly Latino Heat had just said, but he decided that he was probably better off not knowing, as the somewhat strained expression Benny had been wearing melted into a damned near heart-warming one, complete with half-embarrassed crooked smile. Benoit was terribly cute when he relaxed; he'd have to try to remember to share that thought with Scotty.

Later. When his lover didn't look impatient and exasperated, as he dropped himself into a chair and stared around at everyone. Wondering what exactly had brought the surprised smile to Scott's face, Kevin turned slightly to follow Scott's gaze... and found himself grinning as well, as Jeff gave Mark a thorough look-over, apparently for Scott's benefit, as Jeff stuck his tongue out at Scott afterward. Maybe Mark had finally confronted whatever it was that he obviously felt for the kid... or maybe Jeff had just surprised him by forcing the issue. Either way, those two would be worth watching in the future, too.

 _"Today is just full of surprises, Kev. Do you think we'll ever be able to sit down and have a nice calm lunch with this crew?"_

Sitting next to Scotty, Kevin shook his head as he draped an arm around Scott's shoulders. "No. When have we ever been able to do _anything_ quietly and calmly?" Letting the rest of their family mill around and finally start to settle, Kevin realised that it wasn't so little anymore, really. It was more than just the five of them, these days. With lovers and friends, they'd grown quite a bit over the years... and seeing the evidence of that brought out something inside Kevin, something warm and comfortable and happy. There had been times that he'd thought they'd end up killing each other if not themselves, so seeing the place they'd reached now, albeit recently for some of them, where no one was alone or lonely and everyone was happy had Kevin nodding in contentment. Leaning in slightly, Kev whispered into Scott's ear, "I think it's about time for our announcement, babe. What do you say?"

****

 _"Very soon Babe. I'll make sure our car's ready and sort out Tyson, but you have to promise to eat something more than chocolate cake for lunch."_

While CJ pulled him from his seat and led him across the room, Adam mumbled something under his breath about bossy blond nursemaids. Not that Chris seemed to notice. He was too busy plotting and arranging for their imminent departure and handing Adam a plate of food that he couldn't possibly have eaten half of.

As he picked around another piece of purple cabbage, he determined that he and Chris were definitely going to be having a talk about the evils of alfalfa sprouts as a salad topping. The pasta salad wasn't bad, but why did it seem like they put green peppers in everything? Wrinkling his nose as he shoved a chunk of the vegetable out of the way to stab a piece of rotini, he thought once again about how nice it would be to settle in at his house with Chris.

He was proud of the way that the place had turned out since he'd finally taken the time to put furniture in the house. While he was on the road, he hadn't bothered with more than the basics, because he was never home to enjoy them. He'd saved up enough money to redo the place, but hadn't gotten around to it before his surgery. He had been thankful for that fact later. Sitting around doing nothing had driven him nuts so he'd decided to go ahead with the refurbishment while he was off. He hadn't been able to do any of the actual work, had had to hire out for people to arrange the stuff and lay the carpets for him, but he'd picked out every single piece.

By the time it was finished, he'd been due back to work and hadn't really had a chance to show it all off. Jay was probably the only one that had seen the entire setup due to the fact that he'd pulled his seclusion stunt after things had gone sour with Terry. His friend had assured him that the place was now truly a comfortable home, but he wouldn't feel that way until he had someone special to share it with him. It was just furniture after all... still he really hoped that Chris would like what he'd done with the place... especially the kitchen. He'd had plenty of time to watch all the cooking shows on television while he was sitting there unable to move and to his surprise he'd actually turned out to be pretty good at cooking. Though he had to admit that it had sucked to be cooking for only one person all of the time.

Damn. He wasn't sure there was actually anything edible in the house since he hadn't expected to spend much time there before the pay per view. He'd have to let Frannie know that he was going to be home for the rest of the week. She came twice a week to clean the place, he really didn't need her there more often than that, though she'd been a godsend during his recuperation. She'd made it a habit to come on Thursdays so that they could shoot the breeze and so he could give her any special instructions for that week and she stopped by on Mondays while he was gone. She'd caught him mooning over a picture of Chris one day while he was sitting at home after his surgery, so she knew all about Chris, but walking in to find them going at it on the sofa might just be a bit much for the woman. He'd call on the way home to give her the day off.

As far as groceries, he'd call his neighbor's daughter Jessica and see if she minded running to the store for him. She and her parents kept an eye on the place for him while he was away. Sweet sixteen and smart as a whip, she'd told him one day that he was pretty smart for a muscle-bound jock. No worries there about a school-girl crush, since Jessie was going to marry a heart surgeon or a rocket scientist. He knew because she'd told him so. She wasn't about to settle for anyone who wasn't as smart as she was... although, she did admit to having a slight crush on Chris after having seen him visit the day that Adam had overdone his workout. Adam would love to see her face when she realized who he was bringing home with him. He'd just have to find his cell phone on the way to the airport, if he hadn't lost the damn thing again.

He was scowling at another errant piece of cabbage when Chris came back to the table, his mind half on the movie that Jay, Trish, and Molly were discussing. Maybe he could talk Chris into going to see it while they were home. Probably not. Chris would probably order him to bed as soon as they got home and try to keep him there by any means, fair or foul. He was taking a shower tonight though, with or without permission, cause damn did his head itch.

 _"Shall we? I'd like to get the Wounded One into a bed in the next few hours..."_

He snickered quietly at the reactions of Jay and Trish before stuffing one last piece of pasta into his mouth. Then he squinched up his nose... green pepper and way too much vinegar. Ew.

 _"...yeah, and I might even let him get some sleep too."_

Adam pushed himself from his chair, more eager to get to the part of that statement that didn't involve sleep. He wondered if Chris would still be interested in a mid-air rendezvous. He could always hope so.

As they made their way across the restaurant, he turned to his lover. "Have you seen my phone by any chance? I need to call Frannie and tell her not to come over tomorrow and I need to see if Jessie can run an errand for me before we get home."

****

 _"Steve and Dave had a difference of opinion and now it's settled."_

That was it? That was all Hunter was going to say about the incident? Scott was so going to pry the details from Shawn... maybe on Sunday. Scott knew more than anyone that an incident you thought was settled could come back to bite you in the ass later. He didn't want Dave ending up getting hurt because he'd dropped his guard where Austin was concerned. Austin was dangerous when he was pissed off. Until he was sure it was nothing to worry about, he'd keep a wary eye on things.

 _"...Vince is going to have a canary when you end up tossing him on the salad bar."_

Good lord. Scott was eminently glad that they'd chosen tables set away from anyone else in the restaurant, because if anyone heard the conversations going on at this table, then Vince would blow a gasket. None of them were being particularly discreet and with the announcement that he was going to make, he was sure there would be a few more comments to add to the one that Sean had just made. Sean seemed to be a little perkier now and that was a good thing, but saying something like that... Scott shook his head at his friend's daring. Mark was going to end up pushing the guy out of a plane one of these days.

 _"I think it's about time for our announcement, babe. What do you say?"_

Scott shivered slightly as Kevin's breath caressed his ear. He leaned into his lover for a moment before turning to smile at him.

"Yeah, I think now would be great."

He pushed himself slowly to his feet, grabbing Kevin's hand in his own as he did so. He was about to try to get the attention of the others at the table when he overheard a bit of Hunter and Dave's conversation.

 _"So... does that mean that I'm not grounded? I still get dessert?"_

Scott watched as Dave licked his spoon clean, then shook his head. While Kevin would more than likely appreciate the thought that had just flitted through his head, Hunter and Shawn probably wouldn't. And then Dave did him in with the killing blow.

 _"Unless you're just waiting until we get back to your place to sp..."_

Good lord above. He fought it, honest he did. He covered his mouth and coughed, trying to hold back the laughter that wanted to burst free. Dave was going to fit in with their group just fine. The only reason he didn't burst out laughing was because he could see that Dave was a bit... okay, a lot... embarrassed that Scott had heard what he'd said. He wasn't sure if anyone else at the table had heard what the man said aside from Shawn and Hunter, but he decided to cut the poor guy a break.

"Hey yo!"

Having gained everyone's attention, damn it still worked, Scott smiled at the assorted faces that turned to look at him.

"Since you are all here now," he said, rubbing his thumb over the back of Kevin's hand. "When we invited you guys down here, there were actually several reasons for it. The first was because we haven't gotten together like this in quite awhile and I've really missed all the chaos that you guys provide." Scott grinned even wider at the assorted groans and snorts that accompanied that statement. "The second reason was because we didn't want to go four days without seeing the ugly mugs of all our friends... which brings me to the third reason.... " He turned for a moment to look at Kevin, sure that everything he felt for the man was discernible in that single look before turning back to the group.

"You guys are the people we're the closest to. Some of you have been with Kev and I through all the ups and downs throughout the years so we wanted you all to be the first ones to know. After the last big down, I never thought I'd be able to say this, but Kev and I have decided to give _us_ another chance. I'm going to move most of my things back to our house during our off time. This time around, I _know_ we're going to get it right."

With one last squeeze to Kevin's hand, Scott sat down and waited for their friends' reactions. He was also waiting for it to actually settle in. They really were back together now. It wasn't just an unattainable dream of his anymore.

****

 _"Chris? Do you find it just as hard to keep your Latin Lover in one place when he's hurt?"_

Taken by surprise at the question, Chris just blinked at CJ, not quite sure what to say. And after his doubts just moments earlier about his own actions in their relationship, he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to be discussing his and Eddie's relationship in public anyway, even if Jericho was an old friend and only half-serious. He just... wasn't comfortable with the setting. Or the topic.

Fortunately, Adam saved him from having to reply.

 _"Not likely. He just glares him into submission. Gives him that Rabid Wolverine look. Kind of like the one on his face right now. And if that didn't work, he'd just sit on him."_

Or maybe not so fortunately. Narrowing his eyes for real at the tall blond, Chris pushed aside any thoughts of sitting on Eddie from last night and forced himself not to look embarrassed. One of the things he _had_ to work on was his damned blushing. At his age, he shouldn't embarrass so easily, and around the company he kept, he really couldn't afford to. Maybe after that, he could work on actually being able to return the teasing... there had been a point in time where he'd been halfway decent at that, anyway. Bret had had a hand in stopping that, by benefit of the Look that he could level at anyone and the lecture that tended to accompany it, but Bret wasn't around anymore, and even though he was still a friend, Chris knew he needed to get past the block that the brunet had helped create.

Damn.

Still speechless as CJ maneuvered Copeland up and away, Chris was lost in thought for a long moment as he considered what he'd so unexpectedly thought of. Bret... and his renowned humourlessness backstage. Was his own reticence a combination of his natural reserve and... habit from being embarrassed by Bret too many times?

Mouth twisting, Chris turned and walked slowly back to the table, taking a seat by Eddie. That was definitely something to think about, because if that's where this tension in the back of his mind had originated, he was going to hunt Bret down and smack the hell out of him for it. While he'd always been reserved, he'd never been _this_ bad in his earlier years...

Lost in thought, Chris jumped a little as an arm settled around his shoulders, smiling sheepishly at his lover as Eddie looked a question at him. "Sorry. Just... thinking."

\----

Something was definitely up with his lover, Eddie thought as he watched Benny surreptitiously kick a chair underneath Copeland before the blond fell over. While he couldn't hear what they were saying, he could imagine it as he saw the familiar concerned-but-hiding-it-under-aggravation expression that he recognised from long personal experience with it. His own lips twitched a little as he watched the scene, but his smile disappeared when he saw the expression on Chris's face at whatever Jericho had said to him.

That did it. Whatever was bothering Chris, they were going to have it out tonight, because it was getting worse. The faraway eyes in that face as Benoit sat down next to him again made him wonder if Chris wasn't thinking on that selfsame subject, but the faint air of insecurity hanging over him had Eddie moving before he even thought about it. No one else would have noticed, but he'd been too close to Chris for too long not to see it, and with his heightened sensitivity to his lover's emotions right now, there was no way it was passing unnoticed. Or unacted on.

Draping his arm around Chris's shoulders in a publicly friendly way, Eddie pulled his lover up close to his side and leaned in. Wide eyes met his own, and he smiled a little. He'd always counted himself as one of the luckiest men in the world to have Benoit as his best friend, but...

"Y'know, the best day of my life was when you first told me that you loved me," he said softly. The faint flush that came over Chris's face was appealing, but even better was the smile. That was one of Eddie's favourite smiles, but he rarely saw it these days: The shy, happy smile that reflected a little bit of embarrassment, a little bit of disbelief, and all of the love in Chris's heart. That told Eddie that he'd been right---his lover needed some reassurance right now, even if he was too proud to ever admit it, let alone ask for any. Good thing for him that Eddie could read him better than he could himself, and was more than willing to tell the man in front of him exactly how much he meant to him.

Reaching up with his other hand, he took Benny's hand in his own, interlacing their fingers, and placed it over his own heart. "You've had my heart for as long I can remember, _mi corazon_. And I can't think of any place I'd rather it be."

Any chance Chris might have had to respond vanished as Scott stood up and got their attention, their heads both snapping around almost instinctively at the "Hey yo!" Eddie chuckled. Some things would never change... and the couple standing in front of them was one of those things.

 _"You guys are the people we're the closest to.... so we wanted you all to be the first ones to know.... This time around, I know we're going to get it right."_

His smile widening, Eddie tightened his grip on Chris just a little as he turned to meet his lover's gaze. Chris was smiling a little too, and Eddie knew suddenly that this time around, they would all be friends, not just acquaintances. And, he thought confidently, he and Chris would work out whatever was troubling him and move on. Eddie had made enough mistakes of his own to understand completely the smile on Scott's face and the reassuring hug that Kevin gave the big man. Chris had forgiven his, and their relationship had only gotten stronger, deeper.

Some things _had_ changed... and only for the better.

****

The warmth in the dark eyes finally meeting his warmed Shawn's heart, although the fingers sliding gently down his thigh made him tingle for reasons that had nothing to do with the relief he felt as the last of his guilt fled. Dave was a huge tease, whether this particular tease was purposeful or not. Not that Shawn was going to complain about having his lover touch him; far from it. If he'd had his way, and judging from the look in those eyes Dave felt the same, Dave would've been kissing the breath out of him rather than quietly absolving him of blame.

 _"...please stop apologizing.... I deserved worse for trying to prolong the ordeal because of a provoking comment about... us."_

Well... probably true, but Shawn rather thought that they'd all better get used to "provoking comments" about their new relationship, because there were sure to some thrown around with regularity for a while. After the shiny newness of the arrangement wore off, and after something arose to take the place of their top spot in the personal gossip, they'd die down, but until then... Catching sight of Jericho and Copeland leaving, it occurred to Shawn that the top gossip spot might already have been taken by others. Although the little showdown between Dave and Steve might just have bumped the mess with Terry the day before already.

 _"I've been a little out of sorts.... You'd better eat that cake before all of your ice cream melts."_

Resisting the temptation to poke his tongue out at Dave, Shawn started eating again. The chicken and salad disappeared quickly, and a quick glance at his dessert showed that his ice cream was indeed starting to melt. That gave him the right to eat it before the rest of the food... right? Glancing around the table as he started in on the chocolate cake, his eyebrows shot up when he spotted Mark... and Jeff. Together. In fact... was that Mark's _arm_ around Hardy's waist? And Jeff's fingers in Mark's hair? Well, now. Apparently he'd been dead on yesterday... and Mark was _so_ going to hear about it, too. He knew there was no way that he'd offend Jeff by teasing them, and he already knew that he could run faster than the Dead Man. Suddenly, the prospect of working with those two over the next few months looked far more entertaining than it had earlier. And the fact that one of his closest friends actually looked happy for the first time in years didn't hurt, either.

Realising as he swallowed a bite of cake that said closest friend was actually sitting and talking to _Sean_ , of all people made his eyebrows raise again. That was... odd, to say the least. Those two had never been good for anything but driving each other insane. Maybe they were going to try to work things out. Glen would undoubtedly appreciate that, since Shawn remembered how much time Glen and Mark had spent together when he and Mark were still together. Making a mental note to catch up with Sean sometime soon, since they'd managed to drift apart lately for some reason, he was just reaching for more ice cream when Hunter spoke up.

 _"It's really not a problem, Love..."_

Who wouldn't smile at that? Not only was big bad Triple H, the Cerebral Assassin, a cuddler... but he liked public displays of affection. And not just with Shawn. That was to be expected, with the way they'd always treated each other. The endearment to Dave, however, was _not_ expected, and obviously Hunt hadn't thought twice before saying it, let alone after. The look on Dave's face was priceless, and Shawn smiled as the ice cream finally made it into his mouth.

 _"That's our job now remember?"_

It was? Flashing an inquiring look at Hunter and wondering just how exactly he'd meant that, he laughed quietly at Dave's response. Until Dave stole some of his ice cream. Glaring in jealous possessiveness, Shawn's indignant complaint was replaced by a quiet sigh as that agile tongue flicked out and licked the spoon clean. That brought back memories of the day before...

 _"Unless you're just waiting until we get back to your place to sp..."_

Shawn almost choked. The deepening blush on Dave's face told him that the comment hadn't been intentional, although the images it brought to mind were sweet, to say the least. He didn't quite dare look at Hunter, but his thoughts were racing. Apparently there was more to their Animal than he'd suspected... and he was damned well going to find out about it at the first opportunity.

 _"Hey yo!"_

Turning to look at Scott before he'd even realised what he was doing, Shawn smiled. Some things just never changed. And some, he was happy to see from the body language in front of them, only changed for the better. He'd suspected two nights ago that his two friends were together again, and the way they'd been acting this morning only proved him right. Good. He'd never known anyone more suited for each other than those two, and every time he remembered the time he'd spent with them, he felt a little brush of pleasure and slight awe that they'd allowed him to partake in the deep, abiding love that they shared.

Looked like they'd finally realised what they shared was too important to lose.

 _"I've really missed all the chaos that you guys provide."_

Snorting, Shawn shook his head at the look that Kevin shot at him. The chaos _they_ provided? How about the chaos that the Outsiders were perfectly capable of causing on their own, thank you? Typical. So typical, to blame everyone else for something that they inspired... Shawn's lips curled upward at the edges in response to Scotty's acknowledging grin. And that look that the Bad Guy flashed to Kevin... If it wouldn't have been so damned girly, Shawn's eyes would've teared up at that look. It held everything that he'd ever wished for, ever wanted to have for himself. Letting his spoon hit the plate, Shawn quietly slid one hand onto Hunt's knee, squeezing slightly, as his other hand found its way up around Dave's waist.

 _"Kev and I have decided to give us another chance.... This time around, I know we're going to get it right."_

Grinning broadly, Shawn met Scott's and Kevin's eyes in turn, letting them know silently how very happy he was for them. Besides, anything he might've tried to say would've been drowned out by Kid down at the end of the table, who was acting like he'd gone insane. Turning his head to meet each of his lovers' eyes in their own turn, Shawn's smile softened as he took in the two men who had given him everything he'd ever wanted. No matter how much work it took or how hard it was, he knew that they'd get it right, too.

****

Jeff looked away from Sean’s too expressive face as the dark-haired man mulled over Mark’s offer of a peace treaty. He didn’t want his own stare boring into Waltman to have any negative affects on the outcome of the negotiations. Keeping his body firmly resting against his lover’s, and yes he was going to think lover even if it was only true in a technicality, Jeff tried to lend a little stability if Sean laughed in Mark’s face. Not that he seriously thought The Kid would, if they were as alike as Jeff suspected then any overture of friendship would be met with joyful and bouncing acceptance rather than disinterest. Sean Waltman needed people like others needed air, life was just no fun if there weren’t personalities around to poke at.

But it was Mark’s eloquent and honest proposal that had Jeff looking away and blinking quickly at the sting in his eyes. Damn, damn, damn. Why had he so misjudged the man currently stroking warm currents of pleasure across his back? Mark was demonstrating once again why he was such a hell of catch, offering a beautiful olive branch to someone he wasn’t sure he could get on with just because he might have fallen into a rut in his behaviour. His new lover obviously had a capacity for self-analysis that was going to leave Jeff in the dust if he didn’t get his shit together and catch up. Glancing around the room, Jeff wondered if there were some bridges he should look to mending in the future, his last term with the WWE had ended on a sour note with quite a few people he’d once considered friends and following Mark’s example mightn’t be a bad idea.

Smiling wryly to himself, Jeff wondered what had happened last night that his outlook on life had changed so very quickly from “fuck you all, I don’t need you” to “about that time I was an asshole…well sorry”. Looking back towards the dark head so close to his heart, Jeff stopped wondering.

He’d stumbled into the best thing that might ever happen to him.

Jeff could almost feel his ‘best thing’s’ breath being released in a quite sigh of relief as Sean finally broke from his amazement and answered Mark’s question.

 _“Okay. I'm willing to try it... as long as you don't include the 'Deadman glare of doom'…I’ll try to keep the button pushing for things that are really important,"_

Jeff laughed out loud as Sean had the gall to stick his tongue out at Mark over the Shawn comparison. He wondered what the dark haired nutcase would do if Jeff shared his own little identity insight with the other man. He’d bet he’d get a lot more than a tongue. Urgh. Not what he’d meant to think at all. Sean might be cute and attractive in his own impish way, but Jeff doubted they’d survive the experience of their two personalities in one relationship. Besides, Glen would probably beat him to death with his own arm for trying.

 _“I'll get Jeff some too…you end up tossing him on the salad bar."_

Jeff was glad he hadn’t been drinking anything at that moment because he was sure he would have spat it out his nose. Without much thought he pulled his fingers away from the reaper tattoo that they’d been tracing on the back of Mark’s neck and straightened his stance to give their proximity a bit more decorum. He knew Sean was kidding, but if Jeff was being too touchy-feely then it might get back to Vince and the man wouldn’t be happy.

Blood draining from his cheeks, Jeff sat down hard in Sean’s vacated seat as a new aspect of the reality of the situation came crashing down on his head. What would Vince think when he found out, and there was no doubt the main man _would_ find out, that ‘too many chances Hardy’ was climbing into bed with the Undertaker? Jeff had no illusions that Vince would indeed have a canary at the idea, particularly when it had been Mark to convince the WWE CEO to take him back in the first place. While he’d been ready to kick heads and talk shit with Paul. E’s filthy mind, that had been because it wasn’t true. Now that they were together, or at the very least giving it a shot, would Vince rescind his favour to Mark? Would he read Jeff the riot act, again, about keeping his private life separate from the business?

Anyone looking around the restaurant at the moment would see the futility of that policy but Jeff didn’t have the luxury to tell Vince where to go jump. If he wanted to stay in the WWE, if he wanted to stay anywhere near Mark Calaway, then he had to know what he was allowed to do in public and what had to be kept private.

“S-Sean has a point in all that chatter Mark,” Jeff finally dragged his gaze back to the deep, concerned jade of his lover’s. “What _is_ Vince going to think?”


	81. Designs

_"So... does that mean that I'm not grounded? I still get dessert?"_

Although Dave was directing the query at him, the way his lover’s eyes fixed on Shawn and then the chocolate cake left Hunter in little doubt as to the actual intention. For his part the idea of chocolate cake at midday was almost nauseating, but the thought of his gorgeous David eating the confection from Shawn’s stomach was one that twisted Hunt’s insides in a totally different and pleasurable, way. Hunter used every trick in his formidable acting book to keep the rush of desire he felt at that image off his face. It didn’t help his efforts any though, when Dave filched a scoop of ice cream and began licking the spoon like he was starting the mother of all blow jobs either. Hunter looked down at his own grilled fish and tried really, really hard not to imagine he and his lovers entwined on a bed, several choices of dessert arrayed around them for Dave and Shawn’s culinary delight.

 _“Unless you're just waiting until we get back to your place to sp..."_

Oh yeah, thanks heaps there Dave. Having completely lost the ability to think about anything other than sex, Hunter shot his exotic lover an exasperated look and promptly fell in love all over again with the sweet rosy blush riding high on those delicious cheekbones. If it had been humanly possible, Dave Batista would have pulled his tongue out by the root for the words that had just left his mouth. They were sitting at a table with Hunter’s family, so he didn’t give a damn what Dave said as long as he could finish his lunch without dying from laughter or hormones, but obviously the other man did care if his sheepish expression and bright skin was anything to go by. Hunt almost wanted to offer reassurances again, but hazarded that any attempts to help right now would probably make the situation ten times worse.

Still he was Hunter.

“That’s it Lover,” he whispered across Shawn, as Scotty rose to his feet at the other end of the table. “When we get home tonight, young man, you are in Big Trouble.”

 _"Hey yo!"_

Giving Dave a moment to regain his composure, Hunt settled back with his empty coffee cup and directed his attention to the other darkly beautiful man at the table. He and Scotty had always been dear to each other, even if neither of them could match the level of intimacy they had with Kevin. His friendship with the big man had been a mainstay in Hunter’s life, but his relationship with the Bad Guy far more complex. More like brothers than best friends, they weren’t always on the same page, but the connection, the blood, was there no matter what happened. Even during Scott’s darkest times, Hunt had hoped that the man would have turned to him for help if he’d needed it, but the call had never been made. Scott had worked through his issues on his own and was a better man for it. As demonstrated by the look on his face right now.

 _“…we haven't gotten together like this in quite awhile..."_

Hunt would shoulder his fair share of the blame for that lack, his own discomfort with Kevin and fear that he’d alienated his friends through his alliance with Stephanie had often resulted in convenient excuses when those sparse invitations had come. His vulnerability in front of these men was another reason that he’d avoided them all for so long, they knew him far too well for his front to fool any of them for long. Only Shawn had refused to be avoided…as usual.

 _“Some of you have been with Kev and I through all the ups and downs...”_

Hunter was painfully aware that he hadn’t been there this last time, in fact had done very little to support Kevin when the other man had to have been in world of agony. It brought home to him that while they may have apologized yesterday and cleared the air, there was a lot of work to be done to fix the breach that had separated them.

 _“…I'm going to move most of my things back to our house…”_

He would have to have been blind not have seen that the two men were sharing their bed again, the intimate touches, the knowing, glowing grins that spoke of very, very good sex. It was obvious, it was healthy, it was such a damn good outcome for all their bruises over the years. Hunter just didn’t know why he wasn’t shouting with happiness for them. Sean was going ape shit at the end of the table, his Heartbreaker looked like he was soaking up the bliss and radiating back at he and Dave like a spotlight and Hunter….?

Hunter was wondering if them moving back in together was the wisest move. He’d likened their relationship to one of loving parents, such a solid basis for his reality that when it had crumbled, a part of Hunter had crumbled too. Oh, it wasn’t that he was jealous of their happiness. God no. The more Kevin and Scott smiled, the more the world was a better place, no, it was a niggling fear that if it happened once…it could happen again. The two men shared something so profoundly deep, so strong and sure that they almost blistered Hunter with their brilliance at times. But with that same brilliance came a price, love like theirs could tear your soul if you didn’t handle it right.

What he’d done to Shawn two nights ago was a perfect example. Hard, passionate, ecstatic love was what had lead him to be so brutal in the limousine and what had lead to Kevin’s devastated face the day he’d accused Hunter of betrayal. Scotty and Kev had the power to ransack each other’s hearts if things went wrong, as they’d done before, and Hunter was finding it very difficult to be happy they were giving each other those weapons once again. Hunt loved them both dearly, he never wanted to see the heartbroken looks on their faces again. Raising his eyes from the dregs at the bottom of his coffee cup, he looked at those faces and hoped with everything in him that they were making the right choice.

That was when he saw it. Beyond the excited smiles and bright loving eyes, deeper than the naughty humour and tender flesh. They knew. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall knew exactly what Hunter was afraid of, they knew they were giving each other the power to destroy their capacity to care again… and it was still going to happen. Loving each other was worth the risk, their eyes said, their bodies said.

Humbled by their courage, Hunter gave them the gift of a soft, genuine smile. He didn’t understand that strength, one day Hunt hoped he might have it, but for now, he could see it and marvel.

As unofficial and totally officious spokesperson for the rest of the Kliq, Sean not counting because one word in three was insane, Hunter stood up and raised his coffee cup.

“Everyone will want to have their say on the subject guys, but if I might be the first?” Even Sean kept his babble down to a whisper and Hunt sent a mental thanks to his friend for the consideration. “Nothing gives me more hope that my life will be okay that seeing you two back together again. You have something I envy and that is the courage to keep loving no matter what life throws at you. Scott… Kevin… well done.” The true support of Dave and Shawn at his side was Hunter’s own strength as he looked at his two very dear friends.

“Also…I’m so not helping you move your stuff again Scotty. It weighs a ton.”

****

Deciding that since he didn't have a gag, a piece of bread would have to suffice, Dave reached for the slice on his plate as he slanted a look at Hunter and Shawn to judge their reactions to his slip. Shawn looked a little dazed or maybe he was just trying really hard not to laugh. Hunt on the other hand looked caught somewhere between irritated and interested. He wasn't really sure how to interpret that, but he had no problems at all deciphering Hunt's words.

 _"That’s it Lover... When we get home tonight, young man, you are in Big Trouble."_

A rabid flash of lust spiraled through his body at the thought... if only Hunter actually _meant_ it. Oh, he didn't doubt that Hunter might actually spank him... in retaliation for this morning if nothing else, but what would his lovers think of his reaction to it? What would happen if he asked for more? Or if he asked Hunter to use a belt instead? And once he'd received his punishment, how would they view his noticeable arousal? If he begged Hunter prettily would he finally get what he'd been waiting for or be deemed just a little too freaky for 'The Game's' tastes? From the clues that Shawn had given off so far, he'd be cheering on the sidelines if not asking to take a turn... and he so should not be thinking about this in present company.

 _"Hey yo!"_

He looked to Scott, unable to help responding to the call for attention. Truthfully, he was glad for the distraction even if it was by the other witness to his verbal slip. Maybe it'd give him a chance to lose some of the color in his cheeks.

 _"...we haven't gotten together like this in quite awhile and I've really missed all the chaos that you guys provide."_

Nope, that color wasn't going anywhere just yet. Dave was a brand new member of this little band but he'd definitely added to the chaos today. He knew that Scott wasn't referring specifically to the incident earlier, the looks from Kev and Scott directed in Shawn's direction were proof of that. He was just feeling a lingering self-consciousness about it. At least it made him feel like he fit in, in some little way. He smiled slightly when he realized how telling that statement was.

 _"You guys are the people we're the closest to..."_

Okay, so he was being included because of his new relationship rather than real proximity to the Outsiders, but he was hoping to change that. He'd make the time to get to know these people that were so important to his lovers. For now, he was just honored to be included in this crazy group.

 _"...Some of you have been with Kev and I through all the ups and downs throughout the years so we wanted you all to be the first ones to know."_

Dave obviously hadn't been there through all of that, but he'd heard bits and pieces of some of the ups and downs. Not that he listened to gossip often, but sometimes you couldn't help but hear things being tossed about in locker rooms. Everyone was aware of Hall's battles with alcohol and that he was currently clear of that addiction. Most people hoped that he'd stay that way, though there would always be a few that hoped for the worst in this business. And there were stories backstage about the loving and fighting between the two men, both having been witnessed from time to time by others. Dave's particular favorite involved a tale about Kevin trying to take off Goldberg's head for a comment that he'd made about Scott. Just went to show that some people really were that stupid.

 _"...I never thought I'd be able to say this, but Kev and I have decided to give us another chance... This time around, I know we're going to get it right."_

Seeing the look that Scott directed at Kevin, Dave's breath caught in his throat for a moment. He was happy for the two men to have worked their way through so much to get back together, but at the same time he was jealous. He couldn't help it... that look said so much without either man having to say a word. That was what he wanted for himself. That level of devotion, that willingness to risk it all by putting your heart in someone's hands, the knowledge that the other person was willing to risk it all as well.

He was taking that risk right now, setting himself up for a huge fall if this budding relationship fell through. In such a short time he had already invested so much of himself on the chance that this would work out... that Shawn would come to love him and Hunter would work through his problems. And he needed to stop thinking like this right now before he talked himself right out of this relationship. Time... he had to give it time. He no longer had a choice about taking the risk, that decision had already been made.

He was jerked out of those thoughts by two simultaneous distractions...

The first took the form of Sean Waltman screaming like an insane man.

 _"I knew it! I told you, didn't I Glen? I told you they'd get back together. No I will not hush. This is kind of like that movie... what's it called again? The one where the kid's parents split up and then get back together at the end of the movie... awesome movie. And I always knew that Kev and Scott would too, so there!"_

Okay... Waltman was insane, but the good kind of insane from Dave's point of view.

The second distraction was the warm touch at his waist. It startled him and if he hadn't immediately recognized it as Shawn, he would have jumped out of his seat. He turned to look at his lovers and found Shawn smiling like crazy, a smile that he managed to return. Hunter on the other hand looked like he was trying to find answers in the bottom of his coffee cup. Well he hadn't expected that. Surely Hunter was happy for his friends, wasn't he?

Before he had time to question it too deeply, Hunter looked up at the loving pair and smiled. It was probably all his imagination anyway. Of course Hunter was happy for them. How could you not be happy for two people that were so completely right for each other? Dave turned a smile to the pair himself as Hunter stood to congratulate them.

 _"...You have something I envy and that is the courage to keep loving no matter what life throws at you. Scott…Kevin…well done."_

Wow. He felt a bit better knowing he wasn't the only one that wanted what Scott and Kev had. If Hunter wanted it too... Dave cut himself off before he started down that path again. He was not going to play the 'what if' game any more than he already was, he'd drive himself insane.

 _"Also…I’m so not helping you move your stuff again Scotty. It weighs a ton."_

Dave couldn't help the snort that slipped out at that comment. He knew as well as everyone else at that table that if Scott asked for help, Hunter would be right there. And organizational guru that he was he'd probably volunteer Shawn and Dave's services as well. Dave would be more than happy to help, he just really hoped that if they did end up moving furniture that it wouldn't be this particular weekend. They had plenty to sort out amongst themselves and he was already anxious to get to Hunter's house and find out just what Hunter meant by 'Big Trouble'. He could only hope that they had the same definition.

****

 _"I need to call Frannie... I need to see if Jessie can run an errand for me before we get home."_

Chris laughed for a moment at the inadvertent picture his lover was painting with his words. He knew the women Adam was talking about were friends that looked after his house while he traveled the globe, but it sounded like he was organising his harem for his grand return. Most wrestlers, like traveling salesmen, had wives, housemates or employees to look after their homes when they were absent, but Adam's adoring throng of helpers put most people's to shame. Not that his gorgeous, but sometimes clueless, lover could see that. The man had had neighbours and friends almost falling over themselves to check on him while he'd been recuperating, Chris had counted no less than five helpers, both male and female with appointments to call in on the blond.

CJ knew it was all genuine too, from the man at the local shop walking his dog one evening who'd stopped Chris to ask after Adam, to the young girl next door who'd eyed him with a strange protective expression as he'd been ringing the bell, Chris wasn't surprised at the impact his lover had on the people around him. It was hard not to like Adam, especially when he was more relaxed and in his natural habitat. Chris had been half expecting some ladies from down the road to turn up with casseroles and fresh bread just to tide Adam over till he was on his feet again.

"Yeah, it's in the bags. I'll find it for you at the car." Looking back over his shoulder CJ spotted Bunnykins trying to wrestle Jay from the table while the slim man was still talking to Trish. Tyson was lifting his lover to his feet by a strong grip on the elbow even as Jay patted his hand in acknowledgement of the action... and _still_ kept talking. No matter their antics, Jay and Tyson were in it for the long haul. Even with the recent tension over Jason's refusal to rest, they were looking more and more like an old married couple every day with the nagging and rolling eyes. He wouldn't be surprised if Ty came out at some point with a long suffering 'yes Dear'. Or maybe the tension just added to the feeling of a partnership going through natural ups and downs. Shaking his head, CJ blew a kiss of farewell to Molly and guided Adam towards reception with a completely platonic hand on the shoulder.

He'd speak to Steve whenever he saw the man next. Their friendship didn't rely on constant contact, they'd gone for months before without talking and would fall instantly back into their war as if a moment hadn't passed. It wasn't Steve that CJ couldn't stop thinking about when he'd been alone on weekends. It wasn't Stone Cold who'd had him picking up the phone for absolutely no justifiable reason just to hear the sound of a deep voice and a weird sense of humour.

No, Chris could go without Austin's company. He was quickly realising that managing without one Adam Copeland in his life was totally unacceptable. Checking out took less than five minutes and they were soon back in the car park, leaning against the warm metal of the hood while they waited for Tyson to bring the car keys and Jay, by the hair if necessary. Sorting through their gear, CJ turned up Adam's cell phone and handed it to his lover as the blond tilted his head to keep the sun from his face with his cap brim. The sharp heat of noon meant the area was almost deserted, so Chris took the opportunity to lean up and press a warm kiss to his lover's sweet, crazy lips.

"In case you forgot, with all the hair fondling and drugs and all. I love you.... even bruised, battered and bloody."

****

 _"Yeah, it's in the bags. I'll find it for you at the car."_

Cool. That meant he didn't have to shell out money for yet another replacement phone. He wasn't sure whether the cell company loved him or dreaded hearing from him. He averaged a new phone every six months and one month he'd actually lost two of them. It was a good thing he didn't actually need one all that often. Chris seemed to be a tad more organized than he was and that was a good thing.

While Chris was checking them out of the hotel, Adam spotted Kurt Angle crossing the lobby. Thankfully he had lost his obsession with shaving someone's head because Kurt probably would have given him the Angle Slam right there in the lobby. The guy was way too into his character even off camera. Besides, he'd already had the pleasure on a live pay per view, doing it without witnesses this time would be a disappointment.

They made their way out to the parking lot to wait on Ty and Jay, leaning against the hot metal of the rental car. Chris handed him his cell phone and he could have kissed the guy on the spot. He was well aware of how lucky he was. Just as he finished that thought, Chris kissed him. When he pulled back, Adam smiled at him, a light reprimand dangling on his tongue. They were going to end up on the front of some tabloid if they weren't careful...

 _"In case you forgot, with all the hair fondling and drugs and all. I love you... even bruised, battered and bloody."_

...And suddenly he found that he really didn't care if they did.

With an almost embarrassed smile, he looked at his lover. "I don't think I could ever forget that. I did warn you, but maybe I should have been more specific. Sorry about that. Although I did find out something interesting with all that hair fondling and if you're a good boy, I'll tell you what it is... later. If I ever sit on Austin's lap again, you have permission to smack me in the head, concussion or no." With a genuine grin this time, he raised a hand to run it through Chris' hair. "And you don't have to worry, because drugs or no drugs, I love your hair _almost_ as much as I love you, so I won't be asking to shave it off."

He was considering initiating a kiss of his own when there was a not-so-discreet cough to their right. Turning and winking at Tyson, he pushed away from the car and slipped into the back seat. Once Chris was sitting next to him, he scooted as close to him as possible, grabbing one hand with his own while he used his other to dial the phone. Thankfully Bunnykins was driving and not Jay so they were safe for the time being.

The phone was answered on the second ring and Adam, being Adam went through his usual greeting without a second thought. "Frannie, my love, tell me you miss me." He stuck his tongue out at the phone even while he was waiting for the insult that was headed his way. "Like diaper rash Fran? You sure know how to stroke a guy's ego. And here I was calling to let you have the day off tomorrow and everything." He snorted quietly while he stroked his thumb across the back of Chris' hand. "Yes, I'm still going to pay you, you greedy little thing. I'm having company. Yes, we are going to have a huge orgy in the swimming pool and no, you can't come watch." He squeezed Chris' hand when he laughed and made a weird face at Jay who was staring at him in horror. "I'll leave you a message this weekend if I think of anything special. Catch ya later Fran."

Without pause he dialed the second number. He wanted this out of the way before they got to the airport. Lord knew the reception in those places were awful. Smirking as Jessie answered the phone, he released Chris' hand and started drawing a heart on Chris' thigh instead. "Jessie! Can you do me a super huge favor? What do you mean who is this? I'm so going to flag down Joey the next time he's walking past your house and I'm going to tell him you have this huge crush on him. Much better." He moved on to drawing his initials at the top of the heart. Okay so maybe this was childish, but he was hoping Chris would think it was sweet instead. "Can you run to Tony's and get me some stuff for four or five days? Please, please, please? Just tell him to put it on my account and I'll settle up this weekend. And Jess? Let's skip the tofu and soymilk stuff okay? I know you're looking out for me, but I like real food," he said with a grin as he finished Chris' initials inside the small heart as well.

"Oh... and Jay wants to know when you're going to make him a happy man and propose to him.... ." Adam had to laugh at the outrage on Jay's face and the smirk on Ty's. "Hmm. You really think a lobotomy would help? Ow!" He winced as a small rubber ball bounced off the top of his hat. "Damn Jay, head injury here." He was suddenly bombarded with apologies from Jay and immense screaming at the other end of the phone. "Jess... Jess! I'm fine, honest. I'll fill you in later. I promise. Okay. Thanks... bye." With one last scowl at the front seat, he hung up the phone and flung the ball back at Jay. At this rate, Chris was going to want to cover him in bubble wrap. Now that could be fun...

Seeing that they'd arrived at the airport, he hoped there wasn't a delay with their flight. He was really looking forward to flying for a change.

****

 _"I'm willing to try it... as long as you don't go comparing me to Shawn again, 'cause that was just_ wrong, _man..."_

Letting out the breath he'd been unconsciously holding in a long, quiet exhalation, Mark felt a lot of the tension that he'd carried whenever he was around Sean for the last few years lift. Their little experiment would probably drive him crazy, but if they could keep from killing each other, Glen would be happier... and so would Sean. That was the point here, after all. Why comparing the Shawns to each other would cause that kind of reaction was something that he'd have to look in to later. His comparison had been honest, and from Sean's comment, probably more to the point than either of the men would admit. Shawn had unspoken permission to do and say things to Mark that would get anyone else kicked out the door at the least, though, and by underlining that, however subtly, he'd been trying to tell Sean that he'd try to extend that sort of permission... When he could remember to think first and growl later, anyway.

 _"I'll try to keep the button pushing for things that are really important..."_

Although that almost sounded more like a threat than a promise. Jeff's laugh made Mark's lips curl even as he attempted not to worry too much over what exactly Sean might consider "really important". Before he could politely refuse the friendly---hopefully---offer to get him chocolate cake (not at this time of day, thanks... ), Sean had rushed onward to his next comment.

 _"...if he doesn't stop petting you, Vince is going to have a canary when you end up tossing him on the salad bar."_

Eyebrows raising briefly, any response Mark might have had to the very bad joke was cut short by the abrupt movement of his younger lover, who'd pulled his fingers away from Mark's neck almost as soon as the words were out of Sean's mouth. Mark was turning to look up at him to see what was wrong, missing the soft caress, in time to see Jeff nearly collapsing in Sean's abandoned seat, uncharacteristically pale and nervous-looking.

Dammit. Had Waltman upset him that much with just that joke? No... it had to be more than that. Jeff was too much the prankster himself to be upset over a joke, even if Mark was mentally bemoaning to himself that his suspicions about "really important" things had been right. Maybe it was the suggestion of what Vince's reaction would be... but that couldn't be right. Vince wouldn't give a damn; hell, the man had thought they were already sleeping together when he'd agreed to Mark's bargain, the smirk on his face saying volumes even if his words had been nothing but business-like.

But they hadn't discussed any of this, had they? Another thing that could be chalked up to hastiness and carelessness... and the almost overwhelming lust that they'd shared last night. Another misunderstanding because they had moved too fast.

 _“S-Sean has a point in all that chatter Mark... What is Vince going to think?”_

"Who gives a damn?" were the words hovering on the tip of his tongue. Fortunately for both of them, their discussion was curtailed as Scott stood up and asked for their attention. Listening to what the Bad Guy had to say brought an absent smile to Mark's face, since he'd been a friend of the Outsiders since well before that label had existed for them, but his immediate attention was taken by the man looking up at him with wide green eyes. Beneath the exuberant almost-shrieks from Sean and the much calmer words from Hunter, Mark leaned forward, placing a hand on Jeff's shoulder as he spoke in a low tone.

"Vince is going to think... whatever he wants to, Jeff." Trying to keep his voice matter-of-fact, Mark couldn't resist sliding his fingers up the warm length of neck to curve around the thin cheek, honestly not caring who might be watching them. "He didn't say anything when I spoke to him yesterday, but the look on his face said a lot. Whatever assumptions he makes are up to him, because damned if I'm going to talk to him about our relationship. What we do in private stays between us unless we allow it to affect our work, and I don't plan to let it."

His lips curling into a rueful, self-aware smile that most of their co-workers would have been astonished to see on his face, he let his gaze grow warmer as his thumb stroked across the sensitive patch of skin beside Jeff's lips. Dropping his voice even lower, he leaned in until his lips were almost brushing against Jeff's ear, allowing his voice to drop to a rough whisper, his drawl lengthening his vowels as he laid himself open with his typical bluntness in a very atypical way. "And if you're worried about public displays... I'm not normally up for much of that, I'll be the first to admit. But right now, I don't care a whole damned lot, and I'm finding that I can't not touch you. I kind of hope you feel the same."

****

Tightening his grip on Scott's hand slightly as Scott stood, Kevin sat back, smiling slightly as he watched his lover take charge of the chaotic group at the tables, even if only momentarily. While Scott might have doubted that all of them would show up today, Kevin knew that none of their friends would have wanted to disappoint the Bad Guy. He just seemed to have a way with people, a certain unconscious touch that came across to those who knew him, and Kevin was gratified to know that he hadn't been the only person who'd missed being in that presence. Not that anyone else had missed it quite as much as he had, or for the same reasons, but still.

 _"Hey yo!"_

His smile widened at that. They'd first met before that particular set of gimmicks, hell, before they'd even worked for Vince, but Kevin tended to count from their first meeting in the WWF. He could still remember the first time he'd heard that greeting, walking down the hallway backstage next to Shawn, and taking a long moment to recognize his former co-worker. His first thought had been of how incredibly attractive Scott was and why hadn't he noticed it before? His second was probably unprintable, but just that simple handshake had changed his life.

 _"Some of you have been with Kev and I through all the ups and downs throughout the years..."_

Letting his gaze travel around the table, Kevin saw that Hunter was looking a little uncomfortable, vague hints of guilt flickering in the backs of the hazel eyes. Hopefully that would change, now that they'd managed to reconcile... with Scotty's help, of course. No surprise there, that it had taken his pushing to get them past their problem. While Hunter may not have been around as a supporter for their last, worst problems, he had in no way been responsible for any of it, regardless of what Kevin had said to him that night. Mentally resolving to have another long talk with Hunter as soon as possible, if only to get them _talking_ again, he knew that they'd be able to work things out, although it would undoubtedly take a while. 

He couldn't help the quick look at Shawn when Scott mentioned "chaos", and he grinned momentarily at the half-annoyed, half-affectionate expression on Shawn's face. The time he'd been a part of their relationship had been interesting to say the least, and although chaos had followed in their wake, it was a time that Kevin had always treasured.

Scott's pause grabbed his attention again, and he looked up in time to meet the dark eyes that were looking at him with such love and devotion and promise, and he knew that his own showed everything in return, beyond what he could ever say in words. They had incredible power over each other with the love that they shared, and they'd torn each other to shreds more than once by using it in unforgivable ways... but they'd forgiven each other and moved on, and Kevin's heart lurched a little in his chest at the emotions swirling in those eyes, his fingers tightening again against Scott's before his lover looked back at the group.

 _"Kev and I have decided to give_ us _another chance.... . This time around, I_ know _we're going to get it right."_

When Scott sat down again, Kevin put an arm around Scott's shoulders and pulled him close, leaning his chin on Scotty's shoulder. It was intimate, yes, but they'd pulled this kind of thing for years now and if Vince had a problem with it... too damned bad for him. Speaking softly into Scott's ear, Kev said, "Love you, Bad Guy... that was a good announcement." Glancing around the table again, Kev just couldn't keep the smile off his face. Eddie and Benny were being terribly sweet, even if Chris did look a little uncomfortable. Those two were definitely doing well, and it pleased Kevin to see it even if they weren't close friends. Eddie had gone through the same hell that Scott had, and Benny had been the one to support him every step of the way. He suspected they'd be seeing a lot more of those two in the future.

The grin on Shawn's face said it all without words, as did the Heartbreaker's almost-subtle touches to his own lovers. Nodding slightly, Kevin acknowledged his mixed feelings about that trio. He was absolutely happy that Shawn seemed to have found people who loved him for himself, who would unhesitatingly support him; but the small jealous voice inside him mourned the loss of his sometime-lover and his own part in providing that support for Shawn. HBK was all confidence, but Shawn was very far from that at times, and it had been Kevin's treasured job to hold him up at various times. Over the years, Hunter had slid into that one and now had definitely assumed it altogether, and while it was about damned time that Hunt woke up to the obvious, Kevin would miss that little bit of extra closeness they'd shared. Of course, from the look on Dave's face, there were still tensions to be addressed there... but it wasn't his job anymore.

Pushing away the slight instinctive resentment at the thought, Kevin returned Shawn's nearly blinding smile. Things changed, and the changes that had taken place here were all for the good. Besides, he'd have his hands full with Scott anyway. Watching as Shawn looked at Hunter and Dave in turn, Kevin raised an eyebrow at the emotion visible in the blue-grey eyes. The love for Hunter was expected; it had been there for nearly as long as Hunt had been around. But when Shawn looked at Dave... Kevin had to bite back a laugh. His Heartbreaker's cynicism aside, he suspected that the faint tinge of worry in Dave's face a moment ago was very much over nothing. He should make a bet with Scott as to whether or not Shawn would admit what was so obvious---to him, anyway---before the pay-per-view.

Sean was shrieking at the end of the table like a madman, and Kevin's amused gaze met Glen's long-suffering one as they smiled in understanding. He hadn't worried about Kid since the night Sean had hooked up with Glen. Those two were made for each other, and they were one of the steadiest relationships he'd seen... if one of the oddest. Mark and Jeff... looked distracted, actually, although Mark had glanced toward them with a slight smile on his face before leaning in toward the younger man seated next to him. Speaking of odd... he'd have to give Mark hell at some point, since he'd so obviously been right. But not right now. He was looking forward to spending the break with Scott far too much, and whatever had happened with Mark and Jeff had obviously _just_ happened, and he wasn't completely tactless.

No matter what the rest of their friends thought.

Looking back at Hunt as the blond moved, Kevin paused at the strangely soft smile on Hunter's face. For some reason, that smile almost brought tears to his eyes, and he found himself blinking as Hunter stood.

 _"Nothing gives me more hope that my life will be okay than seeing you two back together again. You have something I envy and that is the courage to keep loving no matter what life throws at you."_

That... was unexpected. Such completely honest words... Kevin's arm tightened around Scott as he smiled back at Hunter, moved by the short speech. Apparently their relationship had meant more to their friends than they'd ever realised... but why would they have ever thought of themselves that way? Looking at it from the point of view that Hunter had revealed, Kevin wondered just how much they actually meant to the other people at the table... and then mentally laughed. They would never know for sure, and just knowing that they did mean _something_ told him everything he needed to know.

 _"I’m so not helping you move your stuff again Scotty. It weighs a ton."_

Managing to hide his disbelieving snort in the side of Scott's neck, Kev couldn't quite stop the quiet laughter. If they gave Hunter a call, he'd be there with his cell phone in hand directing traffic within seconds. Well... slitting a gaze at the blond sitting between Hunt and Dave, Kevin had to amend that thought. Hunt would be there... if Shawn allowed him to be. Not that either of them would ever admit that it was like that, of course.

"Thank you, Hunt." The affection in his voice was completely sincere, and he hoped that Hunter could tell. Hunt had been one of his closest friends for so long... and knowing that they were on their way to regaining that closeness felt incredibly good. Although... Turning so that he could speak quietly to Scott, he asked teasingly, "How much stuff _are_ we moving, babe? 'Cause you know my back isn't quite what it used to be."

****

 _"...and if you're a good boy, I'll tell you what it is... later."_

Grinning wickedly at Adam's tempting words, Chris wondered if he'd ever find out what the other blond meant. Unlikely. He suspected he was genetically incapable of being a 'good boy' but was willing to indulge Adam in his lover's fantasy while it lasted. CJ knew he'd indulge _any_ of Adam's fantasies as soon as the bright green eyes met his, because hey... he was only human.

 _"I love your hair almost as much as I love you, so I won't be asking to shave it off."_

Comforting himself that his personality was ranked just fractionally higher in his lover's heart than his hair, CJ ignored Jay's smirking 'get a room' look and settled comfortably into the back seat. Chris listened with one ear while Adam phoned his 'girls' and organized his house for the weekend. His lover's playful teasing of the two women told Chris all he needed to know about Frannie, Jessie and their place in Adam's life. Tony was another clue, the concerned man with beautiful dog who'd lapped up Chris's vigorous stomach scratch with delirious bliss, now had a name to put with the face. Still had to find out the dog's name though. Of course CJ could just ask Adam about all his different neighbours, but discovering these small tidbits of information about his lover would be a pleasant game and one he was looking forward to. In their lives as almost-friends, he'd learnt a lot about the tall blond from favorite food to what school he'd gone to, but most of that had been surface chatter and lacking in the private details that people kept to themselves.

Chris wasn't a man to pry into other's lives, although he'd confess to a healthy interest in them, he preferred to find out what was up by using his eyes, ears, and brain. It would often throw people for a loop that CJ knew something they'd thought was a complete secret. Jay had been one sterling example of this when the other Canadian had taken CJ out for a drink where he'd confessed, after much drink sipping and bodily harm done to pretzels, that he and Tyson were sleeping together. Chris had manfully refrained from rolling his eyes and saying 'well duh', but had looked at his friend's blushing, hopeless look and had taken the seriousness of Jay's private confidence as the compliment that it was. Still, his reply in his usual 'clever as shit' voice, was that he'd hoped they were fucking or Chris was going to complain that _his_ 'match planning' didn't have half the sound effects that Jay's and Ty's did.

Reso's face had been a picture. He'd thought he and his fantastic new boyfriend were being so discreet and Chris had to admit that they were, although more from Bunnykins' part in the relationship than Jay's if CJ was any judge. But it was the little things that had given them away, as they would most people if one just took the time to sit back and look. Chris had spent several years looking at and listening to Adam Copeland, but unlike his best friend, the beautiful man now drawing a love heart on Chris' leg, had given very little away to the sapphire-eyed stare. Freely admitting his own sexual interest in the man had been the cause of his semi-blindness in the past, CJ could now see more than clearly into the life of a man who was becoming more dear to him every unexpected moment. It wouldn't be a bad thing to spend years discovering all the secrets that made up Adam. Learning all the little things about his beloved would be the best thing he could do with his life.

It might even take his whole life.

Chris mentally went into reverse and slowly circled around that sudden thought. His whole life? Was he really that serious? Could this happen at such a wild velocity? First kiss Monday, declaration of love Tuesday, life long commitment Wednesday? Christ. As long as one of them wasn't pregnant by Thursday then he felt he could manage to live with it. If he forced himself.

Chris discovered at that moment, in the back of a rental car pulling into the Uniondale airport, that he would happily let Adam write their names in love hearts for the rest of his life.

The airport was an airport like any other, but at least the check-in attendant smiled at the four of them rather than scowling and happily responded to Chris' whispered suggestion that he and Adam be seated to the rear of the plane because 'the big guy with tattoos was a prankster and he didn't want to wake up with drawn-on moustache if he fell asleep'. Of course sitting near the tail also got them much closer to the toilets and that was just the way CJ wanted it.

He had plans.

By Chris' calculations their flight would take about four hours as they were booked on a direct trip to Miami, so he had plenty of time to set his devious little scheme in motion. Of course, the only people being duped were the flight attendants as his partner in crime was a willing accomplice. Just how willing would be the question though, if medication, injuries and lack of sleep took their toll on Adam before they could even make it into the air.

But luck was on his side and his 'getting with the program' dick, as his beautiful lover seemed wide awake and frightening cheerful when the young red-haired steward offered to help Chris do up his seatbelt because of his injured fingers. Smiling his thanks, CJ began counting down the seconds until that seat belt could be removed and his plan could come into play.

Waiting a half hour into the flight, Chris casually winked at Adam and unclipped the belt. The small metallic click sent a shiver of awareness down CJ's spine that had nothing to do with cold. Meeting the steward again on his way to the back, Chris reassured the man he was fine and that no, he didn't need anything, before getting into the small cubicle with sudden impatience. Unlike this morning, he didn't want to be teased, didn't want a slow agonizing exploration before being brought to magnificent climax.

Resting his hands on either side of the small basin and looking at his tired-looking face in the mirror, Chris heard the unlocked door open.

He wanted Adam to fuck him.

Now.

****

Shawn wondered at the oddly thoughtful look on Hunter's face as his best friend stared into his coffee cup, but even as he started to get concerned, Hunter looked up with a smile that took his breath away. God, that smile. Even he had seen it so rarely that it was like an unexpected gift out of the blue. Relaxing again from the slight tension he hadn't realised was there, Shawn resolved to try to see that smile again, as often as humanly possible.

 _"You have something I envy and that is the courage to keep loving no matter what life throws at you."_

Blinking hard, Shawn added another thing to his list of unexpected things about Hunter: No matter how often he might poke fun at Hunt's normal lack of eloquence, there were times when the man was absolutely poetic. He was also blind to the obvious, but Shawn wasn't going to point that out anytime soon. If Hunt couldn't see already that he _did_ have the same courage that he'd just lauded in their friends, it was going to be up to him to realise it. The simple fact that the three of them were here, together, proved that Hunt possessed the courage to keep loving the two of them even through dark times... well. Hopefully they'd never face the types of darkness that Kevin and Scotty had, but they'd already had enough of their own.

Motion out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he glanced down the table in time to see Jeff sink into a chair next to Mark... and the kid looked a little pale. That and the fact that he'd left a gap between himself and Mark for the first time since the two of them walked in made Shawn frown in concern, until Mark leaned in... and started whispering in Jeff's ear? And caressing his face. And smiling like _that_... in public... _That_ smile could still send shivers down Shawn's spine, and it wasn't even for him this time.

Holy shit.

To say that those actions were out of character for Mark would be an understatement. His former lover was one of the most affectionate people Shawn had ever been with---in private. But in public? Even if they hadn't been trying to keep their relationship private, Mark would never have dreamt of touching him like that in such a public place. Whatever was going on between him and Hardy, it was even more than Shawn had suspected.

He was so going to call Mark tomorrow and drill him about this. Unless Hunt and Dave tied him to the bed, anyway.

Ohh. And on that note...

Turning to face his dark lover while Hunter finished his act as the group's spokesman---and leave it to Hunt to automatically assume _that_ position---Shawn bit his lip to keep back the laugh that tried to escape as soon as that phrase floated across his mind. Watching Dave for a brief moment, Shawn could see tension of a different sort beginning to rise there. He was a little surprised that he could see it so easily, but then, he'd always been good at sensing feelings from those he cared about, and Dave most definitely qualified for that. Stroking his fingers over Dave's hip, Shawn smiled again, his face showing the joy and affection and... other emotions that he was feeling at the moment.

"I'm sure we can arrange _something_ about your... request... when we get home, Dave," Shawn said quietly, sure that his eyes were showing some similar tension, even if he wasn't quite ready to follow through on the unspoken promise. The thought of watching Hunter with Dave over his knees... Shuddering slightly, Shawn rather suspected that if he wasn't too captivated by the sight, he'd be begging for a turn. Hunt could only tease with that sort of thing for so long before he had to put up or shut up... and given the signals Shawn and Dave had been sending each other, the latter option wasn't a viable one.

Unless Hunter's mouth was too full for him to speak, of course.

Almost choking on that thought as he tried to keep from laughing, Shawn twisted back to face Hunt as he sat down again and slid a hand up the muscled thigh hiding under the thousand-dollar suit as he gave his friend a wide-eyed look. He stopped short of batting his eyelashes, but only just; he didn't want Hunter to start giggling.

"What time is our flight, Hunt? I don't know about you, but I think that I'm... looking forward to our time off. The sooner we're home, the better." Smiling sweetly, Shawn waited for his answer.

****

Jeff waited for Mark's answer and hoped like hell it would be something he could live with. He'd be the first to admit that lack of impulse control was a strong facet of his personality and one he'd been struggling with for years. Jeff had nearly ended his career, both physically and politically by jumping in where angels feared to tread and he had so much riding on his current circumstances that if it all went to hell, he might not come back out again. Eyes locked on the small movement of Mark's lips, Jeff was distracted by Scott Hall rising to his feet at the other end of the table.

 _"I'm going to move most of my things back to our house during our off time. This time around, I know we're going to get it right."_

Trying not to let his surprise show, Jeff looked at the obviously MegaInLove couple of Hall and Nash with envious eyes. It was a great thing they were back together after all the problematic ups and downs they'd experienced through their long term relationship. Jeff didn't have a clue what those bumps were but he was glad for them. Hell, Jeff didn't even _know_ they'd broken up but he was glad they were back together. Everyone else seemed to think so too if Waltman's hilarious reaction and the shared look between the Heartbreaker, the Animal and Wardrobe over there was any indication.

Still, happy for the two men as he was, Jeff couldn't let go of his selfish desire to hear Mark's answer, to have some direction for his future behaviour indicated. More than likely he'd break every rule they would have to set, but he was going to try for Mark's sake to be a responsible adult in public, to keep up appearances and not piss Vince off.

Okay... he said he'd  _try_.

 _"Vince is going to think... whatever he wants to, Jeff."_

That... wasn't particularly reassuring. Although he seriously doubted that McMahon's opinion of him could drop much lower than it had been the last few months, Jeff still had enough pride left to want to raise that opinion to somewhere above Satanistic Little Bastard to a level more like Crazy Fucker But What Can You Do? It wasn't nice to think that Vince would think the worst of him no matter what. No, nice was _not_ the word.

Nice was absolutely the word, however, he would use to describe the feelings generated by Mark's fingers tracing over the side of his face. The exquisite caress, unknown to Jeff till now, shook him to his very toes. Not for its sexual component, because it was very discreet, but for the affections it conveyed, matched by the sweet light in Mark's jade green eyes.

 _...What we do in private stays between us unless we allow it to affect our work, and I don't plan to let it."_

Jeff just blinked up at Mark while his body, disassociated from it's brain as it was wont to do in the other man's presence, leaned into the cool palm, eyelids dropping to sleepy half mast as fingers roamed his features. Fundamentally _this_ was the problem, the one that had so frightened him minutes ago. Mark couldn't just touch Jeff, couldn't bestow friendly, public gestures and have them equally returned. No. When Mark looked at Jeff with eyes that bored right into him and a sweet not-there smile that had the young man's heart crying... Jeff went up like a house on fire.

Even now, while Mark explained that it was okay for them to be 'public lovers', Jeff wanted to throw himself wantonly on the salad bar and beg Mark to take him for all the world to see.

And damn Waltman for putting that visual in his head in the first place.

Mark's breath on the sensitive nub of his earlobe didn't help matters as Jeff shut his eyes completely and let the rolling Texan vowels wash over him. "So much for abstaining until he trusts you again Jeff?" His conscience mocked him as his cock reacted happily to Mark's stimulating caresses and the stunning pictures involving mayonnaise that his brain kept helpfully supplying.

 _"I'm not normally up for much of that..."_

Like an answer to Jeff's pathetically, hormonally enhanced prayer, Mark's comment provided a much needed dampener to Jeff's slowly rising temperature. Good, good. If Mark wasn't demonstrative in public then he would find himself going off the rails far less often than he might have. Good. Just some light guiding touches like last night, but no salad bar or desks. Good. Ignoring a small wail in the back of his head, Jeff was about to nod in agreement when Mark continued, delicious teasing breaths even more arousing... if that were possible.

 _"..and I'm finding that I can't not touch you. I kind of hope you feel the same."_

Crap, crap, CRAP!

Standing abruptly, Jeff knew he'd only marginally missed cracking Mark's jaw by the luck of two sets of well-honed reflexes. Looking down at his lover, and feeling really weird to be doing it, Jeff smiled absently in apology and gestured at the buffet table.

"Umm... I do, I do feel the same," keeping his voice low so as not to get anyone's attention but Mark's, Jeff continued. "Just... I... crap. I'm gonna get food now... NO!... um," he waved Mark back to his seat when the big man began to rise. "I'll get it. You stay here. Just... I need a second to compose myself, Lover. " The words were hissed sotto voce, but he could see Mark get the message by the bright, hot looking coming into those deadly green eyes. Crap!

Turning on his heel, Jeff made for the food.

He kept as far away from the salad bar as possible while actually staying in the room.

****

 _"Love you, Bad Guy... that was a good announcement."_

Kevin's reaction made him smile. His was the most important after all. Scott snuggled deeper into the arm around his shoulder even as he spent a brief moment watching Kevin watching the others. Of course his curiosity was piqued as well so he took a look himself at the men seated at the table. He didn't need to look to know Sean's reaction, the dark-haired man was announcing it loud and clear. Scott didn't have a clue what movie his friend was talking about but being compared to someone's parents made him laugh. Luckily he and Kevin did not have that responsibility though he supposed they could be considered stand-ins of a sort.

Mark's smile was expected, though brief, and then he was having a quiet, and from the look of things important, bit of conversation with Jeff. He and Kev were going to have to call the big man sometime this week and find out what the deal was there. Scott was extremely curious to find out what had given them that little nudge, because they wouldn't have found their way together without some kind of interference. They'd both been way too in denial to figure things out for themselves.

Chris and Eddie were smiling and that was a good thing. Though Chris seemed to be a little off. They'd fix that though. Scott was well aware that Benoit wasn't comfortable around them. Most likely due to his friendship with Mr. Hart. It was going to be one of Scott's missions to convince the Rabid Wolverine that they weren't quite the wolves in sheep's clothing or, Scott's personal favorite, tools of the devil, that Bret had no doubt painted them as. Bret had a huge chip on his shoulder and had warned more than a few people that he and Kev were bad news. Most of the time he and Kev managed to work around it by just being themselves. He wondered if anyone had ever told the other man that he had been off about them? Most likely not and Bret wouldn't believe it anyway. Proving to Chris that they were decent, okay make that half-decent people shouldn't be that hard... should it?

Then there was the little trio sitting at the table. Scott just loved that word, most likely from the time it had applied to him, Kevin, and Shawn. Damn those had been great times. He would miss being able to drag Shawn off from time to time, but there wasn't the least little bit of jealousy inside. Shawn deserved to be happy and as much as he and Kevin had tried, Shawn had always seemed to feel just a little bit on the outside of what he and Kevin had felt for each other. Looked like that wouldn't be a problem with this little trio, though. The sparks flying between the three men were a sight to see and Scott was going to sit back and enjoy watching them burn brighter as time went on, maybe even stoke the fire a bit here and there. Couldn't be helped, it was just Scott's nature after all.

Scott returned Shawn's smile with an openly affectionate one of his own. He wasn't about to temper his reactions where the man was concerned and the other two had to get used to it. There was too much history between Scott and Shawn for them to pretend that they were anything other than what they were. He'd make an effort though to remember he couldn't just randomly _touch_ the man anymore. He still planned on hugging Shawn whenever his friend was within ten feet of his personal space, but he would refrain from groping him so freely. Besides, he was fully concerned with groping Kevin whenever possible right now and that was more than enough to make Scott a happy man. Speaking of which...

Slipping one wandering hand along Kevin's thigh under the table, Scott turned to see if Dave had lost the color in his cheeks yet. It wasn't quite so noticeable now though he seemed thoroughly distracted by his own personal thoughts. He was smiling and didn't look like he was going to run for the door at any moment though so Scott had to consider that a good thing. He wondered just for a moment how Batista would respond if Scott gave him the general 'hurt them and we'll kill you' speech. Somehow he could imagine Dave's reply involving a growl or two.

And finally Hunter... He wasn't sure what to call the look on Hunter's face just before he turned it into a breathtakingly cute smile. It was nothing. He really shouldn't worry about it, but it had almost seemed like doubt. Something that he had faced for months now as he and Kev worked their way back to each other. He had questioned what they were doing more than enough for ten people because he was scared to extend his trust again to the man who'd hurt him more deeply than anyone else on earth was capable of hurting him. But he'd decided that he didn't have a choice about it in the end because that same man was the one he loved more than anyone else on earth. So if Hunter had a few doubts that was okay. Eventually he would understand and Scott didn't doubt that he would now that he was with Shawn and Dave.

 _"Nothing gives me more hope that my life will be okay than seeing you two back together again. You have something I envy and that is the courage to keep loving no matter what the life throws at you."_

Scott was touched by Hunter's words and smiled his thanks in addition to Kevin's verbal reply. He just wondered when Hunter would realize he didn't need to envy them. He had that courage inside if he bothered to look and Scott had a feeling that it wouldn't be long before he realized it. They already had Vince on their asses and if that wasn't a prime example of life throwing things at them, Scott didn't know what was. The three of them would overcome that and anything else thrown at them as long as they were sure of how they felt about each other. He wondered if they'd all admitted to those feelings yet or not...

 _"Also…I’m so not helping you move your stuff again Scotty. It weighs a ton."_

Not bothering to be as discreet as Kevin, Scott laughed. Hunt would be there in an instant if asked and they all knew it despite his protests. And he'd most likely be dragging extra muscle along with him.

 _"How much stuff are we moving, babe? 'Cause you know my back isn't quite what it used to be."_

Smiling fondly at his lover, Scott patted his knee. "Not to worry Kev, other than the recliner, it's just boxes... mostly clothes. We won't need Hunter's help and I wouldn't ask for it anyway. He has a bad habit of pilfering my clothes and keeping them to wear whenever he feels like it," he added in a louder tone so Hunter would be sure to hear it, throwing in a wink at the blond to show he was teasing. "I can already see him picking through my old Razor gear so he can restart the flashy vest trend on the next Raw."

Grinning unrepentantly, he squeezed Kevin's thigh. He was pretty sure Kevin would remember where this particular tease stemmed from. One interesting night, years ago, he and Kevin had had an argument over something... weird that he couldn't remember what it was about... and Kevin had decided to get his own room. Scott had promptly gone out to the nearest bar to get plowed and had done a pretty good job of it. He'd looked up from his mug quite awhile later to find Hunter standing next to him.

Hunter had growled and grumbled and drug him out of the bar, heading them back to the hotel. Hunter had had an arm around him holding him up and for some ungodly reason that Scott still couldn't figure out, other than that Hunter had looked really damn hot in those jeans he was wearing, Scott had turned and pulled Hunter into a kiss. It was a stupid thing to do considering he wasn't even sure if Hunter liked guys. He was lucky he didn't get his ass kicked. Hunter hadn't pulled away, most likely due to surprise, and after a bit of mild groping and a devastatingly hot kiss, Scott had come to his senses. He just couldn't do that to Kevin even if he was terribly pissed off at the guy. He'd apologized to Hunter profusely and been forgiven. And thankfully it hadn't affected their friendship afterwards. It had answered his question though on whether Hunter liked that sort of thing.

When they'd made it back to the hotel, Hunter had insisted on staying with him. He wasn't sure what Hunter thought he might do besides pass out on the bed, but he'd waved him towards his suitcase and fallen face first on the bed. Hunter had borrowed some sweats and a shirt to sleep in and Scott had never gotten them back. Every once in awhile, he'd catch Hunt wearing them to work and smile.

Scott had told Kevin all about the kiss after they'd hammered out their differences the next day. Thankfully Kevin hadn't gotten upset about it, though he had been surprised. Apparently Kevin, at that time, hadn't been aware of where Hunt's interests lay for sure either. As far as he knew, neither one of them had ever mentioned it to anyone else. Which is probably why Hunter's interest in Shawn had remained hidden for so long. Now that it was all out in the open, it was certainly fodder for a joke or two. And Scott wasn't above making those jokes, because he was Scott.


	82. Nerves

Sean wasn't at all sure what to think of Jeff's reaction to his little tease. His eyes narrowed as he watched Jeff sink down into his chair. He hardly thought that Jeff's turning white as a sheet was due to a salad aversion, but he couldn't think of a single reason his comment had caused the reaction either... until Jeff spoke.

 _"S-Sean has a point in all that chatter Mark. What is Vince going to think?"_

Ignoring for a moment the 'chatter' comment, he wondered what in the hell Jeff was worried about Vince for. Sure Jeff had just come back to work for the company, but he was reacting like Vince had a say-so in his personal life and that just struck Sean as weird. Vince didn't usually involve himself in the stuff going on backstage as long as they weren't running around naked in the streets or ending up on page one of the National Enquirer. Except maybe in the case of Hunter, and he was still blown away by that little revelation, Sean couldn't imagine Vince caring who was sleeping with whom. Hell, Hunter and some of the other top tier stars such as Mark took more interest in stuff like that than Vince ever had and that was because they were trying to put a stop to younger stars being forced to put out to maintain their positions in the company. That wasn't a really an issue in the company today because of those men. There had to be another reason that Jeff was so worried about Vince's reaction and Sean wanted to know what it was.

He wasn't about to ask directly... he wasn't quite _that_ tactless. Okay, so he might be on occasion, but he wasn't going to provoke Mark that much. He wasn't stupid enough to think their new arrangement would excuse that kind of curiosity without a reaction. He'd just have to work around the subject carefully.

 _"Hey yo!"_

Sean turned to listen to what Scott had to say. It was impossible not to answer to that age-old call that Scott liked to toss around when he wanted everyone's attention. Sean was no more impervious to it than anyone else at the table. He smirked over Scott's comment about the chaos that they provided. Like Scott and Kev weren't fully capable of providing just as much.

He'd suspected that Scott and Kev were back together in more than just a 'sex with the ex because it's too damn good to pass up' way when he had talked to Scott on the phone the day before they had shown up at Raw together. When he told Glen, his lover wasn't so sure, but Sean had just known from the happiness evident in Scott's voice that it was true. He'd been worried Monday night by Scott's odd mood, but that seemed to have passed. This announcement just made it official as far as Sean was concerned. He couldn't help his reaction so he didn't even try.

"I knew it! I told you, didn't I Glen? I told you they'd get back together," he said halting for a split second when Glen tried to shush him. "No I will not hush. This is kind of like that movie... what's it called again? The one where the kid's parents split up and then get back together at the end of the movie... awesome movie. And I always knew that Kev and Scott would too, so there!"

When Hunter stood up to say a few words, Sean automatically toned it down. Why? Because he was curious what the man would have to say. Hunter had pulled away from all of them, despite Sean's best efforts to the contrary. He was honestly surprised that Hunt had even shown up today until he'd seen who was with him. He'd have let Shawn and Dave lead him around too so Sean could hardly argue with that. Still... it was really nice to see Hunt interacting with the rest of them for a change. Sean just hoped it was a permanent change.

He turned back to Mark and Jeff just in time to see Mark smile and almost fell on his ass. He'd have to admit that the last person he'd ever thought to see smile that way would be Mark. And the PDA from the man was off the charts, well... for Mark it was. He was still thrilled that he'd been right about the two of them and he wasn't about to forget it. Especially since they'd both admitted to it. He'd crow about it some more later though.

He'd missed most of what was said between the two though he'd certainly been close enough that he probably could have heard it. He was trying to stick to his and Mark's agreement though so he busied himself with listening to the others at the table while they had their 'moment'. Raising a brow at Scott's comment about Hunter swiping his clothes, he considered asking and then decided he was probably better off not knowing. Imagining Hunt in a flashy purple vest and trunks would be traumatizing to his young mind and besides... Jeff had just bolted for the buffet.

Turning, he looked at Mark warily for a moment before following the younger man. He never had gotten his slice of cake after all and he thought after his remarkable restraint, he deserved it. Sidling up to Hardy, Sean smiled at him.

"If I'd known you had something against salad, I'd have suggested the dessert bar instead. You boycotting greens because they're serving French dressing or something?" he asked with a raised brow.

\----

Glen kept a watchful eye on the situation with Jeff and Mark though he tried hard not to show that that was what he was doing. Even he hadn't guessed at Jeff's reaction to Sean's little comment and to say he was surprised by it would be an understatement. He knew by taking one look at Sean that he'd been surprised and confused by Hardy's reaction. Glen was even more surprised when Sean didn't jump in with questions about why Vince would care if Mark and Jeff were together or not.

He was happy that his lover was actually making an effort to stick to his agreement with Mark, but he had to wonder how long it was going to last before one of them irritated the other. Because of their personalities it was bound to happen eventually. Hopefully this time they would handle it differently than they had in the past. It would certainly make his life easier if they could get along for five minutes at a time.

When Scott yelled out his standard attention getting "Hey yo" Glen turned just like everyone else. It was just automatic anymore as long as he'd been with this group. He smiled as Scott made the announcement and winced as Sean started shrieking in his ear. Exchanging a smile of understanding with Kevin, he knew the man would know that he was happy for the two of them. Now all he had to do was listen to Sean remind him that he'd been right about them... for probably the next six months. The fact that he'd been right about Mark and Jeff, and had it confirmed by the two, would only make it worse. But if that was the worst that he had to deal with then the two of them were lucky.

Seeing that Sean now had some of his bounce back made Glen ecstatic. He'd been going to check his lover's temperature if it hadn't shown up in the next half-hour. Of course he could have done without that bounce leading him over to the buffet and one Jeff Hardy.

Turning to smile at Mark, Glen couldn't help but say something to his long-time friend. "So... you two figured it out. That's good. Going to see each other over the break? If not, then you can come stay with us in Knoxville, though I won't promise that Sean's not going to point out his 'rightness' every five minutes. And if that scares you off, I expect a phone call at the very least sometime this week."

****

Only Mark's reflexes saved him. The instinctive jerk of his head away from Jeff as the younger man shot to his feet kept him from having a sore jaw for the next few days, but the sudden movement worried him, to say the least. He'd been watching as Jeff's eyes slowly unfocused at his touch and wishing that they didn't have to separate in such a short time... and then this. If he were a paranoid man, he'd say that his lover was running away from him. The gesture toward the buffet squelched that particular fear before it could fully form, but there was something obviously wrong here. Frowning, Mark forced himself to remain where he was as Jeff spoke.

 _"Umm... I do, I do feel the same..."_

Then why... ?

 _"I'm gonna get food now... NO!"_

His movement cut short before it really began, Mark sank back down into the chair, his confusion clearly showing now. He wouldn't mind some food, too, but if for some reason Jeff wanted to be by himself for a few minutes he could wait. The growl from his stomach told him what his body thought of that idea, since he'd been smelling various lunch-type scents for the last ten minutes or so, and with a mental shrug, he continued to ignore it.

 _"I'll get it. You stay here. Just... I need a second to compose myself, Lover. "_

A second to... Mark's eyes flashed over Jeff's body, finally realising that the tension he'd felt in the slim body hadn't been just from the idea of Vince objecting to the new twist in their relationship. The endearment was unexpected, but Mark discovered that he rather liked it... even if it had been in a public place. Apparently he wasn't the only one still feeling the effects from this morning's aborted activities. Trying hard to suppress his own reactions, he knew that his eyes were probably giving him away as Jeff's own eyes widened before he turned and headed for the buffet.

If he was interpreting Jeff's reaction correctly, at least part of his lover's tension was simply from Mark touching him. Suddenly he found himself wondering if his voice had been part of the reason for that sudden movement, too... While Shawn had responded more to the tone of his voice than his accent---for obvious reasons---some of his other lovers in the past had been highly susceptible to the combination. Adam leapt to mind, and Mark's lips curled as he remembered taking advantage of that particular button to torment the blond after a separation due to one of their international tours. He'd never been prone to doing things like that, but that particular day... Well, he'd never thought of broom closets as particularly interesting until that afternoon.

Even the sight of Sean following Jeff to the buffet wasn't enough to make him stop smiling, although his smile probably wasn't too noticeable to anyone but the people around him. He knew that Waltman always meant well... and they'd agreed to try to deal with each other... Glen's voice interrupted his thoughts and he turned in his seat to face his friend.

 _"So... you two figured it out. That's good. Going to see each other over the break?"_

Narrowing his eyes at the man, Mark still couldn't quite hide his smile. At least Glen wasn't going to hold his "I-told-you-so"s over his head for the next six months like Sean probably would. Leaning back in his chair, Mark nodded, not quite able to keep from glancing over at the buffet every so often to follow Jeff with his eyes. Raising an eyebrow at Glen's offer, Mark had to wonder just how worried his best friend had been about him lately. Even with his and Sean's agreement, Glen knew that the two of them in the same enclosed space for four days would be... interesting at best.

"I appreciate it, Glen, but I don't think I'll take you up on this time. Jeff's going to be staying with me. He has to go home first, but that gives me a chance to make sure the house is actually livable." That made him think of all the things he had to do when he got home... Sighing slightly, he reminded himself to take the time to get it all done during the break. This was the first decent one he'd had in quite a while and who knew what his schedule would be like after next week? Vince might want him to work with Jeff, but he'd been noticeably reluctant to decrease Mark's schedule like Mark had been asking for the last few months. Maybe now he'd be able to hold that over Vince's head and get some real time off. Especially considering the events of the last day, that thought was a very nice one.

 _"And if that scares you off, I expect a phone call at the very least sometime this week."_

Rolling his eyes, Mark answered, "Yes, Dad. I have some other calls to make too, I'm sure... I'll try to fit you into my busy schedule."

****

Once they'd arrived at the airport, Adam had had to engage in a battle with Jay over carrying his own bag. Normally when he was hurt he'd have had no problems letting his friend carry the damn thing, but he was missing a few necessities for the flight and he wasn't about to have Jay's prying eyes watch him while he retrieved those items.

Pushing Jay ahead to be led into the building by Bunnykins, Adam dug through the assorted things in his bag until he found what he was looking for... a pair of dark shades, like he'd go into an airport without them, and a little packet that he tucked into his pocket for later. He wasn't completely sure they still had an appointment for that mid-air rendezvous, but he wasn't going to take the chance of being unprepared if Chris did slip off to the lavatory during the flight.

And speaking of his brand new lover... Adam was happy to let him handle checking them in. He always got funny looks from the check-in attendants for the glasses thing. Like he was a mad bomber or something.

Luckily it didn't take long before they were allowed to board the plane and Adam grinned as they headed to the back seats while Ty and Jay headed up front. That pretty much answered his question on what Chris had planned and Adam couldn't have been happier. Even the touchy-feely steward offering to do up Chris' seatbelt couldn't dampen his anticipation.

After fidgeting for nearly half an hour, he was ready to stand up and cheer when Chris winked at him and unclipped his belt. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that he'd be drawing attention to himself when that was the last thing they needed right now. He waited a moment or two and then slipped off his own belt before scooting into the aisle and heading towards the lavatories.

When he reached the doors, he noticed the steward lingering in the area and raised a brow when the guy looked at him. He almost laughed as the guy went scurrying up the aisle with a smirk on his face. Reaching out, he opened the door a crack. Changing the pitch of his voice, he spoke through the crack. "Is everything okay in there, sir? I could call for assistance if you need a hand."

Grinning like a maniac, he slipped into the tiny cubicle and directly against Chris' back, pressing him against the countertop. Dipping his head, he used his cheek to brush the fall of blond hair to the side, giving him access to the smooth column of Chris' neck. Even as his mouth opened to taste the slightly salty skin there, his hands dropped to the snap of Chris' jeans. In a few bare seconds he had the zipper down and was sliding his fingers inside the denim and over the warm silky skin covering his lover's hipbones. He worked his way up Chris' neck to nip at his ear even as he pushed the denim down as far as he could manage in the tight space.

"Lucky for you I made it in here when I did," he said, his voice low and husky with just a touch of humor. Wrapping his hand around the hard smooth shaft he'd freed, he gave it a couple of firm short strokes as he pressed his own hard length against Chris' backside. "You almost ended up with Sparky standing here instead and imagine the commotion it would have made when I pulled him out of here to kick his ass."

Suddenly turning serious, he locked eyes with Chris' in the mirror, knowing that Chris could see how much he wanted him... needed him. Releasing his hand from the tempting length of flesh between Chris' thighs, he dug into his pocket and pulled the small packet out. With his other hand, he pushed his sweats as low as he could before tearing open the lube.

While he was slicking the gel along his own throbbing shaft, he leaned his chin on Chris' shoulder close to his ear, his eyes still meeting Chris' through the reflection. "Is this what you wanted, sweetheart?" he whispered quietly, letting his breath blow against the shell of his lover's ear. "Squeezed in here so tight we can barely move..." He let his hard length press against Chris' hip while he squeezed the rest of the lubricant onto his fingers. Leaning forward a bit, he lowered his slick fingers until they found his intended target. He slipped one finger inside as he continued speaking low and deep. "Do you have any clue how badly I wanted to do this on that flight back from Australia? Every time you went back to the bathroom I wanted to follow you... do just what I'm doing now."

The second finger slipped in easily and Adam wasn't in the mood to prolong things given the threat of discovery and his need. Still, he wasn't about to chance hurting his lover for any reason. He brushed his fingers against the bulge of Chris' prostate as he asked his next question. "Are you ready, sweetheart? Ready for me to fuck you hard and fast knowing that someone could be standing right on the other side of that door waiting for it to open?" Pulling his fingers from Chris' sheathe, he pressed his rigid length into the cleft of Chris' ass. "Tell me how much you want it Chris. Tell me."

****

Hunter resumed his seat and let the warm reunion of his two friends wash over him as he placed his empty coffee cup on the table. He'd meant every word he'd said to the two men, particularly the bit about helping Scotty move. The man owned literally heaps of _everything_ , clothing, books, CDs, paintings and he never, ever, threw any of it away. Most of the jumble of possessions and furniture were kept in storage, but Hunter had helped Scott move once and had vowed never to do so again. In a fit of anal tidiness, Hunter had once threatened to break into his friend's home and spring clean all the accumulated stuff if Hall didn't do it himself. He never had though as he'd been soundly glared at and told that if he tried to toss out even one twelve year old t-shirt he'd be walking funny for a week.

At the time Hunter had laughed off the punishment as a joke, but he found himself re-evaluating his opinions after Dave's actions this morning. Much as he loved the man dearly, being spanked by Scotty wasn't high on Hunt's 'To Do' list, but he'd be a liar if he said the idea of Dave doing it again wasn't near the top. Yes, he'd been hard and horny this morning when Dave had grabbed him and delivered those brief swats, yet it had been the control he was subjected to as well as the feel of Dave's hands on his ass that had left Hunter with an erection that could drive nails. He'd never explored this intriguing, unexpected side of his sexuality before, mainly due to the nature of the people he'd fallen for over the years.

Hunter smirked as he imagined the reaction his last ex would have had if Hunt had tried to paddle him. Having a man that scary taking to his cock with force was not something to be sneezed at and Hunt doubted that he'd ever be able to submerge his ego sufficiently to submit in return. No, not to him. In fact, not a single one of the other men or women he joined between the sheets had managed to get Hunter to give up his control. Oh sure, he'd taken men into his body with a wild passion for the hot ecstasy of the act, but it was always under his terms and never with Hunter submissive.

Thinking of the two men becoming such irrevocable parts of his life, Hunter knew with a certainty that surprised him, that he'd give up to control to either one of them if they asked. The question would be who would ask who first. Probably Shawn. In the elevator last night Hunter had speculated on Shawn and Dave's inclinations and had experienced a brief flare of doubt. Not about them... god no... but about himself. Hunter had absolutely no idea how he'd react in such a situation, either as dominant or submissive, but his desire to have a huge phone call with Kevin suddenly rose to the forefront of his mind.

Although that would be a hell of a conversation opener.

"So Kev... if I take to Dave's butt with a riding crop, how can I tell he won't turn around and beat the shit outta me?"

Shawn's reaction wouldn't be a problem, he and Hunter had been reading each other for a decade and it would be plain as day to him what the beautiful blond was into and what he wasn't. Although he'd often teased his beloved for his infamous activities and his collection of hand cuffs, Hunt and Shawn had never been that blatant or frank in a discussion about sex before. All he had were guesses and, if he were honest, fantasies. Hunter hadn't lied when he'd said he wanted them both to _own_ him, he just didn't know how far they, or himself, was willing to go in that ownership.

 _"I'm sure we can arrange something about your... request... when we get home, Dave,"_

Shawn was apparently psychic as well. Although given Dave's delightful little tongue slip earlier it was hardly a surprise to know their minds were all on the same thing. Horny bastards as the three of them were. Hunter could think of a few other names to call his best friend too, as one long-fingered hand wandered up his thigh leaving little shivery trails in its wake. Leaning back, Hunter reached his arms out to rest them along the back of Shawn and Hardy’s seats while he considered the teasing hand on his body. Looking up, he almost burst into laughter at the wide-eyed look of innocence on the face of Shawn Michaels. Hunter suspected HBK had _never_  been that innocent, Hunt had heard that even at five years old the blond wild child could muster a perfectly sinful smile, causing his parents to despair of him surviving to his teens let alone adulthood.

Thoughts of NakedDave, riding crops and Shawn's smile were enough for Hunter's trousers to begin to feel a tad too tight across the groin area. Jesus. What was he, seventeen again?

 _"What time is our flight, Hunt?... The sooner we're home, the better."_

Hunter's cock couldn't agree more with that sentiment, but his brain took over after a brief, blissful rest, to comprehend more than just his lustful urgings. Shawn's question reminded him of his earlier aborted phone call and the arrangements he'd been making before the vicious robbery. Keeping his arms where they were, but shifting his hips slightly so his hardening flesh moved an inch closer to the warm temptation of his beloved's hand, Hunter conveyed his plans in a voice that was completely immune to Shawn's teasing.

"Oh didn't I tell you Darling? About the change in plans? Hmmm, must have been because some punk thief stole my phone before I could finish up my calls." Shawn, of course, looked unrepentant, but Hunter hadn't expected otherwise. "I cancelled all our various flights and booked a limo to take us to my place." With a swiftness that almost surprised Hunter himself, he caught Shawn's hand before it could move away in reaction. Looking searchingly into dusky blue eyes and then fathomless chocolate ones, Hunter explained his decision.

"I thought we should replace some bad memories with more... pleasant... ones."

****

Taking two of the pristine white plates, Jeff made up two lunches with as many of Mark's favorite foods as he could remember. He probably should have checked if his lover was allergic to citrus or anything before arbitrarily deciding to get their meals, but if he'd picked something Mark didn't like then they could just get something else. That was something he'd like to know though, if Mark had any deadly responses to foods because he'd feel really bad if he organized one of those candle-lit dinners his boyfriend liked and ended up giving the man a rash or something. Considering Jeff was one of fortunate people who could eat every dish ever discovered, even that insane hot Pakistani stuff that Shannon liked, with no ill effects, he had to remind himself to ask his friends who weren't so blessed.

Thankfully the buffet itself had plenty of healthy contents in their focaccia sandwiches or Jeff would have to risk a relapse by approaching the salad bar just to maintain his regular diet. This better not become an automated response, he chastised himself while collecting up cutlery, there was no way he was going to get a hard-on every time he saw lettuce... that would be so very, very wrong.

 _"If I'd known you had something against salad, I'd have suggested the dessert bar instead..."_

Waltman's voice penetrated Jeff's previous MarkSexMark induced haze and he looked over towards the other man with a wry expression. At least Sean was smiling again, Mark would be surprised to know that his opinion of the man could cause such a sudden reversion in character. He had no doubt that if his handsome lover treated him with any of the long-suffering callousness he seemed to think he'd used on Sean, then Jeff would have run a mile rather than battle it out. No one had ever doubted Sean's courage, but his bulletproof good humour was something Jeff was beginning to admire more and more. Having the sheer gall to keep niggling at the Undertaker the way he had in the past, was something Jeff would never have even dared. But then Jeff was a pathos-ridden punk with a massive inferiority complex, so it was hardly a surprise he'd never take such a risk.

Jeff began to sense a camaraderie with Sean, sparked by their mutual proximity to Glen Jacobs and Mark Calloway. It seemed they were the 'small and feisty' complimenting the two 'strong and silent' personalities of the men they were seeing.

Reaching for a couple of bread rolls, he shook his head at Sean's earlier question.

"Nahh, I like doing French things just as much as the next man." Eyes sparkling Jeff winked at Sean, feeling his sense of humour return at an accelerated pace. "I just couldn't help but look at that salad bar with evil intentions ever since your..." he poked the dark man with a roll to make his point, "...totally unhelpful suggestion to Mark."

Turning from the table, Jeff ran his eyes over his lover, now talking quietly to Glen, with a less aroused eye. Another brief bump, Jeff's bump of course, but they'd fixed things again. Really, their time off was going to be a frickin' nightmare of doubts and sudden rushes of confidence, but Jeff knew it was necessary. He'd almost crawled all over Mark in a restaurant for god's sake! Some time to practice self-control would certainly not go amiss. From there he scanned the room. A few people had left the restaurant, while others, both WWE and not, had taken their vacated places. Since the minor confrontation between Austin and Batista, the room had gone unnaturally somber and wasn't the mild riot a group of wrestlers and crew normally created.

"What I wouldn't give to start a food fight right now." Jeff confided to Sean as the other man collected an obscenely large slice of chocolate cake. "Do you know Mario in security once called me a 'Suicidal, Cobain Wannabe with a Sicko Thing Going On with my Brother?" It was true, Jeff had been collecting a bag for Lita when the big bodyguard had voiced his opinion way too loudly. "If anyone deserves hot tom yum soup poured over his head, it's him."

Considering other members of the WWE 'family' scattered around the room, Jeff smiled with complete insanity as he spotted Ric Flair come sauntering into the room, a stunning black haired woman on his arm.

"Enter stage left... the victim of the lime Jell-o. Can you imagine what it would do to his hair?"

****

 _"Is everything okay in there, sir? I could call for assistance if you need a hand."_

Chris' knuckles tightened on the basin, his expression in the mirror going from hopeful to frustrated in a spilt second. Then his brain kicked in and stole back some of the blood that had been heading south. The flight attendant didn't have a voice which sounded like a Californian version of an Ontario native, nor was the red-head likely to follow CJ into the tiny cubicle with Adam somewhere nearby. Feeling a relieved smile curl his lips, Chris watched in the mirror as his lover slid smoothly into the small space left between his ass and the wall.

The truly devilish smile that appeared over his shoulder stole all the remaining blood from Chris' brain and sent it coursing back to his hardening shaft. Good god what a fantasy, and one that was, amazingly, about to come true if the bared teeth and white-hot eyes catching his in the mirror where anything to go by. Within seconds, Chris was arching his head back, exposing the long column of his throat for Adam's teeth, while swift hands got very busy below his belt line.

 _"Lucky for you I made it in here when I did,"_ Chris blinked languidly at the mirror, his earlier desperation slowed by each touch, each brisk caress. "Hmmm?" he replied with only mild curiosity, his gaze moving to watch the changing shape of Adam's mouth as his lover spoke. He wanted to kiss Adam for hours, he wanted to see if he could come just from kissing this stunning man who had his hand wrapped so lovingly around Chris' aching shaft. _"...with Sparky standing here instead... I pulled him out of here to kick his ass."_

"Hmmm." CJ agreed, not really knowing who 'Sparky' was or why his lover would be kicking his ass when he should be nailing Chris'. His lack of verbal response must have registered as Adam looked up suddenly and their eyes locked, rich emerald with brilliant sapphire. But his body was another matter, it replied to Adam's hands and his eyes with a full body shudder and a needy thrust of his hips into that stroking touch. It occurred to him that this was really happening. He was actually here in a mile-high bathroom about to have what he was sure would be really amazing sex with Adam. Confident that he wasn't about to wake up sticky and broken-hearted, Chris let his lips curl into a lazy, sex-infused smile.

 _"Is this what you wanted, sweetheart?"_

"-Yes-" But it was silent, the sounds lost as Chris shaped the words to his beloved in the mirror.

 _"Squeezed in here so tight we can barely move..."_

"-Yes-" Chris's eyes almost closed as Adam's finger breached his body, the slippery silk of the touch sending his head back once again to rest drunkenly on one broad cloth covered shoulder.

 _"Do you have any clue how badly I wanted to do this.... "_

"-No-" This had been Chris' fantasy, his personal little kink that he'd asked Adam to indulge. Adam had thought about it too? Chris had to bite his bottom lip to keep from growling his body's response to that idea.

 _"Are you ready, sweetheart? Ready for me to fuck you hard and fast..."_

"-Yes-" More than ready. Going up on his toes in response to a soft rub on the sensitive spot deep within him.

 _"Tell me how much you want it Chris. Tell me."_

The touch, the sensation of hard, swollen flash against his wanton opening was too much of a temptation. Hands white knuckled on wet metal, Chris' head dropped forward, strands of wild honey hair falling to hang across his face like a waterfall. But all the while his eyes remained fixated on Adam, on that gorgeous, expressive face that had haunted his dreams for three years. Oh, he wanted this. Wanted Adam inside him so badly it felt like he was going to scream if he wasn't taken, and taken fast.

"This much," he growled in a deep, feral voice that he'd had no idea he possessed. With a sharp move, he pushed back. Hard. Adam's shaft penetrated almost halfway and Chris snarled at the rolling sensations spinning directly to his engorged sex. The noise coming from his lover at the sudden thrust was enough to bring Chris' voice back to him, although it sounded almost foreign to his own ears.

"More. All of it." This morning he'd begged. "I want you Adam, hard, rough, in me. Make me scream Baby, let the pilots know you're fucking me. I want you to take me so deep I'll know this isn't another fantasy. Every time I move I want to remember you fucking me like this and I want to get hard at the thought of doing it all…over... again."

He wasn't begging now... he was _demanding_ Adam give in to him.

After that, for CJ everything began to boil down to fleeting snatches of sensation. The pad of Adam's thumb running over his left hipbone, the hot wisp of air behind the delicate shell of his ear raising goose bumps on his forearms, his own unfamiliar eyes in the streaked mirror. As Adam thrust into him, over and over, Chris's body was pulled back and forth against his braced arms, knees bending so that he could push back and take even more, feel all of it, down to his soul.

The rasp of denim across the top of his thighs and Chris knew he was close. Adam was giving him everything in him, his heart, his love and his magnificent shaft bringing CJ back up that high, blissful mountain. Tearing his undamaged hand from it's ferocious grip on the sink, Chris stroked himself in time with his lover's thrusts, occasionally smacking the back of his fingers on the steel sink. The small pain only served to contrast with the brilliance taking place behind him.

The cubical was gone, the plane gone, all that was left was Adam and the mountain disappearing out from under Chris' feet.

He never took his eyes from the mirror.

****

 _"I'm sure we can arrange something about your... request... when we get home, Dave."_

Request? Oh right. He hadn't exactly thought of it in _that_ particular light. But if that's the way that Shawn was going to interpret it, maybe he'd get an answer to those questions he'd been asking himself sooner than he thought. Overwhelmed with tension now that had nothing whatsoever to do with his earlier slip, Dave turned his attention to his fork and what was left of his lunch, though he wasn't sure how he was supposed to actually eat in his current condition.

When Shawn asked about the flight home, Dave slanted a look in his lovers' direction and promptly grinned and shook his head at the tactics Shawn was employing under cover of the tabletop. At this rate at least two out of the three of them were going to have serious trouble walking straight to the car. Thankfully they'd have the time between here and the airport to recover with the driver present.

 _"...The change in plans... because some punk thief stole my phone before I could finish up my calls."_

Dave covered his mouth with his hand, turning his laughter into a fake cough. Hunt was _really_ taking the loss of his phone badly. Personally Dave thought the separation would do both Hunt and his phone good. He couldn't imagine the hours that Hunter had racked up on the thing.

 _"I canceled all our various flights and booked a limo to take us to my place. I thought we should replace some bad memories with more... pleasant... ones."_

Well that should be interesting. So much for his time to cool off on the way home. Dave had no doubts that Hunt would make good on that statement either. Surely between him and Hunt they could find some way to distract Shawn from the memories the other night. Christ. He was obviously turning into a sex-starved maniac. And Hunter was so not making good on his 'request' in the limo. Capturing Shawn's other hand under the table he gave it a quick squeeze to offer his support and let Shawn know that the ride to Hunt's house would work out just fine.

 _"...Won't need Hunter's help and I wouldn't ask for it anyway... bad habit of pilfering my clothes and keeping them to wear... picking through my old Razor gear so he can restart the flashy vest trend on the next Raw."_

Dave was immediately swamped with images of Hunter in the bright blues, greens, and yellows that had comprised a big part of Razor's ring wear. Raising a brow in Hunter's direction, Dave laughed. "I'd pay to see that, actually. Though I've always been partial to his snob gear," he added with a grin for Scott. "Should I get a laundry marker and label all my clothes Hunt? It'd be just like the sleepovers I went to as a kid."

****

 _"...I just couldn't help but look at that salad bar with evil intentions ever since your... totally unhelpful suggestion to Mark."_

Of course it had been unhelpful... that was practically his middle name. Sean shrugged negligently and smiled. The day he actually offered a helpful suggestion, people would fall over dead in shock. Maybe he'd try it someday just for kicks.

Sean watched as Jeff's eyes lingered on Mark for a moment and his smile twisted into a smirk. So, so obvious. Just to give Mark and Glen something to worry about, Sean grinned in their direction. Then he turned and grabbed a huge slice of chocolate cake from the dessert bar. If he wasn't sure Glen would smack him in the head he would have grabbed a second, but he wasn't going to press his luck today. For a change.

 _"What I wouldn't give to start a food fight right now."_

Sean perked right up upon hearing that. Didn't _that_ sound like fun. Sean considered it for a long moment. No... he couldn't. Glen _would_ smack him upside the head and damn did that sting.

After Jeff told him about what brain-surgeon Mario from security had had to say, Sean almost reconsidered just for the hell of it. He made a mental note to come up with a suitable plan for revenge later and Jeff would most certainly be a part of it. Maybe a nice copy of a gay S&M magazine buried in his suitcase for the wife to find... he'd have to give it more thought.

 _"Enter stage left... the victim of the lime Jell-o. Can you imagine what it would do to his hair?"_

Sean looked over Flair and the woman accompanying him. It never ceased to amaze Sean that Flair managed to pick up such hot looking women. Not that he was jealous because Glen was his life, he was just honestly amazed considering he'd seen enough of Ric's body during his matches to wonder at the attraction. It had to be the guy's winning personality. No doubt about it.

"I'm not sure, man. Green is good, but it looks better when it's blue. Blueberry pie from the food fight that I started in catering two months ago," he said with a grin for Jeff. "He had to go buy something to bleach the blue out. My ass is still sore from the chewing Vince gave me so I'm not even going to take the chance on it here, but we do have a pay per view on Sunday..." he added, trailing off with the implication clear as they headed back to the table. "I think Mario could use a new hairstyle. What do you think... spaghetti and marinara sauce or a big juicy strawberry pie?"

\----

Glen smiled and shook his head as he watched Mark's eyes follow Jeff down the buffet table. How come he had never picked up on this before last night? Of course he and Mark hadn't spent all that much time together lately with their schedules and the problems with Sean so that might explain his lack of insight. In any case, it was more than obvious now that Mark was very into the young Mr. Hardy. Glen hoped for his sake that things worked out for them. He still wasn't sure why Mark had fought it in the first place. It wasn't like Mark was _shy_ for god's sake.

 _"I appreciate it, Glen, but I don't think I'll take you up on it this time. Jeff's going to be staying with me..."_

Despite the fact that the offer had been sincere, Glen let out a breath in relief. He wasn't sure Sean and Mark were ready to test their newfound agreement by being in close contact for the next four days. Starting off a few hours at a time was more than enough until they actually made it through half a day without Mark wanting to tombstone his lover.

As for Jeff staying with Mark... Glen wasn't about to say a word. Though he was grinning enough that he shouldn't have to say anything. He just hoped for Mark's sake... and Jeff's... that Jeff followed through on showing up at the ranch house. If not, then he'd be going to hunt down Hardy himself. With the atypical demonstration by his friend a few minutes ago, Glen was sure this wasn't just another short term friendly fling like Mark had had with Shannon nor a long term arrangement like Mark had had with Adam. Mark had been strictly low key with both of them for the most part. He'd even managed to keep his relationship with Shawn from the majority of the company. That Mark was being demonstrative in public with Jeff, especially this early in the relationship, told Glen that Jeff was much more than 'casual' anything.

 _"Yes, Dad. I have some other calls to make too, I'm sure... I'll try to fit you into my busy schedule."_

Glen immediately snorted in reply. "You need some time off, man, or glasses. Last time I checked I look nothing at all like Daddy Paul, _brother_. Don't make me bury you alive again to remind you of who I am," he said with an unrepentant grin. "I think you can spare a few minutes in between all that hot and sweaty _work_ you'll be doing," he said with a wink. "And if I don't get that phone call, I'll just show up on your doorstep... with Sean in tow."

Looking over his shoulder at the two men by the buffet, Glen did a double-take at the grin on Sean's face before groaning. "I don't know about you, but that look," he said pointing over his shoulder, "is enough to scare me. Think anyone would say anything if we tied them to their chairs for the rest of the meal?"

****

The feeling of Hunter's fingers brushing against his back almost distracted Shawn from his own teasing. Almost. The subtle shift of Hunt's hips that brought Shawn's hand up against tantalizing firmness kept his attention where it belonged, however, and he was more than happy to follow through on Hunt's unspoken dare by curving his fingers just like _that_... The little indrawn breath turned his smile just a touch wicked, but he managed to restrain himself, only allowing his fingers to rest against temptation without moving. He _did_ want to get moving some time soon, and Vince's forced acceptance of the new aspects to their relationship would probably be stretched past the breaking point if he heard about his son-in-law screwing Shawn senseless over a table in the restaurant.

No matter how big of a thrill that image sent down Shawn's spine.

 _"Oh didn't I tell you Darling? About the change in plans?"_

Raising an eyebrow, Shawn leaned back against the strong arm behind him. Change in plans? How many changes could there be? It wasn't as though they had to cross the continent, after all. Hunt's home was barely over an hour away unless traffic was bad... oh. Why fly, then?

 _"Hmmm, must have been because some punk thief stole my phone before I could finish up my calls."_

Valiantly resisting the urge to stick his tongue out at his friend---if only because there was no way he could follow through on the promise inherent in the gesture right now---Shawn smirked, but could feel tension creeping up through him in expectation of Hunter's next words.

 _"I cancelled all our various flights and booked a limo to take us to my place."_

A limo. He'd ridden in hundreds of the damned things over the years, so why was he so taken aback by the thought of one now? Only Hunter's hand covering his made him realise that he'd started to jerk away in reaction and he forced himself to relax, his smile a little hesitant, a little wry. Why wasn't he thrilled about the thought? It didn't take a genius to figure that one out, and he'd been trying for the last few years not to lie to himself.

Because of what had happened two nights ago.

 _"I'm not_ in _love with Shawn.... I don't... feel... the same way..."_

Blinking, Shawn pushed the memory away. The words had hurt---they still hurt. But he knew better, and honestly, he'd known better at the time. Hunter had lied to him, and they still had to talk about that... but not here, and definitely not in the limo. Once they were home, maybe... Shawn's thoughts stopped. Home. Hunter's house had always been a second home to him, but for the first time, "home" had a new meaning, a new depth to it... because now he had people to share his life with, to make his house a true home.

Another phrase from that unhappy night surfaced in his mind, and his eyes flew back up to meet Hunter's, wondering why he hadn't seen the truth in those familiar whiskey eyes then.

 _"I think winning Shawn's heart would be a helluva prize..."_

Letting his breath out in a slow exhalation, Shawn twined his fingers through Hunter's as his lover explained his decision.

 _"I thought we should replace some bad memories with more... pleasant... ones."_

Shawn glanced at Dave as their Animal squeezed his other hand, offering reassurance, and smiled at him to let him know that the gesture was appreciated. That night had been equally traumatic for all three of them, and they all needed to move past it. He didn't have a monopoly on bad memories, but at least this one they could try to fix.

 _"He has a bad habit of pilfering my clothes..."_

Biting back a sigh of relief as Scott's warm teasing voice cut through his introspection and brought him back to the moment, Shawn raised an eyebrow at Hunter. There had to be a story there, and certainly not the sort that he'd immediately thought of. If Hunter and Scott had ever... no. Scott wouldn't do that to Kevin, and one of them would have said _something_ about it before this. Probably. Damn. He was so getting the story out of Hunt once they were in that limo.

 _"I'd pay to see that, actually. Though I've always been partial to his snob gear."_

Another look at Dave, this time with a wicked curl to his lips, and Shawn said in a stage whisper, "He still has all of that, you know. I'm sure we could convince him to model for us..." Raising his voice as he turned back to Hunter, he smirked, "But only if you do the bow. I never had such a hard time keeping a straight face as I did whenever you did that bow."

****

 _"He has a bad habit of pilfering my clothes and keeping them to wear whenever he feels like it,"_

Hunter knew exactly what clothes, and night, Scott was referring too and did his best not to rise to the bait the taunt provided. The t-shirt and sweats in question had been in far better condition than his own jeans and shirt after the spilled drink at the bar and three torn buttons while trying to get Scott home in one piece. Hunt felt it was his right as 'Minder Of Drunk Friend' to claim the clothing as his due for the bad night's sleep he'd had worrying whether Scotty would either A) choke in his sleep, B) fall off the balcony or C) try to call Kev at 4 am and make things ten times worse. In the end he'd needn't have worried, as his friend had slept soundly for nine hours to wake up and beg Hunter not to fry eggs in the kitchenette until he'd consumed a handful of Tylenol. Scott had been permitted two of the white pills and had his cell phone, with Kev's number conveniently on the screen, put under his nose before Hunter had left with a knowing grin.

Oh... and Hunter would garrote himself before he ever wore a Razor Ramon outfit in public.

"Actually, I was thinking about pinching Kev's leather pants for a show," Hunter confided to the table in general, "but it'd be too much effort now that _you're_ back in them again Scotty."

Hunter hadn't missed Dave's laughter at Scott's suggestion or the interested raise of brow, but he was going to ignore it. Totally. He wouldn't give in the speculation flooding into those deep, dark eyes and would most certainly not join in any amusement at the thought of his sophisticated person in lurid, neon coloured ring attire. It had taken Steph a month to convince him that he could get away with dark blue trunks for a change. There would be nothing glittery on his ass.... ever.

 _"I'd pay to see that."_ Of course you would Dave, you're insane. _"...I've always been partial to his snob gear,"_

Now _that_ got Hunter's attention, his head shooting around to look at his lover in surprise. Not only was that look way, way before he'd ever met Dave, it was one of the looks he'd spent a long time trying to bury. With DX rising up to completely throttle his 'Blue Blood' look in a matter of months, Hunter was very rarely reminded of the exquisitely cut ring attire he'd once worn. The silk shirts, high boots and frock coats a thing of his very distant past.... even if he had kept challenging people to duels in the costume.

Yeah... it had been kinda cool. In a eight year old 'I wanna be a pirate' way.

 _"...we could convince him to model for us... But only if you do the bow. I never had such a hard time keeping a straight face..."_

Oh, he'd known that. Shawn's eyes would glitter like perfect diamonds whenever he saw Hunter practicing, the huge grin often bringing a stinging blush to Hunt's cheeks. It had been way before he'd learnt the icy mask of power that he could slip into easily these days and he'd been suffering from such a huge crush on Shawn at the time, that the hilarity in those lovely eyes made him want to rush from the room. But he'd survived the angle, as every single wrestler in the room had been forced to do and he'd learned a much more valuable lesson from the experience... to laugh at himself. Because in this business, if you took yourself too seriously... you'd suck, no question.

Just look at Goldberg.

Hunter replaced the shock on his face with self-deprecating amusement. He'd looked totally stupid when he'd bowed so low, he had to admit that.

"Joanie used to whisper obscenities just as I was leaning down." Hunt smiled at the memory. "The number of times I almost fell on my face you wouldn't believe. The first few bows I felt like I was mooning everyone in the Gorilla."

But it had been better than a lot of the costumes some guys had to wear at the time. God, Hunter shook his head in pity, poor Nelson. Then as 'Mabel', the man now called Viscera had worn more heavy gold to the ring than Mr. T.

Checking his watch, Hunter looked at both Dave and Shawn to make sure they'd finished eating, then stood. He regretted the loss of his lover's hand on his leg, but the sooner they got into the limousine waiting outside the lobby doors, the sooner they could get home.

"Sorry Gentlemen," Hunter smirked at the various looks that name had garnered him. "Much as I'd love to stay and watch you all play... we have a car to meet. Scotty, Kev," Hunter moved towards his friends so that his words wouldn't be overheard, "..if you need anything, even help with the heavy lifting, just call. We won't be too far away." Hunter shot Shawn a mock angry look over his shoulder. "As long as I get my cell back, that is."


	83. Shocks

_"This much."_

Those two fiercely growled words were all the warning he was given... and they weren't nearly enough. Chris sometimes called himself a sexy beast and that appellation had never been more appropriate than in that split second... eyes wild and that deep earthy rumble just before he sharply thrust his hips backward. As if that weren't enough to send an immediate flash of intensely startling heat from Adam's brain to his balls, the sudden sensation of having Chris' snug, heated flesh wrapped around him tripled the intensity and Adam found himself struggling not to come on the spot.

Chris would have likely killed him dead right there.

His fingertips spasmed, clenching tightly at Chris' hips, as a gasp spilled from his lips almost immediately eclipsed by a harsh moan of utter bliss. Who would have ever thought he'd find a glimpse of heaven in an airplane lavatory?

 _"I want you Adam, hard, rough, in me. Make me scream Baby... so deep I'll know this isn't another fantasy. Every time I move I want to remember you fucking me like this.... "_

With another rumbling moan he slid the rest of his length inside the tight sheathe wrapped around him. He'd _had_ to ask... hadn't he? And Chris hadn't hesitated telling him either. If he weren't so consumed with the task of committing every bit of this encounter to memory, he'd have laughed at the reappearance of Mr. Bossy. Instead he was busy noting the feel of angular hipbones poking against his thumbs, the tickling brush of silky blond hair against his cheek, wide glittering blue eyes reflected back at him in the mirror... and the incredible heat squeezing tightly around his throbbing member.

Just this once he'd let Chris have his way...

A smooth glide backward until he was on the point of slipping out entirely and then he thrust back in hard, rough, fast... just like Chris had commanded. From there his body took over, demanding he not stop, not slow down until his lover had exactly what he'd asked for. Sharp ragged thrusts buried him deep inside that hot channel, his hands at Chris' hips pulling his lover back into each stroke.

A thought of the pilots being able to hear what was going on in the enclosed space flitted through his head and that just made him fuck Chris harder, aiming the tip of his cock to jam into Chris' prostate. He'd never considered himself the type to get a charge from that type of thing, but apparently the thought of getting caught... with Chris... was a new thrill to add to his growing list.

Despite the urge to feast on Chris' neck, he forced himself to keep his eyes locked on the mirror. Taking in each expression on his lover's face, each flash of pleasure within the sky blue depths of Chris' eyes just enhanced his body's reactions. Words of love and lust dropped from his mouth in a tone just above a whisper, though he wasn't fully aware himself of what he was saying. His lover's name and "I love you" figured in highly in the final word count along with liberal doses of fuck, good, hot and again.

He was on fire. Making love to Chris was like trying to harness the sun with his own hands... he was bound to get burned.

He didn't care. If he were burned to a crisp right now, he'd die a thoroughly happy and contented man.

His release was clamoring inside him like a wild thing demanding to be freed, but he held it back ruthlessly until he caught the little flash in Chris' eyes. The little tell-tale widening that he now knew signaled Chris' impending explosion. With a fierce growl he wrapped one hand in Chris' hair and turned his head, covering Chris' mouth with his own just as his lover cried out his ecstasy. Swallowing the sound, Adam finally allowed his own release to sere through him, thrusting inside with one last forceful push.

His whimpers and growls died down to quiet sighs as he tasted Chris' mouth over and over. With his free arm wrapping around Chris to help support his weight, he finally pulled back with one more gentle kiss to those soft full lips. Groaning, he withdrew from Chris' body, holding him close for a few moments after.

Despite the fact that Chris had commanded him to basically fuck him raw and Chris' lovely reactions from him doing so, Adam wasn't about to wrap up this encounter without making sure that he hadn't overdone his task. It would end on a hell of a note if Chris ended up having to crawl back to his seat.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" he asked as he continued his gentle petting and kissing of whichever parts of Chris he could reach within the confines of the small area. "I won't rush you, babe, but if we don't vacate this place soon I have a feeling Sparky will be by to check on you... little twit... him, not you."

****

 _"He still has all of that, you know. I'm sure we could convince him to model for us..."_

Dave was equally torn between three lovely options. The pictures floating through his head fought for top spots amongst each other. Hunter a la Leather was a nice visual... he might even go out and buy Hunt a pair of leather pants if he was sure he'd actually wear them. And if he refused, Dave could think of all kinds of ways to try to persuade him. Of course Hunt in a flashy vest and matching trunks was almost too cute to resist... but he was pretty sure that would take some hardcore persuasion on his and Shawn's parts to bring to reality. Now Hunt's old ring gear on the other hand was apparently readily available and had the added bonus of seeing in person the famous bow. Three guesses on which he was voting for when they got to Hunter's house...

 _"...The number of times I almost fell on my face you wouldn't believe... mooning everyone in the Gorilla."_

Now there was a visual. Dave pictured himself standing right behind Hunt while he tried to execute that move... naked. That's it, he was going to have to join Sexaholics Anonymous.

 _"Much as I'd love to stay and watch you all play... we have a car to meet..."_

Dave almost jumped up and shouted his thanks but managed to restrain himself. He was shifting to his feet as Hunter went to say goodbye to Kevin and Scott. Fortunately he was imbued with a great sense of his personal space or he'd have been eating a flying missile. Reacting automatically, Dave reached out and caught the item in one hand... Hunt's cell phone. With a smirk, he carefully slipped it into his pocket for the moment. He could just imagine Hunt's reaction if he thought that Shawn had actually _lost_ his cell phone. Ten bucks said they'd be heading to the nearest phone outlet on the way back to Greenwich, if they even made it out of town.

He looked up in time to see Scott sweep Hunter up into a tight hug. No growling, he reminded himself once again. At least he could comfort himself with the thought that he was _trying_ to get used to this touchy-feely bunch.

All thoughts of growling faded in the next moment as Scott released Hunter and stepped back into a perfect bow and scrape stance. Dave didn't bother holding his laughter or his "He might just be better at that than you, Hunt" comment. He'd have to compare it with Hunter's version later.

Bodies shifted and Shawn was pulled into Scott's arms as well. That time Dave even managed a smile because he could tell how much the gesture meant to Shawn. He forced himself not to think about the fact that Scott... and Kev as well... both knew Shawn very well, in the biblical sense of the word. Okay so he thought about it, who could actually have that knowledge and _not_ think about it, but he wouldn't go all obsessive jealous... boyfriend?... over it. He certainly wouldn't expect Shawn or Hunt to act that way if they happened to run into Sean or Tyson for that matter... and he wasn't going to do that to them either.

When Shawn stepped back, Dave extended his hand to Scott. Despite his altercation with Steve earlier, he _did_ have manners. He wasn't sure what to think when Scott tilted his head to the side as he took his hand. The dark-haired man seemed to study him for a moment before breaking the silence.

 _"Welcome to the family, Dave. I think you'll do these two troublemakers a world of good. Just don't forget what I said Monday night..."_

While Dave was still stuck on the welcome into the family and trying to recall what exactly it was that Scott had told him Monday night, he felt a firm tug on his hand and found himself wrapped in the arms of one Scott Hall. To say he was surprised would be a huge understatement. He held himself stiff for a split second before admitting to himself that being a part of this wild and crazy family sounded too damn tempting to pass up. Wrapping his arms around his new 'brother', he returned the hug in full measure.

****

 _"Not to worry Kev, other than the recliner, it's just boxes... mostly clothes."_

Kevin could almost hear sighs of relief from his knees. They weren't bothering him too much today, but if they spent the break moving heavy things, he'd be in no condition for any sort of match Sunday that wouldn't suck up the ring. Clothing, he could handle... even if Scott did own more clothes than he could possibly wear in the next two years.

 _"We won't need Hunter's help and I wouldn't ask for it anyway. He has a bad habit of pilfering my clothes and keeping them..."_

Lips curling at the not-so-gentle reminder of a scene he regretted missing to this day, regardless of the circumstances behind it, Kevin caught the expression on Shawn's face: instantly curious, fading to brief suspicion, followed by determined humour. Apparently Hunt had never shared that particular encounter with Shawn... not that Kevin could really blame him. With what those two had been hiding from each other for the last decade, revealing something like that would've blown Hunt's secret right out of the water. Shawn might have his infamously airhead moments, as he'd reveled in bragging about in at least one famous promo, but he wasn't stupid. What he wouldn't give to watch the trip home those three would be having...

The light squeeze to his thigh brought his gaze back to Scott, and he shrugged to himself. They might or might not get to see those three in an intimate situation someday, but with Scotty back in his life, he didn't need anything more. The odd look on Hunter's face as he turned toward his lovers made Kevin wonder a little, but even if they'd managed to take the first step toward repairing their friendship, he wasn't about to prod the man about his sex life.

Not yet, anyway.

The interplay between the trio made him smile again, and he decided that Shawn hadn't changed one bit; he still remembered those wandering fingers during everything from media events to matches on live pay-per-view. Dave seemed to be handling things, although that pink tinge on his face was rather becoming. Hopefully he wouldn't lose that _too_ soon. Damn. He was catching Scott's obsession with blushing.

 _"I'd pay to see that, actually. Though I've always been partial to his snob gear."_

There was no way he could hide his laughter at that. The image of Hunter in Scott's Razor gear, complete with dripping gold chains, was just too good not to react to. Dave wouldn't be the only person willing to pay to see that, but Kevin suspected that to make it reality, it wouldn't take money... it would take alcohol, and lots of it. And since Hunt didn't drink---normally---that'd be damned hard to do. The snob clothes, on the other hand...

 _"He still has all of that, you know. I'm sure we could convince him to model for us..."_

Damn. Although Kev did have to wonder if Hunter could actually still fit into that gear. The man just wasn't as thin as he used to be, with all the working out he'd done to recover from that quad tear. If he did... well, Shawn was fond of photographs. Surely he'd be willing to share a couple of _those_...

 _"I never had such a hard time keeping a straight face as I did whenever you did that bow."_

Biting his lip at the somewhat offended expression on Hunter's face, Kevin had to agree with Shawn. That bow had been one of the most ridiculous things he'd ever seen in a ring... and he'd seen a lot of ridiculous crap. Hell, he'd _been_ some of that ridiculous crap. But that bow never failed to make him snicker.

 _"I was thinking about pinching Kev's leather pants for a show... but it'd be too much effort now that you're back in them again Scotty."_

He just couldn't resist that.

"Oh, I don't know, Hunt... who says you'd have to steal them? If you want in my pants, all you have to do is ask." He returned Shawn's badly-hidden choke of laughter with a wink.

 _"Sorry Gentlemen... Much as I'd love to stay and watch you all play... we have a car to meet."_

Reluctantly releasing Scott as his lover stood up, Kevin waited to the side for his turn. Noting Dave's eyes on them, he smiled to himself. The Animal would adjust, just as soon as they all found their footing again. Watching as Scott hugged Hunter tightly, he realised just how much he'd missed this. While he'd managed to remain close with everyone through his and Scott's separation, there had been an unconscious distance that he'd maintained, due to his own insecurities and issues, and seeing this, his family reunited, filled a void that he hadn't even known had existed until Monday night.

Watching Scotty pull off Hunter's blue-blood bow, on the other hand, brought uncontrollable laughter to his lips. God, it was good to see Scott's sense of humour back in full force. Before Hunt could reply to either that or to Dave's teasing, Kevin pulled him into his own arms, hugging him tightly. He'd missed this, missed _Hunt_ , his best friend beside Scotty for so long... And on that note...

"Hunt..." Whispering into the ear close to him, "...if you need to talk about anything--- _anything_ \---call me. Please." He couldn't help adding the last word, but was reassured by the light gleaming in the hazel eyes that looked back at him. One last squeeze, and then it was Shawn's turn to be pulled in close, the slim body still familiar even after all these years. No matter how much he tried to hold it back, he was apparently in uber-protective mode today. Understandable, after last night, but he'd have to watch how much he showed it, or Shawn would just get annoyed and ignore him.

"Don't push him too much, Shawn... he's still finding his limits," he said quietly, and was surprised by the wry smile he received.

"We know, Kev... don't worry." The voice was quiet, warm, and blue-grey eyes flicked to the side at the waiting members of the trio before looking back at Kevin. "We love him." Kevin blinked, not quite sure why he was startled at the quiet, sure words, but he was. Not to mention pleased, and he found himself worrying about the new trio less than he had been earlier. Shawn kissed him on the cheek, and wiggled out of his grasp before he realised it. Brat.

That left one more. Turning slightly towards Scott, he grinned at the sight of Dave hugging Scotty just as enthusiastically as the Bad Guy was hugging him. No sooner had the two broken apart then Kevin tugged on Dave's wrist, pulling him into another embrace before the poor man knew what was going on.

"I don't have to tell you to be good to them, I know," Kevin smiled into the surprised eyes. "So... try not to worry too much, okay? You can always talk to us if you need to." He was tempted to remind Dave that he and Scott had experience with this sort of situation, but given the possessiveness and insecurities still lurking in those dark eyes, he thought better of it. Instead, he let Dave go and waved at the three of them as they walked away. Dammit, he missed them already. Better get his mind off them and back to the beloved man standing next to him; that would definitely keep him too occupied to worry about those three.

Turning to Scott, he eyed the empty table in front of them and said, "So, Bad Guy... hungry yet?"

****

 _"...who says you'd have to steal them? If you want in my pants, all you have to do is ask."_

Scott snorted and lightly elbowed his lover in the ribs. "Jealous," he murmured teasingly under his breath as he grinned at Kevin. He knew there was no real truth to it and Kev would know that he knew it. Still, it didn't hurt to tease him once in awhile.

 _"I'd pay to see that, actually. Though I've always been partial to his snob gear."_

Scott was going to go through his stuff when he got home. He'd pack up the green trunks and vest to bring with him to the pay per view. If he left them with Shawn or Dave, then they could have the fun of trying to convince him to try them on, though Scott wouldn't want to speculate on what forms of persuasion they'd have to use.

On second thought... yes he would.

As for Hunt's old ringwear, Scott had a clear memory of how Hunt had looked in it. Nice... despite his arguments to the contrary. And he also remembered Hunter practicing those bows and he'd thought them one of the silliest things he'd ever seen. They were definitely silly, but they sure as hell weren't easy to pull off with any sort of grace unless you actually practiced. He'd sensed Hunt's embarrassment one day while Shawn had been watching him practice and he'd felt bad for his friend... so as soon as Shawn left, he'd jumped right in and practiced it with him. There weren't any other witnesses, Scott wasn't stupid, but he thought maybe it had helped Hunt feel a little bit better when he saw how bad Scott was at it. Of course Hunter didn't have a clue that he'd practiced for another three hours when he went home that weekend and Kev wasn't around.

 _"...we have a car to meet. Scotty, Kev... if you need anything... just call. We won't be too far away. As long as I get my cell back, that is."_

Scott chuckled quietly. Poor Hunt. Scott could so see Hunt's cell phone addiction being an issue. He had once noticed Hunt carrying the thing into the bathroom with him just in case it rang while he was taking a shower... now that was just a tiny bit obsessive in Scott's point of view. Looked like Shawn had found a way to deal with it, at least temporarily. Though it would take a lot more work before Hunt let go easily. He saw it as a crutch that Hunt used in place of dealing with people face to face. What else could you say about someone that used their cell to call someone rather than walk two doors down the hall to talk to someone. Lazy, he supposed, and Hunt was hardly that.

"Don't worry about it, Hunt. It's just boxes and stuff like that. We'll manage just fine. Enjoy your time off. I would if I were you," he added with a wicked grin as he wrapped his friend in his arms "It's really nice to be able to do this again. We missed you." Scott squeezed him just a bit tighter before pulling away and winking at Hunter. Reaching out to the side with both arms, Scott simultaneously bowed at the waist while canting his right leg behind him. All that practice _had_ paid off.

 _"He might just be better at that than you, Hunt."_

Scott laughed along with his friends but raised a brow to Dave as he stood up once again. Dave had obviously been watching old tapes of Hunt. He supposed it could be passed off as learning the business, but somehow he didn't think so when it came to Hunter.

Then Shawn was standing in front of him and Scott pulled him into a tight hug. He lowered his voice slightly not wanting to cause issues with either Hunter or Dave but he couldn't ignore the urge to express his feelings. "I'm going to miss not being the one to drag you off and make you feel better, but I'm not going to miss the sadness in you that gave me the opportunity. No matter what though you know I'll always be there for you to talk to. Love ya Shawn."

As he passed Shawn into Kevin's arms, he turned to look at the last member of the trio with curious eyes. Dave extended a hand to him and Scott wasn't surprised by the formality. Dave just didn't understand yet, but Scott was going to make sure he did before he left this room. He cocked his head to the side as he considered how Dave would react to what he was about to do. Hopefully he wouldn't end up being drilled through the floor. He didn't think that was really Dave's style, but he never counted on someone reacting the way they were supposed to when you surprised the hell out of them. Besides after watching the way Shawn had behaved towards the big man since they'd arrived in the room, Scott had a reminder for the Animal.

"Welcome to the family, Dave. I think you'll do these two troublemakers a world of good. Just don't forget what I said Monday night."

Giving the man's hand a firm tug, Scott pulled him into his arms and squeezed. He felt the tension ripple through the large frame for a moment and then those strong arms wrapped around him and returned his hug with enthusiasm... or he was trying to squeezed the air right out of him.

Scott faked a cough as Dave finally released him and then smiled as Kev grabbed hold of Dave before he could get too far. Oh... that was a particularly lovely sight... Scott cut off that thought before it went too far. He couldn't see Hunt and Shawn offering to share the man with them, so he was better off not thinking along those lines. Although...

He once again stomped on his inclinations and joined Kev in waving the threesome out the door.

 _"So, Bad Guy... hungry yet?"_

Scott laughed loudly as he patted Kevin's arm. "Poor Kev. I really didn't plan this thing to starve you. Let's go get some eats." A wide smile on his face and thoughts of bottomless pits in his head, he led Kevin over to the buffet and started filling a plate. "So... so far, so good. We told them about us and so far nobody's been injured, maimed, killed, or hauled off to jail. I'd say that makes this luncheon a success," he said with a grin at his lover. The scary part was how true that statement was.

****

 _"The first few bows I felt like I was mooning everyone in the Gorilla."_

Watching Hunter reminisce brought those times to Shawn's mind, and he remembered them very well indeed. Hunt's snob phase might have been relatively short, but Shawn had spent time by the monitors for as many of Hunt's matches as he could, and getting to see that bow from _all_ angles had always ranked as one of his favourite moments. Maybe someday he should tell Hunt how much he missed those tights... not that he'd want him to wear them to the ring again. But if he wanted to wear them for a different sort of wrestling, Shawn doubted that Dave would object. He knew _he_ wouldn't.

Seeing the expected look at the watch, Shawn finished the last few bites of his food, managing not to look too disappointed when Hunter stood, forcing him to move his hand from what was quickly becoming one of its favourite resting spots.

 _"Much as I'd love to stay and watch you all play... we have a car to meet."_

Wondering if Hunter had remembered that their bags were still in their room, Shawn stood up, watching his lover to make sure that his attention was fully taken up by whatever he was saying to Scott and Kevin. Pulling the cell phone from his pocket, he glanced over his shoulder at Dave and tossed the phone at him in a low arc behind his back. Thank God Dave's reflexes were good; if they'd dropped the damned thing, Shawn would've heard about it for the next three months. Matching his dark lover's smirk with one of his own, he found himself looking forward to Hunt's reaction to the new game they'd just discovered: Keep Hunt away from his cell phone. Not that he'd _never_ give it back... but they had to break the addiction that was in place. If Hunter thought that he could use the thing to keep from having to deal with people face-to-face, he was going to find out differently.

His eyes on Hunter, he was glad to see his friend returning Scotty's hug just as enthusiastically as it was being given. He couldn't hear their short conversation, but knowing Kevin and Scott, they'd both have "advice" for all three of them. That was something he was going to miss---being able to turn to those two when he needed comfort, or just needed to not be alone... but he wasn't going to miss the needs that had caused those times. He doubted severely whether they'd ever be anything beyond friends again, but then, that was the point of having lovers, wasn't it? Hunter and Dave had assumed the positions in his heart formerly held by the two men standing close together in front of him, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

And on that note... Whatever was up with those two, it obviously hadn't affected their senses of humour. Shawn couldn't suppress the laughter that escaped as he watched Scott perform a flawless version of the infamous bow. The man _had_ to have practiced that.

 _"He might just be better at that than you, Hunt."_

Biting his lip, Shawn refrained from suggesting a bowing contest at the traditional birthday barbecue... but only because he didn't want to have to do it himself. He'd never told Hunter, but he'd tried that stupid bow once or twice himself in private, and had been impressed with the amount of practice, not to mention innate grace, that was needed to make it look good. It hadn't stopped him from being amused at watching Hunter practice, but his amusement was never because Hunt looked awkward doing it... just because it was such an over-the-top move for someone like Hunt.

Stepping forward as Hunter was pulled into Kevin's embrace, Shawn looked at Scotty, glad to see the old spark back in those eyes. Smiling just a little as Scott hugged him nearly hard enough to interfere with his breathing, he slid his own arms around the man, a little surprised and a little wistful when he realised that he still knew Scott's body intimately. Those days were over now, though... and Scott was reading his mind again.

 _"I'm going to miss not being the one to drag you off and make you feel better, but I'm not going to miss the sadness in you that gave me the opportunity. No matter what though you know I'll always be there for you to talk to. Love ya Shawn."_

"I'll miss it too, Scott... but I'm happy." He kept his voice low, knowing that Scott could see the emotion in his eyes as clearly as he'd read Scott's. "And I'm happier than I can say to see _you_ happy again. You and Kev belong together." Knowing that Hunter would understand, and suspecting that Dave would, he brushed his lips against the corner of Scott's mouth before pulling away with a whisper of, "Love you too, Bad Guy," and a smile as he was handed off to Kevin.

More familiar arms and another familiar body... and there was that same familiar protective glint in those eyes. Shawn bit his lip to keep from laughing, knowing that Kev meant well. This was good-bye in more than one way, really, although none of them were _bad_.

 _"Don't push him too much, Shawn... he's still finding his limits."_

His smile turned a little wry. If only Kev knew just how true that statement was...

"We know, Kev... don't worry." Glancing over his shoulder toward his lovers, his smile turned warm as he looked back to the man holding him. "We love him." The emotion suffusing his voice was unmistakable even in those three short words, and he was momentarily surprised by just how good it felt to say them. Especially the "we" part. Pushing aside the conflicting emotions he'd been struggling with since waking up as they resurfaced at that thought, he was relieved to see the worry in Kevin's eyes fade. Leaning up, he pressed another quick kiss to Kev's cheek, then wriggled out of the embrace with a smirk. That had always driven Kevin insane, that he could escape his grasp whenever he wanted. At least _some_ things hadn't changed.

Taking a step back, he nearly ran into Hunter, and they both watched appreciatively as Kevin swept Dave into a hug as well. The sight of their lover in the arms of Scott and Kevin sent his mind wandering in directions that really weren't appropriate for the time or place... or probably ever, unfortunately. The images were definitely something to ponder on at a later time, though. His eyes probably gave away some of his thoughts, given the looks that he got from the other two as Dave joined them, but he kept his mouth shut.

"Lead the way, Hunt," he said with a wave. "I suppose one of your calls was to get our bags delivered downstairs...?" Following Hunter out the door, he exchanged a quick smirk with Dave as Hunter grumbled under his breath.

****

The warm, pleasured scream curled up through Chris' lungs and was ready to burst from his lips. He was peripherally aware of the public nature of their location, but was too lost in the intense wash of electricity flooding through him to try and stifle his shout of ecstasy. Strong fingers in his hair, mirrors to the pulsing heat invading and spiraling his body, pulled his face around and Chris' lips were smothered by the hot, sweet press of his lover's mouth. Adam was kissing him, fucking him, loving him. All around Chris, their bodies locked intimately together while he crested the barreling waves of climax sweeping through him. Intense. Mind-blowing.

For a fraction of an instant all was blinding white.

\----

Chris slowly came back down to earth, or about three thousand feet above it, to the sensation of Adam's soothing touches and gentle kisses. His eyes were still open, but locks of hair were caught in his lashes from the violent tossing of his head during their lovemaking. Reaching up with an admittedly shaky hand, Chris used his un-bandaged fingers to pull the locks away so that he could see the man locked so closely behind him. When Adam's body left his, Chris mourned the loss, while acknowledging the insistence of time and position. This was his brilliant quick-fuck in an airplane toilet, not an ideal place for lounging in post-coital comfort.

 _"Are you okay, sweetheart?"_

Chris looked incredulously at the concerned green eyes in the mirror and for a moment questioned whether Adam might still be tripping. But a soft caress across his lower back showed him what was causing that sliver of worry in his lover's eyes. Chris hadn't lied when he'd said he wanted to be feeling this love-making for the next few hours and a small straightening of his spine left him in no doubt of his success, but he was far from hurt in any way. Even if he was... it had been so worth it.

"Better than okay Babe," Chris drawled in a lazy, totally well-fucked voice. "Just perfect would be closer to the truth."

Not just because reality had just stomped all over his previous fantasy, but CJ was almost giddy from the wickedly lewd nature of their act. Letting his head fall back again onto Adam's chest, CJ yawned hugely and blinked for a few minutes in content. Oh he was one lucky, lucky man. Grinning at their reflections, Chris ignored the insistent part of his brain that was telling him to get his act together, clean up and go back to the real world.

 _"I won't rush you... Sparky will be by to check on you... little twit... him, not you."_

It was two against one. With his brain and his boyfriend thinking he should climb up out of the almost sleepy aura that had overtaken him. Nodding in agreement, Chris used his elbow to flick on the warm water in the basin and quickly washed the residue of his climax from his hand. Using damp towels, they quickly cleaned up and readjusted their clothes. Of course, if Chris kept bumping into Adam and hugging like a drowsy cat into his lover's shoulder, he could always blame that on the confined space.

With a last, shoulder-arching stretch, Chris turned around to loop his arms around Adam's shoulders in a light embrace, before stealing a small, swift kiss. He didn't want to go back to their seats even though they had to. He would be quite happy to just rest here in Adam's arms for the next couple of hours and only leave when they were getting ready to land. But first, he had a question over the other name falling from Adam's lips while locked in a tiny bathroom with his lover.

"Who on earth is 'Sparky?'"

But a light tap on the door and the concerned voice of the red-haired steward answered that question. Huffing a delighted laugh, Chris called out, "Fine thanks, just feeling a little light-headed." Ignoring any smirks from his bathroom buddy over that description, he continued. "I'll be out in a minute. All the blood must have ended up somewhere else in my body other than my brain." The last he whispered to Adam with a shameless chuckle.

Flicking open the door, CJ moved out with complete unconcern, unable to stop the wide smile gracing his features as he caught 'Sparky' lingering near the last seats in the cabin.

"May I have a glass of water please?" he asked before returning to his seat, trying not to look back over his shoulder to see if Adam was following.

****

 _"I'm not sure, man. Green is good, but it looks better when it's blue..."_

Jeff was swamped by images of the white blond Ric Flare with various new shades of hair colour. Given that he was something of an experimentalist when it came to making his locks as unnatural looking as possible, Jeff felt in his semi-professional opinion, that blue would be very, very bad choice for the veteran wrestler. Kinda 'Smurf in reverse'. But the sheer brilliance of the cause set Jeff grinning at Sean in new admiration. He'd missed that infamous food fight during his 'rest' and now felt a particular hunger to find any photos or records of the event. It had been during Raw, so it was likely that Mark wasn't there, but nevertheless, there was serious blackmail potential in just the idea of the WWE talent and crew covered in food.

Although Mark covered in honey was something he'd have liked to see.

 _"but we do have a pay per view on Sunday..."_

Oh yes, indeed we do. Although Jeff's diary hadn't had the night circled, he hadn't been too optimistic about his chances last night, the young man had been well aware of the WWE's movements and their PPV schedule. There was always better catering at the large shows and if an after-party took place, as it most certainly would, then Jeff would have to see if Mark wanted to attend. If he and Sean could get something planned, then all hell would break loose. 'Of course,' Jeff thought to himself as he eyed Ric when the white-haired man moved to the buffet, 'there is a lot to be said for improvisation.'

 _"...spaghetti and marinara sauce or a big juicy strawberry pie?"_

Jeff honestly couldn't decide which he would prefer to see. Mario's big head smothered in sauce with a shrimp resting on his nose, or pinkish mush dripping from his ears. Both were appealing to Jeff's desire for schoolyard revenge, but the sacrifice of strawberries was too terrible to contemplate. The sweet, juicy berries were a personal favorite. In fact, if he managed not to completely fuck up this 'maybe together' thing with Mark, then he hoped strawberries, sugar and champagne might factor prominently in his future.

"Pasta," he said confidently. "I'll move up behind him with a bowl if you provide a distraction."

More than the idea of his workmates flinging handfuls of Jell-o at each other, Jeff appreciated that Sean would be on his team during a sneak attack on the big security guard. He hadn't meant to whine about the insults aimed at him over the years, everyone copped their share, it had just occurred to him that if such a food fight broke out... Mario would be Jeff's first target.

Then Paul.E. Then Marlow. Then Richard.

Feeling impressed by the scope, if not caliber, of his enemies, Jeff collected up his plates and followed Waltman back to the table. The expression on Mark and Glen's faces widened Jeff's smile from evil strategist to wide-eyed innocence in the blink of an eye. He had no doubt that the bigger men would attempt to veto any plans he might make for the PPV, or if not forbid it at least roll their eyes in exasperation and make sure they were elsewhere.

Placing his second plate in front of Mark, Jeff sat down and offered, "Wasn't sure if anything back there would kill you in three seconds so I just picked what I'd seen you eat before. Please change it if you like."

Now that he had his libido and his self-consciousness under control, Jeff relaxed and enjoyed the company at the table. The good-humoured banter across the table was soothing to his usually jangled nerves and Jeff wondered when the last time he'd just been able to hang out like this had been. Since way before his 'departure' from the WWE that was true. Looking with unfocussed eyes as Shawn Michaels made Triple H shift about in his seat in a manner that Jeff easily identified, he realized that it had been over a year. A goddamn year since he'd had a big dinner with... ransacking his memory Jeff came up with Chris' birthday dinner nearly 18 months ago. He, Matt, Adam, Jay & Ty, the birthday boy, Trish, Steve, Molly and several others had annexed a private room at one of Chicago's... had it been Chicago?... fanciest restaurants. The atmosphere had been much like the one here, teasing, affectionate and friendly.

Of course, not long after that he'd met Dom and that had been the beginning of the end.

Shaking himself from his introspection, Jeff looked up to see Triple H, Michaels, and Batista leaving the table, trading hugs and embarrassing comments all round. Sitting back from his empty plate, he looked over at Mark and found the brilliant Jade eyes already on him. Feeling a lot more comfortable than he had earlier, Jeff asked, "I have no idea when the next flight home is Mark." Greatly daring, because he wasn't in _that_ much control, Jeff put his fingers on Mark's forearm where it rested on the table. "Stay with me at the airport till you have to go?"

****

Scotty's huge hug, followed by an even more massive one from Kevin were something that Hunter hadn't known he'd missed. He become so used to standing back and observing his friends, that the fierce embraces and low words of affection pulled at him in a sudden and sharply dear way. Hunt knew he was a certified idiot for trying to move away from these people, even if his heart screamed that it been unconscious. His slow growing dislike of himself and his political facade had led to him thinking that his friends must feel the same, must see the new not-so improved Hunter Hearst Helmsley and be grateful for the distance.

Complete and utter idiot.

 _"Don't worry about it... Enjoy your time off. I would if I were you... We missed you."_

He'd missed them too. Far more than perhaps he was willing to admit if this burst of caring warmth could touch him so deeply. Scott was someone who'd always stood by Hunter no matter what, even at the 'bad' time for Hunter, Scott had always called him after a particularly bad squash match, always done something to show him that it was cool, Hunt was still talented and management could go to hell if they didn't see it. Hunter just regretted that he'd never been able to support his friend the way Scott had been there for him. Still, there was the future, Hunter could change that.

Seeing the bright glint in the man's midnight eyes, Hunt had no idea what Scotty was... oh for the love of... !

"Smart. Ass." He enunciated clearly as the gathered diners erupted over Scott's near flawless impersonation of Hunter's bow. Deciding that he was the bigger man, emotionally if not literally, Hunt raised his chin to that abominable angle and prepared to launch a minute judgment based on form, technique, balance, artistic composition and height of butt at the 'Rooster' stage. This never came to be of course, because Kevin stepped in to save his hil-fucking-larious lover by muffling Hunter's face in his chest.

 _"...if you need to talk about anything---anything---call me. Please."_

Now firmly believing that both Shawn _and_ Kevin had telepathic powers, Hunter let his eyes show his thanks and equal desire for such a conversation as soon as possible. Not just because he wanted to ask about 'The Thing', but because he would be keeping far closer tabs on his friends than he had for the last six months. No matter how disgustingly happy they looked right now, Kevin and Scott would need support over the next few weeks as they learned to live in the same space together again. Even with their past firmly in its place, sharing a house could lead to all sorts of minor upsets that friends excelled at sympathizing over. Hunter promised himself he wouldn't miss out this time.

Stepping back, he allowed Shawn his turn at the Outsiders, the smaller man being even more engulfed in their embraces than Hunter had been. He'd never doubted the love shared by the three men in front of him and had rejoiced at the smiles their time together had brought to all three dear faces. But Hunt could also see the undercurrents within the three passionate men, the ending of something that had been close to perfect in all three hearts. There wasn't any true regret and Hunter felt no envy of their bond, it was simply Kevin and Scott with Shawn. A beautiful combination if ever there was one.

Hunter hadn't realised he'd taken a step forward or that his eyes had narrowed slightly at the sight of Dave within the circle of another man's arms. It didn't matter that it was Scott, his life long friend, or if it was Kevin his brother in all but blood, it was Dave... wrapped up in someone who wasn't Shawn or him. Completely thrown by his unexpected reaction, Hunter hastily donned his sunglasses and turned slightly away from the sight, wracking his brain for the cause of that spectacular flash of jealousy.

He wasn't the kind of man to be possessive about his lovers. Hunt trusted quite easily for someone with his experiences in life and believed that all his partners had been faithful while they were with him. And not many could measure up to his gorgeous David when it came to treating people the right way. So if he trusted Dave, why was the sight of him hugging his friends, two men Hunter himself had just been clinging to, was so disturbing. Did he want all that love within the dark man aimed only at himself and Shawn? Dave wasn't some new toy of Hunter's that he didn't want other kids to play with because they might leave smudges. Okay, so maybe he wasn't one to share his absolutely favorite things, but he didn't mind if Shawn had been with Scott and Kevin so why would it... ?

Because he wasn't sure of Dave?

Almost sickened by the train of his thoughts, Hunter forced a smile at Shawn's teasing words and deliberately ruffled Sean's curls as they left.

 _"...one of your calls was to get our bags delivered downstairs... ?"_

"The second one actually. Lucky I did that before I 'lost' my phone or _you'd_ be going back up to get them," he sniped under his breath, leading the way across the foyer and quickly closing their account. Moving to pull out his phone to call Megan again, Hunter cursed under his breath and took a long look at Shawn's pockets, uncaring of the location of his gaze while they left the cool, air-conditioned hotel and walked to the white extra-long car awaiting them.

As soon as they were seated within the plush confines of the vehicle, Hunter pounced on his prey. Nimble fingers diving into the blond's pockets and he tried to keep Shawn pinned to the broad seat just using his knees. Dave was no help of course and Hunter lost his sunglasses somewhere along the line. Knowing they were rocking the vehicle and smirking at what an onlooker might think, Hunter continued his attack.

Damn, Shawn sure was a squirmer.

****

Damn.

Landing with a muffled thud against Kevin's chest, he wondered if this was how it felt to run headfirst into a tree. If not then it had to be damn close. The big man had caught him off guard with a firm tug on his wrist, but Dave had to admit that even if he'd been prepared for the move, he couldn't have stopped it. When those big arms wrapped around him, he didn't hesitate as he had with Scott. He had already made the decision to embrace this offer of family despite his worries over what might or might not happen with Shawn and Hunter and he wasn't one to second guess his decisions. That didn't mean that Kevin hadn't surprised him... more than once.

 _"I don't have to tell you to be good to them, I know..."_

At first he thought it was a subtle warning phrased so as not to sound like one. If he were in Kevin's position he probably would have said the same thing. But from what Kevin said next, it changed the context in which Dave looked at the words.

 _"So... try not to worry too much, okay? You can always talk to us if you need to."_

Even with the show of acceptance, he hadn't expected them to go that far. Although he wasn't sure he would take Kevin up on that offer or Scott either. There would just be something weird about discussing his relationship with his two lovers with someone that had been in the same situation with one of said men. And it'd lead to even more thoughts of how Shawn, Kevin, and Scott must have looked together. Thoughts he really didn't need when he was so unsure of Shawn's affections in the first place. Despite his intention not to accept that offer, he nodded at Kevin to acknowledge that he appreciated the gesture.

As he joined Hunt and Shawn to head towards the exit of the restaurant, he took one last look over his shoulder at the two men. It was just weird that he'd been so easily accepted into the fold of this warm group of friends when he'd expected to be grilled like a fresh-caught trout. But then the day had hardly started off as normal in any sense of the word, so he really shouldn't be surprised at all. He wondered if maybe with Shawn and Hunt as his lovers if he'd ever see a day as normal again. In a way he kind of hoped not.

He smiled as Hunter mussed Sean's hair and got a half-hearted glare, bark included, aimed at his back for his efforts. See... weird.

 _"I suppose one of your calls was to get our bags delivered downstairs... ?"_

 _"The second one actually. Lucky I did that before I 'lost' my phone or you'd be going back up to get them."_

Dave smiled fondly and shook his head at the bickering between the two men. Hunt was really taking the loss of his phone badly, he thought with a smirk as his hand slipped into his pocket to make sure the thing was still there. He could just hear Shawn laughing and blaming him if he managed to misplace the thing. Snickering quietly as he noticed the direction of Hunter's gaze, that being Shawn's pants, Dave wondered what anyone looking at them would think the cause of that look. They'd most likely be sorely disappointed if they knew that Hunter was simply obsessing over his phone.

As they were walking out of the air-conditioning into the heat of the blazing June sunshine, Dave thought back to the comment that Scott had made during their momentary embrace...

 _"...Just don't forget what I said Monday night."_

He racked his brain for a moment trying to remember exactly what it was that Scott had said before coming up with the phrase.

 _"Just because Shawn's in love with Hunter and has been for years, doesn't mean that he can't be interested in anyone else."_

He shivered slightly in spite of the heat as Hunter ducked into the limo behind Shawn. Hesitating for just a moment before he followed them into the car, Dave honestly gave those words some thought. In essence it was true. Shawn himself had said he was interested in Dave and he'd also said he was in love with Hunter. The things weren't incompatible in Shawn's eyes. He'd also said he thought he could love Dave if he tried. Dave knew what Scott had been trying to point out to him... really... he got it. He just didn't believe it... not yet. It could come in time... it _could_ , but...

And he was so not climbing back on this merry-go-round again. It wasn't the time for it. Climbing into the car, he turned to look at the two men in the car with him. The door shut behind him and before he could blink, Hunt jumped on top of Shawn. While he pinned the blond with his legs, Hunter was making an effort to search Shawn's pockets in addition to a bit of searching for places that made Shawn squirm.

Dave smiled as Hunt's sunglasses flew onto the floor and reached down to swipe them before they were stepped on. Then again... he slipped them on and reclined against the seat to watch for the moment when Hunter would come up empty in his search... at least as far as his phone went. Listening to Shawn's laughter touched that spot deep inside his chest and it felt good. He was used to their antics at work, but this was something different... personal. And he was honored that he was a welcome viewer to the scene now taking place. And if he were honest, more than a little aroused at the voyeuristic element of it.

When the phone in his pocket rang, Dave almost flew through the roof. He knew that it wasn't his phone. The thing was mostly used for making calls out, not receiving them, and his ring tone was most definitely not the same as Hunter's. Still... Hunter wouldn't _know_ that for sure. By the second ring he was getting one of those 'aren't you going to answer that thing?' looks, but Dave just smiled in answer to the two of them, slipping a hand in both pockets to figure out which one he'd slipped Hunt's phone into. It should have been obvious since only one of his pockets was ringing at that particular moment.

"I'm a popular guy, what can I say?"

Real smooth Dave... like that's going to fly.

Since Hunter had a hand in both of Shawn's pockets at that particular moment it didn't take long for his lover to put the pieces together. No phone on Shawn's person, phone ringing in Dave's pants with Hunter's ring tone... yeah, he hadn't really had a chance. He wrapped his fingers tightly around the device as he saw the light of understanding dawn in the amber depths of Hunt's eyes. He smirked as he wondered if this would land him in even bigger trouble than he was already in... he sure as hell hoped so.

****

Beautiful sapphire blue eyes widened in Chris' patented 'you're joking, right?' look and Adam felt a tiny bit better about the pounding he'd just given his lover... for a moment. The small quiver that ran through Chris' frame when he'd shifted had him doubting the wisdom of what they'd just done. He had completely lost control from the moment that he'd been buried inside Chris' body. Honestly, he hadn't been able to help it at all. If he thought about it, he couldn't truly blame himself.

This had been one of his longest held fantasies... dragging Chris off to the bathroom of a plane, burying himself inside the blond, the threat of imminent discovery. Even without the added thought of Sparky standing outside the door with his ear pressed to the metal, he hadn't had a chance of keeping control. It had been enough that he was here, in this small space, having sex with _Chris_. The whole experience had blown his fantasy clear out of the water.

 _"Better than okay Babe... Just perfect would be closer to the truth."_

His pang of worry slipped away again at those easily spoken words. Adam kind of thought perfect might be an exaggeration, but he wasn't going to argue. After all... perfect pretty much described how he was feeling as well...

And he just couldn't stop touching Chris.

If he hadn't already admitted to his love for the guy, that would have been a huge flashing neon sign. The majority of his encounters lately had ended with him getting up and getting dressed as soon as he caught his breath. He'd never really had the urge to linger after the passion was over. He and Terry had slept in the same bed some nights but with each of them staying to their own side of the bed. Terry had tried the cuddling thing a time or two but as soon as the dark-haired man had fallen asleep, Adam had headed for his own side of the bed because he was feeling smothered by the guy's arm draped over him.

He'd done the cuddling thing with Mark. It was just part of the man's romantic nature to keep that bit of contact. Adam hadn't read anything into it... not hard to keep your head when your lover is saying someone else's name at odd moments. Not that it had hurt him or even truly upset him because he'd already known that falling for Mark would be a huge mistake that he wasn't willing to make. Mark had told him there was someone else in his heart at the very beginning and Adam had been happy with what they had... a friendly affection and really, really great sex. Still... he hadn't felt compelled to pet the man constantly once they were finished either.

With Chris... he just couldn't stop the compulsion and he really didn't want to. All through their cleaning up there was constant contact of some sort. It could be blamed on the confined space, but that didn't explain the constant forays made by his hand to smooth golden hair and trail along exposed spots of warm silky skin. He was _so_ far gone.

Maybe Chris really was as well. That last stolen kiss had him tempted to lean in for yet another when Chris voiced a question... the answer to which Adam would have thought was obvious.

 _"Who on earth is 'Sparky?'"_

The knock on the door answered that question without him having to say a word and Adam simply smirked and rolled his eyes. The guy had timing, he'd give him that... but that was all the little twit was getting if he had any say so... and fortunately he did.

 _"Fine thanks, just feeling a little light-headed."_

His little smirk evolved into a huge grin. Adam planned to keep his lover in that condition as often as humanly possible. Chris' quietly spoken words had him covering his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. If asked... he could have described exactly where Chris' blood had ended up in that beautifully made body... after he knocked out the person asking.

Shoving away that tiny little flare of caveman mentality, Adam sighed as Chris slipped through the door and into the walkway. He turned to look in the mirror for just a moment and winced. Damn he looked like hell. Sparing a moment for the necessities, he hurriedly washed his hands again and then slipped through the door to head back to his seat...

Just in time to find Sparky hovering over Chris holding a glass of ice and a bottle of water. Adam rolled his eyes yet again, remembering that shaking his head was a no-no, and then cleared his throat loudly to gain the redhead's attention.

"Excuse me," he said, saccharine sweetness literally oozing in his voice as he pointed to his seat. When the man took a hasty step backward, Adam slid past Chris' knees and dropped into his own seat. He settled himself quickly, his knee gently pressed against Chris' to feed that greedy part of him that yearned for the slightest touch from his lover.

"Miss me?" he asked with a grin as he swiped the glass from Chris' hand and took a sip. A glint in his eye, he turned that grin on the steward. "Thanks. Unbelievable how damn hot it gets in those bathrooms."

He tilted his seat back a bit and looked lazily at Chris, ignoring the steward's continued presence. "Wake me up when we get there, would ya?" He'd almost tacked a 'sweetheart' to the end of that sentence, but figured with the ears present that would be pushing his luck. Chris might already be on the verge of smacking him, but he couldn't be sure because he had already closed his eyes.


	84. Dares

Cursing his phrasing as soon as the words had left his mouth, Mark was completely unsurprised by Glen's immediate response.

 _"You need some time off, man, or glasses. Last time I checked I look nothing at all like Daddy Paul,_ brother. _Don't make me bury you alive again to remind you of who I am."_

Definitely not. The buried alive matches were interesting, but he could definitely do without another go-round in a tiny space underneath a huge mound of dirt waiting for people to dig the side open again so that he could get out of his "grave" without _really_ being buried alive. Only Vince's flair for the dramatic combined with his odd little religious twist at the time had convinced him to do the last one. That, and the promised three and a half months off to recover and rest. The time off had done wonders for him... too bad he couldn't talk Vince into another break like that.

And... yep. There was the answer he'd been expecting.

 _"I think you can spare a few minutes in between all that hot and sweaty work you'll be doing."_

Rolling his eyes again, Mark couldn't quite keep a hint of a smile off his face. They'd been friends for too long for him to get offended by something like that, and he'd had more than his share of jokes at the expense of Glen's sex life. It didn't help him keep his mind off of those "workouts" that he was finding himself looking forward to, though... and that thought found him looking back at Jeff. The wicked grin on his new lover's face combined with the expression on Sean's face was enough to make him wince. Apparently Glen had noticed the duo at the same time and had come to same conclusions as Mark had.

 _"...that look... is enough to scare me. Think anyone would say anything if we tied them to their chairs for the rest of the meal?"_

Mark coughed to hide the sudden burst of laughter at the image presented. For some reason, he could just see the disgruntled expressions on the smaller men's faces if they did that. The spark of interest that shivered through him at the thought of tying Jeff to anything, let alone in public, he disregarded. Shawn had had some interesting kinks that had been fun to explore, and he'd played a bit with Adam, but those sorts of things weren't something he did every day... and certainly not less than twenty-four hours into a budding relationship.

The fact that Jeff's expression changed in a heartbeat from wicked promise to wide-eyed innocence when he saw Mark's eyes on him didn't reassure him much about whatever it was that Sean and Jeff had been plotting. Whatever it was, he was far better off just not knowing. Experience had taught him that much: Don't ask, and you have nothing to hide later when irate demands for information come knocking on your door.

 _"Wasn't sure if anything back there would kill you in three seconds so I just picked what I'd seen you eat before. Please change it if you like."_

Looking over the varied selection on the plate Jeff set in front of him, Mark couldn't keep his surprise from showing. Jeff had managed to pick out a number of his favourites, apparently just from watching what he'd eaten in the past... Just how often had Jeff been watching and Mark hadn't noticed? Hard on the heels of that thought was the question of _what_ Jeff had watched him do. The memory of his stolen moments in the shower yesterday when he'd fantasized about the gorgeous young man currently sitting next to him surfaced, and he had to reassure himself that Jeff certainly hadn't seen _that_.

Now Mark almost wished he had. Shaking his head at his own meandering thoughts, Mark pushed away thoughts of what Jeff would look like, pleasuring himself in the shower, and forced himself to answer Jeff. "No allergies that I know of, so you're safe there. Thank you." A half-smile, and he started eating, only realizing with the first bite how ravenous he was. Caught up in watching the byplay between the others at the table, he didn't realise he'd finished the food that Jeff had piled on his plate until his fork skittered across empty plastic.

A sudden motion near the head of the table caught his attention, and he snorted with laughter as Hall performed a beautiful imitation of Trips' old snob bow, apparently much to the amusement of Hunter's... partners... and the amused annoyance of the man himself. The trio didn't waste much time in leaving, although Mark couldn't blame them. While he'd probably give Shawn some grief over not saying good-bye to him Sunday when he saw him again, right now Shawn obviously had other things on his mind.

And so did he. Of their own volition, his eyes moved back to rest on Jeff, unsurprised to see him look up only seconds later.

 _"I have no idea when the next flight home is Mark."_

Things like the immediate realities of his current situation. Damn it. Now that their separation was becoming imminent, Mark found himself wishing that he'd agreed to go with Jeff, although he was sure that would've caused any number of awkward situations with Jeff's family. While he had no objection to getting to know the important people in his new lover's life, meeting them for the first time the day after the first night they'd spent together, especially one that had had such mixed emotions so quickly, would be far from comfortable for anyone involved.

The soft touch on his arm surprised him, after Jeff's awkwardness earlier, but he certainly didn't mind it. Shifting, he pulled his arm back until their fingers were nearly intertwined on the table top; a subtle but unmistakable gesture as his expression softened slightly, although the sudden slight tension remained around the edges.

 _"Stay with me at the airport till you have to go?"_

That question didn't even require thought. Nodding, he glanced around and saw that the gathering was breaking up. The trio's departure had apparently been a sort of unconscious symbol, as Kevin and Scott headed for the buffet and Benoit and Eddie were pushing their chairs back in preparation for leaving. Glancing at Glen, he nodded at his friend as he stood, pulling Jeff upward with him.

"We both need to catch flights, so I suppose I'll be seeing you two Sunday." It wasn't a question, but his usual sort of farewell to Glen, and his friend nodded at him. He ignored the lingering smirk on Glen's face, and restrained himself to a nod himself at Sean, rather than risk the hyperactive man saying something else that might leave lingering images in his mind. A few steps away from the table, Mark paused and looked down at Jeff. "We need to go back up and get our bags. From there... straight to the airport?"

****

Shawn didn't miss the direction of Hunter's gaze, and even though he knew his friend was looking for the tell-tale bulge of a cell phone in his pocket, he couldn't restrain himself from adding just a bit more sway to his step, smirking at the narrowed eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dave touch his own pocket and his smirk widened as Hunter turned away in exasperation. This could be a whole new game: Keep Hunt away from his cell phone. Whoever gets the longest time apart wins... surely he could think of _something_ to forfeit.

Aware of Dave's presence close beside him, Shawn wished for an instant that he could just wrap an arm around Dave's waist. The only thing stopping him was the knowledge of Vince's reaction... and the likelihood of photos. While he'd never been camera-shy by any stretch of the imagination, he _had_ managed to mostly avoid being on the covers of tabloids, and he wanted to keep it that way. Unfortunately, that meant that he couldn't wrap himself around his lover... at least, not until they were safely in the limo.

And there it was. He could feel tension gathering at the base of his spine just at the sight, and forced himself to take a deep breath. It was just a limo. Just a means of transportation, nothing more. Just because the last time he'd been in one had been much less than pleasant didn't mean that _all_ rides in a limo would be like that. Still not really liking the idea, he found himself distracted almost immediately once he was in.

How nice of Hunter to let him get in first, he thought somewhat sarcastically. Seating himself, he waited for the inevitable. No sooner had the door closed behind them than Hunter pounced. Expecting the move, Shawn wasn't expecting quite the sort of search that Hunter seemed to have in mind. He barely noticed when the limo started moving, too caught up in the laughter that the searching fingers were pulling out of him and the raspy moans that seemed to follow. Reaching up, he caught Hunter by the shoulder and pulled himself upward, pressing their bodies together for an instant as he grinned up at his friend, the momentary touch giving away the other effects of Hunt's teasing. The man had to have figured out by now that his pockets were empty... although he certainly didn't mind the effort that his lover was putting into his search.

The sudden burst of music that rang through the limo's atmosphere of stifled laughter and quiet growls startled both of them into immobility for an instant as their heads swung to look at Dave. The sunglasses he was wearing looked terribly familiar, but Shawn's attention was more taken by the smile on his face. He could get addicted to that smile.

 _"I'm a popular guy, what can I say?"_

Seeing realisation dawn on the face above him as Dave reached into his pocket, Shawn threw an arm around Hunter's neck and forced his head back down, winking at him before pulling him into a kiss that he'd intended to be brief but immediately grew beyond that. His lips parting to allow Hunter's tongue inside, Shawn's fingers tightened on Hunt's shoulder as he moaned softly, surrendering to whatever Hunter wanted to do to him.

****

Chris relaxed back into his seat, resting his head on the cushioned back rest that was trying its very best to be comfortable. Adam had dropped off to sleep almost immediately after closing his eyes, their interrupted night finally catching up with his green-eyed lover. Watching for long, leisurely minutes, Chris took in every detail of the gracefully slumped form, Adam's limbs loose and uncontained in his slumber. Yet... CJ's eyes narrowed in concern as he noticed Adam still held himself slightly upright, spine trying to curl into the corner of seat and wall, but being unable to do so. Each movement resulting in small unconscious corrections as niggles of pain must have bothered cracked ribs.

Adam would only truly be comfortable if he could lie flat on his back, changes in his position kept to minimum... for a few days at least. Chris slowly catalogued the tiny details of his lover's body, from the wild golden hair still hidden under the baseball cap to Adam's hand, fingers curled on his thigh, neat clean nails giving the occasional twitch as his lover dreamed.

For a long while, Chris wallowed in the sight, indulged every one of his senses while he contemplated his boyfriend, his Adam. To say their encounter in the bathroom had left him feeling mushy-brained and romantic would be an understatement, but he was unobserved by anyone except an occasional 'Sparky' drive-by, so he really didn't care if he was sporting a self-satisfied, totally happy grin.

Last night, he'd fallen in love. Or maybe he'd been in love for three years and hadn't noticed. Which said some rather unpleasant things about his self-analysis skills but was more than likely the case. In fact... more likely he'd given his heart to Adam sometime in between their first handshake and his soul-wrenching declaration hours ago. Maybe it was when Adam had bought him a drink at that millennium party, not four months after he'd arrived at the Fed. It was the first time he'd traded more than a dozen words with the suspiciously quiet man, even though he'd fast been adopted into the small Canadian crew by Jay and Andrew, and were some he hadn't been likely to forget. Just simple, polite conversation, 'where are you from?' and 'hey do you know?' kind of thing. But to CJ they'd been a victory of sorts, attention from the cool as silk Adam Copeland, a man that only Jason Reso really knew anything about. All anybody else had were just guesses.

It could have been on that flight from Australia, hours and hours spent killing time by just talking about nothing. Chris had read an article about the tallest buildings in the world and how they seemed to get progressively uglier and uglier, while Adam gave him chapter and verse on his favorite movie, why the main character was hot and made a promise to lend CJ his DVD copy. Chris had over the course of another two hours, turned that into an invitation to go over to Adam's place and watch it.

With a slow smile, Chris realized he'd never taken up that invitation. Given that they were going to be bed bound for the next few days, it would be the perfect opportunity to do so. The keep Adam horizontal, while they chilled out watching movies and playing strip poker. Of course he still had a day of being naked to pay as well and Chris had all sorts of plans for that one.

Finally taking his eyes off the soft rise and fall of Adam's chest, looking delicious under the comfortable t-shirt, Chris found his headphones and plugged them in, scrolling through the channels till he found something that actually had a guitar.

\----

 _"...we will be landing shortly. Please..."_

Chris had been staring at Adam again. His lover's lips were just slightly parted, tantalizingly pink and demanding Chris to slip his tongue into the hot wet cavern they protected. If he hadn't been in a descending aircraft and surrounded by people, then Chris would have obeyed his instincts and taken the invitation being offered by that sexy mouth. Instead he had to keep his public face on and wake Adam without any untoward physicality.

Still, reaching over Chris ran his fingers across Adam's stubbly cheek, slowly increasing the pressure until his eyelids fluttered and sleepy green eyes were revealed.

"Home sweet home, my Love. My place, then bed is your final destination."

Chris almost swallowed his tongue when he realized 'Sparky' was lingering over them, an amused sparkle in his eyes as he helpfully lifted Chris' tray table back into it's upright position.

****

 _"From there... straight to the airport?"_

Jeff wanted to say no, wanted to tell Mark that he'd changed his mind, that he could stay till this evening or at least another few hours. He could absorb some more of Mark's presence, savour all the small things while they were actually on the same page. But what Jeff wanted right now wasn't really an option. It was wise and sensible to go home and tell his family the news about his contract, explain to his brother that although Amy was acting weird he hadn't seen anyone else's tongue down her throat and Jeff could stress himself into a hernia over Mark. Staying here, while his emotions were all over the place, while his behaviour was on the verge of manic, was the complete opposite of wise and in no way sensible.

Nodding abstractly, Jeff followed Mark back into the elevator and towards his room, his instincts and brains wrestling over the best course of action. Jeff rested his shoulder in the doorway while Mark picked up their bags, eyes watching the beautiful move and sway of his lover's body. Except, really, he had to stop using that term mentally, because although they'd had sex... boy had they had sex... that was really the basis of their 'whatever' so far and Jeff was fairly sure you had to make love to a man more than once before you got to call him your lover. Jesus. If they lasted the week without both running for the ends of the earth, then Jeff would be proud to call it a _relationship_ , let alone call them lovers.

"Yeah... home. I didn't call last night and Grandee will start leaving really polite voice messages if I don't tell them I'm alive sometime today." Grinning fondly, he explained at the look on Mark's face. "Mrs. Hardy is normally the sweetest woman in my town, but you don't want her mad at you. If she starts being real polite, saying lots of 'May I ask Jeffery Nero, if you can spare me a moment, what has happened to that expensive phone of yours?' Then you know you're in for it." 

Back in the elevator and Jeff started rising back and forth on his toes, body beginning to fill with its usual cascade of energy. He really wanted to run somewhere, like up a set of bleachers or a building fire escape or something. Jeff'd been out of action too long, his reactions were all over the place and his reflexes were losing their normal break-neck speed. When he got home, he was going to do laps around the lake until some of this mental and physical lethargy went away.

Determined to look on the bright side of things, Jeff reasoned that absence makes the heart grow fonder and he suspected that with a few days to think about it his heart would become way more than fond. So fond in fact, that if he knew himself and his previous track record, he might just become a multicolored thorn in Mark's side if he didn't tone down his usual 'all over you' antics. There wasn't just the little things he wanted to learn, oh no, there was all the big stuff too and he had a feeling that Mark would be like a clam until Jeff used all his methods of persuasion to find those hidden details. Like...

"So how long has Paul.E been bothering you anyway?"

Blinking Jeff understood he'd said that out loud from the expression of surprise on Mark's normally stoic features. Okay, so it wasn't the most bland of idle chatter, but Jeff wasn't one to prattle about the inane when they could be discussing something relevant, like if Mark minded him running interference with the Toad.

"Umm... that was a bit blunt wasn't it?"

****

He was so busy plotting out plans for the pay per view that he barely said anything once they got back to the table. Vince was going to want to kill him again... unless he found someone else to blame the food fight on. Considering the events of the week, Sean decided that maybe he'd find a way to shift the blame to Johnny Nitro. He could most likely taunt old Johnny into tossing the first missile. After that he'd be home free and he and Jeff could pelt whomever they liked with whatever happened to be available.

Of course it'd be even better if they could ditch Mark and Glen before they started said food war. Cause he doubted Mark would be happy with him if he led Jeff into mischief. And he really was going to try not to antagonize the man right off the bat if he could help it. Really.

He noticed a few odd looks from Glen as he licked some chocolate icing off his fork, but refused to give into his lover's curiosity. The less Glen knew about the plan the better. He'd have to hook up with Jeff sometime early on Sunday though and fill him in on the plan. Oh! Even better idea...

To heck with catering. Weren't they having a huge after-party right after the pay per view? Sean's eyes glowed with amusement when he considered the possibilities that would be laid out by the post-pay per view party catering crew. They were definitely in business.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sean saw the happy trio standing up and heading over to Scott and Kevin. He couldn't blame the three for getting out of there as soon as possible. Brand new couple sex was some of the best ever... add a third person into that and Sean couldn't even imagine the fun the trio would have. Not that he wasn't happy with his sex life, because Glen was an amazing lover... and kept him completely satisfied. With the new dynamic in their own relationship he could only see that improving... it didn't hurt to think about the logistics of a hot threesome though.

When Scott did a perfect imitation of Hunter Hearst Helmsley's old bow... he and Glen exchanged a look and started laughing. Scott was definitely getting back his sense of humor and god how Sean had missed it. He'd been terribly worried about Scott for so long, especially after the separation from Kev. He had worried about Kevin too after his reaction to Scott moving out, but he hadn't had to worry about finding Kev in the bottom of a bottle again. Now he could put his fears to rest... Kev and Scott were back together again and just looking at them he could tell that they were happier than ever.

He jumped slightly at the ruffling of his hair by... Hunter. He growled playfully and then barked at his friend. Petting him like a dog... Sean smiled as soon as Hunter cleared the room. There was another one he wouldn't have to worry about so much anymore. He'd noticed his friend's withdrawal from the group, the way he'd been isolating himself, but the harder Sean had tried to draw him out or find out what was wrong the further Hunter had pushed him away. If he had known that throwing Shawn at him would have pulled him out of that behavior, he'd have done it months ago. He'd made the assumption though that the sexual tension between Shawn and Hunter was mostly one-sided, on Shawn's part because Hunt was well... married, but he'd also assumed that it was being ignored because they didn't want to risk their friendship. Just one instance where he should have said something and hadn't because Shawn would have probably killed him.

Of course this way they had ended up with Dave as a third in their happy little relationship so maybe letting it go had been the right decision after all. Sean was happy with that train of thought. Although he was the Guru of love... Jeff had said so. And he was so not forgetting that.

He almost made a comment to that effect as Mark and Jeff stood to leave, but bit his tongue at the last moment. He'd promised to try damn it... and he was trying. He could think of a dozen remarks that wanted to spring from his mouth, but didn't utter a one. Just because he didn't like to behave himself most of the time didn't mean that he couldn't... and he was going to prove it.

Rather than risk opening his mouth at all, Sean just nodded a goodbye to both men. Glen would be proud of him.

\----

He kept waiting for something outrageous to come out of Sean's mouth. All the while Sean was eating the chocolate cake, Glen was wondering what it would be this time. Most likely a comment on Mark and Jeff's new relationship and closeness since that seemed to have been his latest tag.

Instead he waited in vain. Not once did Sean comment about Mark or Jeff or the two of them together.

He wasn't sure whether to be proud or worried...

There was a wicked glint in Sean's eyes as he scooped up another bite of cake. He was planning something. It was the 'what' that had Glen worried. When the cake was gone and Sean was licking the last of the frosting off the fork, he prepared himself for Sean's worst... which could be something really, really terrible.

Still nothing.

Deciding to take a look around before he drove himself nuts waiting for the revelation of what was behind that thoughtful look on his lover's face, Glen caught the sight of Scott bowing in front of Hunter. God that was ridiculous. Oh it was perfectly executed, Glen would give him that, but it would look ridiculous no matter who was the one doing it. Glen remembered cracking up watching Hunter practice that damn thing though he tried not to do it in front of the guy. After all, his character had hardly been anything to brag about at that time.

Exchanging a look with Sean, they both burst into laughter. Glen could almost see relief in his lover's eyes and could guess at the cause for it. Scott being happy was a nice change from the tumultuous past few years. He was well aware of how worried Sean had been about his friend... Glen had shared that worry with him.

Noticing Hunter walking up behind Sean a few minutes later, Glen kept his mouth shut. Another friend that they had both worried about for awhile now. It looked like Hunter was going to be spending more time with the rest of them for a change. He snickered quietly when Sean barked. Leave it up to Sean...

And then there was the brand new relationship of Mark and Jeff. Glen couldn't help but grin when he noticed the small touches and exchanged looks. He'd been waiting for this... someone to pull Mark from the lonely existence he'd buried himself in lately. As far as Glen was aware, Mark hadn't been involved with anyone of note since Shannon. And that had been some time ago. It looked like Mark was well on his way to something good... as long as he didn't talk himself out of deserving it. That was another reason he was going to make sure he talked to the guy in the next couple of days. He was well aware of Mark's insecurities even if Mark refused to admit to them except under extreme pressure. Glen would just have to point out that his friend really didn't need to worry about the things he would be.

Today had been a good day of revelations and Glen felt a welling sense of happiness. There was only one thing keeping him from being ecstatic...

... Sean's current behavior.

 _"We both need to catch flights, so I suppose I'll be seeing you two Sunday."_

Glen nodded in acknowledgment, same as he always did when Mark proclaimed their next meeting. This time there was a subtle smirk that wasn't a normal part of their goodbye. Glen just couldn't help it. It was good to see the end result even if Sean's method hadn't been the easiest. And speaking of Sean...

Glen frowned slightly as Mark and Jeff slipped from the table without so much as a whisper from his lover. Reaching over with one hand, he laid it against Sean's forehead.

"Are you coming down with something?"

****

 _"So... so far, so good. We told them about us and so far nobody's been injured, maimed, killed, or hauled off to jail. I'd say that makes this luncheon a success."_

Even as he laughed, Kevin had to wince a little. He could remember far too many gatherings, company or personal, that had ended in fistfights, name-calling, general brawls, or people getting hauled off to jail. He couldn't remember all of the causes, but a decade ago, they'd been far too common for all of them. Fortunately, those days were long behind them.

Heaping food onto his plate, Kevin watched Scott, simply taking in the sight of his lover. The sweats he was wearing were probably a dead giveaway to anyone who knew them well enough, but only a few people did, and Shawn had obviously had other things on his mind that prevented any comments he might normally have made. But beyond the slight stiffness in Scott's movements, Kevin could see that his other half was practically _glowing_.

Scott was happy.

The little smile playing on his lips, the warmth in his eyes as he glanced over his shoulder at Kevin, the general air of relaxation... Kevin found himself smiling a little, probably looking like a complete idiot, as Scott's mood permeated him. The last few days had been pretty up and down, but this was wonderful. The only other recent time Kevin could remember both of them feeling _this_ good was the morning after Scott had stayed the night for the first time. That morning had been almost unbelievable, as he woke up slowly from a dream about Scotty, his eyes damp from the remembered happy times and already missing them... only to realise that he wasn't alone. Scott had been watching him, awake for God only knew how long before he was, and had kissed the would-be tears away before they could fall.

Following Scott back to their table, Kevin sank into his seat with a sigh and took a large bite of the grilled chicken on his plate with a low, contented sound. Before he could really dig in, though, he saw Eddie and Benoit stand up and looked up at them. Eddie grinned at him and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Congratulations, _ese_. It's good to see you back together... gives the rest of us hope." The sincerity of the words took any possible sting out of them, and Kevin smiled.

"Thanks, Eddie. Good to see you guys doing well, too."

Eddie moved around the end of the table to drop a hand on Scott's shoulder as well, before giving him a half-hug. Quiet words from the man still standing to his side took Kevin by surprise.

"Kevin..." Benoit looked a little awkward, but Kev could appreciate that. With Hart being one of his oldest friends, it had to be hard to be around them, especially now that they were back in the company. Benny would surely get over it, as they'd been at least good colleagues if not friends back in the WCW days, but hopefully the tentative friendship that seemed to be in the offing would actually work out this time. "I just wanted to say... I'm happy for you two. I know what it's like, and how hard things must have been, and... I'm glad you could make it work out again."

Blinking, Kevin was momentarily speechless. If anyone could understand _exactly_ what they'd been through, it would be these two. The absolute sincerity and quiet happiness in the words were practically stunning, coming from Benny, but before he could answer, Chris had nodded at him and joined Eddie again at Scott's side. Eddie smiled at them again and waved, then dropped an arm around Benoit's shoulder as they headed for the door.

Looking at Scott, Kevin raised his eyebrows for a minute. "Did you hear what Benny said? That was... unexpected."

****

Hunter went for the front pockets first, although he was fairly sure from his visual inspection that his cellular wasn't contained in those two tight envelopes of fabric. The twisting, giggling body contained within writhing cotton was, in fact, a hell of a lot more interesting than his phone, but Hunter wasn't going to be distracted from his mission. Much. he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Shawn was indulging him, his smaller lover being quite capable of getting Hunt's larger frame off him if he chose to. That he wasn't really fighting back, wasn't trying to keep his groin and hips away from Hunt's searching fingers gave Hunter the first clue that he was on a fruitless search. Still, determination was a word commonly associated with the man known as Triple H and he wasn't going to cease his mission until he was absolutely sure the beautiful, writhing blond beneath him was no longer in possession of stolen goods. Checking back pockets by lifting Shawn's ass bodily from the seat and thoroughly groping the area, Hunter decided that he might not find his phone, but he was certainly getting his hands on some other goods that were worth the effort.

When Shawn's body arched under his, pressing their groins together in even more intimate contact than the search allowed, Hunter couldn't help his bodies instinctive reaction, his own hips grinding back down into their mate's wool and cotton creating delicious friction. Knowing his beloved's actions were as much a distraction technique as they were true desire, Hunter manfully tried to continue his task, his own motives fueled by enjoyment of the situation as he'd worked out at least two red lights ago that Shawn's pockets had only contained the keys currently clinking on the floor and the wallet half-wedged into the crease of the seat.

 _... blurzzz, blurzzz, bleezzt, bleezzt, blurrzzz, blurrzzz...._

It was a new phone or PDA thing whatever. He'd only had it a week and hadn't had the chance to change the ring tone or personalize any of the settings. So the ring tone was the basic one that came with the brand of phone and Hunter was getting used to recognizing it. That the particular chorus of electronic sounds was now issuing from the other seat in the limousine really didn't come as much of a surprise. With Shawn being no longer in possession of the stolen item, there really weren't many options as to where the phone would have gone. Hunter wasn't remotely stupid. He was, however, incredibly amused that Dave had been dobbed in by a generic series of notes issuing from the region of his groin.

Turning to their dark-haired lover, Hunter's eyes narrowed in speculation as he saw Dave wrestle the phone out of his pocket, the blue and silver piece of equipment looking totally innocent in those large, bronzed hands.

 _"I'm a popular guy, what can I say?"_

"How about, please Hunter, my darling magnificent lover, would you like your phone back?"

The words were swallowed before they left Hunter's lips, taken in by Shawn's sweet mouth plastered so intently to his. The restraining arm across his neck and the naughty wink he'd caught before his mouth had been taken, assured Hunt that this was much a delaying tactic as the initial lack of resistance had been. Sliding his hands from Shawn's pockets, Hunter rested them at the base of his lover's spine and lowered his weight onto the man beneath him. Relaxing into the kiss, he became aware of the small moans of passion issuing from Shawn, mingling with his own groans of pleasure at the contact of their bodies from chest to knee.

Settling down into the sweet apex of Shawn's parted thighs, Hunter was totally distracted from his reclamation mission by the gorgeous creature in his arms and the hot burn of Dave's eyes on them from not three feet away. But it was the feel of Shawn's cotton clad groin pressing up insistently into his that actually brought Hunter out of his sex induced fog. The pockets around those sexy-boy hips were empty because his friend had given Dave Hunt's phone, had palmed it off sometime over lunch behind his back. Determination returning, Hunter dragged his mouth from Shawn's hotter than hell lips and sat back, his palm flat on Shawn's chest to keep the smaller man on the seat and out of the way of temptation.

Tossing the hair from his eyes, Hunter put on his best alpha dog, 'people move out of my way' expression and looked at the other guilty party in the car.

Untangling himself from Shawn, Hunter rolled his shoulder as if preparing for battle and moved over to the other side of the limousine, taking over the free space beside Dave and staring at him with concentrated intensity. His lover had the phone gripped lightly in his fingers, the ringing had stopped and now his caller was undoubtedly leaving a message.

Hunter would like to check that message.

Hunter would like his phone back.

Keeping his eyes on Dave's shaded eyes... Hunter's own sunglasses the blond noted... he ran his hand down Dave's arm from the shoulder, until his fingers rested lightly over the ones around the small device.

"We can do this the easy way or fun way my Love, your choice." Hunter moved one fingertip back and forth with minute strokes.

Knowing which answer he was likely to get, Hunter prepared himself for another pounce. He wondered if Dave would squirm as much as Shawn did.

"David."

****

Very much aware of Jeff watching him from the doorway, Mark easily lifted both of their bags, since neither of them had brought more than an overnight bag up with them. Standing, his eyes fell on the bed, still unmade and rumpled, and his mind flashed back to the night before. Just the memory of kissing the man standing behind him was enough to make his eyes close for a moment as he wished that they had more time. Jeff's voice almost took him by surprise, after the long, mostly comfortable silence they'd shared on the way up to the room.

 _"I didn't call last night and Grandee will start leaving really polite voice messages..."_

Raising an eyebrow a little as he turned to face Jeff, Mark wondered why polite messages would be a bad thing. It was reassuring to know that Jeff's family was that protective of him, considering the little flashes of injury that he'd caught from the man over the last day, but he couldn't help but wonder just what they would think of _him_. Undoubtedly they knew better than to assume that wrestlers' personas were reality, but between his unearthly ring presence and his age, surely they wouldn't exactly be thrilled to find out that their youngest boy had taken up with him.

 _"...but you don't want her mad at you. If she starts being real polite... Then you know you're in for it."_

Smiling a little, Mark remembered a few conversations with his own mother that had started out similarly. The trouble he and his brothers had gotten into may actually put some of the Hardys' stories to shame, but most of them weren't stories he'd trot out willingly... and definitely _not_ around his parents.

The few moments in the elevator were quiet, although Mark could see Jeff's normal energy returning as the young man started bouncing beside him, probably completely unaware of doing so. He could feel some nervous energy of his own welling up, and tried to suppress it as best he could. The upcoming separation from the man beside him was not going to be easy, and that thought scared the hell out of him. The incredible attachment he already felt for Jeff was unexpected, even with the long-time fascination he'd had for him, and he was afraid to look at the possible reasons for it. Last time he'd been this attached, after all, it had been to Shawn... and look how that had ended. Years of being alone, with exceptions during the times he'd been with Adam and Shannon, had taught him how to survive without needing anyone else... he'd thought.

 _"So how long has Paul.E been bothering you anyway?"_

One eyebrow shot up in surprise as Jeff broke the silence with the surprisingly blunt question. Apparently Jeff had surprised himself by asking, by his next comment.

 _"Umm... that was a bit blunt wasn't it?"_

Allowing himself a slight smile at the somewhat abashed expression on the fine features, Mark shrugged, remaining silent as the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. It might have been blunt, but it wasn't really surprising that Jeff had asked. The timing was interesting, but Mark knew that Jeff never had been one for beating around the bush. Checking out was quick, and then they were off to his rental. Closing the trunk after he'd dropped their bags in it, Mark unlocked the doors and got in, thinking about how best to answer the question. A few moments after they'd gotten on the road, he broke the silence, a touch of exasperation in his voice.

"To answer your question... Heyman's been "bothering me" as long as I've known him." Catching the quick glance from Jeff, he shrugged a little, forcing himself to keep his eyes on the road and not on the captivating man sitting beside him. "He's a slimeball and a small-minded creep, and he's never accepted the fact that I don't play his games. He probably hits on me about once every week or so, and I ignore him... been like that for years, now." A pause and a look at Jeff as his expression grew more serious. "But he will _not_ be "bothering" you. At all. I don't care what you say to him or how you deal with him, but I want you to tell me if he tries anything. Not just because of you, because I know you can take care of yourself, but because I think he's been pulling shit with the other young guys, and I want to know so that I can do something about it."

****

The pain pills were starting to wear off.

That was more than evident given the little twinges from his ribs whenever he shifted positions. Airline seats weren't really made for what you'd call restful sleep, so he was shifting with regularity. That just caused him to have to shift again because of the ache caused from moving in the first place. He'd find a happy medium so that he could fall back into an uneasy sleep until he moved the next time.

Their little workout in the bathroom probably hadn't really helped his condition at all, if he were honest, but he wouldn't have given it up for the world, pain or not. Pain was something he was used to. Pain was something he could live with. Chris was the best reason in the world to bear the pain and he was coming to admit, someone that he really didn't want to live without.

A gentle stroke of fingers over his cheek pulled him from his far from restful slumber, the sounds of muted voices and a screaming child filtered from the front half of the plane... and he was still so damned tired. He opened bleary eyes enough to look into sparkling blue ones for just a moment.

 _"Home sweet home, my Love. My place, then bed is your final destination."_

His eyes were slipping shut again by the time Chris got to 'my place'. Man... he was so tired, but he figured Chris would at the least require a reply to prove that he was amongst the conscious of the world.

A quiet hum of sleepiness slipped out before he could stop it. "As long as you promise me lots and lots of ice when we get home. I didn't think it would hurt this much," he mumbled sleepily. That he admitted it was a sure sign that he was really hurting.

A snort of muffled laughter had his eyes snapping open. That was not Chris' laugh. That was for damn sure. And how right he was. Focusing on the man snapping Chris' tray table into place, Adam rolled his eyes. Great. Sparky... just what he needed. "My fractured ribs," he clarified for the red-head's benefit. "Very painful, dude. And you have a dirty mind." The wicked grin on his face left an opening for the man to draw his own conclusions. Adam was tickled by the thought that most likely both he and Chris would be walking a bit gingerly as they left the plane. Let Sparky think whatever it amused him to think.

As the man walked away, Adam stuck his tongue out at Sparky's retreating back.

\----

As soon as they climbed out of their seats, he dug into his carryon bag and pulled out his pair of sunglasses. He was seriously hoping that between the shades and the bill of his baseball cap pulled down low to help hide his identity that he'd be able to avoid any fan interactions in the airport. Normally he wouldn't mind the rounds of idle chatting, nosy questions, or signing autographs but he was well aware that his patience would be at a minimum for that sort of thing today. His ribs were really starting to ache, his back was tender in spots and he could only imagine the lovely shades of color to be found there, that wasn't even mentioning how much his fucking head itched.

It didn't help his attitude at all when Sparky made a point of singling out Chris for the 'we hope you enjoyed your flight' speech as they were exiting the plane. He may have actually snarled at the guy on his way past, but if Chris questioned it, he'd be blaming it on a flare-up of his injuries. Honestly, he couldn't really figure out why he was being overcome by caveman mentality when it came to the friendly redhead. He hadn't acted that way over Shelton's gawking and that was much more obvious not to mention that Shelton had actually ended up with a free-show of Chris' most delectable parts and he had simply laughed it off.

Now he was in pain, mad at himself for acting like a jealous asshole, and they still had to wait for their luggage at the baggage claim. Watching the bags circle around on the conveyor were bound to make his slight headache even worse... if Jay didn't take care of that problem for him first.

Jay's chorus of "Are you sure you're okay? You're looking a little pale.", "Do you want me to carry your bags out to the car for you?", and "Did you call your mom yet?" rang in his ears until he was ready to strangle his longtime friend. Shit... he hadn't called his mom. After the reaction she'd had to his phone call when he found out he needed surgery on his neck, he dreaded having to tell her he was injured in any way. During his comeback he had had to call her twice when he'd injured his foot and then his hand in quick succession. Each phone call had resulted in an hour long hysterical rant by his mother on how he should really find another line of work before her 'poor baby' ended up stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his life with only her to care for him.

That thought had nearly convinced him to consider working backstage, the business was in his blood and he couldn't give it up entirely, but thoughts of his mother hovering over him saying 'my poor, poor baby' repeatedly would be enough to scare anyone. He'd finally convinced her that he was staying with the company and that he would be extra cautious. Now thanks to that bitch Terry, he was going to have to call her and tell her about yet another injury. And he couldn't even give a good reason for this one to have happened. He had to call her before the ppv on Sunday because she would know something was wrong just by looking at him, but he was going to put it off until Saturday night unless Jay beat him to the punch.

Finally spotting his bag, on the conveyor, he reached down and picked it up, groaning from both the twitch in his ribs and the thought of dealing with his mom. Jay immediately tried to commandeer his bag until Adam snarled at him. He immediately apologized but still felt like an ass for snapping like that.

All he wanted was to be home... in his bed... with bags of ice... and his cuddly new lover.

Thankfully it looked like Chris felt the same way.

Finding a slight smile as his lover ushered them into the Flamingo parking garage and sent Bunnykins and Jay off to find the car, Adam brushed a few fingers lightly through Chris' hair. Spotting the slightly concerned look on CJ's face, he brushed it off with a half-sincere "I'm fine." Chris didn't look like he believed it for a moment but he didn't argue.

Which turned out to be a good thing after listening to the muttering by Jay on the drive to Chris' house. Adam didn't catch it all, but he did hear snippets like "Can't drive my own car to my own house..." and "...tired of always getting grouched at." That made him feel even worse. So when they pulled up in front of Chris' two-story sandstone complete with potted plants, he ruffled Jay's hair as they climbed out of the car. "Sorry for being such a prick, Jay Jay. I'll call ya later," he said through the window as Chris collected their bags from the trunk.

\----

He'd managed to wrestle his bags from Chris with an 'I can do it myself' glare, though he wasn't sure it would work on his stubborn lover and now found himself ensconced in the kitchen while Chris went upstairs to pack a bag or two. Next time they stopped here, when he was feeling more the thing, he'd do a little poking around through Chris' things, but for now he was content to sit at the table and sip on a can of Coke. He was slouching in a chair, studying the fake plant being used as a centerpiece when something jumped up on the table and made a beeline right for him.

Adam stiffened immediately upon recognizing Chris' pet, a big black fluffy ball of fur just full of testosterone. He hissed quietly at the pull in his ribs and wasn't surprised when Valentino... what the heck kind of name was that for a cat anyway?... hissed back, his spine arching, and his fur standing on end.

Great... now he was going to be able to add cut to ribbons along with his list of injuries. He didn't mind at all if Chris wanted to dig furrows in his back in the middle of some of their adventures, but he'd be damned if he showed up marked by the bundle of demon spawn sitting in the middle of the table glaring at him.

Why did Chris have to have a damned cat of all the animals he could possibly have owned? He loved dogs, though he didn't own one currently not feeling it fair to the animal when he was going to be gone all the time, he could deal with hamsters, rats, gerbils, birds, and iguanas... hell, he could have dealt with a twenty foot long python with no problems. But no... Chris owned a _cat_.

He was not a cat person in any way, shape, or form.

He commenced a stare-down with the yellow eyes now contemplating him curiously from across the table. Maybe he was insane... he was glaring at a _cat_. A cat that if he remembered correctly was also nicknamed Satan. It seemed terribly apropos for this creature. Catching a bit of humor in the situation, he finally smiled at the animal.

"If you so much as think of using those claws on me, I'm going to float you on a raft in my swimming pool, you little spawn of the devil. Just see if I don't."

The creature blinked at him, unconcerned, and then stood and walked a few steps closer before sitting and licking one large black paw. Adam slowly pulled his hands back off the table, abandoning his soda can with a scowl. "Beast," he grumbled lightly, the stare-down recommencing while he sat waiting at the table for his lover, guarded by the devil's familiar.

He wondered if that made Chris a witch or whatever. His lover did seem to have a certain magic about him that lured others to his presence. That could be kind of cool... as long as he didn't end up turning Adam into a toad if they had a fight.

The cat suddenly stood and took another two steps in his direction, beady yellow eyes focused on his baseball cap. He refused to move because he was being stalked by a damned cat. He growled at the creature, then tried a quiet "Shoo!" Neither worked. He was seriously considering getting up and heading to the bathroom when the stupid thing lunged at him, batting the bill of his cap with it's paw.

He jerked back, snatching the red cap off his head while looking at the grinning bundle of fur. Yes, it was grinning. "Fine!" he said with a shake of his head. "You want the damn thing, you can have it." He tossed it gently, he didn't want Chris to kill him, and the cap landed squarely on top of the animal's head just as Chris walked through the doorway. Adam shrugged at his lover and scratched his head lightly.

Damn, did his head itch.

****

Jeff curled up in the passenger seat next to Mark and watched the other man’s hands as they smoothly guided the rental car out of the parking bay. Mark had kept silent since Jeff had blurted out his strange question and was either contemplating his answer or working out the best way to say ‘none of your business.’ He doubted it would be the latter response; Mark hardly seemed the type to consider the behaviour of the General Manager something personal, a matter that only need be kept to himself. In fact, Jeff suspected, it was exasperation at Paul. E’s antics that fueled Mark’s opinion of the subject rather than any need for privacy. Very little went on backstage that wasn’t soon the business of every man and his dog, so the sexual hounding of Mark by Heyman would be a story well-known at any Smackdown taping. Why Mark put up with it was another question and would he let Jeff help stop it, was another.

 _"Heyman's been "bothering me" as long as I've known him."_

Jeff was torn between shock that it had gone for so long and twisted admiration at Paul. E’s tenacity. The man was a sleaze with little personal charisma, despite his on-screen antics, and an unpleasant predatory aura. He was also idiotic enough to try and persuade the Undertaker into a relationship against his will. Like that would ever happen. Paul’s only saving grace, as far as Jeff was concerned, was his good taste in choosing Mark as the target of his affections. Or maybe not. Jeff doubted very much that the Toad wanted Mark for the same reasons he did…fascination, genuine liking and admiration. Paul. E probably just saw the powerful creature wrapped in a tasty package and turned into a greedy little boy wanting what was denied him, becoming more determined as he was repeatedly rebuffed. Pathetic.

 _“But he will not be "bothering" you..”_

Jeff could practically see the emphasis in Mark’s words, could certainly hear the resolute conviction behind them. The thing was, Jeff agreed…Paul. E would be staying as far from Jeff as he could manage after the young man’s ‘psycho turn’ last night. In fact, Jeff was really hoping to catch sight of Smackdown’s GM as often as possible, just so he could do his best to make the man’s skin crawl.

 _because I think he's been pulling shit with the other young guys,_

The concern and anger in Mark’s voice was evident, a curl of aggression that would be frightening had it been directed at Jeff. Fortunately it wasn’t. Unfortunately for Paul.E, Jeff agreed with his lover’s guesses as to where the Toad’s interest lay and wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that the man was attempting to set up his own ‘casting couch’. It was revolting and so out of date as to be just plain sad. Jeff was suddenly bought home to the reality of what he’d done last night in Mark’s locker room. The man had been trying to stamp out the abhorrent behaviour for years, personally as well as professional offended by the practice, and then Jeff had basically gone and accused him of those same actions he was trying so hard to stop. It was a wonder Jeff had left with the skin on his ass intact given what he implied.

Jeff hadn’t missed the small compliment in Mark’s words, his _I know you can take care of yourself_ , was like a warm buzz in his stomach that had nothing to do with hunger and more to do with desire. He’d managed to quell his rising libido by thinking about the Toad, a sure fire way to desperately not think about sex, but the protective growl in Mark’s deep voice and the trust in his words were enough to reawaken that sizzle.

Toad. Toad. Toad.

“I doubt he’ll try anything with me,” Jeff reassured his partner as they turned onto the airport highway. “I think I freaked him out enough last night with all the shit I was saying, that he’ll turn and run when I so much as look at him.” Well, Paul might not run, but at least he wouldn’t be thinking about sex when he saw Jeff Hardy backstage. “But if I hear that anyone’s being pressured I’ll tell you.” He paused to consider whether he was being completely truthful. “Although that might be after I express _my_ opinion on the subject by kicking him in the balls.”

Letting his head tilt back onto the head-rest, Jeff watched the handsome man beside him as Mark found the signs for the rental company that owned their car. He wanted to apologize again for last night and this morning, but he wasn’t sure if it would be too much. They’d found a precious balance over lunch, a more relaxed air that seemed less charged with all Jeff’s anger from last night and the terrible hurt that had occurred in the hotel room. Saying another ‘sorry’ might tip that balance and Jeff knew he was walking on enough of a tight rope as it was without dragging Mark into another cuttingly painful conversation.

“I know this horse has been kicked, flogged, stabbed and stoned so beyond death it isn’t funny but…” Jeff began as Mark put the car into park, “…it’s obvious to me you hate Paul.E and his kind trying it on the young guys like that. Painfully obvious. Last night…I just…I didn’t get the kind of insult I was throwing at you when I thought you’d arranged for the same thing. I didn’t get that I probably couldn’t have picked a worse accusation to make, even if I’d given it a week of thought.” Jeff drew in a deep breath in the silence of the car, broken only by the soft-hum of the air-conditioning. “I’m really, really sorry I thought you’d buy sex with a contract. It isn’t you Mark, it was _never_ you. In fact…” Jeff turned to look out the front window as he felt a flush of colour hit his cheekbones, "...more realistic to think I should be trying to use the contract to get _you_ into bed with _me_."

It sounded like a joke but it really wasn’t. For all the speculation there would be backstage as to Mark getting Jeff as some sort of contract perk, there would be even more as to what hold Jeff had over Mark. The Undertaker didn’t involve himself in other wrestler’s contracts for no reason and Jeff knew more suspicion would fall on his motives than on Mark’s in the end.

“But I’m not and neither are you and for the last time…I’m sorry."


	85. Insights

Dave snickered quietly at Shawn's method of distraction knowing that if he were in Hunter's position, he'd be just as powerless to resist. He wasn't snickering for long though as the muted moans and groans filtered through the car. No matter how many times he witnessed his lovers together, he'd never get tired of just watching them.

Hunter's body pressing Shawn's down into the seat beneath him was full of beauty... elemental, raw, passionate. Fused from mouth to groin, legs entwined, the two couldn't look any sexier even if they were nude. Their clothing just added to the picture, accentuating and teasing with each shift of material, letting the viewer imagine what lay beneath the slacks and dress shirts. And besides having first-hand knowledge of what lay beneath those clothes, Dave had one hell of an imagination.

When Hunter pulled away from Shawn, Dave looked for a moment, admiring the flush of their skin and the gloss of kiss-swollen lips. Damn, he was getting sappy, but it wasn't hard to do when you considered the sources of his thoughts. He wasn't about to wax poetic on them verbally however because he liked breathing just a little too much... besides, Hunt was staring him down with one of _those_ looks. He was so caught up in the picture of the two of them that it took him a moment to remember why he was on the receiving end of that 'you're in the doghouse' look.

Oh... right. The phone...

Instead of being the least bit intimidated or concerned at Hunter's tactics, Dave smiled... grinned if truth be told. He was well aware of Hunter's abilities and his own... they were well-matched. The thing that was going to give him the added advantage here though was that neither of them were interested in hurting the other. That didn't mean that he wouldn't fight dirty in this case, to some extent. Flicking a look at Shawn behind the glasses to make sure Shawn was paying attention to the scene about to unfold, Dave finally turned to look at the man sitting down next to him. He held his grin through the light touch of Hunter's hand sliding down his arm and through the gentle caress of a single fingertip along his own hand... the hand coiled around Hunter's cell phone.

 _"We can do this the easy way or fun way my Love, your choice."_

Decisions, decisions... he had to make one obviously. Shawn wouldn't be happy if he handed the phone right back to Hunt after he had gone to the trouble to take it away in the first place. Hunt, on the other hand, really desperately wanted the gadget back. Of course if he did give it back, Hunt's ear would most likely be glued to the thing all the way home. The call couldn't be that important... could it?

 _"David."_

Laughing internally over Hunter's apparent impatience with his inability to make a decision, Dave shifted the phone to his other hand... the one opposite of Hunter. Lifting his free hand slowly, he pulled the purloined sunglasses from his face and reached over Hunter's shoulder to lay them on the back of the seat. Resting his elbow atop the seatback, he lifted his fingers to brush Hunter's hair back from his eyes before looking intently into those glittering hazel pools.

"Darlin'... when have I _ever_ chosen to do things the easy way?" he asked as his fingers slid over one tanned cheek before lingering on the curve of still-moist lips. His fingers slipped from Hunter's lips along his jaw, their final destination to be wrapped gently but firmly in Hunter's hair.

"Shawn."

The single word was the only warning he gave as he simultaneously ducked his head and took firm possession of Hunter's mouth... while his other hand was tossing the phone to the hopefully alert blond on the opposite seat. His second hand joined his first, tangling in silky strands as he shifted on the seat. In one smooth move he was straddling Hunter's legs, his body pinning Hunter to the seat with his butt pressed firmly against Hunter's groin.

He'd wanted to test his theory on being a bit more aggressive with Hunter... not that he was planning to take things all the way in the limo... but a little sounding out wouldn't hurt anything. One push of Hunter's hand and he'd free him immediately, but he had to find out. With a deep growl, he explored the moist confines of Hunter's mouth like he was gorging himself on ambrosia and to Dave that was pretty much symbolic of what his lover tasted like, fit for the gods.

****

The thing about worrying, Chris reasoned, was that it got you absolutely nowhere. You could stress over the too-slow pace of your lover's walk, you could frown at the tired smile on a beautiful pale face and give yourself an aneurysm when he started wincing at each deep breath, but it didn't actually get you anywhere. Well... anywhere that didn't contain a frowning, stress bucket with a brain-bleed. Chris couldn't do a thing to make Adam more comfortable, couldn't take the pain away and couldn't give him another ten hours sleep. The best he could do was shut up, not ask if his lover was okay because he obviously wasn't, and get them home.

Besides, with Jay Reso around, words asking how Adam felt would never be spoken by Chris Jericho again.

\----

Promising Jay and Ty that they'd call tomorrow and 'Yes Jay, I can make tea. I even mastered adding the milk,' Chris saw off their chauffeurs and darted quickly inside to settle Adam in the kitchen. This needed to be done as quickly as possible so his sexy boyfriend, bed, and ice could become close personal acquaintances.

Chris packed with the neat economy of a long-time traveler, exchanging the worn clothes in his bag for fresh ones, collecting extra items like books and CD's then sliding them into the side pocket of his lap-top case. His house had that slightly dried-out scent of disuse, the air stale from days without a sun-filled refresh from outside. While grabbing a new bottle of shampoo, CJ contemplated how he'd manage his home for the next few days. Maybe he should get a house-sitter to stay for him while he was gone, someone to baby-sit his toys and water the garden. The last few months he'd seen less of the place than his weekly housekeeper, his schedule had been so full that he'd only come home to touch base and do some paperwork rather than enjoy himself here.

Chris closed his bags and hefted them down the stairs, hoping against hope that Adam would have stayed put and not decided to do a lap around the block just to prove that he could. Looking through the lounge, CJ shook his head at the lifeless decor perfectly displayed therein. He really wasn't all that attached to the place. It was a nice house, nicer than he'd ever expected to own, but it hadn't adopted its owner's personality yet. The big 'I wannabe a sandstone villa' still too much like the cover of 'Interior Design Monthly' than the House of Jericho. Only the kitchen and music room actually felt truly comfortable... oh and the pool.

Contemplating housemates, tax returns and mobile homes, Chris left his luggage near the door to the garage and went into the kitchen to find his wounded warrior.

Oh dear.

If Chris had to take bets on which male in his kitchen was the bigger hard-ass, he'd have put a fifty on the cat. Even with his grin at its most manic, his beautiful Adam just didn't have it in him to be more evil than the feline known to some as Satan. The huge black cat having been officially dubbed the incarnation of the devil by Jay, after what was henceforth to be known as 'The Incident' with the hot water, the duct tape and an old copy of 'TV Guide.' Valentino was certainly living up to his infernal moniker if the sudden assault on Adam's hat was anything to go by.

Chris was a cat person and thought it hilarious that his big tough kitten was executing a neat back-flip over the red headwear and then proceeding to beat the shit out of it with his back feet. Luckily, CJ was also a pet owner who understood how fucking annoying other people's animals could be, so he crossed the room in two strides, divested Valentino of his red-beaked enemy and tossed it up on his shoulder. Valentino, not the hat. That he gave to Adam, after politely picking some of the black hairs off it.

"I'm ready Babe, when you are. Hmmm... ." Chris stroked his fingers down Valentino's dense midnight fur as the big male draped himself artlessly over his shoulder, eyes now fixed on the birds in the back yard. "...I know you and the feral here don't get on, but can I bring him if he stays out of your way? He's living at the neighbour's and can get in through the cat door but they both work days and he'll become a street thug if I don't give him some attention. He's been known to take on a kelpie when he's feeling moody, I don't even want to think about what he'd do to the poodle down the road if I left him here."

Adam's consent came more from weariness than enthusiasm, but Chris would take what he could get at this juncture. The next five minutes involved an intense conversation between Valentino and himself over which of them would be riding to Adam's place in the carrier and which of them would be driving the black WRX in the garage. Eventually Chris won, but only because he pulled the trump card of evolving opposable thumbs rather then dew claws, but in the end both his gorgeous beasts were loaded into his car.

Deciding that changing gears with broken fingers was as entirely as painful as it sounded, Chris drove quite carefully, for him, through the sun drenched late afternoon streets of Miami Lakes. He'd been to Adam's house enough times, even without the three days of pain-killers, yelling and worry that had accompanied his last visit, to get there the back way, keeping the journey fairly direct and painless.

Of course neither passenger remained silent about the situation but Chris hadn't been expecting miracles.

****

 _“I doubt he’ll try anything with me,”_

Damn straight Paul.E wouldn't be trying anything with Jeff. Mark was a little taken aback by the sheer vehemence of the thought... and the immediately-following wish that Heyman _would_ try something, preferably in front of him, so that he could tear the little creep apart as he so richly deserved. He'd managed to tolerate Heyman for years now, off and on, by a combination of flat-out intimidation and ignoring the passes by plainly---and pointedly---failing to notice them. More than once, he'd had the pleasure of watching Heyman crumble to frustrated embarrassment at his lack of reaction as entire locker rooms laughed at the little man's wasted attempts. Not that it had stopped Heyman---the man seemed to take a perverse delight in taunting Mark with his attention, purely out of the knowledge that Mark couldn't stand him. There was no love lost between the two of them, and the current storyline between them reflected that.

Secure in the knowledge that Jeff could more than take care of himself, Mark still wasn't happy with the thought of Heyman turning his attentions to the man sitting beside him. Very much less than happy, actually, and the slow realisation of just how protective he was feeling toward Jeff was... unexpected. It was another sign of just how much he _did_ care about Jeff, and it was definitely something to think about later. Not now, as he was turning off the highway into the airport.

 _“But if I hear that anyone’s being pressured I’ll tell you.”_

Raising an eyebrow at the tone of voice, Mark flicked a quick look at Jeff, waiting.

 _“Although that might be after I express my opinion on the subject by kicking him in the balls.”_

He smiled at that, not surprised by the answer. Jeff was well-known for his own protectiveness backstage when it came to those he cared about. That made him pause briefly in thought as he found a parking spot, relatively close to the rental drop-off. Would he come under that same protective wing, now that he and Jeff were... what were they? Lovers? Maybe. In one sense of the word, definitely, but in the sense that he cared about... no. Not yet.

The knowledge that he was thinking of them as reaching that meaning at some point in the future should have taken him by surprise.

He wasn't even taken aback by it. Maybe it was shock, after all the emotional upheaval of the last day, but Mark suspected that once he got home, he had some good long mental discussions with himself to look forward to. He'd always tried to be honest with himself, and the various revelations of the last twenty hours or so had been fast and furious.

The lengthening silence from Jeff almost worried him, as he could feel a sort of quiet tension creeping up between them. As long as the disastrous misunderstanding from this morning wasn't repeated, he could probably deal with whatever it was that Jeff was working up to saying. Probably.

 _"Last night… I just… I didn’t get the kind of insult I was throwing at you... I’m really, really sorry I thought you’d buy sex with a contract. It isn’t you Mark, it was_ never _you."_

Well. There really wasn't a lot he could say to that. He wished that Jeff hadn't felt the need to apologize yet again, but if it helped him feel like they'd cleared the air, it probably wasn't a bad thing. Maybe now they could move on from their rocky start and see if they couldn't find smooth sailing in the future.

Future. What a wonderful word. Mark almost missed Jeff's softer, last words as he turned the car off.

 _"...more realistic to think I should be trying to use the contract to get_ you _into bed with_ me _."_

Stranger accusations had been made, he supposed, but... Casting another look at Jeff, the red tinge on the high cheekbones made him blink. Had he _ever_ seen Jeff blush before? Leaning over, Mark put a tentative hand on the sharp shoulder nearest him.

 _“But I’m not and neither are you and for the last time… I’m sorry."_

"You're right." Best to clear this up right now, and hope that they could move past it this time. "Neither of us is trying to use the other, for _any_ reason." Hopefully Jeff wouldn't ask him just why Mark had gone to bat for him with Vince, because he really didn't have an answer yet. Not one that he could accept, anyway. Taking a breath, Mark stared at the long column of Jeff's neck, almost hidden by the bright fall of hair half-covering it, and knew that he couldn't keep his touch impersonal. They might be in the middle of an airport parking lot, but he just couldn't do it. Letting his fingers slide upward to curve around the pale flesh, Mark drew Jeff around to face him.

"If it'll make you feel better, I'll accept your apology. But there were misunderstandings on _both_ sides, and there likely will be again. Neither of us is perfect, Jeff." _But you come damned close_ , the voice in the back of his mind whispered at the younger man. Mark shut it away again, not ready to look at what it meant just yet.

Glancing out the windows, he didn't see anyone else nearby... and he really didn't care if anyone was. The sudden need to taste those hidden depths again rose up in him, and he wasn't going to fight it. Leaning just a bit closer, he closed the gap between them, pressing his lips to Jeff's as his hand slid around to tangle in the rainbow locks. The taste was intoxicating, and he deepened the kiss, his tongue twining with Jeff's as the younger man reciprocated, until he forced himself to soften the press of his mouth, pulling away reluctantly. The slightly flushed cheeks and swollen lips and darkened eyes looking back up at him drew a soft noise from him.

"I wish we had more time..." he said softly, letting the words trail off.

They didn't, and the time they did have was quickly running out. A last caress to the soft cheek, and he was moving, getting out of the car with a relieved stretch. The sound of the passenger door closing as he was picking their bags up out of the trunk reassured him, and he looked a question at his companion, his utterly mundane words hiding the longing that was growing inside. He'd spent so much time by himself for so long---why was the thought of being alone for a day or two so difficult to deal with? "My gate is on this end, after I drop off the keys. Do you want to stay with me for a while? I've got some time before I have to go through security."

****

He was even more hungry than he'd thought he was. Of course with worrying about the almost-fight earlier and all the excitement of telling their friends about their news, he wasn't really surprised. Scott still didn't end up with as much on his plate as Kevin did though. Poor guy. He'd been starving before they'd even come downstairs, then he'd had to wait on everyone to get settled, then there had been the announcement to make, and the trio's departure. Scott was kind of surprised that Kev hadn't tried to order everyone to cease and desist until he had something in his belly. Chuckling quietly over that thought, he headed back to their table with Kev right on his heels.

The blissful sound that Kevin made as he took the first bite almost set him off on a round of laughter. Maybe tonight when they made it home he'd order take-out from that place that Kev adored so much... the one where Scott had caught him eating alone on that night so long ago now. Some candles, some soft music... hey, he could be just as romantic as the next guy. And just because he liked to pretend he was such a hardass didn't mean that Kevin wouldn't appreciate it either.

Tomorrow would be soon enough to get his things, though he had to admit that with the announcement made he was pretty anxious to get on with the move. He wanted to be back home... where he belonged... with Kevin.

 _"Congratulations, ese. It's good to see you back together... gives the rest of us hope."_

Scott nodded his agreement to Kevin's thanks. When Eddie approached him, Scott returned his half-hug while whispering in his ear.

"And congratulations to both of us for getting these prigs to loosen up a little bit," he said, a trace of laughter in his voice. He knew that Eddie wouldn't take offense because quite honestly if anyone could use loosening up it had to be their lovers. Both men took things way too seriously at times.

 _"...I'm happy for you two. I know what it's like, and how hard things must have been, and... I'm glad you could make it work out again."_

Scott surreptitiously elbowed Eddie lightly in the ribs, raised a brow when the man looked at him, and then grinned. "See, what'd I tell ya?" he mumbled quietly as Benoit joined them.

"Thanks guys. We'll have to do this again soon," Scott added as the two men walked away, ignoring the look on Benoit's face at his announcement.

Too, too funny.

 _"Did you hear what Benny said? That was... unexpected."_

Scott smiled at his startled lover for a moment. "That wasn't unexpected Kev. It's called a miracle," he added with a wink. "He's finally starting to see the light, I think. Just because Bret Hart, God of Bitterness, has deemed us all evil twisted creatures does not make it so. Okay, I'll admit to the twisted part, but I'm only evil when it comes to protecting family. I'll prove to Benny that we're not spawn of the Devil even if it takes a year."

 _"But Scott, that's not completely true. You call me a little devil all the time."_

Reaching out to the man sliding into the seat next to him, Scott pinched one of his cheeks and then smiled when he got his hand slapped away. "That's because you drive us all batty, Sean, not because you're evil incarnate... but we love you anyway."

Watching Glen laugh as he settled into the seat next to Kevin, Scott decided that the problem with Sean earlier must have been resolved at some point during their little get-together. That didn't mean he wasn't going to keep an eye on the two of them. He just wasn't going to be as obvious about it.

 _"Damn, Kev. Good thing you and Scott are back together. You're going to need some help working off all that food."_

Scott laughed. Kids... what were ya going to do with them these days?

****

 _"Darlin'... when have I ever chosen to do things the easy way?"_

Hunter couldn't actually decide if he was disappointed at Dave's response or pleased that he was going to have to get physical with his other lover as well. Pinning Shawn to the soft leather seats, feeling the smooth, muscular body twisting around in an attempt to avoid Hunter's fingers, had been a very stimulating side-effect of his search. Tackling Dave's formidable form, with the man ready and waiting was another matter entirely and undoubtedly one that would be just as... enjoyable.

Hazel eyes locked on the phone, Hunt tensed his shoulders in preparation. He would have to quickly calculate just how far Dave could stretch his long arm towards the far window, a priority consideration if Hunter's plan was to work. He'd need to keep his dark lover immobile for at least three seconds, plenty of time to grab a wrist and reclaim his property. Of course, if Dave kept hold of Hunter's hair, then he'd have to be careful he didn't scalp himself in the process. Looking at Dave, to judge by the light in chocolate eyes if he even had a chance of those three seconds, Hunt felt the fingers in his hair tighten.

 _"Shawn."_

The flicker of metal out of the corner of his eye, pulled his attention away from Dave for a fraction of a second. It was enough. In that moment of distraction he was caught, mouth taken in a ravenous kiss, body pressed deep into the cushioned seat and Dave, his magnificent David, sitting firmly astride his lap.

Hunter reacted, his body no longer under the command of his brain, that reputedly powerful organ sabotaged by the sudden display of aggression and passion aimed exclusively at him. As he had done with Shawn last night, Hunt arched up into the kiss, tongue dueling with the invader in his mouth, sucking and licking the warm flesh with abandon. It registered somewhere in the back of his sex-distracted brain that he was restrained again, his head cradled in the powerful grip of Dave's hands, his legs unable to dislodge the superbly fit body holding him down.

It wasn't the inability to move that caused the ice-like tension that shot up his spine, freezing him in place while Dave continued to take ownership of Hunt's lips. Hunter had been incapacitated enough times while working to not worry about that. It was that, once again, Dave was taking the initiative with him, touching Hunter like he wanted to keep on touching and never stop.

Touching Hunter with intent. Touching with love.

The first time the panic set in, Hunter had run for the bathroom. Now there was no small room in which to catch his breath, so he had to handle this now. Had to relax, tell his body to just chill out and get with the 'touching and loving' program because hey... it's all of the good. But Dave Batista was no fool. He was also a brilliant lover who could undoubtedly tell when his partner wasn't running at the same speed as him. Hunt felt Dave start to pull away, the tiny slump of his shoulders revealing the cause of his movements.

Hunter found that the panic he'd felt over being touched was insignificant in comparison to the sheer terror than ran through him at the idea of Dave _stopping_.

"No." The word slipped from Hunt's lips as Dave continued to pull back. But... but he didn't mean it _that_ way. His hands had been resting at Dave's waist from the start of the kiss, his fingers splayed across the small of his lover's back as he experienced that breathless, lovely mating of mouths. Now they moved. Now they shot to the back of Dave's neck and reconnected the kiss, picking up where they had left off, but this time it was so much better... because Hunter wasn't panicking anymore.

"I didn't mean it _that_ way." It was a growl more than a sentence, made against Dave's lips and hopefully conveying Hunt's full participation in events.

Leg muscles bunching, Hunter tried to shift Dave from his lap and onto the seat beside him. His arms tried pull the big man closer, to change the dynamic so that Hunter dictated the action. After that he could then begin devouring the beautiful man from top to toe.

Of course... he'd have to win this little testosterone contest first.

****

 _If it'll make you feel better, I'll accept your apology._

Jeff had known he would, hadn't really doubted for a second that Mark could forgive Jeff for his assumptions and let it go. It was Jeff, after all, who was belabouring a point, that perhaps didn't really need to be dragged out again. His furious desire to have Mark think well of him was beginning to get on his nerves. _He likes you. Okay Numbnuts?_ He would hardly have screwed your heart out of chest last night, shown you off to his friends at lunch and be fondling your neck in a car park if he was still pissed about the whole shower thing.

Resolutely telling his brain that he was finally over it, Jeff regained his mental equilibrium and asked Mark for his number.

Or he _would_ have asked that, if Mark hadn't kissed him and tipped his equilibrium back into an acute curve. Wriggling closer, Jeff silently cursed the handbrake as he snagged two handfuls of Mark's shirt and tried to count the number of the man's teeth with his tongue. That they were in a public place and he should be demonstrating restraint didn't even occur to the younger Hardy. Mark was kissing him, Mark, a fucking gorgeous man who could take Jeff's breath away with a small quirk of his mouth, was kissing Jeff with that same mouth and touching Jeff and really, who cared if you had a permanent imprint of a handbrake beneath your navel because Jeff was probably going to dislocate something as he was going to try and climb over the armrest and into Mark's lap and... .

 _"I wish we had more time..."_

Oh, wow. The heartfelt sentiment stopped Jeff from catching any air into his depleted lungs and managed, in that moment, to convince him to forgo killing Mark for ending the kiss. Straightening his spine, Jeff shifted away from the dangerously intimate handbrake and muttered the word 'tease' as he got out of the car. He suspected the taller man had no real idea the effect he was having on Jeff this morning. Just from a few mostly innocent kisses and looks, that obviously weren't intended to go anywhere. But Jeff was a young man filled to the brim with raging hormones and they were all aimed in Mark's direction. It didn't help that his new almost bed-partner was stretching those unfairly long arms over his head, wicked tattoos dancing as the strong muscles they gracefully arched and bunched at the movement. Jeff knew he was staring like an adoring fan girl and really didn't give a shit. Mark was Hotter Than Hell and Jeff was gonna look if he wanted to. Dammit!

 _"Do you want to stay with me for a while? I've got some time before I have to go through security."_

"Sure." Jeff pulled the strap of his bag over his shoulder and followed Mark's lovely, lovely ass into the terminal, breathing a relieved sigh at the artificial environment created by several powerful air-conditioners. "I have to find a flight home and hope they don't sit me next to a scary women with hair even more unrealistic than mine." Seeing that delicious twist to Mark's lips and the humour dancing in the jade eyes, Jeff explained as he joined a random queue.

"It was like... mauve or something and she kept telling me about her daughter and all the assholes the girl was dating. I swear I couldn't keep a straight face, I mean look at me..." Jeff joked as he gave himself a once over. "... am I honestly the kind of guy you would try to fix your daughter up with?"

It occurred to Jeff that saying that to the man he'd had sex with not sixteen hours ago was kinda... wrong.

"Speaking totally hypothetically there Honey," he grinned and then realized he just called the Undertaker, the Bad Ass, the Dog who owned the Whole Damn Yard and most of the Front Row... .Honey.

Fortunately Jeff was saved from an embarrassing retraction by the check-in woman calling him over. After finding a flight that left only forty-five minutes after Mark's, Jeff gave up his single, lonely bag to the conveyer belt and looked around for his companion. Seeing the big man politely ignoring a cluster of youths that looked set to descend on him with t-shirts and markers in hand, Jeff ruthlessly annexed Mark from his fans and they made it to the complimentary 'Business' lounge without being spotted.

Now what could two, vigorous, athletic men do with an hour on their hands in an airport?

Jeff measured the distance between themselves and a door marked 'Supplies'.

****

He was staring at his newly returned hat that was now sprinkled with black hairs when Chris asked permission to bring the demon cat along. He could say no, but he had a feeling Chris would be severely disappointed in him if he did. And despite his bordering-on-despisement of the feline race, he couldn't really consign the creature to four days alone when a few hours of Chris' time was most likely all that the animal received in any given week. Besides, he couldn't expect Chris to give the animal up and he didn't want to spend any more time apart from Chris than he absolutely had to, so... Sighing at the thought of the damage the little monster could do to brand-new furnishings, he forced out a "sure, why not" that he wasn't really feeling deep down inside.

Adam did get a bit of amusement from watching Chris try to stow the animal in his carrier. At least he wasn't the only one the creature seemed to be trying to antagonize. By the time Chris had won the fight, he was more than ready to get home and lay down... but only for a little while and only after he'd had a chat with Satan on the do's and don'ts of being allowed within his house.

They finally made it out to the garage and Adam looked a bit suspiciously at his lover as they settled into the car. Exactly how was Chris planning to shift with broken fingers? Too achy to really argue over it, he fastened his seat belt and left things in his lover's hands.

It was going to take forever and a day to reach his house.

After Chris' slam earlier that day about his driving, Adam felt more than justified in returning the favor. Raising his voice a bit so that he could be heard over the howling in the back seat of the car, he made the obvious comment. "You know... I think my grandma drives faster than this. Maybe she can give you lessons."

\----

They did eventually make it to the house, though Adam had seriously had his doubts. As they walked into the front foyer, he stopped Chris who had the cat carrier in hand and asked him to get the animal out. He nixed any ideas that Chris had of handing the terror on four legs over to him with a simple "you hold him, I'll talk."

Staring Satan down with his best glare, he started his not-quite-welcoming speech.

"Okay, you little furball... rule number one... if you use my furniture as a scratching post then you'll be confined to the deck by the pool." The pool was in a climate-controlled - greenhouse type addition onto the back of the house... he wasn't completely heartless. "Rule two... if you do your business anywhere but the litter box or outside, then that pool thing I threatened with earlier _will_ happen."

The animal seemed to be completely unconcerned with his mandates, turning to look at the surrounding area he was now in and eyeing his antique hall table with glowing eyes.

"Hey! Pay attention demon spawn or we'll go visit the pool now."

Chris' cat finally turned to look at him again, but Adam would swear the animal was laughing at him with the tiny flash in those golden eyes. Scowling and trying to look fierce, though he was sure he failed miserably with Chris trying to hide a chuckle unsuccessfully, Adam growled instead. That garnered him the animal's interest for a moment.

"You are not in any way, shape, or form allowed anywhere near my bed. If you even think of putting one paw on it, I'll go out and get the biggest dog I can find and let him eat you for breakfast. Are we clear?"

Rolling his eyes when the creature jumped out of Chris' hands to start the exploration of his new environment, he mumbled quietly under his breath. "I'm trying to reason with a cat... maybe I'm the insane one after all."

Turning back to his lover, he attempted a smile though it was surely tinged with the evidence of the aches and pains he was now feeling. He grabbed the bags that contained Chris' personal effects and dropped them at the bottom of the staircase for later. "Short tour since things have changed since you were here last and then I'm going to crawl into bed with a half dozen ice packs and hopefully you to keep me company."

He was just about to lead Chris into the living room and show him the new layout there when there was a shriek of surprise from the kitchen area... definitely female. He wondered for a moment who the hell was in the house since he'd given Fran the day off when it dawned on him. Jess must have lingered after her errand or she was still busy putting away the groceries. He headed in the direction of the kitchen while trying to figure out what would cause her to shriek like that when the answer literally barreled into him in a bundle of black fur... Satan.

****

He really hated being wrong. In this situation, he hated it even more.

When Hunter had at first responded with an equal intensity and passion, Dave had thought his bet had paid off. It had taken less than two minutes to disabuse him of that notion. It wasn't that Hunt had pushed him away or really fought him in any manner. Instead it was simply a lack of response that had truly clued him in. From one moment to the next the passionate man returning his kiss with abandon turned into an unresponsive shell, like someone had waved a wand and turned him into a block of ice.

He started pulling away immediately, the slight push he'd been waiting for not coming, but then he hadn't really needed it to get the point. His head dropped forward slightly as he tried to catch his breath, his mind whirling furiously as he tried to figure out this puzzle. Because there had to be more to this than just an issue of touch. Hunt had 'touched' him just fine last night when he'd given Dave that amazing display of oral satisfaction. He hadn't had a problem with being tied to the bed while Shawn made love to him either.

Like a lightning bolt, it hit him. Barely hearing the 'no' issued from the lips of his love, he continued to pull back. The press of lips to his didn't surprise him nor did the fact that Hunt was trying to smooth over the situation. The pieces actually made sense, including the fact that Hunter was trying to move his bulk to the seat so that he was beside rather than on top of the man.

It made sense. Hunter was going to deny it, but it made perfect sense.

 _"I didn't mean it that way."_

Dave broke the contact between their lips for a second time, determined to talk about this before anything else happened. It wasn't something he could just ignore whether that is what Hunter wanted or not. Pushing it to the side wouldn't deal with it and as much as he loved Hunter touching him, loving him with his mouth, he was not going to be able to restrain himself from wanting to reciprocate. It wasn't in his nature to simply take without giving. So they were going to have to deal with this at some point. It might as well be now.

"Yes, you did," he said, a wistful smile on his lips. He pressed a brief kiss to Hunter's hair and then firmly pried desperate hands from the back of his neck before sliding into the seat next to Hunter. He lifted one hand to put a halt to the denial that he knew would be forthcoming and also to stall any impulse that Hunt had to climb all over him if that's what the blond had had planned. "You did mean it, but that's okay because I think I've finally figured this whole thing out. I want you to _listen_ to what I’m going to say and then you can deny it all you want to if that's what you want to do, but at least _think_ about it first. Please."

"You, my love, are a control freak," he said, grinning at the little flash in Hunter's eyes upon that pronouncement. "You took control of your career and it got you where you are today. You like to manage all of the rest of us... making sure we are where we're supposed to be and when. That's why you can't stand it that you can't check your messages right now. It's beyond your control and it's driving you crazy, isn't it?" Even as he said it, he could almost see Hunter itching with the need to grab his phone and check to see who had called.

"Now I'm going to go out on a limb here and make an assumption and if I'm wrong... you let me know. I'm willing to bet that most of your previous lovers have been like Shawn. No offense, love," he added with a smile for the man on the opposite seat before looking into the eyes of his skittish lover. "Meaning that you probably outweighed them by a good forty pounds. If push came to shove, you were pretty sure you could muscle yourself out of any possible situation. Even when Shawn had you tied to the bed, you _knew_ you could get free if you really wanted to so you were safe. But you can't say that with me, can you Hunt?"

He knew Hunter was surprised by his conclusions but he wasn't sure if that was because he was on target or way off base. The man was playing this one close to his vest and until he came out with a yes or no, Dave wouldn't be sure, but he wanted to get it all out there before Hunter denied or admitted that his concerns were real. "I outweigh you by a good forty pounds, probably closer to fifty. When I had you pinned there against the seat with my hands in your hair, you couldn't move except for your hands. If I'd insisted on keeping you there, you couldn't have moved me... and somewhere in the back of your mind you realize that. It ties you in knots, sends a chill down your spine that you aren't the one in control. I know because I've been there Hunter."

Another flash of surprise in his lover's eyes, but he could also see the obvious questions there just seconds behind. "I wasn't going to bring this up quite this early but now is as good a time as any, I suppose. We've been dancing around it off and on so I'm just going to toss it out there. With some of my previous lovers I've ventured into what some might consider... kinky sex. When you're handcuffed to a bed with a gag in your mouth, you learn pretty quickly that you have _no_ control whatsoever. If you don't completely trust the person you're with, then it can scare the hell out of you."

"So the real issue here is... you don't trust me," he raised his hand again because he just knew that Hunter was going to argue to the contrary. "You don't and that's fine... for now. Considering how new this thing is with us, I can understand that. I will always give you a way out Hunt... _always_ , but until you feel comfortable letting go of some of that iron control that you have, I'm not going to ask you to. From this point, you are going to have to take the initiative and tell me or show me what you want."

"Now if I'm wrong about all of this, then you have permission to smack me and set the record straight on why you freeze up whenever I touch you with anything but kid gloves."

He was kind of hoping Hunter was going to deny it all... every word of it. But he didn't think Hunter could if he were honest and that's what Dave really wanted.

****

As Adam began to lay out the ground rules to Valentino, Chris tried to turn so that his two beautiful males could look each other directly in the eye. The big, black cat was having none of that however, and seemed more intent on checking out Adam's furnishings than listening to his conditions of entry. CJ wasn't about to kid himself that Valentino didn't understand what was going on just because he didn't speak English... oh no... felines were able to get the gist of what was going on around them just by body language. Adam's body was speaking in several dialects at once and every one translated into 'Me boss cat. You not'.

 _"Hey! Pay attention demon spawn or we'll go visit the pool now."_

Chris found that pretty hilarious and didn't stop the silent chuckles that began to shake his frame. Valentino just climbed higher up on his shoulder, gave Adam the once over and started to purr. Given the beast's size it was closer to the hum of a car engine than anything normally produced by mammals, but it was a symbol of his beloved pet's acceptance of the situation. Adam's rules were pretty lenient, Valentino was on easy street in comparison to Mrs. Verdi's Green Lake Cattery.

Not surprisingly, Valentino got tired of the ground rules and intended to explore his new accommodations. As if he'd held up one razor-tipped claw in Adam's face and mewed 'talk to the hand', the beast also known as Satan used his powerful hind legs to push away from his human's chest. CJ didn't try to hold onto nine pounds of squirming midnight fur, that could lead to bad places where one of them could get hurt, instead he let the animal leap down to the floor and begin its sniff and 'I own this' tour.

Valentino owned the walls, coffee table and lounge suite, but apparently a potted plant was beneath his dignity.

 _"I'm trying to reason with a cat... maybe I'm the insane one after all."_

CJ could sympathize, he didn't doubt for a moment that Adam was only taking his pet out of affection for Chris and he appreciated the gesture. Although eventually the smaller blond would tell his lover that the ground rules weren't necessary. His big kitten would quite happily recline in a temperature-enclosed swimming area and since Chris was away so often, Valentino never even thought to try and share his bed. Only one man had that liability right now and he was looking at Chris with an adorably sheepish expression shadowed by sharp edges of pain at the corner of his lovely eyes. Now Chris just had to work on getting Adam to purr on his shoulder... a task that was going to be a hell of a lot more fun than the original training of his cat had been.

 _...then I'm going to crawl into bed with a half dozen ice packs and hopefully you to keep me company."_

CJ was swamped by a warm wave of tiredness at Adam's words. What an absolutely brilliant idea _that_ was. He didn't care if it was four o'clock in the afternoon, didn't care that he had a dozen calls to make and probably fifty e-mails to answer. Right now Chris was here, with Adam, in Adam's lovely house, being invited to join said sexy-hot boyfriend in what he remembered was a huge bed with lots of pillows.

"Race you to the..."

Chris' tease was cut of by the commotion coming from the kitchen. Moving with what he would later accuse himself of as 'heroic speed', CJ took a dozen steps to get into the gleaming, cream tiled area, but then stopped dead as the male responsible for a young lady's scream came hurtling towards him. Without pause Valentino began to climb Chris' denim-clad leg, his only concession to his human's skin a slight retraction of claws as he crossed the broad expanse of chest and then almost leapt onto his shoulders. Fortunately for both man and feline, CJ's shoulders were broader than most normal people's, but even he had to adjust his stance to accommodate his furry passenger.

Following his lover into the kitchen, Chris absently stroked Valentino's silken ears as he watched Adam talking to a young woman with long dark hair, hands on her hips and an expression on her face that was a mixture of concern and exasperation. CJ hadn't known anyone could get a perfect combination of those two emotions on their faces, but Jessica, he presumed this was Jessica, was managing it quite easily. He wondered if she'd teach him that look, it seemed to be getting to his lover like nobody's business.

"I'm sorry if Valentino got a little too friendly... Jessica..?" Chris apologized as he lingered in the doorway, uncertain if his pet was going to be confined to the pool area in the next instant. Jessica turned at the sound of his voice, eyes widening in recognition as she took him in from boots to black fur collar. It _was_ the girl next door, he remembered her from his last visit. Jessica had one of those innocently sweet faces that she likely used to full advantage with her father and various adoring adults. CJ wasn't fooled. This young person had lived beside Adam Copeland for several years and seemed to be able to handle the man with her eyes shut. If Chris was to be become a semi-permanent fixture in his lover's life, Jessica would be either a formidable ally for Chris or a deadly enemy. Keeping his tone conciliatory, CJ spoke into the wide-eyed silence he'd caused, keeping his fingers moving in a soothing pattern on his cat's big round head. The yellow eyes were fixed on Jessica with a frightening intensity, like she was an enormous mouse. "The big man here likes to get into the lap of any woman he comes across." Seeing Adam's raised brow, Chris smiled. "I did call him Valentino for a reason."

****

Blinking to clear his mind of the haze that Hunter's lips had left behind, Shawn made a face at his best friend's back, tempted for a moment to lock his legs around Hunt and pull him back down to continue what they'd been doing. The hand on his chest stopped him from doing so, but not because of any force behind the move. No, the symbolism wasn't lost on Shawn, and the sight of the intent look that Hunter was aiming at Dave told him that anything he tried right now would be soundly ignored in Hunt's quest to regain his "stolen" property. Next time maybe he _would_ drop it out a window.

Crossing his arms behind his head, Shawn allowed himself to relax as he watched the byplay going on in front of him. Seeing Dave's utter relaxation as Hunter tried to stare him down was intriguing; obviously their lover had experience in games like this one, which made Shawn wonder just what sort of games their Animal had played in the past. Hopefully soon he'd have a chance to ask, although possibly not in front of Hunter. Given that he actually didn't know anything about _Hunt's_ past with men, and from Hunt's reactions over the last day, it was probably safe to assume that his friend's relationships hadn't included any dominance play.

They certainly had a lot to talk about, he mused. Finding an appropriate time and place to have that sort of conversation would be difficult, but they would have to make the effort. From Hunter's mixed reactions and the cues that Dave had given off, the sooner they sorted things out the better off they'd all be.

Catching the quick look cast his way from Dave, Shawn slid into a sitting position, keeping his hands free.

 _"We can do this the easy way or fun way my Love, your choice."_

Shawn was voting for the fun way, personally, although he doubted Hunter's chances at holding Dave down to tickle him. _Was_ Dave ticklish? That was a question that he filed away to be answered later. For now, he'd simply enjoy the sight in front of him, with Hunter trailing a delicate touch over Dave's hand...

And there was the answer. Whatever it was about the cell phone that had Hunter nearly desperate to check his messages, Dave had just answered the question with the silent action of shifting the phone to his other hand. The slow motion as he removed the sunglasses and raised his fingers to Hunter's face as he answered held Shawn captivated. If not for the quiet tension lying between them, he would have been tempted to slide over and join them.

 _"Darlin'... when have I_ ever _chosen to do things the easy way?"_

That sounded promising. One of Shawn's eyebrows raised briefly in contemplation of all the meanings that could underlie the statement, but his name falling from Dave's lips in that warning tone had him moving before he knew it. Catching the small metallic missile and pocketing it in one smooth motion, he was unable to take his eyes off the sight in front of him. Whatever Dave's history was, he certainly had no problem with taking control of the situation. What he wouldn't give for his camera right now, to capture the beautiful picture of his lovers pressed together, their mouths devouring each other...

Seeing Hunter freeze into motionlessness beneath Dave's form sucked the rising warmth right out of the limo. _Damn_ it. Shawn had hoped so much that Hunt had been able to get past this, at least partly, after last night. Of course, last night it hadn't been Dave holding Hunt down, but himself. He'd even been the one to tie Hunter to the bed. Wait... if Hunter didn't have a problem with Shawn touching him or holding him down, but only with Dave... it couldn't be that simple. Hunter had more than proven how he felt about both of them the day before, after all. Shawn was the only one involved in this little trio who was holding out on that end. No. Not now. Quickly pushing those troubling thoughts away, Shawn found himself leaning forward, body tensed to move, as he watched his lovers closely.

The noticeable slump in Dave's shoulders, the tensing of the muscles underneath the dress shirt as he started to release his hold on Hunter, drew Shawn like a magnet, but he fought the draw. Whatever was going on here was obviously between the two of them. Not that he wasn't involved, but they needed to deal with this problem without interference from him. Last night had given Shawn a new perspective on Hunter's issue, and whatever it was, it wasn't about him. It probably wasn't even really about _Dave_... but he needed to stay where he was and let them deal with this.

 _"No."_

Fingers tensing on the edge of the seat, Shawn's heart tried to pull him forward at the nearly desperate tone in that single syllable. The sudden movement as Hunter reached out, trying to reconnect with Dave, brought another twinge... especially when he realised that Hunt obviously wanted to keep Dave's hands and lips on him, but just as obviously wanted Dave _not_ holding him down.

 _"I didn't mean it_ that _way."_

Oh, Hunt. Shawn's head dropped slightly, but his eyes never left the two men sitting across from him.

 _"Yes, you did"_

And Dave knew. He'd seen it too. Shawn wasn't sure if he should be relieved or sad.

 _"I think I've finally figured this whole thing out.... It's beyond your control and it's driving you crazy, isn't it?"_

Nodding in agreement, Shawn wondered why they hadn't realised this sooner. He'd made jokes about Hunter having control issues in the past, but he'd never realised that truth underlying his teasing words. Dave's grin only made the glint in Hunter's eyes clearer, and Shawn watched in agonized silence as his best friend splintered apart under his gaze at Dave's steady words.

 _"I'm willing to bet that most of your previous lovers have been like Shawn. No offense, love."_

Shaking his head at the quick glance, he couldn't find it in him to return the smile. Not when Dave was calmly tearing Hunter's control down right in front of him. There was no resentment of that fact or anger, just a deep pain that he had to sit there and watch and not reach out, not _help_. Whenever Hunter had been hurt in the past, his first instinct was always to reach out and help him past it... but he couldn't do that this time. Only Hunter could move past this hurt.

 _"It ties you in knots, sends a chill down your spine that you aren't the one in control. I know because I've been there Hunter."_

Shawn's head snapped back up at that, his eyes widening slightly at the absolutely accurate description. It was a sensation he knew well, although it had been a long time since he'd experienced it. To hear Dave so casually admit that he'd experimented with control and kink... well. Those thoughts would have to be dealt with later, although Shawn definitely wasn't going to forget them.

 _"So the real issue here is... you don't trust me.... Considering how new this thing is with us, I can understand that."_

His breath catching in his throat, Shawn inched forward. Dave sounded completely okay, understanding... but he knew that this had to be hurting the big man in some way. Having experience with similar situations did reassure Shawn that Dave was correct, that it would pass as they all adjusted to each other, as Hunter got used to having a lover that could overpower him and became secure in the knowledge that Dave _wouldn't_ do that... but it didn't make the current moment any easier.

 _"From this point, you are going to have to take the initiative..."_

Would that apply to both of them? To some extent, it probably should. Fortunately, taking the initiative was something Shawn had never had a problem with, but he'd have to watch himself to make sure that he wasn't inadvertently pressuring Hunter simply through his own actions. Watching Dave sit so calmly, understanding written clearly in his face... Shawn couldn't have done it. If the tables were turned, he couldn't possibly have been that patient, that sympathetic.

New warmth welled up inside him at the love evident in the dark eyes that were watching Hunter so calmly. But... seeing the confused pain in warm whiskey eyes before his friend bent over to avoid their gazes brought guilt up alongside it. Who knew that a harmless prank on his part would lead to this? Probably good that it had, since it had brought Hunter's problem out to deal with head-on rather than by tiptoeing around it, but...

 _"You're not wrong."_

Hunter sounded as bad as he had this morning. Swallowing past a suddenly dry throat, Shawn waited, since Hunter obviously had more to say... if he could find the words.

 _"How the fuck do you do that David? How can you see me so clearly when I can't even...."_

That was an excellent question, Shawn thought as he turned to look at Dave. Their lover had insight that was almost shocking, and Shawn wondered suddenly if that insight applied to him, as well. If it did... what did Dave think was going on with him? Could he see the doubts that still assailed him, the confusion that he felt over his own emotions? God. No wonder Dave had left early that morning. How could he have stood to wake up next to someone he'd given his heart to but still claimed to feel only developing emotions for him?

It was just too much. With a sudden sharp movement, Shawn moved to Hunter's other side, draping an arm over the hunched back as he rubbed gentle patterns into the tense muscles through the soft cloth covering them. Not sure what his own eyes were revealing, he looked at Dave across Hunter's back. Speechless for a long moment, he finally found his voice with quiet words, hoping that his own tension wouldn't be obvious.

"You see so much, sweetheart... It's good for us that you have the heart to match that vision."


	86. Opportunities

_"...am I honestly the kind of guy you would try to fix your daughter up with?"_

That was certainly a unique question from one's new lover. Mark's lips curved in mild amusement, trying to keep himself from looking _too_ intently at Jeff. They were in a public place, after all, and even the limited display he'd given in the restaurant earlier would be far too much for an airport. Jeff seemed to realise that the question was a little odd himself, with the quick addition he blurted out.

 _"Speaking totally hypothetically there Honey"_

Blinking, Mark processed the fact that Jeff had just called him "honey". Waiting until Jeff had turned toward the counter, Mark smiled. It was definitely different, and he couldn't remember for the life of him ever being called "honey" by any of his other lovers, of either gender. Coming from Jeff, something that should probably have been mildly insulting if not downright ridiculous was actually rather... sweet. And unexpected, given Jeff's own surprised expression seconds after saying it. If the younger man was comfortable enough to joke with him, after the roller-coaster ride of this morning, it gave Mark some hope that maybe they could make this work after all. They'd both agreed to try, that it was something they wanted, but he'd had doubts... hell, he still had doubts. Mainly in himself, but they were there.

It was going to be a long couple of days by himself once he got home.

Movement to his side caught his eye and he hid a wince at the sight of a group of teenagers huddling together and whispering as they waved the occasional hand in his direction. There were times he'd envied Glen during the earlier years of his gimmick; at least no one knew for sure what Kane looked like without his mask at that point, and that had saved his friend untold hours of friendly harassment and delays. There had been a time where he'd joked about adding an executioner's mask to his own costume, only to be told firmly that it would be far too macabre for the company. Considering that not long after he'd made the suggestion, he'd become the Satanic collector of souls, that was fairly ironic.

Jeff's return distracted him from the possible delays that a lengthy, spur-of-the-moment autograph session could cause, and he allowed himself to be guided to the VIP lounge with Jeff close on his heels. Pausing near the side of the room, Mark raised an eyebrow at the younger man, wondering what exactly he was studying so intently. Turning to follow Jeff's gaze, all he could see was a supply closet in the corner... oh. He normally wasn't much for public displays, or for public _anything_ , but once again, Jeff was having an unusual effect on him. Adam had introduced him to the joys and thrills possible in a broom closet some years ago in an encounter that still stood out in his mind, even though the circumstances had never been repeated.

Mark looked at Jeff, a slight smile playing on his lips as he considered the energetic young man in front of him. "So... we've got quite a bit of time to kill before we leave. Any ideas?"

****

 _You did mean it, but that's okay because I think I've finally figured this whole thing out._

Every movement in Hunter's body came to a sudden halt. It was if his heart had suspended operations, caught between one shattering thud and the next. Dave was stopping Hunt from touching him, stopping him from stemming the flow of words about to come from Dave's mouth with desperate, silencing kisses. When Hunter had reached for his dark lover, tried to continue the passionate kiss that his panic had interrupted, his hands had found only Dave's retreat. The beautiful man slipping like water between Hunt's grasping fingers, moving away and taking his heat, his affection with him. Dave needn't have raised the hand towards him. Hunter may be blind to the intentions in those bitter chocolate eyes, but he could see that Dave had pulled away for a reason. A reason that given the look on his lover's exotic face, Hunter knew he would loathe.

Not a single part of his body touched the one so close to it anymore, Hunt noted sadly.

 _"You, my love, are a control freak."_

"Am not," Hunter denied automatically in his head, but it was a pathetic attempt at rebellion. Dave wasn't talking about only the phone when he used the word 'control', he was talking about something far deeper that Hunter was only just skirting around the edges of discovering. Sure... he wanted the phone back. He needed the thing. It was useful. It was his means of communicating with the world, of making his decisions known and putting his stamp on what was going on around him. If he couldn't speak to people, he couldn't get them to... okay, yeah... control issues.

 _"It's beyond your control and it's driving you crazy..."_

'Probably,' Hunt thought as Dave graced him with an agonisingly sweet smile, 'I wonder if I could tell.'

 _"...you probably outweighed them by a good forty pounds..."_

 _"...you knew you could get free... you can't say that with me, can you Hunt?"_

 _"I outweigh you... you couldn't move..."_

 _"It ties you in knots..."_

Hunter wondered if this is what it felt like to have his skin peeled off. Dave's words seemed to be tearing strips off him with their vicious honesty, fine lines of truth causing pieces of Hunter to spill free from the confines of his heart. He didn't doubt a single thing the other man was saying and somewhere deep inside his heart he appreciated the kindness and understanding Dave was showing him. The love that was being demonstrated in this slow-moving vehicle while Hunter caught a glimpse of himself in the tarnished mirror David was holding up to him with his terribly brilliant deductions.

Tied in knots was an apt description for the condition of Hunter's stomach, the fluttering churn a physiological response to the turmoil unleashed in his head.

It was all so heartbreakingly true. Every word.

 _"If you don't completely trust the person you're with.... you don't trust me,"_

At that, Hunter looked hard into Dave's eyes, meeting that tragically sympathetic gaze with his own defiant one. He trusted this man with his life. To be there, to use all the skills in their repertoires to keep each other safe while they rampaged around the ring and broke all the rules. Of course he trusted Dave... he just didn't trust himself.

 _"You don't and that's fine."_

'No it isn't.' But Hunter remained silent, his paralysis still complete as he absorbed the impact of the evidence produced so beautifully in Dave's deep, rich voice. It was a condemnation, but also a revelation that Hunt hadn't known he'd needed... till he heard it.

 _"I'm not going to ask you to... you are going to have to take the initiative.."_

It was a reasonable request and one that Hunter, in his turn, could completely understand. Dave shouldn't have to keep pushing at Hunter's wall, just to get a cold shoulder at every turn. It wasn't working, obviously, and didn't really do much for the health of their relationship. The big man was right, Hunter had to be the one to take the first step past this... he couldn't be pushed, because he'd just push back. That was the essence of the fucking problem.

 _"Now if I'm wrong... why you freeze up whenever I touch you"_

Dave had just qualified for the sweetest guy in the world trophy, by offering Hunter a way out. A chance to deny all the charges and make up some bullshit excuse for his reactions. But for all Hunter maybe a man with some 'problems' lying to himself wasn't one of them. Denial was just making a fool out of yourself and wary be the man who thought Hunter the fool.

His body once more under his control... ha... Hunter leaned forward in his seat until he could shield his face in his hands. Long fingers carded through his hair as Hunter rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the frighteningly clean floor of the limousine. The silence was oppressive and Hunter knew it was up to him to relieve them of the tension. But his mind was still ratcheting back and forth like a shot in a pinball game, impacting against one group of words before spinning away to collide with another.

Okay... last things first.

"You're not wrong." He didn't recognize his own voice, but whether it was his throat that was damaged or his ears, Hunter didn't know. "In fact, I don't think you could have been more right if you'd been my therapist for ten years." Not that he had one, but after the last few days Hunt was wondering if making an appointment might not be a good idea. "How the fuck do you do that David? How can you see me so clearly when I can't even.... "

He couldn't even finish the thought, let alone his sentence.

The warmth spread from the skin between his shoulder blades and tried to melt the hard cold ball in his gut. Shawn. His lover was beside him, trying to give him support and understanding while Hunt had a life-altering epiphany in the back of a stretch car. Beautiful, caring Shawn. Team his best friend up with the brilliant and empathic Dave and Hunter couldn't stand a chance. No more wondering or angst over what the hell was going on his head... just ask his lovers, they'd tell him.

 _"It's good for us that you have the heart to match that vision."_

Another statement that caught all the drama and bound it in a nutshell. Hunter felt incredibly young all of a sudden, even though there was barely several years' difference in their ages. Was he really so naive? His emotions and reactions seemed such a disorganized mess of conflict, one that he doubted he had a hope of untangling, yet Dave and Shawn seemed so sure. So comfortable in their own skins and with their own needs. It was akin to fumbling around for a light switch while everyone else had candles.

But he couldn't keep wallowing in his shock and self-analysis. His personal take on the world had been knocked so far out of left field recently that if the Renaissance of Hunter was to happen, it would be with his full and unflinching co-operation. He was still coward enough to hide his burningly dry eyes in his palms though, he needed that much protection at least. Hunt kept his words brief and to the point, he had no energy to put towards making them elegant.

"Shawn, as usual, is right. You both are." But his sentences were also disjointed, the phrases spilling out the second they came into his head. "No-one else has _ever_ had power over me. Vince has it in a professional sense, but we both know he can push me only so far." Hunter had given Vince that minor power and he knew his father-in-law would never abuse that trust. Even yesterday the old man had backed down to him when he tried to control who Hunter would love. "Even Kev and Scotty, who could hand me my ass, we all know that; have never used their strength on me like... like you can Dave."

Finally Hunter looked up and had no idea what his face must have looked like, only that it moved Dave to try and speak once again.

"I do trust you Dave... and yes it doesn't seem that way, but I do." Now it was his turn to try and get his lover to see. "I know I froze before and my plan _was_ to try and wrestle you, to take back control of... us. I also know that I did feel trapped and helpless and so turned on I couldn't think straight. But Dave," and Hunter leaned forward into the dark man's personal space, his hand secure in Shawn's shirt, "...I wasn't _scared_."

It wasn't a denial of cowardliness, it was honesty. He hadn't been afraid of Dave or his imprisonment, just shocked and uncertain of what to do, how to respond. Oh... and he had wanted to be the boss... no denying that.

"I'll take you up on your bargain Love. You'll let me run things till I ask for more? I get that, although my 'iron control' has been around a long while, I wouldn't want you to get bored waiting."

But it would be okay, Shawn was more in tune with Dave than maybe Hunter ever would be and if Hunt could never give himself up to Dave's control, then that would be something they had to face in the future.

Would Dave understand that? Would those penetrating midnight eyes see that Hunter might not be able to let himself be ruled by another, even someone he loved? Or would they forever hold that pained understanding that was just about killing Hunter dead?

God... he hated limos.

****

 _"...we've got quite a bit of time to kill before we leave. Any ideas?"_

Like wavering a proverbial red flag, Mark's voice dropping to that sultry register went straight to Jeff's cock and reminded him that he hadn't had sex  _since last night_. "Ideas?" Jeff repeated with a wicked smile, taking Mark's hand and walking backwards towards the supply closet. "Honey, you'll find I'm practically a genius when it comes to finding the best ways to kill time." He'd let the endearment drop again, deliberately this time to see what Mark's reactions would be. The big man didn't seem bothered, didn't roll his eyes or tug his hand away from Jeff's fingers with an 'eewww' or anything.

Reaching the door, Jeff's evil plan was almost thwarted by a locked door. But that was soon proven incorrect, the danger of people stealing printer paper and Styrofoam coffee cups was low... the door just stuck a little when he'd tried the handle. Come-hither look firmly in place, Jeff tugged his big, sexy man into a space that while sufficient for storage, was bordering on cramped when two full grown men tried to occupy the space.

Perfect.

Backing up, Jeff shifted his ass half onto a box stenciled with the words [BAR. It Brownie] and reached out a dangling foot to shut the door behind Mark's back. There was very little light, only the thin glow from the main lounge hitting their ankles and casting the room in a strange soft grey glow. But Jeff wasn't bothering to find a switch, he was too busy trying to pull Mark's head towards his, his position on the boxes giving him a few added inches so that his taller lover wouldn't strain something cooped up in here.

"See my idea, my fuckin' brilliant idea Honey," and he let the name purr from his lips as Jeff gifted Mark's cheekbones with small, breathless kisses, "is to get you somewhere quiet," the young man dropped his voice to a whisper, but kept tasting down the silky-rough skin of exposed neck "...and dark." Blindly he stroked across Mark's massive shoulders, still, even without sight, one hand found its favorite spot on the back of a strong neck, while the other worked its way around and down Mark's black clad chest. "Then I'm going to do my best," deft fingers began to work on the cool metal of a belt buckle. "To get you to kiss me goodbye... Honey."

It was more than a kiss, more than a disinterested press of lips on lips. If Jeff had been hoping for a reaction with his teasing, then his hopes weren't in vain. Mark's tongue was a sweet invader, tangling and dancing with Jeff's own, taking everything the writhing man could give through his lips and returning lust with lust until Jeff had to brace himself on the boxes to keep from getting dizzy.

Long seconds passed while their mouths made love, hands tracing muscle and sinew, bodies beginning to catch alight with passionate fire. Jeff parted his legs wantonly, trying to urge Mark closer, to bring his warm sex into contact with the firm shaft he could feel behind his lover's clothes. Jeff felt a totally irrational desire rise in him, a stupid, crazy delightful idea that went beyond kisses and involved Jeff bent over the boxes while Mark made love to him in this private hidden room.

The needy ache was already beginning to push at his self-control, but Jeff had some restraint even if it wasn't normally obvious. They couldn't. Not like this. Their 'might be a relationship' was walking a deadly line between existing and being nothing at the minute. Rushing into bed had been the cause of the nightmare this morning and while no beds were on offer, the theory was the same. So, no fucking of the naked variety.

Of course, there was always the wild, filthy kind that suited their clandestine situation perfectly.

Tearing his mouth from Mark's, Jeff swiped his tongue over delicious wet lips and pushed at his lover's chest, moving Mark away enough so that he could slide off the boxes and drop gracefully to his knees.

Pressing his mouth to the half-opened zip, Jeff delved inside the denim to find the perfect length within. Feeling a ferocious hunger well up, Jeff desperately wanted to finish what he'd started this morning. What he'd killed with his foolish words. Maybe now, he could have that first taste of Mark. If he was allowed.

Licking his lips in anticipation, Jeff looked up to catch Mark's eyes, the brilliant green clearer as his vision had adjusted to the darkness.

"Can I?"

****

He made it into the kitchen, leaving Chris to deal with his climbing bundle of fur, and approached the young lady staring through the doorway in confusion. He ignored the litter of groceries across the counter when the whirlwind known as Jess bombarded him with a dozen questions, some related some not, and tried to pay attention.

"Adam, what in the world is going on? I'm putting away groceries when all of a sudden this huge black fur ball jumps up on the counter and starts rubbing against me. Why is there a cat here? You don't like cats remember? I still remember when you threw a shoe out your window at Boots because she wouldn't stop yowling outside your window."

She was giving him one of those stern 'tell me the story here' looks when her interest switched gears quickly. He could feel her stare boring through his forehead and knew what was coming before she even spoke a word. "There's blood in your hair. You are hurt, aren't you? I know it didn't happen during your match Monday because I watched it with mom and you were fine then. Did you get into a fight? Where else are you hurt at?"

She was just starting to reach for the hem of him shirt and he'd gently smacked her hands away in exasperation as Chris' voice floated through the room.

 _"I'm sorry if Valentino got a little too friendly... Jessica..?"_

At least that had put a temporary stem to Jess' questions, though Adam didn't fool himself in thinking that it was a permanent reprieve. He stifled a laugh as the young lady gave his significant other a thorough once over with her eyes. Despite her crush, he didn't think she'd be too disappointed to find out that he and Chris were now an item. Chris, as smart as he was, was not a rocket scientist... so her interest was a passing fancy. And Chris was used to being ogled by both sexes so he couldn't see it bothering his lover terribly unless it became a regular occurrence. With Jess that was highly possible... the teenage imp in her just wouldn't be able to resist watching him squirm if she got any kind of abnormal reaction.

 _"The big man here likes to get into the lap of any woman he comes across."_

He was simultaneously curious and thanking god that Chris had qualified that statement to the fairer sex. The last thing he wanted was to find himself with a big bundle of fur in his lap at any given opportunity.

 _"I did call him Valentino for a reason."_

Now the name kind of made sense, though he still considered Satan a much more applicable tag for the beast. He smiled as Jess explained that she had simply been startled because she had never, ever expected Adam to have a cat in his house... at least voluntarily. He smirked when the little flirt batted her eyes at his lover and said she thought he was cute... the cat, not Chris... she wasn't quite that brave apparently.

"It's Chris' cat, obviously, otherwise it wouldn't have made it past the front door," he said turning to look at the beast with a wicked grin. "And if he starts howling at my window, I'll throw a shoe at him too. Rule number four, no commandeering Jess' lap, she has that reserved for... Ow!" Turning back to his neighbor with a scowl, he rubbed his arm lightly.

"What? I was going to say _your_ cat." He tried pouting, but she wasn't buying it.

"Yeah, right. Now, back to the topic at hand... what, besides your head, is injured and whose butt do I get to kick for making you bleed?"

He snorted as she reached for his shirt yet again and then rolled his eyes as he smacked her hands away again. "You're not going to leave me alone until you see it are you?" He groaned when she shook her head and then lifted his shirt enough for her to see his ribs and the colorful bruising on his back. The quiet hiss of sympathy said more than anything else she could have done. His skin probably looked like one of Hardy's more colorful dye jobs if his pain level was any indication.

"Is that it or... ?"

Adam cut off that question with a look of outrage. "Yes, missy, that's it and even if it wasn't... that's all you would be seeing. You're not getting me out of my pants you little hussy."

"As if I'd even want to," his tormentor answered with a smirk before sending a flirtatious glance in Chris' direction. "Although if it were Chris here, you can bet..."

Adam couldn't help laughing, but he tried to be stern when he cut her off with a "Don't finish that sentence or I'm telling your mother."

Her typical teenage response, sticking her tongue out at him, reassured him slightly. She was only teasing and he was hoping that Chris would realize that and not take offense. As she grabbed a couple of packages off the counter and headed to the refrigerator with them, he sent a sympathetic look at his lover, still wrapped in black fur. "So you never did say who I have to maim... ?"

He growled slightly as he remembered the incident, but then smiled when he thought of the perfect reply. It would clue Jess in without seeming too terribly obvious... he hoped. He smiled adoringly at Chris for a moment before turning back to look at her. "You aren't going to do anything of the sort, besides Chris already broke his fingers for me. Isn't that sweet?"

Her head whipped around like a bobble-head doll and she just stared at him open-mouthed for a moment. He wasn't sure if it was because he had said breaking someone's fingers was sweet or because she'd correctly interpreted the big hint that he'd dropped. Adam found out a moment later when another shriek split the air as she dropped the ice pack she'd been pulling from the freezer.

"Oh my god! You finally told him? That is so awesome! I told you that you should tell him. Didn't I?"

He was cheerfully going to strangle her.

****  
   
 _"That wasn't unexpected Kev. It's called a miracle... I'll prove to Benny that we're not spawn of the Devil even if it takes a year."_

Nodding slightly, Kevin continued eating while he thought about it. Bret had never liked them, not in the WWF, not in WCW, and the only reason they'd ever been able to figure out was because of Shawn. Well, not Shawn directly, as far as he knew, but because of their taking him into their relationship as a third. Since Bret had had some sort of thing with Shawn---although not something anyone had ever been willing to call a relationship---it couldn't have been because of their gender. Too bad Benoit was such a good friend of Bret's, because all the Harts really seemed to be good at anymore was being bitter.

 _"But Scott, that's not completely true. You call me a little devil all the time."_

And here was something to take his mind off of one of his least favourite ex-co-workers. In fact... speaking of co-workers... Kev's eyes narrowed slightly as Sean and Scotty indulged in their normal banter. He'd never gotten a chance to do more than nod at Mark, but seeing him come in with Hardy at his side had been a screaming alarm that _something_ had happened last night. Sean's interesting behavior, right up until Mark of all people had cornered him and said... something... to him, was another sign, and one that Kev had far too much experience in dealing with Sean to ignore.

Putting down his fork with a slightly regretful expression, he cast a quick look at Glen to make sure that Sean's other half looked as relaxed as Sean did before he put the Kid on the spot. Good. Glen looked just fine, and his laugh at Scott's comeback proved that. Leaning back a little, Kevin turned his gaze on Sean, complete with raised eyebrow.

"So, Sean... what in the world happened with Mark and Jeff Hardy last night? When I talked to him yesterday, he was so far stuck in denial about the kid that he needed a lifejacket. What did you do?"

****

The slouch in Hunter's normally rigid posture made his heart ache. He wanted to reach out and comfort Hunter's during his distress, but he wanted the answer just as much and he wasn't sure he would get it if he gave into his impulses. Silence had descended on the limo in a smothering cloud and Dave held his breath as he waited for someone to break it. It seemed like an eternity but was in reality only a moment or two before Hunter gave him the answer he sought.

 _"You're not wrong."_

His heart clenched tightly once again. He'd just found out that he hated being right as much as he'd hated being wrong earlier. He just couldn't win today, obviously. And where did Hunter's admission leave them? Could they work past it? Would Hunter even want to try to? It would take a huge change for Hunter to give up that iron-willed control and not everyone could do it. Going into a relationship and expecting someone to change for you was more often than not a recipe for disaster. Dave was hoping and praying that it wouldn't be in this case, but only time would tell.

 _"How the fuck do you do that David? How can you see me so clearly when I can't even.... "_

He could answer that, but did he really want to expose more of his past at this point? Dave wasn't really sure that he did. He could say it was because he'd studied his lover, learning his mannerisms and moods, and that he'd finally put the pieces together, but he doubted that that was the answer Hunter was looking for. More than anything, he wanted to reach out and pull Hunter into his arms and take it all back... take that torn up look from his face, but at this point that might do more harm than good. He just wasn't sure.

Luckily they had Shawn. Dave's attention was taken for just a moment by the movement of Shawn changing seats, his eyes meeting Shawn's over Hunter's back as Shawn offered the comfort that Dave just couldn't at the moment. He could see the sadness lingering there for Hunter's pain and a flash of something else that knew was about him but he wasn't up to trying to identify. He didn't want to keep analyzing everything that happened between the three of them. In that moment, he sincerely wished that he'd kept his mouth shut and just let Hunter have his way. It wouldn't have helped solve anything, not that he was sure his little speech had done that anyway, but it would certainly have been less painful.

 _"You see so much, sweetheart... It's good for us that you have the heart to match that vision."_

Did he really? It seemed kind of heartless to rip apart the man you loved, bare the foundations of his soul, for your own benefit. He couldn't even bear to look at Shawn as he tried to convince himself that it had been a necessary evil... that they'd never make anything of this relationship beyond really hot sexual encounters if they weren't honest with each other and themselves. The thing was, they had so many other issues to deal with between them that maybe it wasn't destined to happen anyway. Had tearing Hunter down been of any real benefit or was he pinning his hopes on something that was doomed to fail from the beginning?

No... he couldn't start thinking that way again or he might as well have them pull the damn limo over to the curb and get out on the closest corner. He could find his way home, lick his wounds, and then spend the rest of his life wondering if he'd done the right thing.

No way.

Still... as Hunter started talking again, Dave felt like he was being pelted with stones rather than words. He'd wanted honesty and Hunt was giving it to him. It was the tone as much as the words that hurt. He'd caused this and now he had to take his own medicine... face his own truths.

 _"Even Kev and Scotty, who could hand me my ass, we all know that; have never used their strength on me like... like you can Dave."_

He was thankful that Hunt was looking at the floor rather than him when he flinched from the impact of those words. He'd told Hunter that he didn't trust him, had been prepared to argue if Hunter said otherwise, but to hear it in Hunter's own ragged voice hurt more than he'd thought it would. Dave had meant it when he told Hunter that he loved him... it had snuck up on him, that was true, but this thing was growing by leaps and bounds each minute that he spent with the man. Never would he consider forcing Hunt to do anything he didn't want to, anything that he wasn't comfortable with... and he was just about to tell him that when Hunter looked him right in the eye.

 _"I do trust you Dave... and yes it doesn't seem that way, but I do..."_

Dave blinked and waited for more. He was sure Hunter wasn't done and he wasn't sure he understood how that could possibly be true when he had the evidence of Hunter's reaction to prove otherwise.

 _"...I did feel trapped and helpless and so turned on I couldn't think straight. But Dave, I wasn't scared."_

He felt a huge wave of relief run through him. As long as Hunt wasn't scared of him, and that thought had just about killed him, then they could deal with this... thing. If he understood correctly, then Hunter's problem was with being submissive rather than anything that he'd actually done and he could understand that to some extent. Even though he'd never had control issues to the extent that Hunter apparently did, his first experience with being on the submissive side of the coin had been an eye-opening experience. And he did have his experiences with Sean to give him insight as well.

Hunt being in his personal space had his fingers itching again to give that comfort he'd forced himself not to give.

 _"I'll take you up on your bargain Love. You'll let me run things till I ask for more? I get that, although my 'iron control' has been around a long while, I wouldn't want you to get bored waiting."_

Bored? Hunt had to be joking. The one thing he would never expect from this relationship was boredom.

Finally giving into the urge that he just couldn't restrain any longer, Dave captured Hunter's free hand with his own. Closing his eyes, he lifted that strong hand to his mouth and brushed his lips against the palm before clasping it within both his hands and lowering them to his knee. He shook his head slightly as he opened his eyes, capturing Hunt's intense gaze with his own once again.

"Hunter... I can promise you that I’m _not_ going to get bored. I love you. So if you need time then I'm more than willing to give it to you." Dave knew he was speaking to more than just Hunter's issues at the moment, but he wasn't sure Shawn would pick up on it. "I'm not going to run because you're not falling on your back for me, begging me to take you. I may do that though... fair warning." He smiled, hoping it would lighten the atmosphere surrounding them at least a little bit, but kept to the serious topic at hand.

"You may never be able to be the submissive type Hunt. Some people, like me, enjoy it at times... some just can't. I'm hoping that curiosity will eventually make it worth the risk. You've met O'Haire... if you think you have control issues... I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Sean used to be the most controlling bastard that I've _ever_ met. With enough incentive, even he caved into his curiosity eventually so I'm not going to give up hope that you might give it a try some day. If you don't then we'll find a way to work around it."

"That doesn't mean I won't ask for something from time to time. If there's something I want... I'll ask. I may even try some gentle persuasion, but I'm not going to try to bulldoze over you to get it. The way I feel about you, I could never push you for anything you don't want to give Hunt. Ever." Dave leaned a bit closer to Hunt, finally breaking the connection of their eyes, rubbing his cheek against the unshaven roughness of Hunter's.

"So right now I'm going to ask you for something. Later tonight, when we're all settled at your house, I want you to consider giving me that punishment that I earned earlier." Dave winked over Hunt's shoulder at Shawn, though he couldn't be sure the blond caught his actions. "If you can't then that's fine, but for right now... I really want you to kiss me. I don't want this conversation to scare you off limousines for life, so give us something to make this all worthwhile. Show me that forcing this issue wasn't the wrong thing to do. Kiss me."

****

 _"Are you coming down with something?"_

Sean jerked away from the hand on his forehead and glared at his lover. So much for Glen being proud of him. And why did everyone always assume that he was sick when he tried to behave himself? True, it didn't happen terribly often, but they needn't act like it _never_ happened.

"I was trying to be nice for a change, obviously I should have reverted to normal and been intentionally provoking instead," he said rolling his eyes at Glen. Finishing off the last bite of his cake, he realized that everyone had left except for Kevin and Scott. He was still incredibly happy for the two of them and they hadn't had a lot of time to talk lately. Sean had missed it more than he had realized, but it had been important for Kevin and Scott to have space to work out their problems. Now that they had...

Sean popped from his seat and stuck his tongue out at his smirking lover as he rounded the end of the table and approached the two men. Hearing the tale end of their conversation, though he had no clue what had sparked it in the first place, Sean grimaced upon hearing the name Bret Hart. No love lost there, Bret had never really been the warm and cuddly type and when it came to anyone in the Clique, he was ten times more likely to hit them than to say hi. He couldn't help but comment though when Scott said that they weren't spawn of the devil.

"But Scott, that's not completely true. You call me a little devil all the time."

The cheek pinch was expected, as was the slap to Scott's hand in retaliation. He wasn't sure why Scott was so obsessed with his cheeks, but this was an old game for them.

 _"That's because you drive us all batty, Sean, not because you're evil incarnate... but we love you anyway."_

Sean didn't take it personally because he knew that Scott and Kev did love him... as family. They always looked after him and he tried his best to look after them as well. He had been there through one of the worst times ever for Kev and for Scott both. And they were always there for him when he had rough patches as well. They could always count on each other.

That didn't mean he wasn't going to pick on them every chance he got... especially Kevin.

"Damn, Kev. Good thing you and Scott are back together. You're going to need some help working off all that food."

Kevin ignored his prod and gave back one of his own. He just didn't know what he was prodding. Then again maybe Kevin did. It didn't make Sean any happier with his question though.

 _"So, Sean... what in the world happened with Mark and Jeff Hardy last night? When I talked to him yesterday, he was so far stuck in denial about the kid that he needed a lifejacket. What did you do?"_

He gaped for a moment at Kevin's assumption that he had anything to do with Mark and Jeff's new situation. How the hell did Kevin _do_ that? Then he got a little anxious that Kev was going to give him hell for interfering. The big man had warned him more than once that sticking his nose into things wasn't always the best way to go about something. That didn't even touch on the strain he'd put on his and Glen's relationship last night. He was going to get his butt chewed.

But he couldn't _not_ tell Kevin what had happened. It was kind of like your dad asking why you were trying to sneak into the house at 3 a.m. He had to answer the question because Kevin had asked, but he didn't have to like doing it.

He tried pouting. He was hoping to gain some sympathy, but he could tell that Kevin wasn't biting. "I was trying to drop a few subtle hints that Jeff and Mark had a thing for each other and they weren't exactly appreciative of my efforts." He could see Kevin's doubt at the word subtle, but ignored it. "Glen got ticked at me for interfering and while we were discussing, very loudly, the reason that I stuck my nose into it, I happened to mention that Mark and Jeff were both obviously into each other. Mark and Jeff had the room next door and apparently overheard our little... discussion." He was so not going to call it a fight, though he was sure Kevin had that figured out. "I'm sure they would have figured it all out on their own... given twenty or thirty years to think about it."

He stared mutinously at Kevin. Maybe if sympathy wouldn't work, then righteous indignation would. He _had_ been right after all. "They said thanks, though I'm sure Mark's regretting it about now since he's decided we should try to be friends. Jeff called me the Guru of love though... that was kinda cool."

Glen groaned and buried his face in his hands.

Sean just grinned.

****

 _"Shawn, as usual, is right. You both are."_

Barely keeping back the snort that wanted to escape at those words, Shawn wished that they were words he could bring up again later without bringing these memories with them. He couldn't remember Hunter _ever_ admitting that he was right... at least, not like that. Keeping his fingers moving in slow, comforting motions across Hunt's back, he watched Dave, seeing answering pain in the dark eyes that were focused so intently on the man between them. Why couldn't this be easy, without all the melodrama and problems that had already arisen? ...Because it was them. Because nothing this important was ever going to be as easy as he was wishing; because if it was worth having the way that he wanted to have it, it was worth fighting for.

Even if that meant fighting themselves.

Movement beneath his hand warned him, and he shifted slightly as Hunter looked up, keeping his hand where it was as Hunter straightened. Right this second, the last thing he wanted to do was lose that contact. What he _really_ wanted was to wrap himself around _both_ of the men beside him and try to ease the pain that they were all feeling, but it wasn't going to work out that way.

 _"I did feel trapped and helpless and so turned on I couldn't think straight. But Dave... I wasn't_ scared _."_

That was... unexpected. And a relief. Hunter might never be able to fully give up his precious control, but at least it wouldn't be fear keeping it intact. Of course, he'd seen something similar to this before, hadn't he? Some quiet conversations with Scott, years ago, came to mind. He'd always wondered, before and after his time with the two of them, if all parts of their relationship were equal... but he couldn't see it being so. Kevin was just so much in charge, so much in control of himself all the time, that he hadn't been able to picture that precious control being given up. Without telling him enough to make any of them uncomfortable, Scott had been able to assure him that it did happen... and had generally mentioned the issues Kev had had to deal with to get there. Maybe he should suggest that Hunter give Kevin a call. Kev would surely be able to offer some sort of advice...

Hell, maybe it would be _his_ turn to make a phone call once they got to Hunter's house. It had been a while since he and Scotty had really talked... and now he had some _specific_ questions for his friend.

 _"I'll take you up on your bargain Love.... I wouldn't want you to get bored waiting."_

Somehow, Shawn suspected boredom would _never_ be a problem with the three of them. The fact that Hunter hadn't refused, hadn't denied, and had in fact simply asked for patience on that particular issue... that was hopeful. Even more hopeful was Dave's reaction.

 _"I love you. So if you need time then I'm more than willing to give it to you."_

Shawn's head snapped around at that. The words might have been addressed to Hunter, but somehow, he just _knew_ that they were directed at both of them. Was this Dave's way of telling him, while reassuring Hunt, that he knew that Shawn needed time? That he was okay with that? That Shawn shouldn't try to rush things, or say those all-important words before he knew that he meant them? His eyes wide, Shawn could only stare as Dave continued to speak, his own mind racing.

There was so much between the three of them, much of it filling the atmosphere in the limo as they tried to move forward here. Move forward... emotionally. The problem was that Shawn didn't _know_ what emotions were filling him at that moment. Love, joy, empathetic pain, pride in Hunter, near-awe of Dave's patience... love. That was the important one, wasn't it? And it was one-sided on his part. Only... was it? It _had_ to be. Didn't it? He'd known Dave for a long time now, but had never felt anything like that for the man... only attraction, both physical and intellectual. But he'd been telling the absolute truth yesterday morning when he'd told Dave that he _could_ love him. Shawn could sense it, could practically see the possibility standing just over the horizon, with the way that Dave felt about Hunter and himself, the way he treated them... everything that Dave _was_ drew Shawn to him.

And here Dave was, telling both of his issue-ridden lovers that he understood, that he was willing to give them as much time as they needed.

He didn't deserve this man. Everything he'd ever done, the relationships he'd been in in the past, everything he'd learned told him that he didn't deserve this kind of patient understanding, the love that he could _feel_ emanating from Dave. Even the emotions coming from Hunter tripped that switch, because he still couldn't believe that everything he'd dreamt about for nearly a decade had been given to him so easily. Well... not _easily_ , but the fact of giving them at all went in the face of all of his experiences.

Damn it. Dave was so calm, so collected; even Hunter was more controlled than this. Did either of his lovers know just what they were getting in him? Someone so insecure, so convinced of his own unworthiness, that even with two men who'd repeatedly professed their love to him sitting right next to him, that he found himself doubting. He didn't doubt Hunter or Dave's feelings, not one little bit. But doubting himself... that was easy. He'd had years of experience with it. He wasn't about to walk away from this, not now... but it would take a long time before he could convince himself that he deserved this.

Half-listening to Dave's soothing words, Shawn filed them away under the heading of 'Things to Ask Dave About Later'... preferably out of Hunter's hearing, since the whole dominance thing would probably bother him even to hear about. Although... maybe they _should_ talk about it with him... well. Privately first, maybe. Keeping back the sigh that wanted to escape, Shawn forced himself to focus on the current discussion. He'd have to try to deal with his own problems later... hopefully without Dave---or Hunter---forcing them out of him at an inopportune moment, because even Mark hadn't been able to convince him that he was wrong about some of them.

 _"So right now I'm going to ask you for something.... I want you to consider giving me that punishment that I earned earlier."_

That caught his attention. He managed a somewhat weak smile in answer to Dave's wink, but he suspected that his own internal struggle was far more visible than he'd like it to be. The thought of Hunter spanking Dave... that helped clear his head, at least.

 _"If you can't then that's fine, but for right now... I really want you to kiss me.... give us something to make this all worthwhile. Show me that forcing this issue wasn't the wrong thing to do."_

If Hunter couldn't bring himself to do it... Shawn suspected that _taking_ control wouldn't be a problem, but if it was, he'd be more than happy to volunteer his services. Well. Apparently Dave had succeeded in getting him out of his own internal debates, at least for the moment. Lips curving slightly at that, Shawn knew that he could only ignore his emotional tangles for a little while longer before they caused their own problems... but for now, they'd have to wait.

Right now, his attention was completely absorbed in the unspeakably beautiful sight in front of him as Hunter leaned forward. Shawn's fingers tightened unconsciously on Hunter's shoulder, not wanting the moment to end... and ruthlessly ignoring the part of him that was shrieking for attention of his own.

****

 _"...whose butt do I get to kick for making you bleed?"_

Chris had decided he liked Jessica the moment she started teasing Adam. His opinion rose into 'ally' territory the moment he found that she was owned by a feline herself and shot right into 'partner in crime' when she bullied Adam into showing his injuries. His lover wasn't looking at her face, his arms at an odd angle after lifting his shirt to show the mottled pattern of colours across his ribs. Chris, however, did see Jessica's face as she assessed the wounds on her neighbour. It was that expression, one of irritation, caring and outright fury that pulled her straight into the small orbit of people CJ considered friends. She obviously cared for Adam in the perfectly platonic manner of long time teen-adult friendships and her questions regarding Adam's attacker weren't quite as teasing as they appeared to be.

'You'll have to wait in line,' Chris thought as Adam studiously avoided mentioning Terry's name. Although Jessica might be just about the best person to aim at the Asshole, once he was incapacitated of course. Chris would relish the hornless wonder being kicked in the balls by a teenage girl.

 _"Although if it were Chris here, you can bet..."_

Chris's surprised snort was caught in Valentino's fur as the beast tried its best to ram his head up CJ's nose. The sweetly coy look that headed his way was just as much of a shock at the quip had been. Now Chris wasn't stupid, he had enough fans of the female variety to know that his ability to put someone in a headlock wasn't the main reason they watched him work, but he hadn't expected that from Adam's young neighbour. The girl lived next door to Adam 'Edge' Copeland for god's sake... she should be flirting with him, not Chris.

Before he could think up a reply that didn't contain the words 'thanks, but I'm fucking Adam actually', Jessica was distracted from anymore naughty suggestions by his lover and a packet of frozen peas. From what little he knew of the girl, Chris couldn't see her admiration as being a problem, she was obviously destined for bigger and better things than a pro-wrestler with liking for maniacal cats, so a little harmless flirting wouldn't hurt anyone. And CJ just loved to tease girls about what they wanted in men. He could have Trish in hysterics when it came to picking her boyfriends or girlfriends for her, so flexing his cupid skills on young Jessica would be a brilliant way to get to know the girl.

 _"...besides Chris already broke his fingers for me. Isn't that sweet?"_

Setting Valentino more firmly into his arms, Chris moved into the kitchen and leaned against the counter beside Adam. Satan, of course, tried to rub his fluffy, whiskered cheek on the taller man's shoulder, but CJ intercepted the move with a vigorous chin scratch and war was averted. He did raise an eyebrow at Adam's subtle explanation of their relationship. Jessica must know that his lover liked guys and not have a problem with it, a good thing in Chris's mind. He hated the idea of pretending he was just a house guest to the young woman. If they were to become friends, he didn't want to start off by lying.

The high-pitched shriek caused CJ to wince and Valentino's tail to fluff up into raccoon proportions. Perhaps seriously re-thinking Jessica's lap as an option in the future, the cat's yellow eyes watched the dropped ice-pack with feline curiosity. It would have to be sniffed at some time in the future apparently.

 _"You finally told him?... I told you that you should tell him. Didn't I?"_

Finally? Bright glittering smile on his lips and demon cat in arms, Chris turned to his lover with a amused expression. So, Jessica didn't just know that Adam liked men... she knew he liked one man in particular and if the expression on Adam's face was anything to go by, that information should have remained secret.

"You told Jessica about me Babe? Really? Wow." Seriously, it was pretty cool to know that Adam had moaned about him to someone. "Was this over ice-cream or while watching a chick-flick?"

Doubting that Jessica would be offended by his sexist remarks, but not willing to risk it, Chris winked at the young lady and offered, "I didn't have anyone to share my secret crush with, ice-cream or not." Moving a little closer to the fridge, Chris answered her original question. "He didn't really tell me he liked me in a straightforward way or anything. We went out to a club and there was some... tension..." this time Adam got the wicked little wink, "...so I said 'Hey, do you umm...?' and he said, "Yeah, um, do you like... you know...? Then there was some kissing, but you're too young to hear about that."

Because of course, teenage girls never think about two good-looking men kissing each other. Much.

"And as to the person responsible for the bruises, don't worry, there's a pretty long line and yours truly's at the head of it."

Valentino, at that moment, chose to leap directly from Chris' arms, powerful back legs using his stomach as a spring-board and belt across the kitchen floor at fifty miles an hour. His target, it seemed, was the back window, facing onto the rear of Adam's property, where a large Doberman had wandered in from across the street. A low growling sound could be heard issuing from the feline's chest and his tail, beyond raccoon now and into squirrel territory, was lashing back and forth with unmistakable intent.

"Yeah sure," Chris mocked as he leaned down to pick up the frozen peas from the floor and hand them to Jessica. "You're all brave and kick ass when there's a pane of glass and a fence between you."

Seeing Adam's tired face, Chris pointed a commanding finger at his poor wounded lover.

"You. Upstairs. Bath. Now."

****

 _"I’m not going to get bored. I love you. So if you need time..."_

Just like that. With eloquence that astounded Hunter, Dave gave him permission to be who he was, with no demands that he change, no pressure to become someone that he may not be capable of becoming. The words _"I'm not going to run"_ relieving that knot of cold pain in his gut. The thing that had caused Hunter a measure of fear, unlike the weight of Dave's sculpted body in his lap, was the slim chance that the beautiful man might not be able to accept Hunter as he was, 'control issues' and all. He would try to let go of his need to run the show, but if he couldn't, if it was as much a part of Hunter as the smirk and the nose, then he had to trust that Dave wouldn't give up on him.

Because, deep down in a scary place that Hunt wouldn't admit to, he knew he would force himself to change if Dave wanted. If either he or Shawn found they couldn't tolerate Hunter as he was, be it the 'power' thing or the asshole side of his personality, then Hunt would try to fix himself for them. He may be creature that defined the word 'pride' but he would alter his very soul for them if they asked. But Dave wasn't asking anything of the sort. His expressions and actions spoke of that far more thoroughly than his words and it had been Hunt who'd wanted to work though his problem. Dave was only asking him to focus on a part of himself that didn't fit in with the rest, the piece of Triple H that made their lovemaking just a fraction short of perfect.

 _"You may never be able to be the submissive type Hunt."_ Hunter honestly had to admit that he probably wasn't. _"...and say that Sean used to be the most controlling bastard that I've ever met."_ Hunter stifled a massive surge of jealousy over the mention of Dave's ex. Damn it!.... Was there an issue he didn't have? _"...we'll find a way to work around it."_

 _Now_ Hunter could shake off that hard pain inside him, now he could look into lovely, exotic eyes and let himself grin without an edge of agony. Dave Batista did not quit on someone he loved when they weren't perfect, he just stepped back, gave them room and waited to see what would happen. If he didn't love the man before, he certainly acknowledged it now. Sappy as it sounded, all they needed was love and the three of them could take down mountains.

 _"...doesn't mean I won't ask... may even try some gentle persuasion..."_

Dave was brilliant as well, a fucking genius to suggest a softly-softly approach to Hunter then qualify it by mentioning his plans to _ask_ for what he wanted anyway. Just the very thought of Dave politely asking if he could tie Hunter to a bed was enough to bring Hunter's body back to full alert. That and the honeyed warmth of Shawn's thigh resting against his, his beloved's proximity a source of strength that Hunter hadn't even known he'd tapped.

 _"...to consider giving me that punishment that I earned earlier."_

The rough catch of Dave's skin on his stubble took Hunter's breath away, the sultry promise in his lover's words sending pleased little messages straight to his cock. Hunt had been very turned on before the bloodletting had taken place, his hormones were still in the game even if his heart hadn't been. But Dave's request made him pause. Could Hunt do that? Could he bring himself to _hurt_ Dave, even in such a superficial, enjoyable way? He was a certified _master_ at wounding people emotionally, but despite his occupation, inflicting pain wasn't normally something he could bring himself to do and certainly not to someone he loved. Maybe he could... he'd think about it. Maybe.

 _"...but for right now... I really want you to kiss me... Show me that forcing this issue wasn't the wrong thing to do. Kiss me."_

Hunter would reflect later that it had been a command. An order for Hunter to comply with, one that was wrapped in positives for Hunt as well, but those last two words had still been a demand for obedience.

He didn't even stop to think... or panic. Hunter lifted Dave's jaw with his palm and pressed their mouths together in a long, loving kiss. Not as heady or passionate as the one earlier, but a kiss more of understanding, acceptance and apology. Hunter was totally enamoured of this amazing man and wanted to put all his worshipful feelings into this kiss, to make it the first stage of their new chapter and to put their physicality into some perspective. Pulling back fractionally, Hunter held Dave's lower lip in his own for a moment before nipping at it quickly with his teeth.

Just because he didn't like being helpless, didn't mean that playing rough was out of the question.

Driving back in, Hunter half-climbed onto Dave, body inclined over the gorgeous one along side it, lips drinking in his lover's skin, mouth and tongue. He kept his hands loose on Dave's jaw and chest, he wasn't trying to be alpha dog, just to give Dave what he wanted and to take what Hunt could feel so freely being offered. Because he could tell that Dave would give him anything. God... all Hunter had to do was ask.

Humbled, he slowly broke the kiss and shifted down until he could rest his cheekbone on Dave's chest. The thump-thump of his lover's heart, a balm to Hunt's frayed nerves. Flicking one eye open, he caught sight of Shawn's face, his best friend's hand had not once broken contact with his back.

"Darling, you going to join us?"


	87. Respites

He would not laugh. If he laughed, Sean would clam up and never say a word... but the expression on his face was priceless. Apparently the Kid hadn't figured out yet that Kevin could read him like a book; he was really too open with his emotions to hide them well from anyone who knew him, let alone his family, and besides that, he was the only person Kevin knew who could probably outdo Scotty for pure nosiness. If there was a fight, a problem, a question, tension in the room, whatever... Sean would butt in to find out what was going on.

Seeing the surprise on Sean's face transform into a tried-and-true pout, Kevin leaned back slightly and continued to gaze at the smaller man with a raised eyebrow, his arms crossed over his chest, as he waited. The pout might work on Glen---that was to be expected---but Kevin had survived both Shawn _and_ Scott's pouts... often at the same times. No way was Sean's attempt going to work on him... although he did spare a moment for appreciation of Sean's eyes. Definitely one of his best features, and an observation that he'd shared with Scott more than once over the years.

 _"I was trying to drop a few subtle hints that Jeff and Mark had a thing for each other and they weren't exactly appreciative of my efforts."_

Subtle? Kevin's eyebrows raised in disbelief at hearing that word come out of Sean's mouth. If there was one thing that Sean had always completely sucked at, it was subtlety, and everyone knew it. If he'd tried his version of "subtle" on Mark, it was a wonder that the Phenom hadn't flattened him last night.

 _"...we were discussing, very loudly, the reason that I stuck my nose into it, I happened to mention that Mark and Jeff were both obviously into each other. Mark and Jeff had the room next door and apparently overheard our little... discussion."_

Glen had gotten upset with him? Maybe he wouldn't ask Mark, after all. If it had provoked Glen into actually getting angry with Sean, some sort of line must have been crossed, and he wasn't about to tick off the Dead Man if he didn't have to. They'd been friends for years, but Mark was one of the most sensitive people Kev knew when it came to crossing his personal boundaries. The discussion they'd had yesterday had probably come close to doing so, and the simple fact that Mark had practically _agreed_ with him and let it go had been his biggest clue that something more than the obvious was going on. Looking at Glen again, seeing the exasperated/protective expression there, Kevin was at least reassured that whatever exactly their fight had been about, it had been dealt with. Hopefully Scott would see that, too... He winced slightly at memories of Scott and Sean butting heads over their respective nosy tactics in the past. They didn't need that right now.

 _"I'm sure they would have figured it all out on their own... given twenty or thirty years to think about it."_

He couldn't prevent the snort. Sean was absolutely right about that one, although Kevin wondered briefly why Mark had been so far in denial in the first place. Usually the Dead Man was one of the most honest people Kevin knew, even with himself. Whatever was up with those two, it should be interesting to watch unfold. He could just see Scott's smirk out of the corner of his eye, but Sean cut off any response, practically daring Kevin to say anything.

 _"They said thanks, though I'm sure Mark's regretting it about now since he's decided we should try to be friends. Jeff called me the Guru of love though... that was kinda cool."_

That cinched it. Where was the camera? No way in _hell_ had Mark decided to try to be friends with Sean. Sean drove him _insane_ , generally within thirty seconds of visual contact... they'd decided to try to deal with each other? Without threats? Without physical violence?

And... "the guru of love"? Somehow, Kevin suspected that they'd be hearing about that one for a long, long time. Images of Jeff and Sean conspiring together swam through his mind and he only narrowly avoided mirroring Glen's action. God help Mark. He probably had no idea what he was in for.

"Friends, huh? Mark's a brave man... even I'd be afraid to brave those waters if I were him." Smirking at the outraged expression on Sean's face, Kevin shook his head. "You'd better keep your hands away from his hair, Kid... even if he didn't kill you, I think there's someone else now who might just take offense at that."

Picking up his fork again, Kevin finished the last bites before eyeing the remains of his meal, wondering if he should indulge in one more trip through the buffet. He'd probably hear about it all the way home if he did, but more of the grilled chicken sounded pretty damned good. Pushing his chair back, he glanced at Scott, pausing before asking his question just to enjoy being able to ask, for so many reasons. "Scott, what time does our flight leave?"

****.

 _"So, Sean... what in the world happened with Mark and Jeff Hardy last night? ... What did you do?"_

Scott was truly surprised that Kevin had called Sean out about being involved in what had happened with Mark and Jeff. He had kind of guessed that their bouncy friend had had some involvement after catching the intense discussion between Mark and Sean, but for a change he hadn't intended on probing for details. Sean's attitude had pretty much reverted back to normal after the talk between the Deadman and Sean so Scott had been planning to leave things as they were. Though he was curious as hell. He couldn't help it.

Even if he had decided to ask, he wouldn't have phrased it in quite that way.

Scott predicted Sean's coming actions with completely scary accuracy. He knew what it was like to be called on the carpet by Big Sexy and he was totally sympathetic to Sean's plight. First Sean would wonder exactly how Kevin had figured out that he'd been involved. Then he would be a little anxious because he knew he wouldn't be able to wiggle out of explaining and was expecting a lecture. Then he'd try to pout to gain sympathy.

He could have told Sean it wouldn't work. He'd tried it on occasion, but he always ended up explaining.

Just as he'd suspected, Kev didn't buy any of it and sat silently with 'that' look on his face that just made you want to spill your guts. Which is what Sean promptly did.

 _"I was trying to drop a few subtle hints that Jeff and Mark had a thing for each other and they weren't exactly appreciative of my efforts."_

Scott winced as soon as the word subtle left Sean's mouth. Sean and subtle did not belong in the same sentence. More than likely the smaller man had asked them how long they'd been doing 'it'. His suspicions were pretty much confirmed when their friend mentioned the 'very loud discussion'. Scott eyed Glen for a moment.

He would be the first to admit that he was overprotective of Sean. In the past, Scott would have been the first to call Sean out about his sledgehammer tactics, but the younger man had been there for both him and Kevin in the days after he'd moved to his own apartment and he would have Scott's undying love and protection for life just for that reason alone. If Glen was going to hold this over Sean's head just because Mark was his best friend then he and Glen were going to have words, of the not-so-nice variety.

The look on Glen's face changed his mind. Apparently whatever had been said between the two men the night before had settled the matter.

 _"I'm sure they would have figured it all out on their own... given twenty or thirty years to think about it."_

Scott buried a laugh behind his hand, though he didn't bother to hide the smirk that went with it. His thoughts yesterday had been pretty much along the same lines. The two had been beyond oblivious about each other's feelings. His subtle hints to Jeff outside Vince's office hadn't been blunt enough to break through the wall of denial between the two, but Sean's comments had blasted right through that wall. He wondered how the Deadman felt about Sean's interference though.

 _"They said thanks, though I'm sure Mark's regretting it about now since he's decided we should try to be friends. Jeff called me the Guru of love though... that was kinda cool."_

He nearly fell on the floor as his question was answered with the one response he hadn't expected. Sean and Mark... as friends? He'd have bet on the end of the world before he had placed any money on the chances of that ever happening. Sean and Mark couldn't be in the same room for five minutes without Mark glowering or Sean fleeing the room. He wondered if Mark actually knew what he was letting himself in for.

Two weeks... that's what he'd give them before they fell back into the usual patterns. And that was if they didn't talk to each other at all during those two weeks.

Smiling at Jeff's little comment about Sean, Scott knew they'd be hearing that phrase for a long time to come. Obviously Glen knew it as well if his reaction was anything to go by.

 _"...Mark's a brave man... even I'd be afraid to brave those waters if I were him."_

Despite the look on Sean's face at Kevin's words, Scott couldn't help but grin. Sean was near and dear to both their hearts and he knew it. Scott had to wonder though if Jeff really would take offense to Sean trying to put braids in the Deadman's hair. Sean had mentioned that urge more than once and Scott thought it would look kind of... cute. If it did come to pass, Sean had better make sure he got pictures. Maybe Jeff would even take them with his odd sense of humor. He hoped though that Sean had given up the idea of pigtails because Mark would likely go around the bend on that one.

 _"Scott, what time does our flight leave?"_

Looking up at his lover, Scott smiled lazily. "You have enough time for one more trip through the buffet if that's what you're wondering." He wanted to laugh at the long-suffering expression on Kevin's face, but he didn't. Kevin had to have expected the tease so he had no reason at all to be surprised by it. His reaction was probably more due to the chuckles by Sean and Glen than anything else.

 _"Speaking of flights, we're going to have to get moving if we're going to make ours, Sean."_

Another round of good-bye hugs had Scott feeling pretty damn happy. As did Glen's offer to help with the move if they needed it. He knew they wouldn't be calling on the couple, he didn't have that much stuff to move after all with a lot of it in storage. The stuff could stay in the rental building until he needed something since it was stuff he hardly used in any case.

"I don't think we'll need any help this week, but maybe in a few weeks we'll have to set up a barbecue or something. Kev can man the grill as long as we can keep him from taste testing everything before it makes it to our plates," he added with a smirk. It was a good thing there was a table between the two of him or he wouldn't have bet on his chances.

****

The wait seemed eternal though Hunt actually moved within seconds.

He hadn't been sure that Hunt wouldn't balk at his request... okay, to be honest, demand. But he'd been desperate for a show that he was going to be forgiven for pushing them all into this place they were at now. The phrasing had had another purpose as well... testing the limits of what exactly Hunt would object to. Obviously, pinning the man down in any way was going to set off his radar, but did he need to phrase every need or want as a request or could he get away with being a little demanding.

As those soft, moist lips pressed against his, he had the vague thought that Hunt would accept a bit of bossiness. He smiled against those lips for a split second before all his thoughts were blown away and he let himself just feel what was being said with this kiss. It wasn't desperate and needy; it was simply acceptance, apology, and affection being conveyed in a wrapping of lips and gently exploring tongues.

When Hunt started to pull away, Dave wanted to follow, but forced himself to remain still. He stifled a growl as Hunter tugged on his lip with his teeth along with his urge to roll Hunt under him and ravish his mouth. That would end them up right back where they'd been before. They had a deal and he was going to keep it even if he had to battle his natural instincts to keep it.

As much as he enjoyed being submissive from time to time, he was much more likely to take an aggressive role when it came to sex or lovemaking. Hunter wasn't ready for that side of him and Dave had to admit that part of the reason he'd asked Shawn to take him the night before rather than the other way around had been because he had been worried he'd hurt the other man. Shawn would most likely scalp him if he figured that out and Dave wouldn't blame him. It was something he was going to have to face and soon. Shawn wasn't fragile and Dave needed to remember that. Damn they were a messed up bunch.

He forgot all his thoughts for the next few minutes as Hunter's lips reconnected with his, the comforting weight of his lover's body settling against his like a blanket of warmth and acceptance. Dave hadn't had to follow after all because Hunt had given him what he'd wanted without him having to ask. And if he looked at it from another point of view... Hunter wasn't being completely aggressive either. This was a mutual exchange of love and affection rather than Hunter trying to control him as he had admitted to intending before. They were both bending, willing to try new things... that certainly boded well for their chances. At least Dave hoped that it did. This time when the kiss ended, he was content to let it. The warm feeling in his chest expanded as Hunter laid his head directly over Dave's heart.

 _"Darling, you going to join us?"_

Dave caught the flash in Shawn's eyes as he wrapped Hunt gently in his arms for a brief hug. He quickly opened one arm, making space for their lover and Shawn wasted no time cuddling up against them. Watching appreciatively as Shawn pressed his lips to Hunter's, Dave smiled and rested his head against the seat behind him. It still struck him as odd that there was no jealousy at all present when he watched them, just pure pleasure. Loving both of them as he did, it was a good thing that they loved each other as well. Imagine the mess they'd have been in if it hadn't turned out that way. Of course if they were kissing anyone but each other then he had a feeling he'd have huge issues with that. He didn't want to ever have to find out.

When the two men finally ended their kiss, Dave gave Shawn a gentle squeeze with his arm. "Hey sweetheart." The words were quiet, a sort of caress rather than a demand for attention. Shawn's eyes met his and he decided to apologize with more than words this time. Now was as good a time as any to stop holding himself back. Even if Shawn hadn't realized it yet, he would and Dave didn't want him to think it was because Shawn hadn't said those three little words to him yet. He didn't want to have to explain his reasons for his hesitance unless he had to, Shawn would smack him then. Bending his head, he claimed Shawn's mouth with an intensity that he hadn't allowed himself to show before now. Letting all of his love, passion, and need flow from his mouth to Shawn's, he offered up every bit of himself to the man cuddled into his side.

****

Steve threw his key onto the receptionist's desk and grimaced an apology as the card skimmed across the surface and landed in the girl's lap. His co-ordination was really off if he couldn't manage to even put a piece of plastic down without turning it into a missile weapon. Besides, throwing things at pretty young ladies with big blue eyes wasn't something he wanted to be known for. Taking his account with better grace than he had the previous day, Austin accepted another round of repentance over the messed up reservation and avoided any enquiries as to whether Mr. Ross had been an acceptable room mate.

"S'fine Love. Don't get ya little blue suit inna twist. I've slept in a lot a worse places than in a room with J.R., least he doesn't steal all the hot water." The baby blues softened with relief and then lit with something that could only have been speculation. Momentarily non-plussed, Steve nearly dropped his rucksack as he realised the invitation in the coy smile now being aimed in his direction. Well damn. Looks like an ole bastard like him could still pick up a groupie or two if he put his mind to it. 'Course, fine looking women, Shelly by her name tag, in a job like this certainly wasn't no ring rat and Steve counted himself flattered that such a classy piece of ass would be sending him a 'come hither' look at all.

"Steven Honey? You ready to go?" The smooth voice cut through the sexual by-play like a knife causing Austin to turn to his companion with raised eyebrows. Ms Trish Stratus stood in all her magnificent glory at his elbow, cleavage and lovely eyes declaring war on the woman behind the counter. Steve grinned at the saucy look on his friend's face and shook his head at the bevy of stunning blondes that seemed to rule his life.

If Kitten hadn't organised Trish to baby-sit him this weekend, then Steve would happily eat J.R.'s hat.

Not that any sane man would argue with the prospect of spending time in the company of a Babe of the Year and at least it was better then going home to Texas to fry his brain on beer and stare moodily at his shotguns. Trish was a pack of laughs when she got going, so as long as Steve wasn't expected to admire anything pink then he was game. With a last appreciative glance at 'Shelly', he headed towards the car waiting beyond the glass doors and courteously held the door while Trish climbed in, tugging the back of her low-rider jeans up in the process. Now that was one fashion look Steve admired but found completely unfathomable. Women flashing the tops of their asses like that was worth a second glance, but the thing that struck him the most was that whenever they went outside they seemed to be tugging their pants up. Cool breeze on that tender skin wasn't too comfy, no matter what the magazines said.

Austin felt secure enough in his masculinity to admit that he would never, ever, understand fashion.

Once on the road, however, even Trish's bubbles couldn't take his mind of the earlier exchange in the restaurant. Not the fight, of course. That was already ancient history as far as the Rattlesnake was concerned, he and Dave understood each other so that was that. But what the big man had said afterwards... that had been the killer. Steve had watched Batista return to his two pretty-boys with an almost envious expression. Not that he wanted Hunt or Michaels, hell no. Gorgeous as they were, Austin knew them too well and he was a man who understood the meaning of the word 'issues' all too well. It was the intimacy of their bodies that hit Steve in the gut like one of Hunt's sledgehammers. The rightness of the three men only served to viciously demonstrate Steve's own lack of _anything_ at the moment.

He'd sat in the beer garden for nearly half an hour after the others had finished their meals. Apart from checking that Kitten and Copeland had reached their car okay, Austin had simply sat and mulled over Batista's confessions, occasionally growling at a waiter that strayed too close.

 _"...if Randy hadn't... changed so radically after he started here... sweet and considerate back then."_

Austin could actually believe it. He'd seen that sweet, loving kid two nights ago, the one that had bought him beer and curled his body so tightly into Steve's that the older man had thought they would never be able to separate again. From Batista's perplexed expression it looked like no-one knew why Randy had become such an asshole over the course of a few short weeks. The asshole that Steve had originally met and discarded as being a beautiful waste of space.

 _"...I expected to see him with you in the restaurant."_

His fingers had clenched into fists at the speculation. What a god-awful fuckin' joke that would have been. At least Randy seemed to think it was, the two of them, having breakfast together and smilin' over coffee. To Steve it might have been kinda... nice.

 _"And I thought then that it would be good for him... that you would be good for him."_

Now _that_ had brought complete shock to Steve's face. He had thought he'd have to fight half of Evolution to get to spend time with the punk, let alone expect any kind of support from them. Hunt wouldn't see him wrong, but Flair might go overboard on the riot act if he took his 'Uncle Ric' role too seriously. Of course whether or not Evolution would be on his side or not was irrelevant.

Because he had no Randy to beard those lions over anyway.

 _"... Randy lives and breathes this business just like Cowboy Bob... something huge had to have happened... he dropped his attitude and told me that everything was not okay with him... that you and him were a joke,"_

Austin had spun away from Dave, moving with lethal intensity towards another plant, Batista's words ringing in his ears over and over.

A joke, a joke, _a fuckin' joke_.

No they weren't!! Randy was just about everything Steve wanted in a partner, even with the prickly tail and smart-mouth. In this Redneck's mind that just made him more interesting and desirable. If he'd wanted a blow-up doll, he could walk into a club and get one. Randy and he were 'possible', the damn stupid prick was just too hung up on other's opinions to see it.

 _"The kid's... broken."_

The thing was, Steve was sure he could fix him... if could just get the chance.

 _"Have a good week Steve."_

He'd severely doubted that was possible. But after another twenty minutes and inflicting some more violence on flora, Austin looked up to see Trish, shopping bags, pink boots et al, standing in the French doors with a determined look on her face.

"They've asked me to take you home as Security is too afraid to ask you to leave the plants alone. Molly's at her parents and I'm alone till Sunday, come and keep me company Steve?"

Ignoring the shattered clay pots that seemed hauntingly familiar to his battered heart, Steve followed Trish's sugar-sway hips through the restaurant.

If any one could distract him from _him_ , it would be _her_.

****

The wicked curve to Jeff's lips banished any doubts Mark might have had as to whether or not the other man would take him up on his unspoken dare. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but his body was pretty enthusiastic about the idea. The thwarted hormones from this morning made themselves known again as his eyes traveled over the slim body in front of him as he let himself be pulled toward the closet door.

 _"Honey, you'll find I'm practically a genius when it comes to finding the best ways to kill time."_

That time was deliberate. Mark smiled slightly, aware of the limits that Jeff was pushing, aware of the few other people in the lounge who were too absorbed in cell phones and laptops to pay any attention to them... aware that he didn't give a damn if they had an entire room full of people staring at them. God, what was Jeff _doing_ to him? Even the time with Adam hadn't been in this public of a place... The look that Jeff gave him as he successfully tugged the door open put all thoughts of anyone else out of his mind, the promise in those deep green eyes pulling him in just as much as the pressure on his arm did.

The quiet click of the door closing behind them went unnoticed as his eyes adjusted to the dim light, sweeping over the inviting form before him. Half-perched on a pile of boxes, Jeff was nearly at his height and close enough that their breaths were mingling. Following his instincts, Mark's hands were on Jeff's shoulders, sliding around to his back, before he was aware of moving, sighing at the soft teasing touches of Jeff's lips across his cheeks.

 _"See my idea, my fuckin' brilliant idea Honey,"_

He could get used to that word, he thought in the back of his mind, his attention otherwise taken up with the teasing caress of Jeff's mouth on his neck.

 _"is to get you somewhere quiet... and dark."_

Success so far... His hands splayed across Jeff's back, one sliding down to the tempting curve resting so precariously on storage boxes. This was insane, stupid, just asking to get caught... and Mark could care less. The long fingers resting on the back of his neck sent a shiver through him that was unnoticed as he realised that Jeff's other hand was at his waist, opening his belt buckle. The brush of fingers against his abdomen, even through the cloth separating them, drew a soft noise out of him as his body responded, his shaft hardening eagerly at the barely-there touch.

 _"Then I'm going to do my best... To get you to kiss me goodbye... Honey."_

Mark's lips covered Jeff's almost before the words were said, pressing them together with nearly crushing force as he took what Jeff was offering, tasting a half-familiar mouth that he was already growing addicted to. His hands tightened on the slender body as Jeff urged him closer with movements of his body, their mouths never parting as their bodies pressed against each other. Feeling Jeff's arousal push against his, Mark growled, wanting nothing more than the layers of cloth separating them to be gone, wanting to feel Jeff wrapped around him like he had been last night...

Even as his mind was telling him that it was a bad idea, his lover had pulled away from him. Before he could protest the loss, he was moving half a step back in automatic response to the hands pushing at him... and then Jeff was on his knees in front of him, hot breath wafting over his aching erection as Jeff's mouth pressed against him. He shuddered, his hands clenching, as he watched, unable to tear his eyes away. He hadn't even known that his jeans were undone---the taste of Jeff's mouth had been too distracting for him to notice anything else.

Seeing a pink tongue dart out to moisten those wicked lips, Mark sucked in a breath, his hands already moving to tangle in the brightly-hued locks of his lover.

 _"Can I?"_

The hunger in the green eyes looking up at him was clear even in the darkness. It matched his own. God, he felt like a teenager again---there was no way this was going to be a drawn-out encounter, not the way he was feeling. A quiet laugh, and he gentled his touch, one hand slipping down to curve around Jeff's cheek as he answered, his voice reflecting his unsteadiness.

"How can I say no? Yes... please..." And then his voice was gone, lost to the moan that slipped out as he watched Jeff lower his head, fulfilling a fantasy that Mark hadn't even realised he'd had.

****

The beautiful smile that Chris sent his way eased a bit of the embarrassment that he was feeling over Jessie's rather loud announcement. She had told him, more than once, that he should make his feelings known, having proclaimed his reasons for keeping it silent as 'downright silly'. Jess was a smart girl so even at fourteen she had managed to figure out that in all the time she'd known him, Adam had never brought a woman home to stay with him. Terry's repeated presence had raised a brow on occasion, but she hadn't said anything about his preferences until after he'd been stuck at home with his surgery. He could still remember the look on Jay's face when the girl had so casually asked if Jay was his new boyfriend.

After he'd almost choked on the soup that Jay had been trying to spoon-feed him, despite his protests that he could feed himself, they'd both denied that they were anything more than best friends. Having decided that she was old enough to answer truthfully, he'd explained that his boyfriend hadn't been able to make it back to Florida that week because of work. A few months after that when he'd torn his living room apart upon arriving home from his confrontation with Terry and Brock, Jess had walked in on the aftermath and he'd grudgingly explained his reasons for the destruction. She'd comforted him by telling him that Terry had always seemed like an asshole anyway. Shocked by the girl's intuitiveness, and the fact that she'd used that particular word in front of him, he'd burst into laughter.

A few months later, she'd caught him looking at a picture of Chris when he was supposed to be gutting the interior of his new restoration project. She'd smiled at him and said, "So he's the one, eh? Your taste is definitely improving." He'd tried to deny it but she hadn't bought any of it and bullied him into admitting the real reason that he wasn't going to ask Chris out. They'd argued good-naturedly about it for months before she'd finally given up on him as a lost cause destined to be alone for the rest of his life because he was a chicken. Of course he'd kept his string of one-night stands a secret, never bringing any of the strange guys he'd picked up back to his house, knowing that she'd be terribly disappointed in him.

 _"You told Jessica about me Babe? Really? Wow. Was this over ice-cream or while watching a chick-flick?"_

Chris' surprised questions pulled him out of his past reflections and Adam promptly stuck his tongue out at his lover. Chick-flick indeed. He was hoping that Jess wouldn't tell Chris exactly how she'd found out because he'd prefer she not spill all of his secrets. For the moment it looked like he was safe. Although Chris' explanation of how they'd finally ended up together had him blushing even worse due to the 'I figured as much' smirk that was showing on Jessie's face. When Chris mentioned kissing, he had to grin though at the unholy curiosity that lit up his young friend's eyes. He was really surprised that she didn't ask if she could watch that, though he would have boxed her ears if she had asked.

 _"And as to the person responsible for the bruises, don't worry, there's a pretty long line and yours truly's at the head of it."_

Adam wasn't truly convinced that the line would be that long. Jay and Ty would probably want a shot at his ex, and of course Chris, because he had no doubts there at all considering what Chris had already done to Terry, but he couldn't think of anyone else that he'd endeared himself to recently. And that reminded him... he really was going to ask Chris about the comment he'd made about Dave Batista. He just had to figure out how to phrase it without sounding like an idiot... or even worse... a jealous idiot.

He rolled his eyes at Satan's display of bravery from behind a pane of glass. The sad thing was that the Doberman wandering around his yard was a big baby and would most likely run if confronted by a hissing ball of black fur. Suddenly feeling terribly tired and sore, he leaned his hip against the counter for a moment.

 _"You. Upstairs. Bath. Now."_

Not really surprised that Chris had noticed the way he was feeling within seconds of having realized it himself, Adam still raised his brows at the commands he'd just been issued. Jessie grinned at his "Bossy little thing, ain't he?" as Adam turned and opened a cookie jar under the counter. Pulling a twenty from the bottom of the jar, he walked over and pressed it into Jess' hand despite her protests.

"Put that in your savings account. You take better care of me than I deserve, Sis," he said adding his usual endearment for her. "A few more weeks and with Dad's permission I'll take you to go find that rebuild you've been wanting since you turned fifteen."

With a ruffle to her hair, which earned him a healthy growl of protest, a smart-ass salute to Chris and an accompanying wink, he headed out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. He groaned as he wondered exactly which of his secrets were about to be spilled to Chris by his adopted sister, but he smiled when he realized that with her distraction, he'd be able to get his hair washed before Chris had a chance to protest if that was his inclination.

\----

"He can be difficult at the best of times, but it's ten times worse when he's hurt. You are going to have your hands full getting him to rest, but you seem like you're up to the task," Jess said with a smirk as she crossed back to the counter to put the bread away.

"He's the best big brother a girl could have, even if he is a huge pain in the ass at times, so I'm going to give you the standard hurt him and I'll have to hurt you line. You're a huge improvement over that idiot he used to date though so I don't think I'll have to worry too much. Much cuter too," she added with a wink before turning back to the remaining groceries.

Chris had become strictly off-limits the moment that Adam had announced their new relationship, but she knew her friend wouldn't mind if she practiced her budding wiles on his boyfriend. Adam was aware of the minor crush she had on Chris since she'd confessed it to him, but that's all it was. It wasn't like she was in love with him and going to try to steal him away. Besides, Adam thought it was really cute when she made his friends squirm, especially Jay. The guy had a strange sense of humor.

"I caught him looking at a picture of you one day when he was supposed to be working on the Chevelle. If you haven't seen it yet, you should take a look under the tarp in the garage. It's his and Daddy's pet project. They're restoring it from the base sheet metal, new interior, engine... everything. I think it's so cute how they've bonded over that car. Mom and Dad both think the world of him you know, even if they were kind of freaked out at first at the idea of living next to a wrestler. Mom's a secret WWE junkie, so she had this idea that he'd be bringing home all sorts of weird people and having outrageous parties. Of course, he's nothing at all like that. He plays one-on-one with the neighborhood kids a lot and he talked me into learning how to swim. I think that's what won him over with my parents."

She puttered around the room, straightening things as she spilled snatches of information about her 'big brother', just like a little sister should. She had a feeling that when it came to his home life, most of Adam's friends weren't really aware of how he spent his time. She was helping Chris get to know his boyfriend, that was all really.

Actually she was babbling and couldn't stop herself from doing it. She was just too excited that she could finally stop worrying about Adam not coming home until the middle of the night. She was pretty sure he wouldn't be straying too far from the house if Chris was there to keep him company.

"Anyway... I browbeat him about mooning over that picture of you and he confessed all. Stubborn guy that he is, I couldn't convince him to tell you about his interest though. He had this stupid rule... oops, maybe I shouldn't mention that. Oh, and before I forget... tell Adam that Dad heard from Russ, he lives down the street and owns Blue's, and if he leaves the keys with Dad then Russ can do the paint job next week. He'll be so excited about it since the paint job is all that's left to do."

Putting away the last box, she turned to face the blond in the middle of the room who looked to be in a catatonic daze. "I'm sorry. Sometimes I talk way too much. I'm going to take off now, but I just want to say... I hope you guys stay here a lot because I really miss Adam when he's gone and I think you'd be a really cool friend." Leaning in, Jess gave him a quick hug and darted for the door.

\----

The plan had been to wash his hair in the shower and then sit down to take a bath, but by the time he climbed the stairs he was no longer in the mood to stand up long enough for the shower part. Sitting on the edge of the tub, he turned the water on and wiggled out of his clothes, wincing at the pain involved in getting rid of his shirt.

Grabbing a spare glass he used for water some nights off the counter by the sink, he sank down into the steamy water with a sigh. He tilted his head, listening for the sound of Chris' footsteps on the stairs. Not hearing anything he filled up the glass and lifted it halfway to his head before he started in cussing. Switching the glass to his other hand, he managed to get his hair wet without too much additional swearing and that was reserved for whenever he splashed water out of the tub and onto the floor or it ran down his face when his aim was off.

He'd just poured the shampoo into his hand and was wondering how the hell he was going to scrub the blood from his hair when he could only lift one hand above his shoulders without wanting to shout the house down when he heard a quiet noise from the doorway. Whoops. Busted!

He watched through wet lashes as Chris slowly started stripping out of his clothes. "I know that trying to wash my hair is probably not the greatest idea, but the itching was driving me nuts." He looked down at the water pooled around him. This wasn't at all how he had pictured things when he'd asked Chris to come home with him. Instead of impressing Chris with his cooking skills or spending his time thinking of interesting ways and places to seduce his lover, he was sitting in a tub feeling rather pathetic because he couldn't even wash his own damn hair and get it clean. The only thing that could make this situation worse was having Jess sneak up here to peak through the keyhole.

"I see you survived Hurricane Jess. She did go home, didn't she?"

****

 _"Darling, you going to join us?"_

Shawn hesitated, debating. He wanted to join them, to jump in the middle of his lovers and wrap himself up in them... but he didn't want to interfere in the moment between Dave and Hunter. Glancing from one to the other, Dave's immediate motion left no room for argument... and Shawn wasn't going to argue, either. Sliding around Hunter, he seated himself on Dave's lap, wriggling a bit to get comfortable, and met Hunter's eyes from scant inches away as Dave's arm closed around him. The contentment he could see read so easily in the warm whiskey cheered him, allowing his doubts to slip even further away, and he leaned forward without even thinking about doing so. One hand sliding up Hunt's shoulder to curl loosely around his neck, Shawn smiled as their lips met in a slow, sweet kiss that expressed all of the love Shawn had to give the man in front of him.

Pulling away gently a long moment later to draw a breath, Shawn left his hand where it was, feeling the steady thump of Hunter's pulse against his fingertips, resting his head against Dave's free shoulder. Still smiling, Shawn just watched Hunter silently, relieved to see the unhappy tension that had filled his friend's face only moments ago gone, replaced with much happier emotions. His own doubts banished for the time being, he felt able to relax and enjoy this time with his lovers.

 _"Hey sweetheart."_

Starting a little at the soft squeeze, Shawn looked up, wondering just a bit at the tone of Dave's voice. The man looked almost... apologetic? But why? He hadn't done anything to Shawn...

Only the brief flare of heat in those chocolate eyes warned Shawn, and he twisted, releasing his grip on Hunter. He met Dave's lips with a quiet noise that became a groan muffled by Dave's mouth, as the sheer intensity of the kiss took him by surprise. Parting his lips, he welcomed the warm invasion of Dave's tongue, the bar piercing it seeming to find instinctively every sensitive spot in his mouth. Shawn was submissive for the first few seconds, taken by surprise and overwhelmed by the passion pouring into him from his lover, but quickly recovered and responded, demanding more as he reached up, his fingers digging into Dave's scalp as he made explorations of his own. Reveling in the chance to show Dave some of what he was having so much trouble figuring out, let alone expressing, he let his lips speak for him, loving every second of it.

This... this was definitely different than any other kiss they'd shared in the last two days---more demanding, more passionate, more... _everything_.

Wait.

Pulling away abruptly, almost gasping for breath, Shawn looked at his lover with narrowed eyes, amused exasperation warring with honest annoyance as he spoke. "What exactly have you been holding back on me, Dave?"

****

Shawn's enthusiastic response to his initial plundering would have had Dave begging for more in no time at all if his mouth hadn't been otherwise occupied. Instead he was forced to express his appreciation and desire for more with a growl that was quickly swallowed by Shawn's mouth. The slight pain of Shawn's nails digging into his scalp only pushed the kiss to an even more desperate level on his part. Wanting and needing to taste every inch of Shawn's mouth, he allowed himself to do so.

Unfortunately good things don't always last forever, but Dave still smiled slightly as Shawn pulled away panting and gasping. At least he was smiling until he caught the speculative look in Shawn's eyes.

Oh... shit.

 _"What exactly have you been holding back on me, Dave?"_

He had a feeling that Shawn had just clued in on the one thing he hadn't wanted to blond to pick up on. He scrambled for a response that wouldn’t earn him a swift smack upside the head, but was coming up empty... so he said the first thing that came to mind.

"The Animal? I... uh... didn't want to scare you off the very first night."

Considering that the first part had come out a question and the second part sounded particularly pathetic... he wouldn’t blame Shawn at all if he did get that smack. Luckily for him, rescue came in the form of the sound of ringing... this time from Shawn's pants. Moving quicker than he normally gave himself credit for, his hand slipped over Shawn's hip and into his pants pocket, coming up with Hunter's shiny new phone.

Flipping it open without bothering to check the caller ID, Dave was sincerely hoping that he wasn't going to find Vince at the other end of the line. "You've reached Dave via Hunter's phone found in Shawn's pants, may I help you?"

He wasn't sure how to describe the look on Hunter or Shawn's faces at the moment and he really didn't want to, especially when he caught the peal of laughter on the other end of the line.

"Well... if it isn't the bounciest Diva in the WWE. Hello, Miss Stephanie." Ignoring the needy desperate look that Hunt was shooting at the device pressed to his ear, he listened for a moment before feeling his cheeks start to turn an obscenely hot shade of red. "No, there is no nakedness involved at the moment, much to my disappointment. Are you on a plane?"

Ducking his head to the side to move the phone further away from the hand that was steadily climbing across his chest, Hunt was so not subtle at all, Dave waited for the answer to his question.

"On your way home? Great. That's where we're going too. Hunt's dragging Shawn and I, kicking and screaming the whole way. We can have a pajama party. By the way... what exactly _did_ you do to that horse?"

****

 _"How can I say no? Yes... please..."_

Permission asked and granted Jeff leaned forward fractionally, slowly licking the head of Mark's shaft, then dropping short kisses to the satin skin beneath the swollen head. This was something Jeff wanted to savour, to commit to memory every tiny sensation, that he might look back on over the next few days and go hot all over at the images presented. From what experience he'd had, and there wasn't _that_ much despite what rumour may imply, Jeff had learned that different things did it for different guys and god, was he hoping to learn all the things that did it for Mark. Let's start with....

Jeff sent his hands exploring into the fabric surrounding Mark's hips, lowering it until he had free and easy access to the treasures within. Long fingers reached to fondle and caress the heavy sacs so near his chin, while Jeff started licking long stripes up and down each side of the hard cock before him. These subtle starting caresses were enough to bring Jeff's own member to instant attention, the learning of Mark enthralling in its own delicious way. So sensitive at the head, tender down underneath along the thick vein, pulling a sound like syrup on gravel from the man above him when Jeff grazed that vein with his teeth.

Mark was beautiful, the musky scent of his lover's arousal cruising along Jeff's nerves like a full-bodied aphrodisiac, the need to suck and swallow now irresistible. Lips, swollen wet from saliva and pre-come, kissed and circled the head, till they opened and welcomed in the hard, hot shaft between them. Up and down, with agonizingly slow timing, Jeff mouthed and adored Mark's length. Pausing for dreamy seconds at the top of each pull, panting hot air onto the reddened head, before moving down once again. Methodically working the beautiful length down into his throat.

It felt like worship, here on his knees, using his lips, tongue and all the talent he'd been granted to do this wicked thing. To bring pleasure to the man who'd captured him like no-one else had ever dared. Mark, with the sinful eyes in a marble face, fascinated Jeff like a musician listening to a new symphony. A brilliant combination of sounds, sensations and experiences that addicted you after just one taste. So mesmerizing, Jeff knew an insatiable hunger to devour all he could get of Mark. His smile, his voice, his touch, his seed.

Beginning to feel a frantic ache begin in his tighter-than-hell pants, Jeff pulled his hands from Mark's body and latched onto his lover's hips with desperate hands. Thumbs stroking sharp hipbones, Jeff quickened his pace, going deep and hot, pulling as much of the sweet length into his throat as he could manage. Swallowing, nose tickled by silken curls, Jeff rose up again, lips dragging at moist skin, teeth touching just enough to collect a heart-kicking sound from Mark and a fantastic twist of fingers in his hair.

"Mark... please Honey...." He spoke the whispered words into the hard sex against his tongue and the fingers tightened. Inexplicably turned on by that tiny pain, Jeff growled low on his next pass, the vibrations against the flesh in his mouth echoed by another sharp pull. Jeff took Mark whole and swallowed again and again, feeling his own body throb with need at the hoarse breaths sounding so loud in the tiny room.

He would have begged again, but Mark's hands suddenly froze, his beautiful form wracked by shudders and Jeff was swallowing down the result of his explorations. The tart essence warming his throat and filling a deep ravine of need within him, one Jeff hadn't even known existed.

Sitting back on his heels, tongue snaking out to catch any hint of unique flavour, Jeff swayed in the aftershocks of what they'd just done. Opening eyes that had shut as the full-force of Mark's orgasm had hit him, Jeff woke to the screaming needs of his own desire and reached down to unzip the fitted black pants, now a constraining prison. Then the room spun in a whirlwind of grayed colour.

Jeff realized, with sudden unholy joy, that Mark had beaten him to it.

****

 _"Bossy little thing, ain't he?"_

Chris didn't dignify that with a response, although his lips were well on their way to blowing a raspberry towards the back of his smart-alec lover's head. As he wasn't the youngest person in the room, CJ also knew it would be excruciatingly embarrassing to have a teenager roll her eyes at _his_ juvenile behaviour. He'd accepted the 'bossy' thing years ago and rationalized that if people couldn't get their act together then it was his obligation to point it out to them. But right here, right now 'little' just wasn't fair, particularly as he was a good foot taller than Jessica.

Oh great... pointing out that he wasn't as short as a little girl? Sad, CJ, very sad.

Acknowledging Adam's jaunty salute with an air kiss, he kept one eye on Valentino as the black furball started pacing backwards and forwards in front of the window, doing his best to live up to the ancestral genetics of a African Lion. Chris didn't doubt his pet would try to pick a fight if he got the chance, but without knowing the temperament of the Doberman he wasn't prepared to risk it. Chris sighed at the unenviable realization that he'd raised a bully, his big boy had a fair number of scars hidden under all that fur, wounds from his own form of wrestling amongst the gladiators of CJ's street.

 _"He can be difficult at the best of times…You're a huge improvement over that idiot he used to date though... Much cuter too,"_

Chris knew he should be flattered that Jessica thought him more attractive than Terry, but the comparison still left him with a sour taste in his mouth. He'd never had a good relationship with the brutish wrestler, their strong programmes in he ring benefiting from a mutual dislike that translated itself through their work. Now that he knew that Adam had cared for him all these long years... okay Chris... he said it, so can you... he _loved_ you all these years, a fair amount of Terry's attitude could be explained. If the man had known about his boyfriend's feelings for another man, and the Fuckhead's words last night indicated he had, then Chris could understand the resentment in the glowering looks and snarled insults aimed at him.

Still didn't stop him wanting to get the guy intimate with a bulldozer though.

 _"..caught him looking at a picture of you... Mom and Dad both think the world of him you know... He plays one-on-one with the neighborhood kids... he confessed all... I think you'd be a really cool friend."_

Well. If Chris'd had any doubts about finding out any of those 'little things' his lover might have kept hidden then Jessica was the answer to his prayers. The girl was a veritable font of information about her neighbour and the sweet, sisterly way she had of conveying the gossip had Chris smiling behind his fingers. Trying to file away 'paint' and 'Chevelle' under hobbies in his mental catalogue of things labeled 'Adam', CJ did feel himself go into a slight daze at the overload of chatter coming his way. Having a lady like Jessica give him a warm hug was more pleasant that he'd thought it would be... and more than a little scary. People normally didn't just _like_ him like this. The face and the mouth normally had them acting like he was the enemy causing him to pull all his defenses into place with a resounding 'clunk'. But Chris found he couldn't be defensive with Jessica... he had the feeling she wouldn't let him.

Catching her arm gently as the girl made to bolt for the door, Chris gave her something back for the trust she was placing in him.

"Jessica? That idiot... the one he used to date? He's the one we're waiting in line for, jealousy at its worst I'm afraid. If he comes back around could you do me a favour and give me a call? I'd rather he didn't try to go for the other side of the rib cage." Seeing the look of dark understanding enter the girl's eyes, Jessica and CJ found an accord before the teenager left for home.

Climbing the stairs to the master suite, Chris heard a small splash of water and a pained exasperated sigh. With a wry, adoring smile that he might be afraid to show the man in question, Chris unlaced and toed off his boots before padding quietly into the bathroom. Adam sat like a centerfold from Playgirl, deliciously muscular chest drizzled with soap suds, long hair clinging lovingly to his arched neck. If Chris could ignore the vicious bruising and brow-beaten face then it would be worth the photographs. This time it just made his heart ache.

 _"...Trying to wash my hair is probably not the greatest idea..."_

The frustration evident on his lover's high cheekbones had Chris' clothes puddling on the floor and his hands nudging Adam to sit forward in the huge tub, so he could join him in the hot scented water. Slicking his fingers with the creamy shampoo residue from Adam's hand, CJ gently worked the cleanser through the tangled strands of hair, keeping the raw wound to the back as dry as possible. A handful of water led to a slow scalp massage, the shampoo rising to a foam and adding to the Playgirl look. Although with the two of them in the bath in this position, a magazine aimed at women probably wasn't one they'd be likely to feature in.

"Jessica went home Babe," Chris soaped away the flecks of dried blood from his beloved's temples. "After she gave me chapter and verse on you and your deplorable taste in men. Oh and something about... Dad hearing from Russ at Blue's about the paint job? 'Dad' will be doing it because Adam is going to be resting like a log isn't he?"

Two careful rinses left the darkened honey-gold hair thoroughly cleaned and back to its glorious best, so Chris went to work on Adam's neck and shoulders, finding those pressure points again to soothe some of the pain obvious in the man's stiff movements. Turning the hot water tap on with an agile toe, Chris refreshed the bath, unwilling to leave this warm haven with Adam for the time being. He reveled in the sensation of wet satin skin under his fingers and wondered at the deep, long breathing reaching his ears.

Chris would hate to have to wake Adam up just to make him go to bed.


	88. Compliments

Shawn's fingers danced a warm pattern across Hunter's neck and collarbone, the light touch turning firm with the press of his lover's lips. Gliding his own mouth across the sweet flesh offered him, Hunter felt the affection and love Shawn was showing him, not with words, but with his touch. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Shawn would have liked to take all his pains away, to destroy them and fill Hunter with all the merriment and caring at his disposal. But Hunt also knew that he couldn't be fixed, by Shawn, by Dave or by anyone else, he was the product of his life and if he became something other than himself, he wouldn't be Hunter.

When his best friend broke the kiss, Hunt relaxed again onto the firm mattress of Dave's chest, his eyes searching for dusky blue. For long, quiet seconds their gazes blended, enjoying a conversation without words, one of equal compassion, understanding and sorrow. Shawn _had_ to know that Hunter loved him without reservation, the new accord that had been hammered out moments ago simply another reason to be smitten with the blond bombshell.

 _"Hey sweetheart."_

Hunt felt the vibration of the words before his ears even registered them. Sitting up, he kept his hip aligned with Dave's as his dark lover drew Shawn into a succulent kiss that Hunter felt privileged to witness. He'd marveled many times how good they looked together, the contrasts in their skin and hair just adding to the sight of strong passion displayed before his appreciative eye. The powerful undercurrents in that kiss weren't lost on Hunter. Messages were being given with more than eyes this afternoon and even reeling from his own emotional upheaval, Hunt could see a different kind of tension rising between his lovers.

Some small childish part of him rejoiced that he wasn't the only one putting bumps in their tri-laned road.

 _"What exactly have you been holding back on me, Dave?"_

'Good question,' Hunter thought, his eyebrow rising to mimic the inquisitive look on Shawn's face. The need Dave had conveyed in his possession of Shawn's mouth seemed more in tune with what he knew of his dark lover and belied the almost hesitant behaviour he'd displayed so far. Eyes narrowing in thought, Hunter focused his mind away from his own flaws and started to analyze what indeed his beautiful David was trying to suppress. Was he wondering about Shawn's inclinations as much as he was Hunter's? Unlikely, the other blond obviously gave off all the right signals, whereas Hunter didn't even know which ones to look for, so it had to be something else. But why would Dave be uncertain of Shawn... ?

Oh yeah. Really, really bad idea to label you 'Cerebral'... genius.

 _"The Animal? I... uh... didn't want to scare you off the very first night."_

"Yeah right." Hunter muttered sarcastically under his breath. Shawn Michaels was afraid of no man or women ever born, let alone a lover with a wicked side. But Dave had covered himself quite nicely with that excuse if the thoughtful look on Shawn's face was anything to go by. Of course his lover could be thinking that Dave's reply was a load of crap too, not much got by HBK when his eyes were open.

Shawn's pants were ringing.

It took Hunter a fraction of a second to get his brain to connect regarding the meaning of that event. A fraction too slow as Dave's big fingers retrieved the device without a flutter of an eyelid from its current keeping. Hunter's hands itched to take his phone back and answer the incoming call, submission issue or not, it was _his_ dammit.

 _"You've reached Dave via Hunter's phone found in Shawn's pants, may I help you?"_

If it was that Hollywood producer Hunt had been negotiating with for weeks, then he'd happily demonstrate his inability to take it lying down. With a half-brick.

 _"...if it isn't the bounciest Diva in the WWE. Hello, Miss Stephanie."_

Thank god. The girl would find it hilariously funny that Hunt was currently cellular-less and probably encourage such a state in the future. On that thought, Hunter casually fingered the middle button on Dave's slightly creased shirt and wondered if he'd be quick enough with his hands when it came down to it.

 _"...there is no nakedness involved at the moment, much to my disappointment. Are you on a plane?"_

Hunter could practically hear the vivid interest colouring his wife's voice as she speculated on the whereabouts of Shawn's pants when the call came in. One day, he swore to himself, one day he was going to give the girl some intimate details just to watch that rosy blush climb up her genetically perfect cheekbones. Reviewing Steph's schedule in his head, Hunt calculated that his wife would probably arrive at their home before he did... their home. Crap. There was supposed to be a family dinner tonight with his wife debuting one of her new creations, but putting Hunter anywhere near his father-in-law right now would be a conflagration waiting for a match.

 _"...Hunt's dragging Shawn and I, kicking and screaming the whole way... what exactly did you do to that horse?"_

Unable to control the burst of laughter that escaped him at Dave's brilliantly worded question, Hunter finally exerted his rights as purchaser of said phone and stole it back. It was insufferably rude to literally snatch the thing from Dave's fingers, but Hunter was well on his way to not really giving a damn as he blew a smug kiss at his lovers' long-suffering faces.

Scooting backwards on his butt to the other end of the seat, Hunter held up one pleading hand in apology while he listened to the peal of laughter that brayed into his ear. Dave had won Steph's heart three months ago when he'd backed up her husband during a dispute with 'creative'. Eventually the dark man would clue in that he could do no wrong where Hunter's wife was concerned and he wanted to keep that moment as far in the future as possible. Versus all three of them... he had no chance.

"Hey Girl... no you can't have Dave back... well, if you like him better than me I'm sure we can come to an arrangement. Fine... just don't tell your mother you want to cheat on me with my boyfriend, she'll smile in that weird way that makes me fidget."

A pause as the McMahon heiress got her breathing under control and Hunter kept an eagle eye on his two delinquent lovers.

"You can tell him about the horse tonight. Are you still cooking? Fine. Is Vince going to be there?" A sigh of relief as Steph related the sudden business meetings that had come up. "We'll be there in less than an hour... okay... fine, here he is..."

Rolling his eyes Hunter offered the phone back to Dave, "She likes you better."

****

Gosh darn it all... the guy just kept doing things that pulled him deeper into the little ocean of love that he was floundering in. Instead of yelling at him like he'd expected, Chris was giving him the best washing and scalp massage he'd ever been on the receiving end of. Not that that was a bad thing, it was a great thing. But he'd always promised himself that he'd never be the sappy type and yet at the moment he found himself wanting to heap on the sentimental mush which would probably make them both incredibly ill.

 _"After she gave me chapter and verse on you and your deplorable taste in men..."_

Thank you Jess. Adam winced as he wondered exactly what his young friend had had to say on that particular subject. She'd never truly liked Terry... something about him having beady little eyes... and she hadn't hesitated to let Adam know it either. He hadn't been prepared to explain to her that they were seeing each other because they were both horny bastards and the relationship was more for convenience than anything else. She'd been right about Terry though... damn had she been right.

That did not mean he had deplorable taste in men in every case. Mark had been a very good choice from the viewpoint that he hadn't been looking for commitment. The big man had still been romantic and caring... and he was still a good friend. Chris was definitely not deplorable either. He'd have to ask Jess for her opinion on Chris... then again, maybe not. She'd probably tell Chris that he'd asked.

 _"Oh and something about... Dad hearing from Russ at Blue's about the paint job? 'Dad' will be doing it because Adam is going to be resting like a log isn't he?"_

Since Chris couldn't see his face, Adam felt safe grinning. Finally... the last step in his restoration project. It seemed like he'd been waiting forever to finish it. He had wanted to do the entire thing himself, but had had to face the fact that he just didn't have the setup or the knowledge to turn out a prime paint job. Russ lived two blocks away and had his own paint and detail shop. He'd checked out some of the guy's previous work and had been truly impressed.

He rolled his eyes a bit at Chris' dictate, but decided he'd comply with it. It didn't take a genius or a whole lot of energy to back a car out of a garage, but if Chris wanted him resting like a log, he would. He'd leave the keys for Dad, also known as Tom, so he could pull the car out on Monday morning. Deciding that it wasn't necessary to explain to Chris that they wouldn't be there so he couldn't do it himself in any case... they would be somewhere between Columbus and Dayton on Monday... he would simply hand the keys over to Chris to deliver next door.

Chris started rubbing his neck and shoulders right about then and Adam was sucked right back into that sappy, gushy frame of mind. Luckily for him, the combined warmth of the bathwater and Chris' chest against his back was helping lull him into a totally relaxed vegetative state of mind. He knew if they stayed in the tub much longer, he'd end up falling asleep.

Slowly craning his neck at a sharp angle, he brushed his lips against Chris' before leaning back against his chest and commenting in a sleepy voice. "Barring one glaringly obvious error in judgment, I happen to think I have exceptional taste in guys. I'm here with you, after all. I'll dig the keys out tomorrow and if you don't mind then you can run them next door and give them to Tom for me. If we stay in here any longer, not only will we both be prunes, but you'll end up having to drag me across the carpet to get me into the bed and while some people might like that kind of thing... I don't really want to add carpet burn to the things I'll end up complaining about this week."

Bracing his hands on the side of the tub, he pushed himself to his feet with a groan followed by a big yawn. "Sorry 'bout that." Grabbing two towels off the bar by the tub, he wrapped one around his waist and handed the other to Chris as he climbed out of the tub. Grabbing another towel from the linen closet, he started drying his hair as best he could. "Bed, ice, and you... and I'll be in heaven. The ice is optional," he added with a naughty grin. Even if he couldn't really follow through on that promise right now, he'd give it his best damn shot... unless they both fell asleep first.

****

 _"You have enough time for one more trip through the buffet if that's what you're wondering."_

Warned in advance by the slow smirk that crossed his lover's face, Kevin sighed theatrically, putting on his best "see what I have to live with" expression. Judging by the not-so-quiet laughter from Sean and Glen, his act wasn't terribly successful, but he could live with that. After the little announcement that Scott had made earlier, no one was going to believe that he was anything but overjoyed at having Scotty back in his life, and he wouldn't want it any other way.

 _"Speaking of flights, we're going to have to get moving if we're going to make ours, Sean."_

Good thing he hadn't picked his plate up yet. The impact from Sean's body barreling into his as thin arms wrapped around his waist sent him backward half a step, but he grinned as he returned the hug, ruffling Sean's hair. "You know I love you, Sean," he said, knowing that Sean would want a little reassurance after the admission he'd just made. Kev wasn't mad at him... he was actually kind of relieved that Mark had been pushed into  _doing_ something about his feelings. The fact that he hadn't taken Sean's head off for that push was a definite bonus. One last squeeze, and then it was Glen's turn, and watching Scott practically beam as the two hugged him made the chaos that was their Kid worthwhile. Taking his plate in hand, Kevin took a step toward the buffet, but stopped at Scott's words.

 _"...maybe in a few weeks we'll have to set up a barbecue or something. Kev can man the grill as long as we can keep him from taste testing everything before it makes it to our plates."_

"Hey, now... if I'm the cook, I have a right to make sure that everything I make is perfect!" He managed to keep a fairly straight face, but knew that it was a lost cause from the start. Scott's headshake and the snickers from Glen and Sean as they left only confirmed that. Letting his lips curve as he gave his lover a fond look, he headed for the buffet, only picking up a few of the better dishes this time around. After resuming his seat and enjoying the second helpings, especially of that grilled chicken, he set his fork down with a contented sigh. He'd have to see if Scott wanted to go out tonight... that little restaurant that they'd always been so fond of before sounded wonderful, and it would be nice to celebrate a little.

"Ready to go, Bad Guy?" A look at Scotty, and he was standing up, his foot tapping as he waited. "We _do_ have a plane to catch..." And for the first time in two years, he was looking forward to heading home from the road. This time, it would really be _home_.

****

Watching his dark lover closely, Shawn could see a flash of panic in the chocolate eyes at his words. It was probably unfair of him to call Dave on this, whatever it was, but given the possible reasons he could think of as to why Dave _would_ hold back on him, he suspected that it was something they needed to deal with sooner rather than later. If it were something as predictable as Dave's not being used to having a lover so much smaller than him, that could be remedied fairly easily, although it would take some time. If it were more serious, especially if it had to do with the fact that Shawn hadn't returned Dave's emotions yet, than it would be more challenging. For now, though, he was just going to see what Dave said, and try not to worry about it.

 _"The Animal? I... uh... didn't want to scare you off the very first night."_

Although that was probably the lamest excuse that Dave could have come up with. The big man might not lose his temper very often, but Shawn had witnessed a few scenes backstage that would have done a lot more toward scaring him off if he were inclined to be than anything Dave might do in bed would. From the corner of his eye, he could see Hunter eyeing Dave speculatively. If Hunt was skeptical of the weak excuse, even as distracted as he had to be at the moment, then Shawn felt secure in dismissing it altogether. Whatever it was, he'd get it out of Dave eventually.

The sound of not-so-quiet ringing took a minute to filter through his mind, and he found himself looking narrowly at Dave as their lover reached surprisingly quickly for the phone that he'd forgotten was back in his own pocket, flipping it open without even glancing at it.

That was it. They were definitely having a discussion about the correct times and places for cell phone usage... and this wasn't one of them.

 _"You've reached Dave via Hunter's phone found in Shawn's pants, may I help you?"_

Staring in pure disbelief, Shawn could only hope to God that it wasn't Vince calling his son-in-law... however unlikely that would be at this point in time. For all the hesitation that they'd all gone through, hearing that particular sentence fall so casually out of Dave's mouth was incredibly unexpected. Hunter's expression was similar, although more annoyed... of course, he could have been expecting a call from one of those Hollywood people he'd been talking to. That thought actually brought a smile to Shawn's lips. As much as Hunt would hate it if it were one of those people, they'd undoubtedly heard more shocking things than that.

 _"Hello, Miss Stephanie."_

Well, if anyone would appreciate the unique greeting, it would be Steph. Watching with interest as Dave's cheeks flamed, Shawn tried and failed to make out what Stephanie was actually saying to him, although he did catch sight of Hunter's creeping hand and gave him a narrow-eyed stare.

 _"No, there is no nakedness involved at the moment, much to my disappointment."_

Shawn sympathized with that particular feeling. While he probably wasn't up to taking much of an active role, he was still hoping to watch his lovers together... This morning and last night had been wonderful, but he was dying to see them actually joined. The thought of watching them making love was an indescribably arousing one, but to be honest, Shawn wanted to see it because he knew that it would be one of the most beautiful things he'd ever see.

 _"Hunt's dragging Shawn and I, kicking and screaming the whole way."_

Rolling his eyes as Hunter snatched the phone away from Dave, Shawn raised his eyebrows at their Animal. "Screaming? Not yet... but if you're interested in it, I'm sure we can figure something out." Catching Hunter's air kiss as he sat up, he slid off Dave's lap to sit beside him with one hand wrapped loosely around his neck, his fingers idly moving against the soft skin there.

 _"Fine.... just don't tell your mother you want to cheat on me with my boyfriend,"_

Dear god. Linda. He'd forgotten about her until now. Always a quiet woman, but one whom Shawn had incredible respect and affection for... and one who never hesitated in making her opinions known. While she'd always tolerated his antics with usually nothing more than a raised eyebrow, what would she make of this? Obviously she knew the truth about Hunt and Steph's marriage, but how would she react to her son-in-law taking _two_ lovers? Taking a breath as he tried to relax, tense over the thought as he hadn't been over the thought of Vince's reaction, he wasn't unaware of Hunter's eyes on them.

 _"Are you still cooking? Fine. Is Vince going to be there?"_

What? Sitting bolt upright, Shawn looked at Hunter. If Steph was cooking, that meant a dinner, which was fine. He hadn't seen her nearly often enough lately... but Vince...? The quiet sigh from his friend relieved him of that particular worry, and he relaxed again. He'd never be scared of Vince, but the last thing he wanted to deal with tonight was the man's attitude. Part of it might be protective, but most of it was sheer asshole, as far as he could see, and he didn't want it to ruin the few days they had together before Bad Blood.

Bad Blood. Hell in a Cell.

Only half-listening as Hunter handed the phone back to Dave, Shawn's mind focused on that thought as he'd tried so hard not to do yesterday. Moving away from Dave with an absent pat to the shoulder, Shawn looked at Hunter and shifted to sit next to him, his expression more serious than it had been all morning.

"Hunt..." Stopping before he really began, Shawn forced himself to take another breath. He'd been through this before, and Hunt had been through it more times than he cared to think about. Surely they could do this, could make it work... could find the heart and the stomach to beat each other bloody and senseless. Mouth twisting, he reflected that only in their line of work would he have to literally beat his lover black and blue to show how much he cared, because if they _really_ cared for each other, they wouldn't let it interfere with their work, would instead use the emotion to kick their performances up to a higher level. At least they only had the Cell match and then his dramatic exit the next day to worry about. That was more than enough.

He could see worry clouding Hunter's eyes at his silence, and he sighed, answering in a low tone. "I just... I... Sunday." Casting a glance at Dave, still blushing as he chatted with Steph, answering God only knew what sorts of questions, he smiled weakly before looking back at Hunt. Knowing that they would all have to face the topic at some point, he still didn't want to worry Dave over it now, and continued in the same low voice, "I know we'll be able to do the Cell match, Hunter... but what about Dave? It killed me to watch you and Kevin."

Thank God they didn't have that much longer before they reached the house. Shawn was really starting to hate limos.

****

Hearing Hunter laugh after his question lightened his heart just a bit. If Hunt could still laugh, then things really couldn't be all that bad... right? Besides, he was really getting tired of all the drama that they ended up facing whenever they rode in one of these limos. Maybe the third time would be a charm... Dave almost cringed at the idea of trying this a third time, but that was when Hunter reached up and swiped his phone right out of Dave's hand. He narrowed his eyes, but only for a second as Shawn introduced one of his favorite subjects... kind of.

 _"Screaming? Not yet... but if you're interested in it, I'm sure we can figure something out."_

A shiver slid down his spine at the implications and Dave was hoping that Shawn meant that literally. He wasn't going to worry anymore about being fixated on sex, because honestly... with the company he was in, who could blame him? He was still a little worked up over the heated kiss he'd just shared with Shawn in any case. He thought Shawn sliding off his lap might help dull the pangs he was feeling, but the warm fingers stroking the back of his neck kept the fire going.

 _"...Well, if you like him better than me I'm sure we can come to an arrangement. Fine... just don't tell your mother you want to cheat on me with my boyfriend..."_

Dave's mouth literally dropped open as he looked at Hunter. He wasn't sure if it was from amused shock that Hunt was apparently considering pimping him out or from horror at the thought of Steph telling Linda any such thing. In either case, it chased thoughts of sex out of his head for the moment. As much as he liked Steph and wanted to get to know her, he was not going to get to know her _that_ well. And Linda... he hadn't really given a thought to the woman's reaction. Dave truly respected Linda and though he valued her opinion it wasn't going to change his mind about this relationship anymore than Vince's had. He just hoped the other two felt the same way.

 _"...Are you still cooking? Fine. Is Vince going to be there?"_

Dave instinctively flinched even as he noticed Shawn's reaction to the question. Oh good lord. Their luck couldn't be that bad, could it? In this case, apparently not. Hunter's relieved sigh took away the sense of impending doom that had flared for just a moment. No Vince... good. Though he was going to have to talk to the man eventually and find out what the hell his real problem was. Maybe he'd get a chance to talk to him on Sunday. Shawn and Hunter would be very busy preparing for their match... another small flinch that he immediately pushed away... but after his match for Heat, he was pretty much going to be left to his own devices for the rest of the night. He could slip away and track down Vince, get the real truth from the man. Decision made, Dave felt a bit better about the situation.

 _"She likes you better."_

Faced with a handful of cell phone, Dave took the device with a mocking grin. "Of course, I'm the charming one." Ignoring Hunt's reaction, he prepared himself to talk to the boisterous young lady again.

"Hey Steph. So about the horse... you got video, right?" Warming up to the giggle on the other end of the line, Dave smiled. It slipped for a moment as he felt the pat on his back and noticed the odd expression on Shawn's face as he slipped across the seat to sit next to Hunter, but he was immediately distracted by another question from Stephanie.

 _"No, no video of the horse. Question is, do you have video from last night? We could watch it after dinner."_

Yeah... like that was ever going to happen. Thankfully it was a non-issue since there was no video. That didn't stop him from blushing horribly though. "I bet Linda would just love that. Luckily for us, there is no video... at least not that I'm aware of. Sorry to disappoint you... pervert." The last was said teasingly and Steph didn't take offense. In fact she agreed that she was. Dave laughed, but it wound down as he noticed the serious expressions on his lovers' faces. Now what?

He didn't get a chance to linger on that thought as Steph bombarded him with more questions. He couldn't help but laugh at her questions, though he skirted them with vague answers. After another minute or two, he said goodbye, still blushing as he did so. With a sigh, he turned off the device and contemplated the two men sitting with him. They were still looking serious and it was a look that Dave was truly tired of for the moment. Couldn't anything be easy? Slipping closer to Shawn, Dave slipped the phone back in his pocket, sticking his tongue out at Hunter. Then he swiveled on the seat and carefully laid his head and shoulders in Shawn's lap covering the pocket that contained Hunter's phone. Folding his hands behind his head, he closed his eyes.

"From now on, whenever we get in one of these things, I'm going to take a nap. It'll save me a huge psychiatric bill from trying to explain a sudden fear of limos," he said with a smirk. Too bad he was only half joking.

****

 _"Hey, now... if I'm the cook, I have a right to make sure that everything I make is perfect!"_

Scott shook his head slightly at the lame excuse. Even if he wasn't cooking, Kev would end up tasting everything. He grinned over the accompanying laughs from Glen and Sean as they turned to go. Watching as Kevin made his way back to the buffet, Scott slipped back into his seat. He picked at what was left on his plate since he was pretty full already.

He smiled fondly when Kevin settled back in his seat with his second plate. His lover really must have worked up an appetite from the amount he was eating, but Scott was glad to see Kevin hungry for more than one reason. The happier Kevin was... the more he seemed to eat. Scott almost laughed as he thought of the extra time Kevin would end up having to spend in the gym if he got his way, because he planned on making sure that Kevin stayed as happy as possible. Though tons of sex would certainly help burn off some of those calories, Kevin would have to work out a bit more often. Kevin was in great shape right now, at least in Scott's opinion, and he was sure Kev would want to keep it that way. Big Sexy with love handles was a big no-no in the big man's opinion.

Scott actually wouldn't mind if it happened though... they'd match his own. And he so needed some gym time himself. Not that that would be happening today... or likely tomorrow. He would be sore and they had moving to do.

 _"Ready to go, Bad Guy? We do have a plane to catch..."_

Snorting at Kevin's impatient gesture, Scott rose to his feet and waited for Kevin to round the table. "I'm always ready, Kev. You should know that." He added a wink to his grin and they headed out of the restaurant.

\----

He let Kevin drive them to the airport so he could make plans for that night, though he didn't tell Kevin that. After opening the trunk so they could load their things, he simply handed Kevin the keys. Scott was really excited, though he was trying hard not to show just how much. Even if they weren't moving his things until tomorrow, he could finally say he was going home and actually feel like that's what he was really doing.

Debating the merits of eating in the dining room or the bedroom, Scott decided on the dining room. He planned on ordering a variety of things from Estela's for their meal and it would be easier to spread it on the table than worry about the possibility of knocking something off the bed. That was also a better bet if he factored in the candles and soft music. The music wouldn't be a problem, but he really didn't want to burn the house down by knocking over a candle on his first night back home. It was their favorite restaurant. They'd spent so many hours there over the years, at the same table in the corner. He couldn't remember ever having a bad meal there and there were no bad memories attached to the place, which was a huge plus in Scott's book.

If he weren't so intent on keeping Kev to himself tonight they would be able to catch up with the owner who knew them both by name. She was a buxom woman that obviously enjoyed everything in her kitchen, but she was the sweetest woman that Scott had ever met. He'd stopped in a few times after he and Kevin had split up and Estela had been genuinely sad to hear of their breakup. She'd sat with Scott a couple of times and consoled him, serving up huge quantities of food from the kitchen to try to cheer him up. It hadn't worked well, obviously, but he had gained several pounds in the process. It was on one such trip to see her that he had walked in to find Kevin sitting at 'their' table. He'd hidden in the alcove, stealing peeks at his lost love until he'd been caught out by Estela. The sad, sympathetic look on her face had almost killed him and he'd snuck out before Kevin had finished his entrée.

Thankfully those days were gone and he could deliver the good news to their friend himself when he called to place the order tonight. He would order all of their favorites and whatever they didn't finish they could stick in the refrigerator for the inevitable midnight snack that Kevin would go hunting for. Chips with Salsa and cheese; fresh shrimp ceviche; the quesadillas with spinach, tomato, and cheese; Mexican salad; burritos and enchiladas with beans and rice; fajitas - both chicken and beef; two fabulous desserts; and fresh squeezed juice would round out the list. Plenty of leftovers for Kevin's midnight raid. Scott's mouth was watering already and he'd just eaten. He'd probably eat more than his fair share tonight too.

By the time he'd finished planning out the menu, with background music from the radio, they'd reached the airport. He smiled at Kevin as they climbed out of the car to retrieve their bags. "I was thinking maybe we should order in from Estela's tonight... you up for it? I thought about eating there, but I think I'd rather keep you all to myself tonight."

****

Every touch of Jeff's lips and tongue against his aching length, the fingers working their way between his thighs, were burnt into Mark's memory. Watching the slim form in front of him through narrowed eyes as he fought to keep quiet, Mark could only wonder in the back of his mind at the chain of events that had led him here, to this point... and then that too-clever tongue did _something_ , and teeth grazed against him, and his thoughts were gone, scattered like leaves in the wind as he groaned deep in his throat. Soft kisses mouthed against his swollen head caused gentle shivers that became deep shudders as Jeff's lips parted to allow him entry into the hot, wet mouth, the motion almost agonizingly slow.

It was like watching an artist at play. The intense focus on Jeff's face, the look of concentrated ecstasy at his own efforts, underwritten with a clear line of his own desire... Mark could smell that desire, could smell the distinctive scent of sex wafting up between them, his own attention narrowed to the sight of his cock sliding past Jeff's swollen lips, the feeling of Jeff's tongue wrapping around his sensitive flesh. He knew he was making noise, soft groans and half-intelligible words falling from his mouth in between harsh panting breaths as Jeff's fingers never ceased moving in counterpoint to the rise and fall of his mouth.

The sudden movement of those hands to his hips in a sharp, almost desperate motion forced him to open eyes that he couldn't remember closing. New tension was written across Jeff's face, the thin body rocking in response to more than just what he was doing to Mark. Just the sight, the knowledge of how turned on his lover was by this, was enough to send the lust filling him to a high point. A sudden scrape of teeth against him only added to that feeling and he let out a nearly moaning growl as his fingers twisted in Jeff's hair, the rainbow locks tangling between his fingers.

 _"Mark... please Honey.... "_

Oh God. The whispered words were almost torture, the hot breath against him adding to the fire, and his hands moved again, tightening their grasp as he tried not to force his way back into that heat. Hearing his name in that tone of voice... The effects were only heightened as Jeff growled while he took Mark's shaft back into his throat, swallowing fiercely against the throbbing flesh. Mark's eyes squeezed shut as he felt the burning inside him fill him, his nerves sparking into flaming life as he lost himself to the overwhelming sensations, only half-aware of the shudders wracking his body or of Jeff swallowing his seed.

Somehow, he would reflect later, he managed to keep quiet, an amazing thing if you thought about it. Between the circumstances and the person going down on him and the incredibly convoluted feelings that he had toward Jeff, the sheer fact that he'd managed to remain mostly quiet was probably deserving of some sort of award.

Blinking as he returned to the moment, Mark's eyes slowly focused on the man kneeling in front of him. His lover. Jeff.

Who was reaching almost desperately for his own zipper. Eyes narrowing again, Mark decided that he'd just found the reward he wanted. Leaning forward, he wrapped his hands around Jeff's waist, pulling the other man back up to his feet. Unfastening the zipper and button with one hand, he pushed the constricting cloth downward before lifting Jeff and turning, replacing him on the boxes he'd leant on only moments earlier. That put him at nearly the perfect height for Mark to sink to his own knees, ignoring the complaint from the joints at the motion, and do... this.

Something he'd been wanting to do for years, now.

Reaching up, he left one hand against Jeff's hip for balance, the sharp curve of bone fitting almost perfectly into his palm, while his other hand traveled lower. Letting his fingers caress the hard flesh briefly, the harsh keening noise that Jeff muffled almost instantly with one hand told him that moving slowly wouldn't be necessary---or appreciated. Sliding his tongue across the soft swollen head, Mark tasted Jeff's essence for the first time, knowing that the flavour would be forever associated in his mind with the thought of the man. Learning the shape and contours of Jeff's shaft with his tongue, the soft noises and curses from his lover spurred him to move more quickly.

A breath, and Mark's lips parted, welcoming Jeff's length into his throat, his hand slipping lower to cup and caress the soft sacs twisting urgently in a physical reflection of the need so close to overwhelming his younger lover. Knowing that this wouldn't take much, Mark hollowed his cheeks as he sucked, his tongue sliding across the sensitive shaft in his mouth as he moved. Setting a fast pace, he promised himself a slow, leisurely exploration of the man in front of him when they had more time. For now... squeezing the soft flesh gently, he pulled back, letting the hard flesh slide partly out of his mouth, as he flicked his tongue just _so_ before lowering his head again.

Jeff's reaction to his efforts was intensely gratifying, even if it did make Mark wish that they were already together at his home, with the time and privacy to truly enjoy the moment.

****

 _"I happen to think I have exceptional taste in guys."_

Chris' lips twitched at the compliment, but he didn't comment, his attention completely directed at the small bundle of tension located just under his lover's right shoulder blade. Such a lovely back, all smooth planes and strong bands of muscle. He'd had the pleasure of becoming very intimate with Adam's spine last night and now pressing his thumbs along the channel to either side of the row of bumps, Chris felt a warm rush of pleasure at the memory. Adam was just... stroke-able. Like Valentino, although neither male would be flattered by the comparison, CJ's fingers just itched to caress and touch the lovely form on display. Luckily enough for him, they both enjoyed Chris' fondling as much as he enjoyed giving it. Another thing they had in common.

'My two demanding felines,' Chris thought as he dropped a small kiss to the back of Adam's neck. 'Looks like I have great taste in men too.'

 _"...you'll end up having to drag me across the carpet to get me into the bed..."_

While Chris' inner caveman thought it might like to try that idea sometime, their relative sizes and Adam's condition put paid to that little flare of kink. Watching Adam rise out of the tub, bubbles still clinging lovingly to long legs, Chris gave his lover a sharp once-over, taking in the yawn, bruises and overall sleepy demeanor. It was a damn shame that their first day together in Adam's house as a 'couple' would involve little more than sleep, but Adam's body just screamed it's need for rest and there were plenty more days for them to do their coupling. 

 _"Bed, ice, and you... and I'll be in heaven. The ice is optional,"_

"Heaven it is Babe, but no, the ice isn't optional." Chris smirked at the totally fake pout that curved his lover's sexy lips. "Don't do sexy things with your mouth, you horrible tease. I'd prefer it if my partners don't pass out halfway through.... " CJ stopped and considered how he'd end that sentence, "...well, unless it's from sheer awe and amazement of course." Adam's emerald eyes took on that smoky charged look that spelled DANGER to any of Chris' resolutions about bed-rest and sipping orange juice through a straw. "Go lie down, I'll find you after I take a look in the fridge."

Quickly rinsing his own skin then toweling off, he followed Adam out of the bathroom, but then deviated in the hallway and headed back downstairs to the kitchen. Every sportsman, wrestlers more so than most, knew the value of keeping the right kind of equipment in their freezers and his lover was no exception. Chris loaded his arms up with regular ice cubes, frozen compresses and those funky new cold wrap bandages that the E.M.T's at work were all in love with. It was getting a little out of hand really. When Ty had accidentally planted Chris into the monitors on the announce table last week, he'd been swarmed by techs backstage and forcibly wrapped in the cold-retaining gel straps for over an hour.

Looking down at his side, only sporting yellowish-tinged bruises compared to Adam's riot of colour, Chris had to concede that maybe the new toys had been the best option at the time. Although his ribs hadn't taken quite the hit that Adam's had and weren't complicated by fractures, but then he'd been prepared for the sudden drop and subsequent collision after all. Taking the stairs two at a time, as much from risk of being spotted half-naked by Jessica as a desire to get back to Adam quickly, Chris dropped his stash carefully onto a beautiful chest of drawers by the door and crossed to Adam's side.

The combination of hot bath and smooth clean body were taking their toll on his lover's ability to keep his eyes open. It could just hit you like that, after holding onto reality and blocking discomfort, to be finally able to relax could seem like pure bliss. Like climbing into your own clean, warm sheets after a week on the road. Adam was slowly succumbing to the siren's call of his bed and Chris planned on taking advantage of that fact.

"Babe? If I ask you to take off that towel and lie naked on your bed for me, will you get the wrong idea?" Rubbing a gentle thumb over Adam's nova tattoo, Chris tried to nudge the larger man into lying down.

****

 _"I'm always ready, Kev. You should know that."_

Catching Scott's wink as his lover turned around and started for the exit, Kevin allowed himself to grin for just a minute at that statement. It might have taken them years to progress past the "just acquaintances" stage, let alone to anything more, but once they had, Scotty had seemed to take an inordinate amount of delight in being "ready" for him in any number of unlikely places and times. Memories of standing behind the curtains next to the gorilla spot bare minutes before their spot, his fingers tangled in dark curls as he tried to suppress moans while Scott was swallowing him whole were among the tamer ones that came to mind, although even they certainly helped raise his temperature a few degrees. Shawn was the real exhibitionist of the group, but Kev had learned early on with Scott that he didn't mind the thrill of possible discovery every so often, either.

Absorbed in pleasant memories, he took the car keys from Scott without a second thought, knowing from experience how painful it could be to drive a car for any length of time the morning after one of their sessions. The drive to the airport was blessedly brief considering the area they were in, and only when he was pulling into the parking lot did Kevin realise that Scott had been abnormally silent during the trip, the radio for once filling the comfortable silence between them without any help. Casting a sidelong look at his lover as they got out of the car, he was relieved at the smile he received and returned it instinctively.

 _"I was thinking maybe we should order in from Estela's tonight... you up for it? I thought about eating there, but I think I'd rather keep you all to myself tonight."_

Yet another reason why he loved this man. No one else had ever seemed to be on exactly the same wavelength, but Scott was, every time. He'd just been thinking about that particular topic... They had so many memories together at Estela's... and he had too many memories there by himself. Estela's sadly understanding face came to mind in an expression he'd seen far too often for the last few years. She had to be one of the outright nicest people Kevin had ever met, and she'd adopted the two of them as favourites the first time she'd met them. The news of their break up hadn't surprised her, but it had saddened her, and she'd taken to plying him with extra treats every time he went there by himself to try to get a smile out of him. Sometimes it had worked, sometimes it hadn't, but he'd been sure to let her know how very much he appreciated her efforts.

Tonight, though, staying in sounded like a far better idea for several reasons, not least of which was Scott himself. No matter how indestructible the man tried to act, Kevin knew that he wouldn't be up to sitting in a restaurant for over an hour by this evening. And...

"Keeping you to myself sounds like a wonderful plan, Scott," he answered, his smile widening just a touch. Regardless of what they did tonight, the experience of having Scott in the house, being able to eat dinner and watch movies and simply bask in his presence was still incredibly new all over again. Being able to go to sleep in Scott's arms and wake up the same way was one of the newly-rediscovered joys in Kevin's life, and one that he knew he would never tire of. Keeping in mind where they were, he restrained himself from demonstrating his current feelings, but allowed his eyes to communicate them in full to Scott.

Moving quickly through the initial check-in, Kevin waited impatiently through the security line, detouring briefly from the route to their gate to pick up some cashews, a long time favourite for an in-flight snack before taking his place next to Scott in the always uncomfortable molded plastic seats while they waited to board. The same silence that had filled the space between them in the car did so here as well, but he wasn't worried; it wasn't the angry, uncomfortable silence that they'd had far too much experience with in the months leading up to that awful night, but a comfortable one with the sharp edges rubbed smooth by years of knowing and loving each other. It was almost a new feeling, and yet another experience that Kev found himself enjoying.

Once they were finally aboard and seated, Kevin waited until the all-clear was given and pulled out his iPod with a quick look at Scott. Seeing nothing but an understanding smile and the same sort of thoughtfulness that seemed to be filling him this afternoon, he put the earbuds in, turned it on, and leaned his seat back before closing his eyes. If he fell asleep, the flight would be over that much quicker, and if not, he had all sorts of things to think over to keep him occupied.

Thoughts of the trio and their interactions leapt to mind, as did the mysterious black eyes that Dave had been sporting; at least today they were well on their way to fading, but he never had gotten that story out of them. Or the explanation of what exactly had happened Tuesday morning. What Scott had said to Dave had to have played a part in pushing Shawn and Hunter past their years of denial, but that didn't explain the decision to make it a trio rather than a couple. God, that brought some gorgeous images to mind, too... Too bad he suspected that they'd never see them in real life. Shawn might enjoy being the center of attention, but Kevin rather thought that Hunter, and Dave especially, didn't share that fascination. Although, given the interesting flight yesterday, you never knew...

And on that note, what the hell was up with Mark and Jeff Hardy? He hadn't even gotten to talk to Mark this morning, with all the distractions, and even knowing Sean's side of the story, it didn't explain the unusual behavior Mark had been demonstrating with the younger man. Kevin knew Mark too well to think that Jeff was simply a substitute for Shawn---that idea would probably horrify the man. But whatever Jeff was, it was more than a passing fancy. Hopefully Hardy would figure that out quickly if he hadn't already.

Remembering the bemused expression on Benoit's face as he and Eddie had left the restaurant, Kevin suspected that there was more going on with Eddie and Chris, too... but those two were absolutely solid, regardless of any issues Benny might have with their little clique. And not even Scotty knew Eddie well enough to randomly pry into that relationship. That was something they'd have to be content to sit back and watch.

Allowing himself to be pulled into the music playing softly in his ears as his thoughts finally slowed, Kevin shifted slightly in his seat so that he could lean against Scott without being too blatant, and drifted off to sleep.

****

 _"Heaven it is Babe, but no, the ice isn't optional."_

Well, damn. He'd much rather have Chris wrapped around him than a bunch of ice packs. Dealing with the cold packs meant he'd have to stay awake at least another fifteen minutes and with the amount of area they'd be covering, he'd be shivering his ass off for all of them. Maybe if he pouted nicely Chris would let him out of the proposed torture...

Nope. So much for that idea. It was nice to know though that Chris considered his pouting sexy... just for future reference.

 _"...well, unless it's from sheer awe and amazement of course."_

He couldn't help but wonder exactly what Chris might do to him in the _middle_ of sex that would cause him to pass out from awe, but he wasn't at all averse to finding out, injuries or not. He didn't say a word, just let his eyes speak of his interest in the subject at hand. Unfortunately his body wasn't showing much similar interest at the moment. Adam was bone-tired and his ribs were aching something fierce. Since he refused to take any more of the pills that he'd been prescribed, he knew his next best option was sleep... and soon. He didn't argue at all with Chris sending him off to bed, but once he reached the bedroom he didn't head directly to the comfort of warm cotton sheets.

Detouring past the small entertainment center that housed his television and assorted items, he looked at the framed pictures littering the top of the black lacquered wood. A picture of him with his mom just after he'd won his first tag team championship with Jay, a picture of him with Jay that same night, a picture of his mom wearing the Intercontinental Title after his first win at a house show, and pictures with him and his other various tag team partners were among those there. There was also a gold-framed picture of Chris just after he'd won the Undisputed Championship. Adam had taken the picture himself as soon as Chris had stepped through the curtains backstage. Chris was clearly tired and disheveled in the picture but he'd managed to catch the glow and excitement in Chris' eyes and it had always been his favorite picture of the man. It was the same picture that Jess had caught him looking at and she'd been able to see his feelings for Chris almost instantly.

With a gentle finger he traced the tired smile on the picture and then moved away quickly when he heard Chris' footsteps on the stairs. He had the real thing to 'moon over' now, as Jess had put it, but he still treasured that picture. Chris did not need to catch him staring at it however. He made it over to the bed as Chris walked through the door and watched him unload his burden on the dresser as he traced a finger over the soft cotton sheets. His eyes felt terribly heavy, but he grabbed the remote to turn on the television at a low volume for background noise. The room was comfortably cool with the central air on but he was still reluctant to climb into the bed knowing that he was going to be surrounded by cold ice packs in the next few moments.

 _"Babe? If I ask you to take off that towel and lie naked on your bed for me, will you get the wrong idea?"_

He smiled slowly and lifted his eyes to Chris' for a moment before tugging the end of the towel loose at his waist. A slight shiver rolled through him at the gentle finger brushing his arm. Succumbing to Chris' prodding, he dropped the towel and pulled the sheets back from the pillows. He slowly sat down and rearranged the two pillows on his side of the bed so he was half sitting up, a position he was terribly familiar with from his last recovery, before reaching out a hand and tugging at Chris' towel as well.

"Probably," he said with a sleepy grin. "If I get the wrong idea are you going to let me linger happily with my misconception or are you going to insist on burying me in a frigid blanket?" Letting one finger trail over a smooth golden hip, he pouted again. "You'd make a much better blanket than the ice packs."


End file.
